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greenerteacups · 8 months

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That reminds me of why I really dislike that the epilogue exists.... other than the fact that it's totally unnecessary and adds nothing of importance to the story, it actually portrays, in my opinion, a strangely stagnant and therefore bitter (imo) ending for these characters I truly loved through my childhood and teens... Like, the fact that they just...stayed the same... married the person they started dating in school (regardless of actual compatibility)...the same friendships and enmities.... I just remember reading that epilogue and immediately rejecting it cause I found it weirdly depressing and it also kinda felt like the author was kinda forcing the characters into a certain destiny beyond what was necessary, which sounds really weird but I do think there's a point where, as a writer, you have to let the story go and leave 'what happens next' to the readers' imaginations.

there's a reason for this, i think. i actually happen to like a lot of the endgame couples — i think that harry and ginny being straight-out-of-school/married-young-in-wartime sweethearts is cute, and makes sense for their characters. i like the idea of them naming the kids after harry's parents, Sirius, and Luna (Obvious Exception Notwithstanding!!!) because it ties in with the themes of family/love transcending death and also happens to be a real-life phenomenon that young couples do to commemorate the wartime dead! i think it's great that neville's a herbology professor — it's an ultimate triumph over Snape to become the exact opposite kind of teacher, one who offers support and understanding to slow-learning children — and although i hate what happened to Lupin and Tonks, the idea of Harry raising Teddy as his own son/nephew/younger brother/Unidentified But Beloved Family Member in the same way Sirius probably would have raised Harry, if he had the chance. it ties in very well with "healing past wrongs" as an underlying motif for the next generation.

and you know what, fuck it, i'm not ashamed to say it: I like the Third Gen kids. they are good character concepts and they have hints of interesting story arcs! I like the idea of harry's oldest son being this ridiculously high-energy, sociable, nosy-ass Fred Weasley type popular kid, because — yeah, that's what both of your parents are! of course you're like that! and I really like the idea of [REDACTED MIDDLE CHILD NAME] being a Slytherin with strong moral values, because that's an arc that frankly should have happened in the original books, and it reads like a graceful acknowledgement of how the author mishandled Slytherin House (even if it's kind of dissonant with their behavior in the Battle of Hogwarts, but whatever). Lily we don't have much to go on, but she reads a bit like a young Ginny if she were less shy. but none of that quality changes the fact that these characters shouldn't exist.

authors coming to the end of their first work have trouble letting go of it, especially when that work is long. (even though it was her seventh book, Deathly Hallows was the first time JKR ever had to actually end a "story" as such). they're scared of leaving something out, and I think these long-range time jumps are a reaction to the desire to hold onto these characters as long as possible — to delay the inevitable goodbye, and claim authorship of as much of their characters' lives as possible. the problem is that you don't want to undo the happy ending they've just earned, so you can't realistically portray the tensions and breakups and conflicts that would happen if the characters were left to develop naturally for nineteen years. which is why the epilogue feels false to me.

and the funny thing is, for fans of the "canon" epilogue ships, ending it after the Battle of Hogwarts wouldn't change anything! it's ironic, because in theory you'd want an author to confirm that your pairing gets a big happy wedding, but when a ship is endgame, it's assumed that they have a "happy ever after" anyways. we don't read Percy Jackson and assume that he and Annabeth have an acrimonious divorce in their 40's. we don't wonder (at least, not as serious analysts of the text) if Arwen and Aragorn need to get couples counseling. maybe they do, and maybe they would, but that's not relevant to the story that's being told, and the way the narrative frames it, the "ending" of their story is itself the end of the line for their pairing. the moment you stop writing, they exist in perpetuity as a loving relationship, and you don't need to tell us they get married! they have been immortalized as lovers! harry and ginny would be THE endgame couple of the series whether or not we knew their children's names. they are each others' destiny.

and the end of the day, the problem with the epilogue boils down to this: either their story ends at the battle of hogwarts, or it didn't. if it didn't, then it looks like you have another book to write. and if it did, then it's time to take your hands off the wheel.

#greenteacup asks

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fireblossumdraws · 1 year

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For those interested in reading Emblem of the Siren

this is a psa, personal notes, and revisions to be seen in the new and revised chapters in the works. What has changed as far as characters, plot and the creator (me! )

As some of you have known as I have hinted multiple times, that the fanfiction has been up for years and has not received an update other than disclaimers. That's because my only use for it by this point has been as a crude outline for the rewritten version. Which I don’t want to hide either, even if I would like to because of it’s bad attempt at crass subject matter and traumatic concepts that could have been detailed more tastefully. I was an angry kid when I started writing. Thanks to receiving tons of therapy and life development, I feel that I can tackle those subjects from a more realistic standpoint rather than the sheltered worldview that I used to have.

With that being said, certain characters will not receive the significant changes, evil or not. And there will be a list designating who to expect that from and why.

Key characters that will receive no changes in the updates:

• Ostegoth (he deals, he smokes, we love ostegoth in this house and he does no wrong in his choices to pinch a coin/relic!)

• The Lord of Bones and subjects (He is an abusive monarch in cannon. I don’t think I could really rewrite it without sacrificing any personality traits and same goes for everyone else. I gotta keep the plot spicy somehow *shrugs* he keeps his satisfying end.

• Draven (the evil characterization does not suit him at all! For someone as neutral in the story, he’s a mentor and a bro, will remain that way in the update)

List of characters receiving drastic changes:

• Genevieve (Even if the basic layout will remain the same, [Which I will entail in a bio later on!] girl needs a confidence boost amongst other things. I wrote my oc without any experience in the industries that she were in on Earth and I unfairly wrote it out as something that she should be ashamed of. A similar backstory has been made with room to overcome and develop through. I am also adding certain flashbacks as well to highlight her character)

• Vulgrim (overly misogynistic, no chill, not cool. He will have more significance late story to demand changes in his character now)

• All Makers ( some changes of certain terms that could be considered misogynistic (in Thane’s case, thankfully they never made the final cut) but they are written as cinnamon rolls that need not a change other than their butchered dialect. Sorry for those, European readers.

• Death (he is emotionally ambiguous unless it concerns those he cares about. Though, he will be given the least amount of changes within the plot the way it is, but interactions are the main concern. I thought the intimate lines throughout the story were great work and somehow I was commended for them. However, the ones that are close without intimacy such as the first encounter and up to chapter 12, came across to me as far too cold and even the later scrapped chapters after that were the same. It was another situation of traumatic projection that I've long figured out how to handle. His personality is the same, a rude old one with a dark and mysterious emotional wall. One that's breakable with the proper writing and warmth. Y'know, like Fury. Only worse 🙃)

With all of that being said, the fanfiction will remain up to read. I cannot keep u from looking up the outdated version. But know this dude, How to write more ethically came along as well. I am willing to try again.

Doing that in writing this story in comic form in the meantime of the actual writing!

Have a variant for getting this far! 🥰

Thank u!

#Darksiders 2 #darksiders death #emblem of the siren comic #darksiders #boostable #dust darksiders #karn #draven darksiders

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thevoidisvoid · 8 months

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Concept Idea Porco Rosso (Underfell and Swapfell????"

Okay, so I was watching Porco Rosso and it occured to me that it is literally the perfect movie for Underfell Red? Like smexy Skelton Pilot in a bad-ass red plane? And the dork in me exploded.

I tried to make concept art, because when I picture it, I think of a Insert-Self x Red opportunity. But in two different ways. So I got sidetracked. Didn't put a lot of effort in. I also suck at drawing Skelly-Boys so that didn't help but I decided writing it out may work better???

I hope you enjoy, and possibly get inspired. The art will be at the end.

(Version 1.)

"But the answers no, I have kind of a bet going on here."

You look down at the book in your hands that you were clutching. Smiling fondly at it.

"I bet myself if a certain man came to visit me in my Garden, we'd fall in love…"

You can't stop the sigh that escapes your lips.

"But the fool only comes to my restaurant at night. He…he never shows in the daylight."

Black inhaled as he prepared to speak, you froze as a familiar noise came from the distance. Standing up you shoved your book into Black's hands and rushed out of the pavilion to your balcony.

He- he's here.

That red plane you'd both come to love and despise was flying through the air. Coming straight towards you it seemed.

"THAT GUY'S BACK?!"

But as always he never landed, instead performing an aerial loop, and spinning away into the clouds… where he belonged.

Of course…it was too much to hope today was the day he'd actually…

"Stupid…"

Black shot you a quizzical look as you shook your head.

"He left without landing."

You smile.

"I lost the bet again."

"ARE YOU KIDDING? YOUR BET IS ABOUT THAT JERK?"

Your smile was more and more genuine as you spoke with a soft laugh.

"Life is more complicated here, than in your country."

"If you're only looking for a fling that's easy…"

"Go to Hollywood yourself little boy."

With another laugh you left him.

(Version 2.)

"What the HELL are you talking about? You guys don't understand a word I said!"

Red could only watch with interest as they yelled at the group of Sea Pirates. This was definitely not how he expected things to turn out.

"I asked whether you feel ashamed or not. Aren't you ashamed of being helped by Black, an American? If your mother's heard about that, they would cry."

"Also what the hell are you saying, you don't even bathe?!"

He couldn't help but chuckle at the stunned expression of those stupid bastards.

"Red came back to fight against Black, for the pride and honor of the Pilots of Ebott Sea!

Wait…what?!

"You guys have no guts or honor. You are the lowest of the low. Fight with dignity!"

You crossed your arms, scowling at Undyne. Red could tell she'd been rather stunned by your push back.

"Well that's why I was opposed to hiring Black in the first place."

Yeah right…

"Coward. Trying to worm your way out of this."

"B-Boss what should we do? They have a convincing argument."

"We'll need to preserve both sides honor…we'll have to ask Black."

"You mean ask him to fight the SKELETON- Again?"

Oh the irony. These idiots seemed to miss the fact Black was also a Skeleton.

"The contract is already over…I'm so ashamed."

Undyne seemed really distraught. Which was well deserved. And now to wrap things up here-

"MWEHEHEHEH."

Oh great.

"It's Black!"

High above, in a gap carved into the cliffs Black stood (?) His arms and legs pressing against the walls of the cliff. Keeping him held in place.

"I HEARD YOU TALKING. I'M NOT GOING TO RUN AWAY!"

"you morons, you came down through there?"

Black gave a yell before leaping from his position in the cliffs and plummeted before landing firmly on his feet. He almost stumbled, but firmly continued walking as if he was a damn god.

"hey, hold this-"

Red shoved his bag of various items into the arms of one of the pirates and began moving towards Black.

"YOU WANT A REMATCH DON'T YOU. BUT I ALREADY WON ONCE."

He was going to wipe that pathetic smirk off his face.

"I'M NO LONGER A BODY GUARD FOR THESE GUYS."

All the more reason to beat-

"You mean you won't fight for free? What's your proposition?"

Oh no-

You had made your way to the front of the small mob of pirates and were glowering at Black. Who took one look at you before-

"T-THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL."

He clasped your hands, and you gave a small noise of disgusted surprise.

"WILL YOU MARRY ME IF I WIN? I'M SERIOUS."

Ha! As if they'd give in to-

"Okay- but if Red wins you pay these bills!'

You somehow managed to slap Black in the face with that notebook of yours. A small distraction that kept him from completely losing it.

"wait-"

"Back off you!"

Aaron shoved Red backwards and he was immediately surrounded by a mixture of weapons and magic attacks. Something he could've easily escaped. But he didn't.

"You still have time to think about this."

Undyne sounded rather gentle for once, and Red eyed her suspiciously.

"Ask him, not me."

"THESE BILLS ARE A LITTLE EXPENSIVE."

"They're extremely reasonable"

"Are you going to fight or not Black?"

Undyne almost seemed to be trying to prevent this, which was an abrupt change from before.

"I'LL GLADLY FIGHT FOR THE ONE I LOVE."

"Okay everybody listen up!"

Undyne's yell echoed through the island, almost as loud as that insufferable Black's.

"I'm very impressed with the humans determination! My group will back this fight up!"

A chorus of agreements.

"The air pirate alliance will too!"

"Bye Human!!! See you soon!"

"they're full of crap."

"HEY SKELETON, DON'T RUN AWAY."

"shut up, and get off my island!"

"Later!"

As quickly as they'd exploded onto the small island they vanished, Black following on top of the crowd.

#sans x y/n #undertale #red underfell #underfell au #porco rosso #artwork #short story #idk why #inspiration #planes #studio ghilibi #ghibli au #undyne #swapfell #funny #first post

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roobylavender · 9 months

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i was thinking about a post you made, not sure just how old it is, about how you find the symbolism and discrepancy of bruce wayne and batman’s darkness dull nowadays. ive seen people say bruce has become more batman than he is bruce, because most of bruce died with jason and thus he has none of bruce left to spare with his other kids. which i think is pretty true nowadays but also very sad. how come he has never fought to be truly better for his kids? surely he wouldve still cared enough to make an effort. theres no way the guy who is so overly critical and ashamed of himself wouldnt realize how much hes hurt these kids. he knows how to fight, its all hes ever done. it took so much violence to be this gentle etc etc. why couldnt he have put up a fight just one more time, for this? plus, by framing it this way, you inherently make the batman identity an almost sort of dark cloud, nearly evil force? cause it just brings negativity and toxicity to everyone around him. and plus like. why does being batman have to be Such a bad thing, yknow? batmans a good guy. batman loves people, he loves the children of gotham and he cares for the livelihood of people. its like you said (i believe it was you, i think) that batman is just an extension of himself and his morals and belief in humanity. batman cant exist without the person that bruce is, a person who should be good.

but yeah putting this here because your posts give me brainworms <3

this is why books like batman: ego seriously bother me lol.. creativity wise it's a great concept but it doesn't do much to honor the integrity of the actual character. which i think is a running theme in dc editorial in general. you have a lot of creators (geobard jawnes) who individually would like to see certain things and then use that desire to project it onto whoever they're writing or whoever they hope to write for and it's like. on a storytelling level that's not practical lmao! sometimes the things you want to see are not suited to the character you want to see them expressed by. is it interesting for a masked identity to be distinct of a civilian one almost to the point of the masked identity taking on its own consciousness? absolutely. does it make sense to say that's how it works for bruce? probably not. and that desire to separate the two identities coupled with the fact that dc's storytelling structure since the early 00s has increasingly moved towards servicing universe wide events every other year that subsequently stagnate the scope of storytelling and civilian minutiae within individual runs.. well. the effect is that you have a bruce whose civilian life is less likely to be explored bc it's not only deemed uninteresting and unimportant to editorial but also bc it's directly antithetical to the stasis editorial wants to keep bruce in. bruce never has to grow up or evolve if he always views his civilian life as an afterthought he's constantly running away from. it's convenient for him to be always be buried in a new lede and for the plot of his books to exclusively revolve around the next mystery or villain. if the pages don't have the room for him to care then why should he have to care at all? that's why i feel like conversations about his portrayal as an abuser really need to center on editorial decisions more. he wasn't born this way. he was deliberately taken in this direction by multiple editorial staff who were more interested in portraying him as an abuser than not

#outbox

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librosamarillos · 1 year

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passed down like folk songs

chapter 8: goodbye

Maegor Targaryen x OC

Also on Ao3

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Tags: hurt/comfort, friends to lovers, angst, mature themes, targaryen incest, violence, Maegor is a red flag himself, characters are ooc probably, MINORS DNI

Visenya couldn’t remember when she last woke up so peacefully, let alone in her husband’s arms. It felt like such a foreign concept before, to wake up feeling this serene, with Aegon’s comforting warmth. It felt like a delicate dream, one she did not wish to wake up from, in fact, it scared her to think she’d wake up to find herself all alone in her cold bed again.

Part of her felt ashamed for how much she wanted this. In all their years of marriage, the few times he’d join her in her chambers, she’d always wake up alone. He always ran back to Rhaenys after completing his duty. She always burned with bitterness and jealousy at how he wouldn’t even try to hide it. Yet, she longed for his closeness so much, she pushed away the suspicions that he was imagining their sister, in order to perform his duty. She was no fool. Even now she was paranoid that it wasn’t her he was seeing, but again, that desperate part of her wanted to cling to the hope that he was finally seeing her as she was.

She glanced up at Aegon’s handsome face. They were both nearing fifty, but in her eyes, he was more handsome than ever like this, sleeping peacefully and holding her close, the way it always should’ve been. Just them alone. It was selfish and cruel and unfair to feel so grateful that their sister was gone and couldn’t take him from her again, at least not physically. Had she still been alive, Visenya would never know the feeling, gods, this feeling of waking up in his arms. How she envied Rhaenys for having this for all those years. It felt like heaven to have him to herself, at last.

After their screaming match that day, Aegon had become so attentive to her, almost warm and caring. He started dining with her in both the morning and the evening, seeking her company, not for council, just to be around her, and at nights, he’d join her, not only for sex, just to hold her in his arms and sleep. Was it guilt? Some sick part of her hoped it was eating him up alive, but another wished for him to simply want her. To miss her, to long for her, the way she did him ever since they were kids. She was so torn.

“I didn’t have you for such a sentimental person, Visenya. Or do I have something on my face?” Aegon asked without opening his eyes, his voice still deep and groggy from waking up.

“Maybe I’ve always been one, you were just too busy noticing my faults to see it.” she replied lightly, smiling softly.

Aegon opened his eyes, returning her soft smile. He brought his hand up to her face, rubbing circles on her cheek. Visenya relished in his touch.

“We should get ready soon.” she said, already wishing for them to return to bed even if they hadn’t left yet.

“All is prepared, the Hightowers are expected to arrive in the afternoon, it’s still very early, Visenya.” Aegon protested, pulling her closer.

“I know, I just wish to prepare Maegor.” she countered.

“Yes, he seems to be brooding.”

“I’ve warned you about this, Aegon.”

“Give him time. He’ll take great interest in his wife, I’m sure.” he said, trying to assure her. “I heard Lady Rowan will be joining her father back to Oldtown soon. Perhaps it’s for the best, for the time being.” he added.

Visenya sighed, her peaceful smile now replaced with a frown of guilt. Rowan had been avoiding everyone, and when she couldn’t, she’d pretend it was all fine. She needed to talk to her, to tell her how sorry she was.

“I know you are very fond of the girl, but things will settle. You’ll have her back soon, will you not?” he asked softly.

“I’m still mad at you for doing this behind my back, you know. And you saw how furious our son is.” she frowned.

“I know. But it’s his duty, and I have no doubt that our son will do his duty to our house.”

Duty. His duty. Maegor always did what she told him to, he was a dutiful son, absolutely. But she never wanted to ask him of this. He was angry, more angry than she’d ever seen him, terrorising any sparring opponent with Dark Sister in his hands, a constant scowl on his face, a distant look in his eyes. When she tried to talk to him, he just nodded, not fully there, not listening. She was worried for her son. She’d never seen him like this.

Maegor looked so much like her husband it was almost scary. While Aenys bore no resemblance to Aegon, taking completely after Rhaenys. Another reason Aegon would spoil him so much. She wondered if he ever felt regret in ignoring Maegor all these years. He clearly never showed any signs of it; did he perhaps think that it paid off in the end, since she raised him a fearsome warrior? There was so much to talk to him about, but so little time these days. All her hours were consumed by small council meetings, holding court and preparing for the wedding and the guests. Not to mention the unfinished Red Keep.

Dinner was… tense. Ceryse looked around awkwardly, wishing to be anywhere but here. Her father and the King were making pleasant conversation, the Queen and her brother joining in at times, but her betrothed was completely silent.

They barely had enough time to clean up from the long trip before they were summoned to dine with the royal family. The crown Prince Aenys was lovely, welcoming them to the capital, showing them around, introducing them to his wife and children. Ceryse could only hope that Maegor would have a sliver of his brother’s kindness.

At first glance, he scared her. He was a giant, a look of anger and mistrust etched into his face. He was very handsome, she’d give him that, but he looked terrifying. From what she heard from the servants, he found great pleasure in violence, leaving all his opponents heavily injured, and as rumour had it, it only amped up when he found out of their betrothal. If that were true, and by the scowl on his face, it probably was, how the hell would they even talk? She was entering this with an open mind, but he made no effort to even meet her eyes. It gave her a little bit of peace to know she was not the only one forced into this, at the very least.

Supper had flown by and she realised they had not spoken a word to each other, but the King insisted the two have a walk to get to know the other better. Was he truly the only one optimistic of this match? It would appear so.

And now they were walking around the unfinished gardens, guards following but allowing them some privacy. It was so awkward it was painful. He was a silent man, lost in his own thoughts all evening.

“You know, it was news to me. Our betrothal.” she tried to break the ice.

That caught his attention, as he turned to look at her briefly, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Your uncle was the one who suggested it.” he stated simply, almost accusing her.

“Yes, but he did not inform me, nor my father about it, not until it was final.” she explained. “So it was news to me.”

“You do not wish for us to wed?” he asked after a few moments of silence.

It caught Ceryse by surprise, how straight forward he was. But in truth, she did not wish for this. His family, albeit pleasant at first glance, still scared her. He scared her.

“I do not mean to sound ungrateful, my prince, it is a great honour to be your betrothed, it was just extremely unexpected. That’s all.” she said, offering him a small, polite smile.

Maegor nodded without a word. He seemed disappointed in her answer, almost like he wanted her to not want this. She thought for a moment. He was looking for an out. He didn’t want this either, clearly, but could not deny his father, just like she could not deny hers. If he thought just her refusal would be enough to end their betrothal, he was a fool. She’d seen women be dragged to the altar, crying and kicking, her word alone would not matter. As much as she wished it did, it could not save them. Her uncle drilled into her that their union would bring peace with the Targaryens and the faith, to prevent the disaster he foresaw coming. What could she say to that?

“I understand you do not want this, my prince.” she started, making Maegor almost stop in his tracks. “I understand, believe me, I do, but since it’s something we cannot escape, I would hope we could at least become friends one day.” she said, almost cursing her sudden surge of bravery.

The way he looked down at her made her want to run for the hills. He had a harsh stare, his eyes only betraying anger. Had she truly offended him this much by pointing out the obvious? He surprised her when he sighed and looked away.

“I can agree to that.” he said, continuing to walk.

Ceryse didn’t learn much about him from that talk, rather from his brother, who was delighted to chat with her when he got the chance. He told her that Maegor was a knight, that his bravery in combat put all others to shame. Aenys spent the entirety of their afternoon tea singing praises of his brother, who wasn’t even there. His wife, Lady Alyssa, was a bit put off by her husband’s very generous description of Prince Maegor. She guessed they weren’t the closest of friends. She didn’t doubt his skill in combat at all, by the looks of him, he could crush a man’s skull with his bare hands alone. She’d hate to be the one to displease him.

She was happy to see some familiar faces in court at the very least. Lana Tyrell was a close acquaintance, as was Rowan Evergreen. The three had always grouped together while their fathers chatted away about either business or the days of their youth. They were never truly close, but at least she wasn’t in a sea of complete strangers. Lana was more than happy to catch up and congratulate her on her upcoming nuptials, but Rowan was a bit difficult to find. Lana had told her she’d be leaving soon and was always like this when she had to leave, but she was still hoping to see her before she did.

She was glad that she had accepted her invitation to afternoon tea. Ceryse hated to admit it, but she felt nervous, sitting all alone in the gardens, so to see Rowan’s familiar smiling face was a relief. She got up and greeted her with an embrace, which the other woman returned.

“I’m happy to see you again! I must admit, I don’t recognise many people here.” she admitted while they had their tea.

“It can be jarring, I imagine. But you’ll get used to it. There are many friendly people in the capital, although nothing compares to Oldtown, you can grow to love it.” Rowan replied with a kind smile.

“Must you truly be away for half the year? I’d find great comfort in knowing you and Lana are close by.” she didn’t say it was because her husband’s family frightened her, but she knew Rowan got the hint. Her eyes had a way of making her feel seen without having to talk.

“I find that I miss home too much to stay. I only accompany my father here. But worry not, Lana will be here. From what I heard, she’s invited some cousins as well. You’ll have plenty of company here, but I’ve no fear. You’ll meet many more.”

Her words gave her comfort. Their houses had been closely tied for centuries. They had the same ideals, the same closeness to the faith and it kept them close. While the Tyrells were much more likely to go with the flow, she knew the Evergreens were much more like minded to her family. It was a good thing she could have someone that understood her, her repercussions, her worries about the Targaryens. She could see it in her eyes, Ceryse was sure of it.

Rowan was warm and welcoming, as she always remembered her to be, but something was weighing heavy on her mind. She wanted to ask, she wanted them to become closer friends, but it felt improper to do so. They simply didn’t know each other that well. And while Ceryse was comfortable enough to let things linger in the air that Rowan could understand the meaning of, the auburn haired woman in front of her seemed much more hesitant to reveal what was worrying her. Ceryse hoped in the future, she could help.

“I hope to see you again soon. I’ll be happy to see you when you return.” Ceryse offered a smile, which Rowan returned.

Rowan had found a great excuse in their upcoming journey back to Starfall to avoid everyone and hide in her chambers under the guise of packing. In truth, she spent her days picking at her hands until the pain was numb or trying to smile normally in the mirror, for she felt like she would fall apart at any given moment. She found she couldn’t even look at him these days. She was afraid someone would see it in her eyes, all that was secret between them, and everything would be ruined. Her father was her rock, making sure she ate, that she had someone to talk to, or even say nothing to. Even the maids that cleaned her chambers were getting worried at the change of her behaviour. She felt suffocated. The idea of home was the only thing that kept her from falling apart.

She had managed to do a bit of packing, seeing as they’d be leaving in two days, it was about time anyway. She recognised the knocking on her door, and for the first time in her life, it filled her with dread. It was the Queen and judging by her expression, she was not happy to see her go. She always told her she’d miss her terribly when it was time for her to leave, but this time would be different. They both knew it.

“Rowan, my girl…” she said right after closing the door behind her.

“Your grace.” she greeted her with a small voice.

“I’m so sorry.” she said plainly and wrapped her arms around her.

Rowan couldn’t help but hide her face in Visenya’s neck, finding her warmth the most comforting, as she sighed, almost in relief. She always had her when she needed her mother, in many ways she had raised her as well. For ten years, half her year would be spent with her, she was the one who comforted her when her first blood came, she was the one she turned to for questions, for answers, for everything. It hurt her to leave, but she could not stay.

“I tried to change his mind, but he would not budge. I do not wish to see you go, or to see you two grow apart.” she admitted. “But I understand.” she added, her voice uncharacteristically soft.

“It could not be helped, your Grace, I understand. I will miss you terribly.” she said.

How ironic it was, that the King’s voice was above all, even his Queen’s? Even if Visenya had done most of the work? How terribly unfair things were. Rowan didn’t blame her. It was her husband and her son, their best interests would always take priority. And she simply wouldn’t offer much benefit as his current betrothed would.

But part of her still dreamed, still hoped that this was a bad dream and she’d simply wake in his arms and it would all be alright. How silly. She felt like a little kid, hiding in her mother’s arms, to hide from the pain, as if anything would make it go away.

“Will you return as normal? Shall I expect you with your father the next time he is called?” Visenya’s voice was almost afraid, afraid to lose her completely.

“In truth… I do not know.” Rowan admitted. And in truth, she didn’t know when she’d ever be ready to see him as a married man. She wasn’t even sure how she’d attend his wedding, let alone watch him from afar as she crumbled. “But I do hope so.” she added.

That seemed to assure Visenya enough to pull away from the hug, but still holding onto her. She’d never seen her this remorseful before. She found comfort that she and Maegor were not alone in their pain. She hated that they had to part like this.

“This time, I will see you soon, in Oldtown. I only wish the occasion would be different.”

“It’s no use to dwell on the what ifs, my Queen. I’m sure it shall pass with time.” she said, as if she wasn’t drowning since she’d heard the news.

Visenya was not convinced, but gave her a small smile anyway.

“I would’ve been overjoyed to call you my gooddaughter, I hope you know this.” she admitted, her eyes betraying such sadness.

Rowan felt tears reaching her own eyes as she nodded. It was an honour, truly, to have the Queen herself say this. It felt like something that would tie them together for eternity, the mother she found with the daughter she never had. She bit the inside of her lip, trying to prevent the tears from spilling, but to no avail. Visenya was quick to embrace her again, to rub her back while she cried, mourning in her own way.

He shouldn’t be doing this, it was dangerous and foolish, but she was leaving in the morrow and Maegor would be damned if he let her leave without seeing her again. He knew this was their last time seeing each other before his wedding- how he hated that word now. The next time they’d see each other, it would all be different, way too different.

She wasn’t surprised to see him, only a bit startled as he didn’t knock. They stood in heavy silence again, before he wrapped his arms around her small frame, holding her close. He never wanted to let her go, and it seemed she didn’t want him to. Rowan had packed all of her belongings this time. She’d always leave some things behind, for when she’d return, but this time, she left nothing. It shattered him, how final, how real it was becoming.

This was goodbye.

She had pulled back, and he took a good look around.

“You’re taking everything this time?” he forced himself to ask.

“Yes. I… I do not know when I will return. It may take longer.” she whispered.

“So this is it? We can never be as we were before?” he asked her, frowning deeply.

“You know we can not.”

“So I’m losing you forever, like this?” he already knew the answer.

“I know, I hate how things have turned out too. But Maegor, I still only wish for you to be happy, even if that’s not with me. I know it hurts, but I don’t want you to stop yourself from being happy with her.” she said, her voice trembling.

“You’re a fool. A complete fool, if you think I could ever be happy with anyone else but you.”

“It hurts Maegor, it hurts me more than anything, but we cannot do anything about this! So please, at least try.”

It filled him with fury, how powerless he felt. A sick part of him wanted them to be caught in a position so compromising, so his father would have no choice but to wed them, but he’d never defile her honour, never. Nevermind the political nightmare he’d cause.

“And you? Will you search for a husband now?” he asked, his voice dripping with jealousy that he did nothing to hide.

“No. Not until I have to.” she shook her head, almost offended he even had to ask.

All that existed in his mind was this hypothetical man, and all the ways he’d torture and kill him for even daring to look at her. For even daring to touch her. He’d fall into a complete rage at the mere thought, knowing that one day it would be too real. That he’d never call her his wife, he’d never have the chance to claim her, but some other would. Some lesser man, from a much lesser house, would get to call his Rowan his wife. He feared what he’d do that day. There was nothing in his mind stopping him from taking Dark Sister and cutting the man in half. The man that didn’t even exist yet. Gods, he was going mad already.

“I cannot bear the thought of anyone else having you-”

“And you think I can?” her voice was still soft, but held so much pain.

He knew he had no room to talk. He was the one getting married in a fortnight. He was the one being dragged down the altar, he was the one that would be claimed by another, not Rowan. Once again, he pulled her close, letting the smell of jasmine in her hair consume him entirely. She felt so delicate in his arms, so small. He wished to drown in her embrace, how in the seven hells was he to ever hold another?

Maegor pulled back enough to look at her face. Her cheeks were still stained with tears, he let his thumb wipe them away softly. Her eyes stared into his own as he held her. He couldn’t even think before leaning down to capture her lips into his own, but her hand pushed him away. He looked down at her, his eyes desperate and hungry.

“Please… kiss me one last time.” he whispered.

Rowan shook her head.

“Because if you kiss me, I’ll be stuck here forever. I’m sorry…” she frowned.

He could see that she wanted to, she wished nothing more than to kiss him, to hold him close, to have him. But she was always much better at being proper than he ever was. This was it. This was goodbye.

He shook his head and pulled her to his chest again.

To let her go felt like a sin.

But he had to.

taglist:@heartstalked@stupidocupido@discowizard88@slytherisstuff

#maegor targaryen x oc #maegor targaryen #visenya targaryen x aegon targaryen

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randomnameless · 9 months

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I feel like FEH's nature as a gacha game ocasionally causes IS to have to twist certain characters around so they can better sell them to FEH's audience, like the Fallen Corrins; they're taken from the end of Chapter 5 of Fates, a chapter where they're stuck in their dragon form, have practically devolved into a feral animal who attacks anyone they see, and whose maximum speech capacity is to grunt and roar in pain/exertion/anger.

Since a character that's completely incapable of speaking would be less desirable for the average player than someone with actual voice lines and confessions, they wrote themselves into a corner and had to invent a weird version of Chapter 5!Corrin where they've already gone on their rampage and returned to normal after Azura calmed them down, but for some reason are stuck being forced to unwittingly use their draconic powers in exchange for severe pain and an urge to give in to that side of themselves again; none of that tracks with what actually happens in chapter 5, where they show no signs of struggling to control themselves after regaining consciouness, especially not to the extent the Fallen ones do, and are very quickly given a dragonstone by Azura to make sure they can't go berserk again and can control their dragon powers properly.

The Fallen Corrins explicitly say that their friends and family helped them regain control of themselves and that they're ashamed for hurting Azura, so unless these Corrins both hail from a world where their dragon blood is inexplicably significantly more powerful and possessive than it ever was in Fates proper AND were summoned into Askr during the ridiculously short time-frame between being told that they went berserk and being given the dragonstone to stop that from happening again, the entire concept is broken from the start; all because IS couldn't just market a mute angry dragon to their playerbase in their gacha game.

It's the same reason they did what they did with Fallen Linus; sure, a mindless mute zombie isn't the most interesting of characters, but there was no need to include that version of the character into FEH if IS already knew they wouldn't sell well without heavy changes to the source material in order to make them more marketable.

Hmm

I still note they made mute!Soren an unit lol

More seriously, as a rule of thumb, I'd prefer if FEH kept characterisations the character had in their original games even if, as you said, some alts definitely need to be... modified.

You mentionned the Fallen Corns, but in general, a lot of Fallen Heroes fall under that banner, Fallen Julia exists for the last half of the last chapter in FE4, Fallen Ike is an AU, Grima(sses) were created from scotch and glue, Fallen!Bilthis apparently cares about her kid (obviously an AU lol), etc etc...

I still am completely baffled at what they did with Fallen!Vigarde like sure, he was given lines from his zombie self in FE8, but the part where he goes "my power is to great for this vessel" or something is completely bonkers, Fomortiis only possesses one dude from that family, and that dude is Lyon. Remove Fomor-Lyon moving zombie!Vigarde's strings, and Vigarde is barely something more, uh, "sentient" than Monica (yes, the one from FE8 if you're wondering).

I ranted enough about how I fucking hated the FB between Lyon and his possessed self - maybe to sell Lyon as something more than a mere tool played and sacrificed by Fomortiis who preyed on his ambitions - and if that was supposed to sell me more on Lyon, then good job devs, FEH's Lyon is, imo, not FE8!Lyon thus not the character I care about.

Granted, I rant and rant and rant, but I'm also someone who's overjoyed when, saaay, FEH pisses on the source material when the source material sucks, like Julia has more characterisation in her base intro than in her entire game(s) because the devs see her as something else than a falchion with legs, and I've already ranted about Fodlan, but in general, IS seems to want to "correct" some stuff that came out wrong in earlier games (or piss on certain lolcalisations).

And it's always kind of difficult, with seasonal units, to come up with lines, like take Deghinsea for instance, all of his lines in the games are, hm, very serious and not light at all. And yet, he has a cute Halloween alt that would feel in-character, so to say, with the giant bald lizard we kill at the end of FE10.

But when it comes to creating a new unit from scratch (Altina? Ullr?) sometimes things work because the new thing created from scratch feels coherent with the world they're supposed to come from, and sometimes it's way more, uh, muddy (Elimine?). And you can bet I'll be overjoyed if mythic!Willy is released, or mythic!Indech/Macuil, even if it means the devs will have to invent a lot of things to make those characters feel like characters and not... pixels with new skills (but then they didn't care about that when they made Nerthuz...).

In the end, I think it's still the old discussion when talking about a fanwork, is something OOC or IC ?

And even if Heroes was developped by IS too, like the base games, sometimes the OOC comes out too clearly. Sometimes, everything works because the fanwork that is heroes works. It all depends on the twist IS uses to, as you said, sell characters.

I just hope that potential remakes won't use FEH as a base (with the twist they brought to characters) but use the... game being remade as a base, even if it clashes with the FEH characterisation.

Like, I'd hate it if a Sacred Stones remake characterises Eirika only as the naive princess depicted in the FE13 DLC or the "I want to be like my brother" brave alt, while removing the "Enough. Hold your tongue." part of her character.

#anon #replies #i don't know if it makes sense lol #but yeah i agree #they need to retcon characters to sell them #like do you expect Cain and Alva to sell without a lot of retconning and creating new characters for them?#seasonals alts counting the fallen ones are imo like fanfics #it's up the the writers to write something that could feel IC for the characters #like you said the plot completely counters the mere concept of Fallen!Corn being able to talk #but they still feel like Corn?#F!Rhea's nonsense about despair though is... ugh #just like F!Lyon who is afraid of people learning he can be sealed in a Sacred Stone #when in the game everyone knows it that's why he sends armies to destroy them #that's a effin retcon #fe heroes

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buckleyblueyes · 3 years

Note

buddie + coming out

Jess this got...so fucking long. I'm putting it under a cut. (send me a ship and a word and I'll give you a head canon)

Okay, so Buck first. I imagine that Buck first realized he wasn’t straight when he was in high school. He didn’t mention it to his parents because it’s not like they were that interested in who he was dating anyway. But he did come out to Maddie back then. They were driving around her jeep (coming out in cars is Real okay) and there was some cheesy pop music on the radio (it was the early 2000s) and he didn’t have the word “bisexual” just yet, but she asked if he was dating anyone/if he had a crush on someone and he said “uh...yeah. His name’s Jamie.” and she just took it in stride. Just kind of “oh, okay.” and then he added quickly “I still like girls, too, though” and since she was already through college at this point, so she knew sexuality wasn’t just gay and straight, so she didn’t even blink. “So, tell me about him” and he did. When he was done, she grinned, told him she wanted to meet Jamie some time, and turned up the radio. They drove around some more singing along to whatever cheesy pop song played next.

As far as Buck coming out as an adult, at some point in his late teens or early twenties he found the word bisexual. He never really tried to hide it, but he also never went out of his way to broadcast it. He never felt ashamed of his sexuality, per se, but he never felt proud of it either. It was just like...sometimes he dated guys, y’know? Anyways so flash forward to when he joins the 118. He doesn’t make a big deal out of it, but at some point early on Hen describes him as “a straight white boy” and he’s like “bold of you to assume I’m straight” “you’re not?” “not even a little” and leaves it at that. Sometimes he mentions hookups with guys during his 1.0 phase, but other than that he doesn’t really talk about it. He comes out to Eddie sometime in season 3, when he’s bemoaning his loneliness and Eddie says “you’ll find the right girl someday” and Buck suddenly realizes he’s never actually told Eddie he’s into guys so he responds. “Right person, actually.” and Eddie blinks twice. “What?” and Buck sighs. “I’ll find the right person, I’m bisexual.” and Eddie blinks again. “Oh...Cool…” and then they just move on.

Which brings us to Eddie. Eddie does not come to the realization that he’s queer until much later in life. He worries he might be gay in high school, because everyone else is interested in dating and girls, and he’s just. Not. Everyone always tells him that he and his good friend Shannon would make a good couple, and he’s pretty sure she has a crush on him, but he just likes her as a friend. Until one day, the summer after they graduate from high school, he looks at her and his heart starts racing and his palms are sweating but it’s not from the Texas humidity and oh my god. Is this what liking someone feels like? This is terrible, actually. But he was right about Shannon having a crush on him, so they start dating, and it’s great. And Eddie is relieved because falling in love with Shannon means he’s straight. He was just a late bloomer, like his mom said.

Anyways, so flash forward about twelve years and Eddie is starting to think he was wrong before. Oh, God, he was so wrong. He’s not sure when Buck went from his best friend to someone he was falling in love with, but it’s too late to go back now. But it’s fine. It’s fine. Buck is straight anyway, so it’s not even worth getting worked up over because it’s never going to happen and--Buck isn’t straight. Oh, hell.

And then he meets Ana, and she’s, well. She’s pretty, and he likes that she guesses his name right, but then he blows up at her and also she’s his son’s teacher, so that’s kind of weird. And then the pandemic hits, and he’s forced into close quarters with Buck and it gets impossible to deny his feelings to himself any longer. But he doesn’t know what to do about it. The problem for Eddie is that he’s only really had strong feelings for two people ever in his life, and the word ‘bisexual’ doesn’t to fit. More like ‘these two people in particular-sexual’ but that doesn’t really make sense.

So, when Ana comes back into his life, it seems like the easy way out. Nobody has to know that he has all these weird, confusing, not-heterosexual feelings. He’s 33 years old, who has a sexuality crisis at 33? Of course, the universe has other plans. He gets shot, he almost dies, and he realizes he doesn’t really feel anything for Ana and he probably never will, and predictably by the time he’s finally ready to confront his feelings and sexuality, Buck is dating Taylor. Great.

Anyways, so Eddie goes to Hen for help figuring himself out because if anyone would be able to help, his married lesbian friend seems like a very good bet. And he’s right. He explains how he’s only ever been in love with two people and that gender doesn’t seem to be a big factor in it, and she points him to the concept of asexuality and aromanticism, and more specifically demisexuality/demiromanticism and it just clicks for him. He wasn’t a “late bloomer” after all. So, I guess Hen is the first person Eddie comes out to. And he doesn’t really feel the need to come out to anyone else at that point because it’s not really anyone’s business.

Eventually, he and Buck get together. And for Buck, telling people isn’t a big deal because he’s been out as bi for years. Eddie isn’t reluctant to tell their found family, or even the rest of the 118. But he is nervous to tell his biological family. He doubts they’ll be too happy about him being with a man, let alone understand the concept of demisexuality. He starts with Abuela and Pepa, the family he’s closer to (literally and figuratively). He comes out to both of them at the same time, at Abuela’s, over a home cooked meal. He tells them that he and Buck are dating, that he loves him. Pepa puts a hand over his and gives it a gentle squeeze. “I’m proud of you,” she says. “It was about time you put that boy out of his misery.”

Eddie chokes on a surprised laugh. Then he looks at Abuela. Abuela is quiet for a minute before standing and walking around the table to where Eddie is sitting. She pulls him up to standing and gives him a tight hug. “Te quiero.”

Next he comes out to his sisters, who are pretty chill about the whole thing, and lastly his parents. His parents liked Buck when they met briefly, so if Eddie was going to be with a man, at least he picked a good one. And given that the rest of the family already knows and is supportive, it’s not like anyone would be on their side if they had a problem with it, and they want to keep seeing their grandson. So they just say “okay” and accept it in the most passive way possible.

Anyways this got SUPER DUPER long and detailed, so I’m going to end it with this: After they’ve been out (both Eddie coming out and Buck and Eddie being out as a couple) for awhile, Hen drags them to that year’s LA Pride with her, Karen, and the kids, and they end up meeting up with Michael, David, Harry and May there (and Bobby who is wearing a t-shirt that says “Free Dad Hugs” in rainbow letters, Buck takes him up on the offer immediately).

#buddie #bi Buck #demi Eddie #you can pry my demisexual/demiromantic eddie headcanons out of my cold dead hands!!!!!!!!#coming out hcs #1331 words later lmao

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mellometal · 3 years

Text

Hi, everyone.

I have something extremely important to talk about that is NOT fandom related. I really do hope this can reach everyone on here, especially since it's still Autism Acceptance Month.

A few quick questions for anyone who happens to see this before I dive right into this: Have you ever heard of Dhar Mann? If so, have you ever seen his videos? What do you think about them?

If you don't know who Dhar Mann is, he's a content creator whose main platforms are Instagram and YouTube. He makes these videos about various scenarios from a couple on the brink of divorce, to kids bullying one of their peers, even about Autism Spectrum Disorder. All of his videos have some kind of message at the end that really drives the point home. One of his most recent videos is about ASD, which is what I'm going to discuss today.

Personally, I think some of his videos are interesting, despite the concepts being reused and recycled over and over; however, how I feel about the video he made about ASD is the complete opposite. I'll summarize the video he made so you don't have to watch it. (If you really want to watch it to see exactly what I'm talking about, I'm not gonna stop you. Do what you need to do in order to form your own opinion.)

The video Dhar Mann made about ASD is about this boy who excludes his autistic brother from participating in activities with his friends at school. The boy bullies his autistic brother and does pretty much everything to make his brother's life Hell, even going as far as to pretend that he doesn't know his own brother. The boy "instantly regrets his decision" when their mom is called into the school to discipline her son for bullying his autistic brother. What his mother says is what REALLY upsets me. The message of this video in particular is this, WORD FOR FUCKING WORD. I wish I was kidding. But here's the message below:

How the video concludes is the boy reluctantly includes his autistic brother in every single activity, the boy sees his brother's potential, and they live happily ever after. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo.

As an autistic woman who works with disabled people for a living, that message Dhar Mann put in this video specifically is not only extremely ableist, but is also spreading misinformation about ASD.

News flash to all the people who still spread misinformation about ASD: Not every single autistic person is a little white boy in elementary school, nor is every single autistic person a young white man who's a Super Genius™️. (I could go on all day long about how the media stereotypes autistic characters and autistic people in general, but that's a whole other topic.) No autistic person is the same, meaning we all fall on the spectrum in different places and all that jazz. There's no "look" to autistic people either because no autistic person looks the same.

Autistic women exist.

Autistic girls exist.

Autistic nonbinary people exist.

Autistic BIPOC and AAPI exist.

Autistic people who are completely nonverbal exist.

Autistic people who are completely verbal exist.

Autistic people who are in the middle of being nonverbal and verbal exist.

Autistic people who require minimal to no support exist.

Autistic people who require moderate support exist.

Autistic people who require full support exist.

Autistic LGBT people exist. (Reason why I bring this one up is because the media almost always shows cishet autistic men and I don't see autistic LGBT representation very often, if ever.)

Autism isn't something you can "catch". People have this same mentality about ADHD and Tourette's Syndrome too, which, by the way, you can't "catch" either.

Autism doesn't "go away" when you reach adolescence or adulthood. Why? BECAUSE AUTISTIC TEENAGERS AND AUTISTIC ADULTS EXIST. Autistic kids grow into autistic teenagers, then into autistic adults.

You can't "cure" it either. Unless you can build a time machine and a device to go back in time to change how a person's brain develops, there is no cure. ABA therapy is a fucking shit show in itself that does more harm than good.

The title of the video is a real squick for me too. It's mostly because I don't particularly enjoy people using person first language (the "boy with autism" part). I've seen many other autistic people on multiple other platforms sharing that same sentiment and preferring identity first language (autistic person). There are also others who prefer using person first language and those who don't have a preference. That's all perfectly valid. Whatever you prefer people using when referring to you, or whatever you refer to yourself as, in this case, is totally valid and I love you. This goes for disabilities in general, not just Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Regarding the message in this video, here's my response to it! A quick heads-up, my response is VERY long and VERY passionate. I was VERY close to making a response video where I tear that video apart AND tear Dhar Mann a new asshole. Unfortunately, it worked me up so much that I was really struggling with what I wanted to say and I had to stop multiple times because I kept stumbling on my words. That's how angry this message made me. I'll try my best to explain whatever parts you have questions about. I put my response in the nicest way I possibly could, despite me seething with rage, wanting to go OFF on him.

(The first part of my response are the first three screenshots, and the second part are the last three screenshots.)

The first part of my response, I did forget to add that the message is offensive and disrespectful to autistic people as a whole. I apologize. My initial comment got way too long. I pretty much covered that when I told him the message is ableist. I wanted to clear that up before anyone asks about it.

The second part of my response is me opening up about my experience with being diagnosed with ASD, formerly known as As//per//ger's Syn//dro//me, at sixteen years old. I also went into how not calling ASD what it truly is (which is a disability) and calling it a "different ability" instead is extremely harmful and is treating being disabled like it's a bad thing.

By the way, saying that a disabled person is disabled isn't a bad thing. I'm disabled. It is what it is. Does it have its challenges? You bet. Does it help me with certain things? Hell yeah. I can really absorb information about my favorite bands, characters, shows, books, etc., and tell you a lot about those things. For example, I can tell you that Su can't ride a bike or read manga and she's okay with that. I can also tell you she can't tie her shoes very well, which is why her boots don't have laces and are slip-on and/or zip-up. But that doesn't mean my struggles are nonexistent or that I never struggle. I do, and it makes my life Hell at times.

The narrative that autism is a bad thing to have, every autistic person is somehow broken and they all need to be "fixed" is also super fucked up and not true. That's the narrative that I received when I was diagnosed by a therapist I had. I'm gonna be real here, I cried when I was first told that I was diagnosed with ASD. I felt like I was broken. I already felt like a total outcast. Being told about my diagnosis made me feel even more broken than I already felt. I was so ashamed of myself, despite me not doing anything wrong whatsoever, that I masked for SEVEN YEARS of my life. I masked for so long that I forgot I was even diagnosed with ASD in the first place. I wasn't taught how to really put my special interests into good use. I kinda had to figure that out on my own. I was pretty much under the assumption that me being interested in anime, cartoons, music, comics, theatre, writing, etc., to the point of obsession, was somehow weird and hurting people around me. You know, despite those things being harmless. Despite me being able to separate those things from other things that are important (like work, for example). Despite my only surviving parent, other family members, and the woman he was dating at the time completely overreacting and not bothering to see exactly what makes these things so special to me.

(By the way, having a disability does not completely make who a person is. There are a lot more things that make who a person is than that.)

It's kinda shocking that I wasn't able to come to terms with my diagnosis until this year. Considering that I masked for so long due to being ashamed of myself, plus being treated like a burden for being disabled, it's probably not very surprising. I initially thought at the time that it was the worst thing to have, as I was already struggling with enough shit back then, but came to realize it's not a bad thing. It doesn't change who I am. But I'm glad I came to terms with it finally nonetheless.

This is getting way too long, so I'm gonna wrap things up here. If you've read this far, thank you so much. I'm sorry this got so long!

If you watched the video, what are your thoughts on it? If this is your first time hearing about Dhar Mann, how do you feel about him? If you're a Dhar Mann fan, did this change your opinion on him in any way? Feel free to sound off in the comments!

Have a great day, everyone!

#mello speaks #dhar mann #autism acceptance #autism spectrum disorder #being autistic isn't a bad thing #autism isn't a different ability stop fucking saying it is #autistic community #autism self advocacy network #autistic women and non-binary people network #fuck autism speaks #i had to say this #dhar mann will live to regret his decision uwu #autism acceptance month #autism speaks does not speak for me #light it up red #light it up gold #no puzzle pieces #tw dhar mann

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galesh · 3 years

Text

Wish fulfillment au of Severus who was born in Albus' Dumbledore's time. I just wanted to post it as a reply on a discord server but then it got out of hand. So

------------------

- Two clever swots duking it out... in academics!

- Debating each other of old spells and whether or not they're dark and the librarian jinxing them out of the library with hexes for being too loud

- Albus and Sev rubbing their stung bums and arguing about the hexes the librarian used

- Albus and Sev both discovering they're poor halfbloods and railing against the arswholes in charge who think they can sting their bums and get away with it

- Them stinging each other's bums because it's a fascinating body part and maybe rubbing them with a different set of hands because maybe it'll help, and they're experimental

-Albus viewing the fascinating kid with so much dark potential with new eyes.

-Sev keeping an eye out for the twinkly eyed twit because it's unnerving, really, and because he always found the goodness in others fascinating. He doesn't believe he can emulate it, but maybe some would seep through him in osmosis. That's what that muggle book said anyway

- His ma always said he had a thing for redheads. He's starting to suspect her of practicing black magic

- Albus and Sev working on potions and transfig together because none of them can tell the other they're bloody brilliant and that they're fascinated, and could we just get to stinging bums and rubbing out the soreness please

- Sev visiting the Dumbledore's on summer break because his father is dead and his mother as good as, meeting the creepy girl creature because he's nosy and of course he'd look at the one room Kendra told him not to

- Abe running to Ariana's room because she screams bloody murder. It's only when he gets there that he realises that that bloody snake they let into their house is being accosted by a happily shrieking Arianna who wants to meet this strange new black haired scarecrow her brother likes

- The older one

- Sometimes, Arianna suspects

- Sev being horrified by Ariana's sad tale, and not wanting her to waste away, working with Albus to make sure she can get out

- Abe (begging to) help them because he really wants to, and because he doesn't trust the snake

- Sev learns Abe can't bloody spell after the third time.he has to squint if the bottle has fluxweed or filchweed (Dyslexia is not recognised yet, but it will be, in the muggle world) amd tries to help. It's more insulting than helpful, but he tries!

- Albus feverishly searching for a way to fix what those muggle boys and their mother's imprisonment and his neglect have wrought. Searching in the darkest grimoires, because really, what is honor and goodness if it can't even help his sister?

- Ariana getting her father's silver signet, carved with the runes of protection, family, forgiveness and renewal. They can't fix her magic, but the magic she once loved has caused her loved ones only harm, and really, it's time to stop listening to the voice inside her, who wants to rip her mother to shreds and burn the whole world down

- In the end it's abe, who comforted her when her mum looked at her with hate and Albus ashamed who puts her ring on as she says the words the runes describe. It's hard to forgive her mother and those muggle boys, but Arianna thinks they've suffered enough (it'll be years later that she realises that she left one person, but as she watches her daughter's delightful coo as she Dan's her nose with a glowing goden finger, she is only thankful that her lack of forgiveness didn't take all her magic away).

- She kisses her brother-in-law to be on the cheek, as is only proper for a member of family.

(Ariana has a very feeble grasp on social niceties. She tries, okay! You try learning everything from books while trapped in a cottage like a demented princess, with a brother who even she knows has an unhealthy fascination with goats who'd talk to her normally)

(Arianna's husband and her daughter, who she names Severus --because every universe must have a second child with a severusly controversial name -- would really come to fear her social skills, or lack thereof. Severus blames her godfather and her uncle with a the raging hate of a 10 year old who's been denied Uncle Sev's sweets)

- Sev and Albus competing for the top spot in the classes with professors and the bottom in the classes without

- Albus meeting Gellert in the evening he's supposed to leave for France and noticing the same dark charm. Severus noticing, but wanting to taint it than emulate it

- A black owl pooping on Gellert's golden hair because he Does Not Share!

- Albus sharing his plans to Change The World which would kill a girl with beautiful, uncontrolled magic and put a vengeful father in a prison of his own despair

- Sev agreeing to them and adding some rather inventive and cruel revenges he'd have on the Wankers who disowned his mother for following her heart

- Albus crossing out those points with eyes that twinkle in gentle admonishment, because really Severus, where would you even get a fully grown basilisk, and ignoring the calculating glitter he gets in return

- Abe following the idiots because Ari orders him to help the idiots and he can deny her nothing

- Gellert becoming a Light wizard after being at the wand end of a particularly dark spell (they teach *that* at Hogwarts, the light school!?!?!?!?) By a vengeful gargoyle after he drunkenly kisses*Bruder* Dumbledore

(years later, Headmaster Dippet can't figure out why his newest Dada teacher is so militant about students knowing everything about Dark magic and why some magics should never be studied, or why flinches everytime he sees a mistletoe. He has enough experience at 300 Not To Ask)

- Albus learning the most beautiful healing spell at the hands of a scowling-dark-phoenix with moist, angry black eyes after the 12th use of a dragon's claw soon after he discovered the 12th use of their blood

(Fawkes could never forgive Severus Snape for stealing it's thunder. Also he smells owl. They're the worst!)

-Severus stealing the Flamels' thunder by creating a philosophers stone after being at their home for a month.

(Perenelle suspects it's because Nicholas, who can be really old fashioned about these things, forbade their apprentice and that brilliant boy with no thoughts from rooming together)

- Severus lacing Albus' lemon drops with the elixir of life because clearly, that imbecilic martyr thinks dragon claw wounds are amusing

- Albus lacing Severus' tea with it because it would be such a horrible thing to live alone

(or without the one person who matters, no offence to his family. Oh, alright Abe, you're definitely not it!)

(the elixir of life prepared yearly mysteriously dissappears into tea and lemon drops. Albus stops worrying over Severus getting killed by vampires while he gets their teeth in exchange of galleons like a demented tooth fairy, and Severus stops worrying about Albus getting nicked by antsy Dragons or Phoenixes or Nifflers, or whoever Albus scraps with in his spare time)

- Albus putting his demented convoluted plans in motion by destroying wizarding currency through inflation. It somehow leads to a goblin revolution, equal rights for magical creatures, and the adoption of muggle currency. Don't ask

(Rumour has it that Gellert, Wizarding Britain's champion one look at the the scowling face of a Severus Snape and proposes negotiations.

Muggle currency was great, really. Made mathematical sense, easier to handle, and twinkly eyed not quite evil overlords can't dependably reproduce all the identifiers. They hope

Quite coincidentally, as Severus will assure you, all the pureblood families --including the Princes, coincidentally-- lose all their accumulated money in the resulting changeover.)

- Albus rules everything from behind the iron curtain with gentle fists and an open smile. Everyone learns to agree with him because behind him stands the spectre of DEATHOMgWatdidyoudo that you want to always keep happy)

- An excited Tom Riddle learns about magic from a charming Professor who's really interested in how he speaks, and who agrees that muggles are awful but keep it down will you?

- Tom Riddle learns to confide in and trust the person who introduced him to the magical world; and tells him when he accidentally discovers the chamber of secrets while hissing open at one of the taps in the girls loo that just wouldn't dispense water (he was under a lot of pressure okay! No, he's not a creep!)

- Tom Riddle grows up to be a politician with a particularly hard view on those muggles. Being backed by the Headmaster of Hogwarts helps. The society has made great strides in the concept of equality and democracy however, and most creatures really don't like him for some insane reason. Albus Dumbledore wins the elections by a landslide again. Tom is tenacious, and plots for when he'd get the position after the old man dies

(On his deathbed, Professor Emeritus of Hogwarts, Professor Tom, curses todgy old men with unnaturally long lifespans)

-Harry Potter, who grew up loved and a headmaster who didn't want to train him in any way, shape, or form (Harry was glad. Headmaster Grindenwald was nice and all, but he really didn't want to know all about the Dark arts and why not to use them kplzthnx). He went on to work at the ministry because his mother instilled in him values of fairness, kindness, and Get Out The House And Go To Work You Bum!

(He named

- Ariana's first kid is named after Abe. Her second is called Severus. Severus being a girl, never forgives her, and years later, when her son is born, names him Ariana with a vindictive gleam in her eyes.

(Ariana never really learned a the social niceties. They're horribly ineffective, and Abe tells her she's always charming in any case)

(Severus Smith is comforted by the fact that her godfather is a immortal wizard who gives her the best sweets)

- Severus and Albus never really fall out of love, even though they fall out of bed many times. They are a different breed of men, really. Eternal devotion means eternal devotion, as they find out. The Flamels' are happy they finally get to go on what the muggles call double dates.

- They also never stop stinging each other on the bum, but that is a rather more mature tale.

#pls ignore #severus snape #albus dumbledore #snumbledore #for spider #discord has a 2000 character limit #how rude

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woozapooza · 3 years

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Moby Dick 1998 reactions

Literally just the notes I took watching the 1998 Moby Dick miniseries. I enjoyed it a lot but I like the 2011 one better.

Elijah is pretty goofy here

Note to self--find video of Henry Thomas talking in his normal voice. Is he doing a weird accent for this role, or is that just how he talks? He sounds almost Irish. [BTW after I finished watching, I looked up a video of him talking in his normal voice and he does not sound weirdly Irish-tinged in real life, so I have no idea why he was talking like that in this adaptation.]

They shoehorn some narration from the book into Ishmael’s dialogue

Not sure if the problem is with the actor or the dialogue, but Henry Thomas’s performance is...rather stilted

Here, Ishmael has no nautical experience.

“I fear I must make a confession. I used to be a schoolteacher.” HE SAYS THAT LIKE IT’S SO EMBARRASSING

When Peleg says that Queequeg “doesn’t look like much of a Christian,” Ishmael fires back with “HE’S KILLED MORE WHALES THAN YOU CAN COUNT” and seriously looks like he’s about to punch Peleg until Queequeg puts his hand on his shoulder.

Queequeg is less worldly here than in the book. Ishmael takes him to church to teach him about the concepts of God and souls.

STARBUCK IS PLAYED BY BUFFALO BILL FROM THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS?!

Ishmael is so serious here

Stubb is perfect

Interesting that Ishmael is a brand-new sailor, but he already knows the song (shanty?) the other sailors are singing

The guy playing Flask could stand to rein it in a bit

Pip is younger than I imagined him. But then, I don’t think his age is specified in the book.

Ishmael’s hands are burned by the rope. Later, below decks, Queequeg patches them up :)

One guy literally refers to Ishmael and Queequeg as “lovebirds” and another guy makes kissing noises at them

Those guys try (pathetically) to bully Queequeg. Ishmael says to Queequeg, sounding kind of ashamed, “You pagans should teach us Christians the art of kindness.” Queequeg reassures him that they (Q & I) are friends *emotional emoji*

This is so weird! There’s a scene where basically the whole crew converges on Ishmael and tells him scary whale facts while he looks terrified!

I feel like Ahab needs to have a beard. I forget if he has one in the book but he SHOULD.

Ted Levine has the absolute BEST judgmental face.

They keep the scene of Ahab throwing his pipe overboard!

Pip sounds like he’s from the Caribbean? Interesting. I looked up the actor and he’s from Wisconsin.

Fedallah is east Asian instead of Parsi for some reason

“There’s no savagery of beast that’s not infinitely outdone by that of man.” I love that they retain Ishmael’s bursts of human-phobia!

The little swing Captain Boomer uses to get to the Pequod looks like so much fun

After the encounter with the Samuel Enderby, Starbuck openly stands up to Ahab, but Ahab shuts him down. Then there’s a shot of Pip angrily throwing down his tambourine. I like that. It adds some depth to Pip.

Wait, Bulkington’s name is in the credits??? He’s here??? I looked up the guy who plays him and I don’t recognize him but apparently the character is here somewhere.

The whale looks so silly

Pip is in Starbuck’s boat here, and the emphasis is on Starbuck, not Stubb, choosing not to bother helping him. That’s an odd choice. I like that Ishmael is trying to get Starbuck to go back for Pip. When the hunt is over, Starbuck proposes going back for him and Stubb argues against it. Now that I think about it, I kind of see what they were going for. Starbuck’s first priority is to get the job done and his second priority is morality.

A SHARK ALMOST GETS PIP?! WHAT’S GOING ON

When the rescue boat approaches the Pequod, there’s a shot of Ishmael holding Pip in his arms <3

When Pip is lifted aboard, Stubb celebrates. Sir, kindly shut up. You were in favor of leaving him to die. Okay, to be fair, I guess the novel is coloring my view of the miniseries’ take on the character. Here, Stubb wasn’t the one who left him behind, that was Starbuck. Stubb just thought he was probably dead, which I guess is reasonable.

Out of nowhere (unless I’ve forgotten something), Bulkington is an actual character in Part 2.

I love the choice to literally film from Pip’s point of view to depict his terror and disorientation.

I don’t love this portrayal of Queequeg, to be honest. He lacks subtlety.

Pip starts dressing up as Ahab. I’m trying very hard not to find this funny. I KNOW it’s serious. It just reminds me of when I was a kid and I would entertain my mom by putting on her hat and shoes.

Unlike in the book, here Pip doesn’t become...I don’t know the word for it. Disidentified with himself? He doesn’t talk about “Pip” in the third person or say that Pip is dead or missing.

I like that, unlike the 1956 and 2011 versions, this one is really making an effort to depict the bond that forms between Pip and Ahab. However, the fact that it only forms once Ahab sees Pip dressed up as him cheapens it a bit, I feel.

Ooh, they have Queequeg stand up to Ahab! That’s a fun choice.

Ishmael is very angry that everyone on the ship is going mad.

Why do some of the actors pronounce Queequeg’s name “kee-quay”???

THEY HAVE QUEEQUEG DECLARE THAT THERE IS NO GOD ON THE PEQUOD AND THROW YOJO IN THE FIRE???

Starbuck catches Bulkington trying to jump ship and go home to his wife. Instead of trying to stop him, he gives him a letter to deliver to Mary. Bulkington suggests that Starbuck just come along with him, but Starbuck can’t bring himself to do that. That’s really interesting. I like that.

Starbuck comes into Ahab’s cabin, where Ahab and Pip are both asleep, and stands menacingly over Ahab. Maybe thinking murderous thoughts? I’m not sure, but DEFINITELY thinking malicious thoughts. But then he sees Ahab put his hand on top of Pip’s, and he softens. I love that.

Ahab takes the wheel in a storm. Major Flint vibes!

Patrick Stewart seems to be having a great time

I THINK QUEEQUEG JUST DECLARED AHAB HIS GOD? WTF

Ishmael and Starbuck commiserate about how everyone else on this crew has lost their minds. In the book, Ishmael is clear about the fact that he was under Ahab’s spell just like the rest of the crew (minus Starbuck), but I guess they wanted to give him stuff to do in this adaptation aside from just being one of the crowd.

Whoa there is something weird going on between Starbuck and Ishmael. I’m starting to ship it, frankly.

I don’t like what they did with the “let me gaze into a human eye” scene. In the book, it’s really moving. Here, Starbuck literally has a knife in his hand. Ahab puts his hand on Starbuck’s face and Starbuck looks extremely uncomfortable. However, as the interaction continues, you see Starbuck start to feel less murderous and try to reason with Ahab, so I guess that’s good.

Oh snap! Starbuck holds the knife to Ahab’s chest...and then starts crying. And then voluntarily lowers the knife. This is wild. Ahab says “what have I done” and you get the sense that he’s on the verge of being persuaded...when the guy on the masthead spots the whale.

I like that this version includes Fedallah at all but Kee Chan is simply not given a whole lot to work with.

OH GOD QUEEQUEG GETS BADLY INJURED—I THINK HE SOMEHOW GETS HARPOONED?—AND HIS LAST WORD IS “ISHMAEL” AND THEN HE SINKS UNDER AND ISHMAEL SCREAMS AND DIVES AFTER HIM AND TRIES TO PULL HIM UP BUT QUEEQUEG SHAKES HIM OFF I’M GONNA DIE

AND THEN WHEN ISHMAEL RESURFACES HE SCREAMS AGAIN I AM DEVASTATED

The cook and the carpenter are both trying to get the doubloon. Guys...priorities.

Starbuck is just hanging out inside the boat this whole time and then the whale rams into the boat and Starbuck and Pip both get overwhelmed by the water :(

As the carpenter dies, there’s a shot of the doubloon in his hand. I like that.

As with the 2011 version, the “epilogue” feels a little rushed. I guess maybe it just doesn’t translate all that well to the screen. Oh well.

#Moby Dick #Moby Dick 1998 #x

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factual-fantasy · 4 years

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More asks!! :}

Hmm.. I haven’t really thought about it before.. Maybe he’d look something like this?

Mostly simplistic face, roundish and short features? I would’ve tried to draw his whole body but I didn’t have the energy at the time.

Well, it would be very difficult for him to learn, and because he isn't deaf and because he’s Cybertronian, I don't think he would have much of a use for it..

He doesn’t. 😐

I am currently working on one about Suburban and Escort. I’m very glad that people seem interested. :} My only concern now is that the topic I’m writing about is too dark and inappropriate to share with my followers. Quote from the fic,

“Escort curled up away from Suburban ashamed. “Did you do this to yourself?” He asked. Escort nodded. “Why?“ he asked with sadness and confusion forming in his voice. “

Although this quote is subject to change, they’re still talking about a rather dark subject..

That.. that could work. Redrawing something I’ve already drawn.. like, how could you portray my characters in a way I’m uncomfortable with, if you’re just redrawing something I already drew?

That might just be it.. And hey, maybe drawing scenes from fics that I have described could work too.. Also if someone wanted to just draw one of my OCs smiling or something like that, that could be okay too.

I’ll think about it.. I haven’t made a choice yet, but I’ll keep thinking..

Hello! Man, the number of ideas I just got is insane.

So, The bots’ first impressions of Halloween were the costumes the kids and Agent Fowler wore on Halloween night. The kids went to some kind of Halloween party at their school and then went to the base after, here’s what they dressed up as. Agent Fowler wore a Jack-o'-lantern patterned tie, Miko dressed up as a werewolf, Raf dressed up as a Vampire, and Jack dressed up as a rather realistic looking zombie. Forgive me if this isn’t what you think they’d be I’m just not that creative. - -;

The main members of team prime, I.e Optimus, Ratchet, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee, weren’t fazed much by the costumes. They already knew what Halloween was and that the kids would come to the base that night all dressed up in costumes. It still startled Ratchet none the less though, seeing Raf looking sickly pale and seeing Jack look like he had just been attacked by a Scraplet would startle any medic.

The rest of them however? This was their first introduction to the holiday and the to the concept of scary costumes. Suburban, Escort and Red Van FREAKED. OUT. They went into full panic mode when they saw Jack. They thought the poor kid had been attacked by some kind of wild animal!

Miata kind’a panicked a little not gonna lie, but she calmed down pretty quick when it was all explained to her. She thought the costumes looked very scary, In a good way. :}

Volvo freaked out the most anyone has ever seen him freak out when he saw the kids. They looked sick and deformed! He started panicking and wanted to help them but he was legit too afraid to touch them. It took a lot of talking to get him to calm down and understand that they weren’t sick or wounded. They were just wearing costumes. What ever those were.

When the kids went to Brown Suburban and asked how they looked, he saw their happy expressions, and instantly knew that nothing was wrong. He gave them a thumbs up and said they looked great. He didn't need to understand why they looked like that, he just knew by their faces that they weren’t actually hurt or sick, and that’s all that mattered.

Well, Miko jumped out from behind a corner to scare U.M.Dragster, and nearly got kicked so.. he doesn't like the costumes since technically... he almost killed a human because of one.

A.T.Dragster just kind’a looked at them like,

After it was all explained she was chill though.

Green Truck:

He didn’t understand what he was looking at, at first. He was too distracted by what ever was up with Miko’s head to be freaking out over Jacks face. They explained what the costumes were before he had a chance to register how horrifying Jack’s face looked. He didn’t fully understand the concept of Halloween, but he said they looked great in their “customs.”

Vega nearly had a spark attack, bless his soul, he was so worried. He asked them what happened and who did this to them. They got him to calm down and explained that they were just costumes. He didn't fully understand what that meant, but he was relieved to hear that they were okay and the wounds on Jack’s face were fake.

White Truck: “Hey guys!.. Yo, what’s up with your faces..?..... “Just costumes”..? Huh, well alrighty. You guys looks cool!.. I think? <:D ??”

Beluga, like everyone else, got spooked. But once it was explained, she wanted a costume too. :}

Honda nearly glitch smacked Jack, he scared the absolute snot out of her. Safe to say she doesn’t like the costumes.

Ranger:

Jeepy didn’t have much of a reaction, he was startled sure, but he understood rather quickly that the kids were fine and that these were just costumes.

Bash Buggy didn’t notice anything different about the kids what so ever. He cant see faces or color, so he couldn’t tell that Rafs skin was deathly pale and he couldn’t tell how mutilated Jack looked because he couldn’t see the details on his face. Now, Miko was wearing a big rubber werewolf mask, so when she walked past him, Bash Buggy could see how deformed and enlarged the shape of her head looked. And he legit went,

There is no need to draw me like one, for I already have!!

Since it is spoopy season, I wanted to draw me being real scary and such.

It didn’t work out. XD

Can you make an Kiwi levitate?

*winded* T H A N K Sh hh hh

#my response #transformer ocs

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princessnijireiki · 3 years

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🥺 Great Pyrenees!! A friend of mine had one and she was the most excitable thing ever, when he was still training her she would knock me flat on my butt because she a giant baby with the energy of a caffeinated toddler. Idk if that's normal for the breed but I had never seen one before her. As a person with a fear of dogs, being around her was nerve wracking due to her size but he was a really good trainer and she never made me nervous post puppyhood.

It's normal! They are huge & can be really strong, and are LOUD lmao. I've had 4. My first, Sleepy, was from farm dog stock, and one of the smartest dogs I've ever had, but was relentlessly mischievous. He was the one I was forever running around & chasing down because he was a bolter if you left the door open, but he'd walk back home on the sidewalk every time & never got lost. My mom also taught him to jump up on his back legs & take cookies from her mouth as a trick (he was as tall as a person if you stood him up like that), but from then on he couldn't be STOPPED, so anyone eating cookies was at risk of being jumped by this 100lb shaggy dog trying to steal snickerdoodles & sugar wafers. And he was VAIN, as soon as he had an audience of neighbor kids or strangers he would be docile, and pose, and preen while they all called him beautiful, and he would act ashamed if he had a bad haircut lol. He was a real character.

Our current pets include two cats, a Berner, and another Pyr named Prince! We actually got him from a puppy store my sister liked to visit, because the bigger & older he got the fewer people were interested, and the longer he went without a name or socialization the worse he was doing. It was a real Corduroy situation, and he was a STRUGGLE to train because his development was so stunted from that environment (he'd never walked on dirt or grass before we took him home, he had no concept of peeing outside, he's smart but has some odd doggy communication quirks, etc.), but he's SUCH a sweetheart now! They're NOT starter dogs, but they're very sweet and loyal and protective. 💛

Here's an old picture of Prince, too, please ignore the clutter lol!

#iridescentblossoms

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aspoonofsugar · 4 years

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Viren and His Children: A Game of Mirrors

This picture shows the relationships between Viren and his two kids pretty nicely. On one hand there is Claudia using magic and Viren tenderly watching her. On the other hand there is Soren, who is not in his father’s lap, looking up at his sister and grabbing his father’s clothes to attract the man’s attention.

Viren treats both Soren and Claudia as extensions of himself, but he does so in different ways. There are two consequences to this. On one hand Soren and Claudia have developed different problems in relation to their parent. On the other hand they represent different sides of Viren himself.

This meta will try to show this and to show how Soren, Claudia and Viren all explore similar themes in different ways.

As a side note, when it comes to Soren and Viren, this meta by @mystic-deep has thoughts very similar to mine and it is a good read!

VIREN AND SOREN: THE TRUTH IN THE MIRROR

At the root of Viren’s character there is this:

Here, Viren is talking about the magic mirror, but he is symbolically referring to himself. He wants to have power and to feel special. In other words, Viren’s thirst for power (aka his main flaw) is born by him deep down feeling worthless.

Viren projects this sense of worthlessness on both his children, so that they feel they have to gain their worth. After all, it is not by chance that by the age of respectively sixteen and eighteen Claudia and Soren are already accomplished enough to become the Archmage’s assistant and a Crownguard:

This becomes especially evident when you compare them with Ezran and Callum who, despite being princes, are not asked to do anything special with their lives. They are simply loved:

It is interesting that Viren and Soren say basically the same thing, respectively at the beginning and at the end of the first part of the series. However, they give the same concept opposite spins. As a matter of fact Viren presents the way Harrow brought Callum up as negative, while Soren presents it as positive. This is not by chance because Soren has inherited many of his father’s issues, but, differently from him, has managed to move past them by the end of season three.

This leads us to the main point of this section aka how Soren and Viren are similar and in what they differ.

First of all, both of them have sworn to protect the king since Viren is Harrow’s most trusted advisor, while Soren is a Crownguard. They both define themselves through their role and have pride in the abilities which let them reach their position. To be more specific, Viren is proud of his talent in dark magic and of his intelligence. Soren is instead proud of his physical prowess. In short, they share the same wish (proving their worth), but try to realize it in different ways (magical prowess vs physical prowess).

Viren and Soren are both ultimately examples of toxic masculinity, which can be defined as it follows:

-Suppressing emotions or masking distress

-Maintaining an appearance of hardness

-Violence as an indicator of power (think: “tough-guy” behavior)

(From the article I linked above, which @hamliet suggested to me).

These kinds of behaviours are very easy to spot when it comes to Soren:

However, the story makes clear that Soren has developed them because of his father’s education:

Toxic masculinity is at the root of the order Viren gives Soren. As a matter of fact he is asking his son to kill his childhood friends for some kind of greater good. Soren is asked to sacrifice his bonds and his feelings to impress his father. What is more, this sacrifice is presented as a way to prove his strength.

In other words, Soren tries to act as he thinks his father would want him to. This detrimental behaviour reaches its climax when Soren tries to kill Pyrrah. Let’s highlight that the episode Fire and Fury comes after The Heart of a Titan:

The Heart of a Titan

Fire and Fury

Both Viren and Soren’s fights against a dragon are masked as selfless attempts to help others. On one hand Viren goes back to try and help the Queens of Duren. On the other hand Soren claims that he wants to help the people of the city. However, both men are motivated by the need of proving themselves. Once again this is pretty evident when it comes to Soren:

But even in this case Soren’s behaviour is born by specific teachings he received:

Viren is obsessed by the inferiority of humans when compared with magical creatures and thinks it is his duty to find a solution for it. What he does not notice is that he confuses humanity’s inferiority with his own inferiority complex. He does not want to win against magical creatures for humanity’s sake, but to show he is not inferior to them. In other words, Viren going back to fight Avizandum, when it was clear that he had no chance, was something probably born by his need to prove himself.

Things end up badly for both father and son. As a matter of fact the people they were trying to help suffer because of their interference. What is more, both Viren and Soren need to be saved by a woman who sacrifices (a part of) herself:

However, Soren receives an ulterior bad consequence for his behaviour:

He temporary loses his physical strength aka the thing he was the most proud of. Because of this, he is forced to face his own vulnerability:

Opens up to his sister:

And expresses what he really wants:

Ultimately what Soren wants is to love people and to be loved in return. Because of this, it is important that he is saved because of others’ love and kindness:

Claudia is there for him despite him having done a mess and Ezran forgives his crimes. It is ultimately because of them and of his own ability to learn from his mistakes that Soren is able to grow. It is poignant that in season 3 Soren starts to pursue his objectives with a completely different method from this:

He uses intelligence:

Communication:

And shows vulnerability, even to his father:

The fact that Viren, in this scene, despises his son’s vulnerability is symbolic of how he can’t really accept his own. As a matter of fact Viren basically does to Soren what he does to himself:

He asks Soren to cut his ties with his childhood friends, just like he did with Harrow whose children he is trying to kill. He wants Soren to inherit the throne, just like he is usurping it. He wants to turn Soren in a monster, just like he himself is turning more and more into one (both internally and externally):

Because of all of this, the reason why Viren treats Soren so coldly finally becomes clear. It is because Viren sees in Soren a part of himself he is ashamed of and does not want to face. Soren is, in Viren’s eyes, the part of himself who tries hard, but never fully succeeds. So Viren asks of Soren the impossible and he shows Soren his most cruel and pragmatic side more openly than he does with Claudia. Moreover he tries to change Soren into someone(-thing) he sees as powerful. However, by refusing to accept his son for who he is, Viren misses that there is much to be loved about Soren. He misses that Soren has talents and traits, which make him a good person and a great Crownguard:

What is more, by refusing Soren’s doubts and challenges, he also refuses to see what should be clear:

If Viren had listened to Soren’s question and had been honest with himself, he could have realized that he is not really the one in control, but that Aaravos is. Soren refuses to stay his father’s puppet, just when his father chooses to be someone else’s and stops thinking with his own head.

In conclusion, Soren is the victim of his father’s self-hate. Moreover, he symbolizes a part of Viren the man refuses. It is precisely because of this refusal that Viren spirals further and this spiral is symbolized by him becoming more and more intertwined with Dark Magic.

VIREN AND CLAUDIA: AN ILLUSION IN THE MIRROR

Dark Magic is described in this way by Sarai:

It is a shortcut which lets people evade problems. However, because of this, the issues which created the problems in the first place are never fully addressed. This leads to people being unable to grow because they never face their own shortcomings. In this way, they are given a sense of false security which is detrimental in the long run.

This is what happens to both Viren and Claudia. In particular, Claudia makes it clear:

Claudia has grown so dependent on Dark Magic that she would use it even for making pancakes. Instead of simply cooking normally, she sacrifices small animals’ lives unnecessarily. This overdependence leads her to lose her usual nice demeanor when a situation she can’t fix with magic arises:

As in Soren’s case, she has become this way because of Viren’s teachings:

As a matter of fact both father and daughter share the method they use to reach their objectives. That said, Claudia’s internal motivation is different from her father’s. Viren is motivated by the wish to prove his strength. Claudia is instead motivated by the wish to stay together with her family. This is why she always justifies her loved ones’ actions. In this way, she does not have to enter in a serious conflict with them. In other words, she enables them even when she should call them out.

We have seen glimpses of this with Soren:

However, it is with Viren that this behaviour truly becomes toxic:

In the scenes above, it is clear that Claudia is tricking herself into believing Viren. She probably knows deep down that Soren has not misheard. However, it is easier to cling to the illusion that he did because in this way Claudia’s perfect little world does not shatter. In this world, her father is the best person ever and Soren is lovable, but a doof. Still, this world is an illusion and it will naturally disappear no matter how much Claudia tries to preserve it:

In the end Soren leaves and Claudia’s family loses another member. It is interesting that, in a sense, Claudia’s behaviour is the opposite of this:

Villads tells Rayla she can control nothing, but herself. Claudia, though, is doing the opposite. She tries to control everything, but is really not able to control herself. By this, I mean that she is unable to actively make a choice:

When it comes to her family, Claudia can’t choose. No matter that one side is clearly in the wrong, she still can’t bring herself to leave a family member. And this is why she is the one left behind instead. Let’s highlight that Claudia has stayed with Viren not because she has actively chosen him over her mother or even Soren. She has stayed with Viren because she could not make a choice and so her decision ended up being a passive one. Only at this point, Claudia would cling to what she has left and protect it with all her strength even if she must twist reality (both in her own mind and externally) to do so:

This behaviour is damaging both for herself and for her loved ones. As a matter of fact, by not calling her family out, Claudia is not able to stop their spirals. She helps Soren take out a dragon only for that dragon to wound her brother while he is mocking it.

Something similar happens with Viren as well:

Since the very beginning, it is clear that Claudia’s talent for Dark Magic has enabled her father to perform more and more dangerous magic. Let’s highlight that Claudia is probably not really interested in her father’s objectives. She just wants to help Viren, but she only helps him to self-destruct himself more efficiently. If she had not given her father the corn, Viren and Harrow would not have killed Avizandum and all the terrible things which happened and will happen to her family could have been avoided.

Let’s underline that Claudia enabling her father is true not only from a practical point of view:

The scene above shows that Viren wants to be reassured and to be told that he has done the right thing. So he asks Claudia and Claudia readily tells him what he wants to hear. She knows what he wants to hear because it is what he himself has taught her. In short, Claudia acts as Viren’s echo chamber and repeats to him the same justifications he himself uses. In this way, they both manage to keep their respective illusions alive. They can both keep believing Viren is a good person, even if they deep down know it is not true.

This dynamic explains why Viren favors Claudia so much. He sees Claudia as a personification of everything he is proud of about himself. What is more, this personification looks at him as if he were the best person ever. So Viren sees through Claudia an image of himself he likes.

This is also why he hesitates to show Claudia his cruellest side:

The mission Viren gives Claudia may be the one he cares the most about, but it is also the less cruel. Moreover he does not tell her to choose the egg over Soren initially, but he makes the addition after Claudia asks him. Even when one considers it, he is not asking Claudia to actively kill someone she cares about.

In conclusion, Claudia and Viren put each other on a pedestal and this is damaging for both. In particular, Viren uses Claudia to nurture his ego and to feel better about himself, while Claudia lets Viren go away with everything not to be abandoned. It is because Claudia refuses a conflict with her father that she can neither save herself nor him.

VIREN AND AARAVOS: BECOMING THE MIRROR

Soren and Claudia’s different relationships with Viren are conveyed through their respective reactions to Aaravos:

On one hand Claudia finds her father’s little bug pal cute. On the other hand Soren tries to smoosh it. This is not accidental, but symbolic. As a matter of fact Soren is who Viren is ashamed to be, while Claudia is who Viren is proud to be. Aaravos is instead who gives Viren the chance to truly become his ideal-self.

This is made clear since the very beginning:

The first thing Aaravos does to communicate with Viren is to repeat the man’s actions. This is what a reflection should do, so Aaravos plays the part of Viren’s reflection. To be more precise, he offers Viren what he wants:

Because of this, Aaravos is seen by Viren as a chance to finally become who he wants to be. As a matter of fact it is clear that Viren idealizes Aaravos and ends up depending on him more and more. This is also shown through minor details:

Viren glimpses into Aaravos’s room from his own one, which resembles a dungeon. The symbolism is clear: Viren feels trapped by his own limits and is given the possibility to see a better place and a person who may help him overcome said limits. However, this is an illusion:

Aaravos’s luxurious room is nothing more than a prison. Similarly, the beautiful elf who offers to help Viren is not really Viren’s ideals encarnated, but, if anything, he is his worst instincts:

Aaravos pushes Viren to commit more atrocities than those he has already committed. What is more, the elf interferes in the relationship Viren has with his children:

This is a pretty crucial moment. Claudia asks his father to explain himself and Viren is given the chance to come clean and to use this input to truly reflect on his own actions. However, any feeling of guilt or vulnerability Viren may be experiencing is readily suffocated by Aaravos’s words. The elf invites Viren to only think utilitaristically. So Viren manipulates both his children. In this way, he pushes Soren away and traps Claudia in a dynamic, which will damage her.

In a sense, Aaravos’s lines usually highlight Viren’s hypocrisy and his hidden contradictions:

Viren refuses the idea that Claudia is just an asset, but ultimately this is how he treats both her and Soren. If that were not the case, he would have answered Claudia’s question in the dungeon honestly and would have apologized to both her and Soren. Aaravos simply makes clear something about Viren, which the man refuses. The same happens here:

Viren wants power for selfish reasons (he wants to feel worthy), but he deceives himself into thinking he wants it for others. This is why Aaravos’s words do not sit well with him. Your actions appear much less noble if you are reminded that what you really want is to conquer a nation.

At the same time, it is clear that Aaravos is not really in good faith and that he is using Viren’s insecurities to further his own agenda. This is why he is symbolically taking control of Viren:

Aaravos’s vessel is not the bug, but Viren himself. Aaravos is slowly taking him over. This is symbolically shown by Aaravos “stealing” Viren’s senses:

Moreover, by the end of season three, Aaravos is the one moving Viren’s body to hit Rayla:

In other words, it is not Viren controlling the mirror, but it is the mirror controlling him:

This is highly ironic. As a matter of fact, in his pursue of self-importance, Viren is being reduced to a shell through which Aaravos can act. However, Viren refuses to face this (as seen through his dynamic with Soren (shame)) and to admit his mistakes (as shown by his dynamic with Claudia (pride)).

CLAUDIA AND SOREN: MORE THAN REFLECTIONS

The analysis up until now has been focused on how Viren objectifies his two kids. He treats them as parts of himself, but they are more than that. This last section will highlight it through their relationship.

First of all, as stated in the first section, Soren and Claudia are very accomplished for their age. They are given adult responsibilities to the point that they are barely treated as kids by their parent:

Viren has shown very little patience when it comes to the siblings’ most childish traits. He is annoyed by their jokes and dismisses their quirkiness as non-sense. This is very different from how the siblings treat each other:

Soren and Claudia are able to express themselves more openly when they are together than when they interact with Viren. This is true also when it comes to calling each other out:

Interestingly, they criticize behaviours they share with Viren. As a matter of fact Claudia scolds Soren for his lack of tact and cruelty and ignores Viren’s mission is far crueller. Soren instead shows disgust for his sister’s magic, but does not dare to do the same to his father’s face.

This shows that, since the beginning, Soren and Claudia are uncomfortable with some traits Viren has. However, they tolerate them both in Viren and in each other out of respect for their parent. This is made clear throughout the series:

Soren finds magic gross, but finds ingredients for Claudia’s spell. Claudia does not want to fight her friends, but accepts to do it. The reason why they both compromise is clearly just one:

They must succeed in their mission. In other words, Viren’s presence, even when he is away, stops them from truly calling each other out and from acting in a way they both feel comfortable with. In a sense, it stops them from growing. Because of this, it is not a surprise that the first serious conflict they have is specifically about their father:

This scene portrays Soren and Claudia serving two different kings (Viren and Ezran). This highlights two differences between the siblings.

The first one is the dychotomy between duty and family/feelings. Given the choice, Soren always chooses his duty (Ezran):

While Claudia always chooses her family (Viren):

Let’s underline that one choice is not inherently better than the other. This is made clear in season two. In this season, we see Soren choosing the mission over his childhood friends. This is his reasoning:

Surely, he wants to please his father, but he also wants to believe it is the best thing for the greater good.

In that same season, we see Claudia giving up on her mission:

Claudia does so because her love for her family is superior to her sense of duty.

In other words, season two shows Soren making the wrong choice out of a misplaced sense of duty, while Claudia makes the right one by trusting her feelings. However, season three shows a reversed situation:

Soren is able to betray his father because of his own sense of duty, while Claudia can’t make herself leave Viren out of love.

In other words, the right choice does not lie neither in “relationships” nor in “duty”. After all, the lines between these two concepts are blurred. On one hand Soren reconciled with his childhood friends and forged new bonds in order to fulfill his duty. On the other hand Claudia would help Viren more if she called him out.

So, in the scene above, what is the true difference between the two siblings? Why is Soren in the right, while Claudia is in the wrong? The main difference lies symbolically in the fact that Soren is protecting a child, while Claudia is enabling a parent. This means that Soren is growing up, while Claudia is refusing to.

Growing up is a process, which often creates conflict between the child and the parent. This is especially true in this context because of Viren’s abusive behaviour. If the two siblings want to grow up, they must escape Viren and become their own people. This is what Soren has started to do in season three. Throughout the season he is able to see his father for who he really is, calls him out and finally leaves him to become who he wants to be.

This is something Claudia is not able to do because deep down she does not want to grow up. This is conveyed, as shown above, by her inability to choose. As a matter of fact Claudia does not want to choose, but to be chosen. This is because a choice implies a sacrifice (a consequence), but Claudia does not want to give up on anything precious to her. What she wants is, instead, that the people she loves always choose her. In this way, Claudia gives up her own agency.

This is clearly a consequence of her mother’s abandonment:

Because of this event, she is stuck in a childish state where she wants to be taken care of and protected. That said, her family members have other objectives, so she gives them what she herself wants (nurture and protection) hoping to receive it from them in return.

Let’s think once again about what Viren tells Callum at the beginning:

Viren claims that Callum (and Ezran) won’t be able to face changes because they have been spoilt. However, the narrative shows that this is not the case. If anything, the fact that Harrow has loved and supported his children is the reason why they can grow up:

Among the main characters, the one who can’t face change is Claudia and this is not because she has been spoilt, but because her mother made her feel unloved.

In short, both Soren and Claudia have developed a sense of worthlessness because of their parents’ behaviour. Soren has developed it because of Viren’s mistreatment, while Claudia has hers because of her mother’s abandonment. Soren tries to overcome his by impressing his fahter and later on he finds a healthier fulfillment in his role of Crownguard. Claudia tries to overcome hers by keeping her family together and toning down its conflicts. Soren defines himself through external recognizements, while Claudia through her relationships with others. All in all, it is the same problem, but it is declined in different ways.

In conclusion, Soren and Claudia are two kids who have been suffering because of their parents. In order to reach a positive outcome they must grow up and become independent (as proven by Soren in season three). In this way, they will naturally tone down some traits, which can be negative if taken to the extreme (love for one’s own strength, hate of conflict). It is probable that they will be able to do so through each other. After all, Soren got his chance to actively redeem himself because Claudia cured him, so it is likely Claudia too will be given another chance (hopefully) through Soren.

CONCLUSION: ESCAPING THE MIRROR

Both Viren and his children are all trapped in a game of mirrors. Viren treats his kids as reflections of himself and his pursue of an ideal self (who is nothing, but a mirage) is destroying his family.

To stop this process, Viren must accept who he is and his mistakes, while Soren and Claudia must claim their own individuality and become independent from their parent. There are several ways this can (or can’t) happen. I am curious about how the dynamics of this family will keep being explored in later seasons.

#tdp #tdp meta #tdp viren #lord viren #tdp claudia #tdp soren #claudia tdp #soren tdp #the dragon prince #the dragon prince meta #my meta #brodigies

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kimabutch · 5 years

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I'm so sorry if you've gotten a similar question but just out of curiosity: What are your favorite things about each of the M9? (It can be just the first thing to come to mind, I just really like hearing your takes on them)

Oh thank you, that’s such a compliment!! Ok, going in alphabetical order (and excluding Molly not because I don’t love him, but because I feel like I don’t have a great handle on his personality anymore):

Beau:

Oh god I love her so much, it’s hard to even know where to begin! Maybe with the fact that Marisha might have my favourite sense of humour of all the cast. Beau makes me burst out in laughter at least once per episode.

I love her strong instincts to help others — it’s been there from the beginning, with her attempts to stop the circus people from getting arrested, or her tucking in Jester. I feel like her decision to be a better person was a turning point not so much in her care for others, but in how much she admitted that to herself.

That being said, she’s tried so hard to keep that promise to herself, and to keep being better. She tries so hard to be more social. She tries so hard to treat her friends with tenderness that’s never been shown to her. She tries to hard to be an expositor, and to be patient, and to investigate shit. She tries so hard not to lie, and to be more emotionally vulnerable. And she’s succeeding! I’m so proud of her.

I love that she’s a gnc lesbian, and that this is a big part of her story, and important. I literally cannot tell you how much it means to me that she’s a lesbian.

Caduceus

Cad has been such a calming, loving presence in the show since his arrival in e28, but most of all I love his cracks — the times when he’s not as “good” as he first appears.

I love that he’s so incredibly judgmental, and has such strong opinions even though he initially appears quite humble and mild. It’s such a cool character choice, and 100% makes sense.

He also genuinely has no idea what he’s doing so much of the time, and I think that’s very cool and relatable of him.

I really respect how much Taliesin has developed him since his initial creation. Tal has talked a bunch about how much lore he’s made for Cad since that one weekend where he created him, and I think it really shows in the way he’s played him. Having caught up about 5 episodes after he was introduced, I feel like I’ve gotten the chance to watch him being fleshed out in real time.

Caleb:

Liam has said this too, but I love how even though Caleb is a serious, tragic character in many ways, he can be as much the source of gags as anyone else. He’s hilarious, and you can see his sense of humour shining through even when Caleb is trying his best not to show it.

I like that his story is one of healing. Not necessarily clear, linear healing, but gradual, realistic progress. Even if he “breaks” again — and he might — there have been times when he’s laughed with friends, times where he’s gone a little easier on himself, and times when he’s let other people help. There’s no taking that away, no matter what happens later.

Despite the last two bullet points, I’ll admit that part of the reason I started listening to CR was for the angst, and boy has he delivered. Sometimes you need sad characters, y’know?

But beyond angst, I’m so glad Liam is playing Caleb with a sensitivity to how trauma works and consideration of real-life mental illness. I don’t relate to Caleb’s story, but I see parts of my own mental illness experiences in him, portrayed in a genuinely thoughtful way.

Fjord:

Ok so I relate a lot to Fjord and it’s very difficult for me to talk about him without talking about myself

With that being said: I appreciate that as a character, a lot of his issues stem from him being bullied as a kid. I’ve said it before, but it really helps me when I feel ashamed of being so affected by childhood bullying

I love that he’s simultaneously charismatic/smooth and nervous/awkward, and somehow those two things are both believable and don’t negate each other at all. He can be a bit of a disaster of a person, and yet people will believe what he says.

I fucking adore warlocks. The first character I ever played was a warlock and they’ll probably always be my #1 spellcasting class.

Jester:

I love how dedicated Laura is with her Jester pranks. Both how she roleplays them even when there might be serious consequences because that’s what Jester would do, but also how they can turn into really cool moments that drive Jester’s character arc forward — from her Bahamut prank to “get out of my temple!”

Every time she cries or is sad, I feel my soul trying to leave my body and enter Exandria through my screen so that I can give her a hug. Laura plays the chinks in Jester’s well-crafted happy armour so well.

Combat clerics are so, so much fun, and so is the entire concept of the Traveler, and Jester’s relationship to him. It’s really different than a lot of clerics I’ve seen.

Out of all the characters, I am maybe most interested in finding out where Jester’s character development is going. I feel like there’s still a giant dam to break, and I don’t now how it will happen or what it will look like. I think she’s already changed so much in how she thinks about the world and relates to others, but it’s clear that she’s not yet at peace.

Nott:

It took me a solid dozen episodes to warm up to her voice and now it’s one of my favourite parts of campaign 2. Particularly when she screams.

Ditto what I said about Fjord and childhood bullying — her backstory is so important to me. Also ditto what I said about Caleb and mental illness: Sam has clearly given a lot of thought to how trauma has shaped Nott, and I’m so glad that her journey through mental illness isn’t straightforward.

Like with Jester, I find her to be a very cool take on her class, as a rogue who’s terrified to take the lead and who, despite her sneakiness, is among the most willing to use her own body as a distraction to save her friends. I also love the trope-defying fact that she’s a mom.

I love that she has all of 5 CHA and tells the worst lies, but pulled a lying long con for 49 episodes, both on the M9 and on viewers… but somehow, it still felt realistic that she’d be able to pull that off, because Nott’s deception wasn’t based so much in outright lies about her backstory (she definitely did lie, but many of the lies contradicted each other or fell apart on close examination), but on evasion, her speciality as a rogue.

Yasha:

She’s soft! She’s so soft! She’s tender and quiet and loves the beautiful things in life, and for me it’s not just about the contrast between her toughness and her softness (although I do appreciate that, especially as someone who’s been told they’re intimidating, both online and irl), but also about how genuine it is: you can feel it in the way she talks and how Ashley moves when she plays her.

She is awkward as hell, and it’s so good. Yasha’s dialogue, both with NPCs and with other PCs, is consistently some of the funniest stuff in the show. Ashley really lets that 7 CHA, 9 WIS shine through in all its glory.

I think her backstory reveal was the first time I bawled while watching CR, but it was fun because of the rising anticipation as she revealed that she’s a wlw.

Her rage is so interesting! Every barbarian so far in the show (Grog, Lionel, Yasha) has played rage slightly differently, and I appreciate them all — but I think there’s something special about how rage is so clearly emotionally fraught for Yasha. I hope and believe that they’ll explore this more after she’s saved from Obann.

#Anonymous #critical role #I limited myself to four points about each character #please appreciate how much self-restraint that was #my stuff

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kreweleaderbuuru · 4 years

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Part 3 baybeeee i realised that the babies I use more often these days werent included. Annoying elaboration that doesnt matter under the cut

Sex

Self explainitory

Gender:

Self explanatory

Build:

Singrid: The most in-shape member of her family. She’s very enthusiastic about honing her skills with her hammer, carving canoes with her bare hands, and punching sharks in the face.

Grunt: The grunt has been working on building muscle, but her years of starvation and abuse have left her permanently stunted.

Algor: Despite being absolutely fuckall massive, he’s not too interested in honing his physique. He’s got some scholarly chub on the way.

Poom: Actually more muscular than you’d give him credit for- though still malnourished and spindly. His baggy clothes are in part to hide a very embarrassing hourglass figure.

Height:

Singrid: Just a few inches shorter than her brother, much to her dismay

Grunt: Shorty due to malnutrition

Algor: Fuckall massive

Poom: Comes from a pretty tall family, but just so happens to me the shortest member of that family. He thinks he’s shorter than he actually is.

Handiness:

Self explanatory

Intelligence, Scholarly:

Singrid: While Singrid was offered the same education as her brother, she struggled with even the most basic concepts. At a certain point she decided her job was just to carry heavy equipment. Living proof of nature vs. nurture.

Grunt: Scouted by inquest recruiters as a child. The Grunt was subjected to the standard foot soldiers ‘education’ within the Inquest. It wasn’t all that great, but it wasn’t like she could leave.

Algor: Personally tutored by his adopted asuran father- surpassing the potential of even some asuran peers in Rata Sum. Living proof of nurture vs. nature.

Poom: Got along okay in school, enough to Graduate Dynamics with above average grades. His true passions lie in paranormal investigation, which isnt as revered in Rata Sum. People just assume he’s crazy.

Wisdom:

Singrid: Would look a grenade launcher down the barrel as she’s trying to figure out how to fire it.

Grunt: What the Grunt lacks in formal education, she makes up for in sheer experience. She’s worked on just about every Inquest base the Megakrewe allows such a low-ranking agent, and tangled with more bizarre magical creatures than most norn hunters will in their lifetime.

Algor: Algor began making supply runs in greater Tyria when he was sixteen, allowing him to come into his own as a traveller and genius.

Poom: Easily distracted and has a nasty habit of sharing his conspiracy theories to the members of the organisations he suspects. Common sense is not amongst his strengths.

Education:

Singrid: Technically a ‘drop out’, seeing as her father gave up on teaching her alongside her brother. However, the special attention Ruffik can give Singrid while Algor is away has convinced her to give his lessons another go.

Grunt: Didn’t so much as ‘graduate’ as she was drafted to punishment detail. Her propensity for disaster and mayhem did not make her school days enjoyable.

Algor: Greatly exceeded his father’s expectations.

Poom: A decent student, but easily distracted by his true passions.

Social Ability:

Singrid: Dreamed all her life of leaving the Far Marina Base to party all through Tyria, only to suffer from extreme social anxiety. She’s since found happiness on the peaceful ice caps, content with her few friends and family.

Grunt: Pretty amicable, if you can get over the whining and increased likelihood of the bar burning down.

Algor: Still relatively uncomfortable in his own skin, but growing out of it.

Poom: A highly contagious affliction and subsequent quarantine has given an already antisocial oddball agoraphobia. Poom has slowly been taking steps to be more comfortable with people, and can at the very least venture outside without a panic attack.

Perceptiveness:

Singrid: Sensitive, painfully sensitive, so sensitive she becomes overwhelmed in large gatherings. Is one of the few people who can really understand Ruffik’s emotions at any given time and could be mistaken for a mind reader when it comes to people she’s close to.

Grunt: Despite her attempt at an aloof bounty huntress persona, the Grunt is mostly in wilful denial. She knows whats going on, why it’s going on, and how things will probably end. She’s very bad at pretending not to care.

Algor: His time outside the Far Marina Base has taken him from clueless hermit to what is average teenage boy. He still doesnt understand girls, though.

Poom: Absolute dogshit at reading social signals, to the point of being near debilitating. His friends have to intervene to keep him from being beaten up half the time.

Readability:

Singrid: There are two Singrids: The one who is comfortable and knows the people in the room, and the Singrid who is in public and trying to keep from crying. You wouldnt expect the firey young norn from the FMB to wilt so easily in a crowd, and you’d be wrong.

Grunt: Any attempts to hide her emotions are humorously in vain. Its lucky her partner, krewemate, and totally-not-boyfriend is painfully dense.

Algor: Can put up a pretty convincing stoic front. It’s when he opens his mouth the youthful bravado comes spilling out.

Poom: His high anxiety and odd mannerisms make him an open book. An open book in a language you cant read, but nonetheless open.

Introvert/Extrovert:

Self explanatory

Sexuality:

Singrid: Straight

Grunt: Straight

Algor: Bisexual

Poom: Pansexual with a male preference

Romanticism:

Singrid: Straight, Monogamous

Grunt: Straight, Monogamous

Algor: Biromantic, Open to Polyamory

Poom: Panromantic with a male preference, Monogamous

Romantic:

Singrid: Has a massive crush on her childhood friend, but he’s painfully oblivious.

Grunt: Hopelessly in love with her partner, friend, and krewemate, Anakk. Even though they live together, work together, provide each other with emotional support, and sleep together exclusively, they insist they are not in a relationship.

Algor: Would do anything for a partner to share his intellect, but is still too insecure to ask anyone out. There’s also the size factor- none of the other apprentices so much as reach his knee. That ‘tragedy’ is a bit romantic in its own right- according to him.

Poom: Is oblivious to romance, and hasnt had the best track record. His last relationship ended in nothing short of catastrophe, he’s still too ashamed to face his ex to stay long in Rata Sum. This has kept him rather guarded when it comes to relationships.

Affection:

Singrid: Very touchy. Will shamelessly pick up and snuggle anyone she cares about.

Grunt: Has a pointed distaste for ‘mushy stuff’ and goes out of her way to avoid any intimacy that could be construed as romantic.

Algor: Mostly only hugs his sister. Was more cuddly as a kid, but since the growth spurt he worries about accidentally crushing people.

Poom: Has gone three years without touch due to his affliction. Avoids touch like the plague so as not to become overwhelmed.

Disposition, Outwardly:

Singrid: Whether she’s in full swing or shyly hugging the wall, Singrid comes across as a friendly, if not rough around the edges- young norn.

Grunt: Affable and friendly until things go wrong. They’re usually going wrong.

Algor: Knows how to be polite in public. Snarks on occasion.

Poom: Absolute bastard of a man. You know this. Why even ask.

Disposition, Inwardly:

Singrid: Pretty neutral on people as a whole. Gets irritated easily, and doesnt have any kind words for people who make her uncomfortable.

Grunt: Is far more effected by her past than she lets on. The grunt is generally distrustful to strangers and spiteful to those who hurt her- even a little.

Algor: Has a healthy dollop of teen angst.

Poom: One of the more kindly people you’ll meet, once you get past his eccentricities. Genuinely doesnt want to upset anyone, and is a die hard pacifist.

Petty:

Singrid, Grunt, Algor: All petty little drama queens.

Poom: Will put up with a lot of bullshit, so long as you dont press one of his triggers. Can only really muster the energy to hate one thing at a time. Usually tries to solve ‘misunderstandings’ when they come up.

Sanity:

Singrid: Crippling social anxiety

Grunt: PTSD

Algor: He’s fine, honestly.

Poom: Autism, PTSD, Depression, Social Anxiety, Agoraphobia, probably more.

Freindliness:

Singrid: She knows who she likes, and isnt particularly eager to make new friends.

Grunt: Finds it relatively easy to get along with people, especially if theres alcohol involved. She has a strange habit for attracting the affections of much larger and more powerful beings. Anakk, her skyscale Mr. Bastard, and the hulking inquest abomination Brukk, to name a few.

Algor: Able to chat up strangers so long as he’s not feeling too self-important. He’s growing out of that bit, though.

Poom: Absolutely desperate for validation. Can and will join a cult if he’s not claimed.

Stoicism:

Singrid: Will break pretty easily either from her anxiety or by getting too excited about a cool rock.

Grunt: Attempts are made at stoicism. They are laughable.

Algor: Is prone to teen melodrama. He’s growing out of it, though.

Poom: Will go home and cry for stepping on a bug.

Grace:

Singrid: Her training in the harsh Far Marina conditions have made her an adept warrior.

Grunt: Prone to disaster.

Algor: Is actually quite a talented dancer when no one’s watching. One of the ways he tries to stay in shape between studies.

Poom: If he’s not knocking something over, he’s putting his foot in his mouth.

Stubbornness:

Self explanatory

Bravery:

Singrid: Despite her issues with crowds, she’s run after icebrood twice her size with nothing but a dagger. Has wanted to cultivate an epic legend ever since she was a kid.

Grunt: Complete snivelling coward.

Algor: Will run from conflict as easily as he runs from a spider.

Poom: An almost destructive lack of self-preservation.

Loyalty:

Singrid: The few companions she has, she aims to keep.

Grunt: Wont die for the ship, but will save her favourite pirate.

Algor: Still has somewhat naive opinions on teamwork in a krewe. It’s almost a good thing he’ll likely never be in one.

Poom: Not a lot of people understand him, those that try are greatly appreciated. Even people who dont try, he’ll gladly meet half way. Even if you dont even like him at all he’s got your back. Even if you’ve just spit in his mouth he’ll-

Lawfulness:

Singrid: Does what she wants. If that means breaking some heads, she’ll do it. If it means drinking tea and brushing up on her knitting, thats her glitching right!

Grunt: Rules are for people who don’t regularly get hit by lightning.

Algor: Painfully naive.

Poom: The rules suck, but he gets in trouble enough as it is without provoking others.

Attitude:

They’re all edgy assholes lol

#singrid #algor #poom #the grunt #guild wars 2 #gw2 #norn #asura

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