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justanotherhh · 9 days

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Hi! Love your blog! I have a question:

Maybe it's because I listen to a lot of crime podcasts, but I have never associated psychopathy with being aro and/or ace (despite or maybe because I'm on the aroace spectrum myself?). Is this one of those things where there are people out there equating – I imagine especially aromanticism – with being emotionless? I feel like I've mainly heard the – also horrible – comments of aroace people being "like robots". Then again, I'm not "fully" aroace, nor have I had the need to be super open about it, so I don't pay much attention to this stuff.

Anyway, while I agree that calling Alastor an "evil psychopath" is simplifying things something that frustrates me in parts of the Hellaverse fandom in general....or just fandom in general, tbf...I don't think considering him to be on the ASPD spectrum is incorrect?

Enough rambling and onto my main question: in your opinion, should I always clarify that when I call someone a psychopath and that person also happens to be aro and/or ace, that the two things are not correlated? I don't want to accidentally imply something hurtful/feed into a horrible social mentality. P.S. I want to be clear that I don't want to imply that all people with ASPD are murderers/rapists etc either. Though clearly Alastor is the former. Of course they're not. And I can only imagine how much of a struggle living with such a disorder might be.

hello hello, thank you for the questions. i shall try to be methodical and not rambly (we'll see how it pans out)

yeah there's a big ableist and queerphobic cliché around "emotionless" characters being psychopaths who don't love -- basically it's an oversimplification of psychopathy and often conflates it with being psychotic, and of course, it assumes a correlation both between psychopathy and being evil, and being aspec -- especially the kind that's further down the end of repulsed and loveless and aplatonic -- as being evil (with "love" being the opposite of these things, which, tangent, do have a whooole other post on with this show, because it's done some very fun and potentially future-interesting things on love and sex)

the key here is that aro and/or ace is often never spoken of in narratives when this happens because well... people don't know wtf that is, so it's got that similar flavour to "oh well buffalo bill isn't transphobic, because actually the character isn't trans, the cisgender psychiatrist said so!" (actually... whole other thing on that too, but not on this blog... basically jame gumb is underrated and i root for them every time i watch the movie), but it's the Idea that "love makes you human, and sex is always assumed with love, and if you don't feel those things, it's a clue that you're evil, and the shorthand for that is psychopathic" -- generally the person writing this has never actually researched the words psychopath or psychotic, it's not about being interested in those concepts in characters, it's just a synonym for Bad

and yeah, the "like robots" fully ties into this -- the other side of the coin is aspec people as children, but alastor sooo far doesn't seem to be read this way, although the whole "but if he just discovers how to do Love/Touch/Sex in [insert whatever is wanted for this narrative] he'll become better" does play into some of those tropes too, that there is inherently something mentally ill about being aspec, and that being mentally ill is a sign of Badness (there really is a whole Essay i could do on this, and the general overlap between aspec-writing and trans-writing but! i will resist!), and it's about whether or not the Badness can be cured. if not, he's a psychopath, if yes, it's through normative relationship structures/fundamentally changing the character

it all comes down to actual curiosity -- hc'ing alastor as ASPD is totally fine (i also hc blitzø from helluva boss as BPD) and can open up a lot of doors for interrogation and interest, it's whether someone is using mental health as shorthand for shutting down further interaction with the character (think Psycho's "ah yes, this character is schizophrenic and has mother issues, hence why wearing women's clothing, the end"), or if this allows further play with the character, opens up potential doors, considers the character as rounded, rather than one-note. some aspec people do have a history of trauma or have personality disorders or are autistic, but is someone actually interested in exploring the rich variation of queerness within a character, or are we "explaining it away" as something that's merely a symptom (often one that is imagined to be fixable)

generally, im so into poking at villains and i think alastor is one of the juiciest characters ive had to play with in awhile, mainly because it feels like a lot of his writing is intentional and isn't me deciding to delve into the motivations of [slasher/monster/villain/etc] that doesn't actually exist in the text -- and i think alastor definitely does have some Stuff that could be unpacked from a neurodivergent and mental health perspective, even and including parts of his aroaceness

so in the end, picturing him on the ASPD spectrum and even linking that to aroaceness... I mean, totally chill. al-old-pal does have low empathy, and a pattern of reckless, violent behaviour, and fundamentally views relationships differently from the norm. im making arguments that he hasn't been able to create the kind of intimacy that works for him, except for perhaps with rosie and maaaaybe mimzy and niffty (@creepysora has had some very cool ideas of him connecting in alternate ways that work with his way of being and boundaries), but that doesn't mean he's suddenly More remorseful or empathetic about how his actions affect others

it's about whether or not one is using that as a way of minimising or pathologising aroaceness, and/or as a way of making aspec identities all about self-hatred (and that in turn fuels villainy), and/or generally as an explanation of his villainy as some inherent degeneracy, and/or using the word "psychopath" to mean something completely different from what it actually is... that's when we get into sticky territory

and in the end, it can be hard -- something that's perfectly reasonable to one person, could be crossing a boundary for someone else and we just have to live with that, so don't wait on my blessing, i just think as long as one's caring and curious it's heading in the right direction. i watch a lot of horror, and i can usually recognise when something is well-meaning and something is lazy, and even times when it's the latter i can still find enjoyment (think angela from sleepaway camp -- on the flipside the movie they/them was well-meaning and a complete miss in its final political statement)

i recognise also im bringing up a lot of trans villainy as-example, rather than aspec villainy. that's a. because my special interest is trans horror so go figure and b. because that overlap is soooo real

(another example, not horror unless you're a karate kid 3 truther, is the character terry silver, who is never stated to be aromantic, but whose villainy on the later show cobra kai is intimately tied to an unspecified madness that includes low empathy and... no love, vs all the happily monogamous (het) relationships around him. he's not aromantic, he's not diagnosed with anything, it's not of interest to the story that he may be mentally ill or have PTSD or be aro and possibly loveless or that he may be gay -- because yes, he's coded that way too and that overlap is also real, and a whole other tangent i could go on -- it's just subtext to add to the villainy)

now another tangent, but loosely connected: was reading a transcript of the 1974 TS/TV conference (the first of its kind that was organised in the way it was) -- a series of talks over the course of a weekend discussing trans rights, especially in healthcare, and it fully contained a section of someone saying that "true" transsexuals can be recognised because before they physically transition (into binary genders)... they're asexual. because they hate their bodies so much that they can't feel sexual attraction to others. lot to unpack there, but really in this little conversation as example, what i mean is that the roots of pathologising aspec identities run very very deep, including within the wider LGBT+ community, and since alastor is quite a complex character that has done some very bad things, it's worth really thinking about what headcanoning him as one way or another says about the character for oneself. what does it add? what does it potentially demonise or minimise? what does it allow?

the neat thing about hellaverse is the sheer amount of queer characters meaning we can go beyond "if x character is Bad this represents Every person within this group" but with alastor being (so far) the only character who's not doing the whole love-and-sex game (although i think striker counts in this as well, personally + listen... sir pentious givin' real demi vibes. and if we're looking for a link between trauma and asexuality, well, angel is right there. and, and, and...), it does bear going the extra length to learn about -- especially since a lot of people really don't know that these biases even exist in the first place, which leads to a lot of unthinking perpetuating

i think a good place to start would honestly be: "would this feel like a queerphobic and ableist coding if the character were gay? trans? bi?" not because we're totally over queerphobic writing in general (lol, can you imagine), but as a starting point: are we treating aspec identity in text in a way that makes the idea of being aspec in and of itself degeneracy?

but like. hell yeah villains. hell yeah neurodivergency, mental illness, low empathy, lovelessness, unhealthy coping mechanisms, Bad Mean Queers, cannibalism, and characters you just can't quite suss out. big into a fucked up little guy

how did i do on the ramblyness

#alastor #aroace alastor #hazbin hotel #hh meta #alastor meta #my meta

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myjunkisyuzuruhanyu · 8 months

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Some thoughts about One Piece on Ice

Thanks to some help by one kind fan I managed to watch One Piece on Ice. 😍 Thank you so much! ❤️

Admittedly I probably wouldn't have watched the show if Shoma wouldn't be the star of the show. I was so interested to see his character portrayal because it's so out of Shoma's own character.

But before I talk about Shoma here are some other thoughts...

First of all I am quite clueless about the anime or manga of One Piece which probably would have helped to understand the story better because I don't own any Japanese language skills, so I won't say anything about the story. I just wish I could appreciate the whole story better. (I have basic knowledge of the characters and I watched a couple anime episodes when I was like 12 years old so 😅)

I think anyone who has seen pictures of the show, knows how amazing the costumes are and how close they are to their animation counterpart (I mean at least I know the characters with my less than good one piece knowledge)

It's quite a different than usual ice show. It really tells a complete story, no "extra" skating to just show off, every skating is implemented into the story. It really feels more like a theatre on ice than an actual ice show. It's not easy to produce a theatre that needs to tell a story from 3 viewing angles. Usually theatres are directed to watch from the front. Here it's watched from 3 sides, which on a stream made it sometimes difficult to see the conversation that was going on but in the arena it's needed. (Tbf no stream or video can ever give justice to a theatre production no matter if on ice or in theatre just because the circumstances are wildly different. I won't elaborate on that but let you tell this by a musical nerd who watched countless musicals live and on screen)

The choreography ideas are great. Especially cool are the choreographies for the fight scenes, each fight scene has a different set up. The spcial effects on top of it are so cool. Congrats to Kenji Miyamoto for this show and also congrats to the lighting and special effects designers. These things really add a lot.

The ACTING!!! OMG the acting is so good for an ice show. These are skaters not actors (besides Miyu) and all of them do an amazing job. There is a lot text going on especially for Marin, who is actually the main star of the show, no one has as much to do besides her and she is emoting so well to an audience. She really should be thinking about going to theatre. Rika Hongo is one of my favorite characters in this whole show. This suits her so well. How she can implements the skating skills into the character and how she is never off charater. And SHOMA OMG OMG OMG 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 How can this be Shoma? He can act. Like really. He's full of energy, full of different expressions, he is a come to life animated character, acting over the top like it's suited to the character and on top he does skills on ice I haven't seen him do anywhere before. Admittedly I was sceptical about Shoma acting and on top such a "quirky" character, but they couldn't found a better person for it.

I applaud the full cast for their acting. And they stayed in character until the very end until the curtain call.

It's a great show from the ideas, to the choreography, to the costumes, to the acting! ❤️

What an amazing show! 😍

Do I have any negative points about the show? 🤔 Well only one thing...the availability for ppl outside Japan is a disaster. I know countless ppl who would have paid to see the show on stream but weren't able to because of the geoblocking and trouble finding a working vpn or credit card. It probably has to do with copyright but then at least give the fans an explanation...The other small critique is simply on me personally😅...without knowing Japanese or One Piece it was not the full experience it would surely give...but you know what maybe that actually gives me a reason to really learn Japanese and to watch the anime/manga 😉

If anyone wants to and is able to watch. Do it, you won't be disappointed!

#shoma uno #figure skating #one piece #one piece on ice #personal

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elatedandexasperated · 8 months

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So RWRB was a movie with some discourse...

In all honesty, the discourse has bugged me more than any issues with the film itself. I get a film adaptation not living up to personal expectations set by a book is... a response that people have, but the fact some people have been trying to convince people it's not worth watching bothers me.

Don't get me wrong, I've seen all of the love for it too and I know the antis for the film are definitely in the minority. No one can control how anyone relates or who is allowed to enjoy a piece of media, but the sheer hatred I've seen from some of the people on here for the film hurts a bit to see. The arguments seem to be no deeper than "x character was removed" , "there's these plot holes" and "it's too formulaic" that last one of which I feel was kind of the point: it's a formulaic romcom so that queer people can have a fairy tale romance story like the straight ones that get shoved down our throats from a young age by companies like Disney. McQuiston, an NB writer, has gone on record stating that a huge reason why they write is to feature queer identities and make stories that people like them would have liked to read and feel represented by when they were younger.

If this was a straight Hallmark romcom (which tbf, it basically is in terms of story structure, and I low-key love it because of that) it wouldn't have made so much as a blip on most people's radars. But because it features queer characters the threshold for scrutiny seems to have been dropped to the floor (insert "Get Low" joke here). I can get having criticisms of the film, I have a few myself, but the attempt to convince people the film is bad and to disregard it as a whole because of them ignores the positive qualities, what the film means to people in the queer community, what its success can lead to in terms of representation for underrepresented people in the community (Ace, bi, NB, trans, etc.), and an understanding of intricacies that go into adaptation.

At the end of the day, this film was competently made (and in my opinion, well made) by a gay director with an inclusive team and a deep care for both the source material and an understanding of what the film would mean for millions of viewers. It featured experiences and themes that are common to many people in the community with several very poignant messages that actually have huge metatextual implications with the film (The "forced conformity of the closet" quote sticks out in particular to me: the number of op-eds speculating Nick and Taylor's sexualities and how they've been mum about them makes me think a lot of people missed that one; also looking at you, people that forced Kit Connor out of the closet 😒)

The film is a celebration of love featuring characters that people like me and others in the community can relate to. Is it formulaic? Yes. Did they remove some characters to try and create a tighter narrative focused on the main romantic pair? Yes. Is it overly cheesy and so unrealistically sweet that it will give me diabetes? Delightfully so.

So ending on a positive note, I just want to run down some things I've loved about it:

- An mlm story with an actual happy ending that features adult main leads! (Credit to youth stories, they're important, but as an adult it's hard to relate to teenage characters sometimes)

- The charisma both TZP and NG just radiate throughout the movie

- Sarah Shahi eating the absolute SHIT out of every scene she's in (Touch her and die)

- Same for Rachel Hilson

- Uma Thurman and Stephen Fry (enough said)

- The acting overall was fantastic

- The care and work put into intimate scenes and inclusion of an intimacy coordinator

- On a personal level, I loved seeing parallels between Alex and Henry's relationship and the relationship I have with my husband. For the first time in my 30 years I actually see a little of myself in an uplifting and happy piece of media and not portrayed as a dramatic tragedy, villain, or inconsequential background character.

Tl;Dr if you didn't like the movie, that's your opinion. I'm not here to try and convince you otherwise. But please stop trying to convince people it shouldn't be watched. Regardless of your opinion, this film means a lot to a lot of people, including the author of the original book! Just let us enjoy this imperfect, but tasty cheese with our w(h)ine ❤️

#rwrb #rwrb movie #red white and royal blue #taylor zakhar perez #nicholas galitzine #firstprince #alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor

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sizzlingpatrolfox · 12 days

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https://x.com/dolliejimn/status/1780668223878238285?s=46&t=XuCx8v8aEyRQWy2cALbK1Q

How did you react when this filter performance dropped? 😵‍��

Ahhhhh I watched it live! And I was commenting with a twitter friend as it happened, so I went to look for my comments. I didn't really say much, now that I'm reading the chat again. But tbf I am a chill person, I don't really do the whole keyboard smash or anything lol.

"The quality of Jimin's voice" this was during zero o'clock.

This was after his black swan solo performance:

"I can't believe it. Flabbergasted. I might cry"

"When he acted as if he was growing wings. FML show me filter right now. NO OFFENSE, I just want to see the choreo."

This is the funny part... WE DIDNT TALK DURING FILTER 😭 the messages from both sides just stopped and we went back to it when filter finished.

"The last part with the red suit. He's the only one who could do a coreography using so many props and be good at it. He's so beautiful."

It reminded me of when I went to the cinema to watch BTS Love Yourself show in Seoul and people were singing and talking the whole movie but for Serendipity everyone went silent. People just watched, there was literally no noise at all during the minutes Jimin was performing. And when Serendipity ended, a guy behind me went "wow". I swear.

Just a funny comment lol this was during inner child and I said "vitches just came online and clogged up the stream" I guess the stream started glitching at that moment and I blamed it on Taehyung's stans lmao. We (pjms) used to call them vitches I don't know why we stopped☹️

"The only smile in the world. He's about to cry whyyyyy. And his birthday tomorrow. I hope they've prepared an event."

I really thought they were going to celebrate Jimin's bday during the concert on the 12th, but they didn't.

"Jimin main character I think"

"Riiiiight I was just thinking the same. He always has his special part in almost everything".

"As he should. No, but I seriously believe everything in him allows him to do a lot of different things, I mean his dancing his body his face"

"Yessss, he really is all-around"

This was after Filter day two.

"The best in the universe"

"The black fit and his hair 10000000000 points"

The image quality of the stream was so bad that I actually thought the purple outfit was black😭

It's funny that we really didn't "speak" at all during his performances, we actually chatted so much more during the rest of the concert lmao.

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cheetahsprints · 5 months

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(If you don't like mentions of a slash ship featuring certain anthro hedgehogs just scroll past!!!! Quickly!!!)

TL;DR (You can skip this blurb if you want the full story)

I went from being like neutrally aware of the Sonic franchise characters' existence to totally obsessed practically overnight with Shadow and Sonadow. Went full speed ahead brainrot on them because of a freaking dream where cartoon (unspecified) Sonic & co accidentally entered the dimension of live action Sonic. Shenanigans ensued, most notably a dreambrain-hatched live action Shadow fighting his cartoon version because of his attitude toward Sonic & co.

(End of TL;DR)

[Text wall below for details]

A few nights ago I had a random as hell dream about Sonic the hedgehog and I am now here I have watched freaking Sonic Prime on Netflix because the mental images wouldn't leave me alone so I treated it like a weird message from the universe e send Help

My only previous interactions with sonic stuff was some person I followed on twitter for something else posting art of it (mega long time ago), watching the sonic live action movies why I have no idea (super long time ago), and that joke game that went surprisingly hard The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog which I completed even though the minigames to progress got hard AF for me (pretty long time ago) and like even before all that I knew of Sonic from ads, memes, and various posts on social medias. But I didn't fully engage with it.

Side note: the twitter posting was mostly sonadow and I would look it over like uh-huh ok the vibes check out and just keep scrolling like lsdfkjdskl but that is pretty much the main reason I knew Sonic/Shadow existed but at the time I didn't actively seek it out or try to learn more.

Onward...

My brain is so so so weird and the dream was somewhat vivid like watching a movie omg where the live action sonic and pals met the cartoon versions of the characters?? even though I never watched any of the cartoons before??? as such it wasn't a specific series, I just knew it in the dream they were from a generalized cartoon universe

Specifically it was Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in the movie group, while the cartoon group had Amy and Rouge instead of the other two alongside Sonic, who I only even really knew about because of the April Fool's game. And Shadow was also there in both groups because why not I guess and they (the Shadows) fought each other because the movie one thought the cartoon one was a jerk lmao idk? Yeah my subconscious decided it couldn't wait for Sonic 3 and made up its own version of movie Shadow.

Early in the dream there was also a little kid clone of Sonic who belonged with the cartoon group. There were some cute interactions but in nonsensical dream fashion that character just disappeared later like he was never there lol

…There was some plot about the cartoon group needing to get back to their dimension because Sonic accidentally got them blasted into the movie one somehow... after watching Sonic Prime I'm like my dream was so FREAKISHLY similar to that show's plot, but I SWEAR I knew nothing about the premise of SP before the dream. Although, in the dream they were like... multidimensional travellers doing hero stuff and had met other variants before, just this time it wasn't intentional and it messed something up.

Uh getting off track... (which the dream itself did a lot tbf)

Anyway, what I remember is the movie dimension made the cartoon group look in the more realistic style so at first Shadow thought the actual movie group were the ones from his dimension (Shadow & Amy got separated from Sonic & Rouge) and was rude to them because he was so ticked off blaming Sonic for being a dumbass and yelling at Tails for not preventing whatever happened or something, so actual movie Shadow appeared like. don't talk to my friends that way asshole and beat the absolute shit out of him. There was an explanation Tails gave that the movie Shadow was more powerful for some reason I don't remember and Amy told cartoon Shadow to stop trying to beat him. But yeah bro was so pissed movie Sonic had to step in and physically stop him because he wouldn't listen to and/or overpowered anyone else. He reminded Shadow that the other Shadow was still him, in a sense.

Cartoon Sonic and Rouge appeared and Sonic started bickering with cartoon Shadow. but the movie versions were best friends so they were watching them like wtf is wrong with y'all. Movie Shadow got fed up quickly and punched cartoon Shadow again and stood protectively in front of both Sonic versions bristling and wouldn't take his eyes off his counterpart. Cartoon Shadow was so goddamn confused by Shadow's protectiveness and asked how Sonic had made movie Shadow his loyal bodyguard (derogatory) Amy and Rouge like explained the backstory to the movie crew, which is fuzzy to me but it was something along the lines of, Shadow had been brainwashed to rival Sonic, tricked to think that Sonic was evil (unbeknownst to that Sonic who in his pov had this random edgy hedgehog start attacking him out of nowhere during a mission) and they had a lot of intense fighting before Shadow found out the truth. But the two of them never quite got over the misunderstanding. Listen I didn't know Shadow's backstory, literally none of it, but I have read the wiki since ok

Meanwhile movie Shadow, in the dream, was made and raised in a lab and similarly believed he was made as Sonic's rival/equal. Behind the scenes some government thing or whatever were afraid of Sonic's power and wanted a backup plan. But some evil guy stole and unleashed Shadow. At first it was basically just a duel, Shadow admired Sonic, but the evil guy had put a chip in his head that when activated made him try to kill Sonic. Eventually he was subdued and the chip deactivated- and despite everything Sonic insisted Shadow come with him to his home and the rest was history. This unfolded in like flashback style.

There was a funny part where Shadow questioned Sonic's home like "What kind of base of operations is this?" In a very unimpressed tone. Sonic said sarcastically "Oh, sorry if you were expecting my own Fortress of Solitude." And I guess Shadow was allowed to watch tv because he got the reference and shot back "Does that make me Lois Lane?" Didn't make a whole lot of sense sdlfkjds but movie Shadow delivered this line very confidently and flirtatious and just walked away leaving Sonic shocked LOL

And then later Shadow complained that the government people would always rewind and loop the villainy parts and he never got to see if Lois and Clark kissed (It's been too long since I watched any Superman movies so I couldn't tell you if this makes sense) and Knuckles teased him for being a romantic, and then the whole team binge watched every Superman movie.

In the "present" at some point movie Sonic and Shadow pulled their alternate versions aside and like told them off for being mean to each other lmao cartoon Sonic was kinda like uwu I didn't know Shadow had feelings he's like a lone wolf and like was surprised by his counterpart's vehemence. Movie Sonic told cartoon Sonic that Shadow can be a great friend if you give him a chance. I don't remember the Shadowses convo much but it was a lot more chill despite the fighting before (though still prickly) because Shadow's reasons were more valid and it was more of a pep talk from movie Shadow that if he opened up more it might give the others around him more opportunity to know and accept him.

I remember there was this one specific heavy emotional line in the dream that stuck with me when I woke up said by cartoon Shadow about Sonic, "He's my best friend but I'm obviously not his" DFKLJDSKJ

Additional small detail that movie Sonic and Shadow had known each other for over 2 years during dream events. And they were quite close and in sync. But still bantery

My brain basically conjured a LITERAL FANFICTION in my sleep and I have been thinking about it a lot What's hilarious is I knew next to fuck all about these characters my brain pulled the plot points of this dream out of its ass

Typed out, this dream probably sounds a lot longer than it was... the "scenes" just felt oddly detailed for how mashed together and quick passing they were.

But yeah I kept thinking about the dream and like daydreaming more scenes and it somehow turned even more into Sonadow (like, I imagined Cartoon Sonic & Shadow finding out in a very abrupt way that the movie versions were an item. <- to my delight I did find a fic with a premise very similar to this just not movie universe related. Also played with the idea of Sonic and/or Shadow accidentally kissing the wrong counterpart in their excitement at being reunited which Awakened Some Things for the receiver of the unexpected passion😂 )

The dream kinda acted as a base that inspired daydreams to spiral out from my brain without permission but I just... mentally jumped into it because ships sometimes grab you like that.

And Sonic Prime made my sprouting interest worse, basically fuel to the fire, so now I am obsessed with them... like what a fucking way to get into a ship

#sth #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #sonic prime #sonadow #shadonic #swearing #long post #since it was a dream there's of course a lot of holes in my memory #so if anyone reads the full thing don't examine it too closely lol #I think movie Sonic and Shadow were not explicitly a couple in the dream but the dream was very much implying it or at least the possibilit #I... haven't played any of the Actual games :(#I did try the uhh Sonic Frontiers demo on the switch (some time prior to dream)#but the gameplay didn't seem like my type of thing #does this make me a fake fan /lh #does it help that I binged the twitter takeovers - why are they so fucking funny? - and read Shadow's entire wiki page?#originally rambled about this dream in a discord group chat with half assed grammar but I tried to clean it up a bit #I am normal (lie) about these hedgehogs

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murfpersonalblog · 5 months

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[book!Lestat is the carbon copy of Marius, but on meth. The ultimate narcissist misogynist racist imperialist colonial neoliberalist hell demon]

I'm unfamiliar with anything VC past Merrick so I wanted to ask since you mentioned that Lestat gets something of a redemption arc in it - what is the tone of the Prince Lestat trilogy, specifically in how it frames the establishment of a vampire monarchy? Because some of the most hair-ripping parts of TVL are when he pontificates on his secular, rational, progressive quintessentially 18th century mind that rejects superstition & tradition. Plus Marius giving that white supremacist monologue on the value of human life in the west doing away with monarchy ofc.

OMG I've been wanting to talk more about the Chateau Era! 😭

"some of the most hair-ripping parts of TVL are when he pontificates on his secular, rational, progressive quintessentially 18th century mind that rejects superstition & tradition"

You'll be seeing a LOT more of this, my friend! XD The Prince Lestat trilogy & its tone encapsulates precisely how AR felt about Lestat (who was inspired by her husband Stan Rice): Lestat's her golden child, her favorite character, the main protagonist & hero & Aryan white savior of the entire vampiric/human/alien-replimoid/Taltos/angelic/demonic race. The Chateau is the Savage Garden going back to Eden/paradise--it's AR's final chapter, the New Heaven and the New Earth after the apocalypse--21st century vampires twirling around in LITERAL 18th century ballgowns as they celebrate the New World Order under Lestat. The last book, Blood Communion, was actually illustrated, and this is the final page, showing the Chateau & the Vampire Court as they were in 2017:

The Chateau is the perfect happily ever after fairytale ending, cuz that's how AR imagined her vampires: romantic, opulent relics/encapsulations of the Old World, and all that implies. (Which is why I NEED to see AMC!Louis become the Prince Consort in France; I'm gonna crack up and die; the Meghan Markle parallels are too good to pass up! 😅)

AR's vampire covens of the Old World Europe are microcosmic monarchies--each coven leader is effectively the king, the Master/Maker of his Fledglings and hangers-on. What's wild is that AR THOUGHT she'd totally removed vampires from religious irrational backwards thinking and moved them into the scientific "Modern" age. But look at the TOP HATS & BALLGOWNS they're wearing in 2017. 🤦 TBF, Lestat said people could wear whatever they wanted, but VELVET was the fabric of the Court--a la Marius & Lestat, as Marius had painted on the Chateau's ballroom ceiling.

Lestat had adopted Benji's philosophy about vampires being one Tribe/family (which is Judeo-Christian at its core, esp. since Benji's an Israeli and the "tribes" are Biblically inspired); a family that should live under one roof (his) & follow one way of life (his) & answer to one God/Voice (his/Marius). AR's books had been leading up to PL & BC the whole time.

The establishment of a vampire monarchy started with Akasha herself, queen of Egypt who wanted to make a matriarchal empire of undead. Naturally, being a mouthpiece of the white patriarchy, AR made the black woman the villain of the VC and had her killed (same w/ Rhoshamandes TBH)--ultimately for Lestat's benefit.

There's 3 main vamps who defined what a vampire monarchy looks like: Marius, Armand, & Lestat. Marius isolated himself from his vampiric peers to keep TWMBK safe. His painting workshop/studio full of little human boys is no equivalent of a vamp court, but it's an intentionally stark parallel w/ legit covens like Santino's Children of Darkness/Satan. Marius lived in his art-nerd "court," in the "light." The image of the vampire Marius in his opulent red velvet cloaks was such anathema to Santino that he burned down Marius' villa. The image of "Master" Marius had Armand reeling when he saw Lestat prancing all over town in his red velvet--The Once and Future King reborn--Marius 2.0.

After being brainwashed by Santino, book!Armand became the coven leader par excellence, a "real, monstrous" vampire--controlling his coven with an iron fist; killing young vamps on sight & "purging" the territories he claimed. From Night Island to Trinity Gate, Armand was always making mini-empires for himself, a modernized neocapitalist take on the Old World regimes he had been born under (AMC moving Armand to Dubai is genius). Armand's dark where Lestat is light; not afraid to get his hands dirty (as seen in PLatRoA when the Replimoids start becoming a "threat" to the vampires).

Vampires are inherently a product of the Old World's fears & flaws. It's no coincidence that Castlevania Nocturne depicted the French aristocracy as a bunch of hedonistic bloodsucking vamps, draining the lifeforce of society to fuel their voracious appetites & unsustainably lavish lifestyles--the Savage Garden indeed.

The Chateau Era is AR's literal Versailles, and Lestat is AR's literal Sun King--(I'm surprised there aren't more Loustat/Monchevy AU fanfics). But the twist I've pointed out several times is that Lestat is actually nouveau riche. Son of a Marquis, he was born to the Old World nobility, but the Marquis was a bum and DIRT POOR. Lestat never grew up like the French aristocracy did--he didn't know what it was like to let them eat cake. The crumbling Chateau was a relic of a bygone era, back when the de Lioncourts actually had a COURT status & could afford their castle.

And just like it was Amel who told Lestat to go home and make the Chateau his court in PL, it was also Amel who told Lestat to win back Louis and ask him to be his Prince Consort in PLatRoA--Lestat had been being guided by Amel for decades without even realizing it, cuz Amel had already chosen him (and Louis) to lead the vampires.

The topic of Inheritance and White Privilege is a big one, cuz in death he got EVERYTHING with The Dark Gift--vampirism from his Maker Magnus (Latin for "The Great"--Alexander the Great, Ptolemy the Great, Pompey the Great, and the horror of all of those white imperialists who "inherited" the ancient AF empires of Egypt & Persia; who ransacked Africa & Asia for treasure & bled the land dry till they crumbled the second they died (a la Alexander's rabid Diadochi, the busted inbred Ptolemaic dynasty, etc); the dragon (Devil/Dracula) Smaug sitting on a mountain of gold not doing a effing thing good with all that money; the deadbeat Marquis who let the glorious Chateau fall to ruin).

And TWICE they had this French White sitting in a room FULL of black folk talking about how privileged he was while trauma-dumping at the same time; ugh it's hysterical; AMC ifs feral! XD

In TVL we got BOTH Lestat & Marius backstory, and just as Armand noticed, Lestat & Marius are polar opposites, but eerily similar when you think about where they started vs where they went. 👀

In life, Marius had been a LITERAL Brat Prince, who pranced around without a care in the world except for his books; traveling the world, charmed by the unwashed peasants.

"Plus Marius giving that white supremacist monologue on the value of human life in the west doing away with monarchy ofc."

LOL, Marius is full of SH!TE. 😂 First of all, the sheer irony of Marius "de Romanus" being born of a CELTIC woman in GAUL (FRANCE), a colony the Greek AND Roman imperialist machine CONQUERED. Marius is no moralist agonizing about the value of human LIFE--Marius is a hedonist & an aesthete who cares about human ART--he was GLAD that imperialism preserved Roman values.

Marius is an ARTISTE. He doesn't GAF about the plight of conquered enslaved persecuted oppressed peoples--not even his own MOTHER. He talks about the destruction of civilized society & the Roman Empire ad nauseum, while not batting an eyelash to how those empires were built on the back of destruction & death: THE Savage Garden; BEAUTIFUL ROME. Monarchy & imperialism was the vehicle pushing human "progress/civilization:" and for him it peaked in Rome & the Renaissance.

Rome only claimed it didn't want a monarchy cuz the SENATE (that had KILLED the last Roman King) was monarchy enough. Julius Caesar knew democracy is hypocrisy, and was like eff all y'all, make me EMPEROR. 👑 Lestat's no Pompey or Alexander--he's CAESAR, the one who "inherited" ALL of Magnus' empire and became Dictator for Life (until he was backstabbed ofc, LOL).

Marius had nothing on Lestat--the ARCHITECT obsessed with building homes for his whole family; the patriarchal overlord. Louis XIV built Versailles to keep a close eye on all the nobles, moving the entire court to literal Nowheresville France to orbit around him as the Sun King, the absolute monarch.

Every single VC book was a smaller scale rendition of Lestat as the savior, Lestat as the Brat Prince, pater familias, king, and GOD. Even moreso than Louis (i.e.: AR herself), Lestat's the Prime Mover whose antics pushed the narrative forward every time.

In PL Lestat renovating the Chateau happened at the same time that he took his son Viktor & his ward Rose in. (Rose's entire arc is like night & day compared to what happened with Claudia--Loustat looking after her was like a do-over for Claudia.)

This is where the Redemption Arc starts, cuz what Lestat had always wanted was to make a change & have a family & REBUILD. His life was TRASH, and he'd HATED that Chateau and all it represented--it was the tomb he was scared he'd die in. But Lestat HAD to die in order to finally GROW UP.

Marius dubbed Lestat "the damnedest creature" and the "Brat Prince" for a reason--he's impossible to control, or reason with. He's very much a giant walking manchild--there are 12 year olds way more mature than he is; just look at Benji in TVA onwards. AR is NEVER subtle about her hard-on for Lestat, but she also doesn't shy away from how incredibly immature he had been for so long.

To his credit, in PL Lestat right away chose a Vampiric Council of Elders for himself, knowing full well he was in over his head. Lestat called Marius his Prime Minister--NOT in the sense of today's PMs that lead the gov't for monarchic figureheads the way the parliament/senate/congress does. Instead Lestat namedropped Richelieu, Mazarin, & Colbert--the famous supporters of Louis XIV.

But in PLatRoA it started dawning on Lestat what it meant to take REAL accountability for his actions; that the careless things he did actually had serious consequences for everyone around him (sunbathing to get a tan, etc). He'd finally earned Louis' forgiveness, and they were basically engaged. Things seemed peachy...until ish got REAL in BC. Lestat had royally effed up by underestimating Rhoshamandes back in PL, acting like everything was a laughable game--little Lord Fauntleroy PRETENDING at being king.

SPOILER: Lestat only became Prince cuz in PL Rhosh killed Maharet & Mekere was too sad to go on, so she gave the Sacred Core to Lestat. Lestat forgave Rhosh even when everyone said he was being too lenient, caught up in everyone being a loving Tribe, Rhosh included, when they're KILLERS. Then everything went down with Rhosh vs the Replimoids in PLatRoA. Then in BC Rhosh kidnapped Gabrielle & Louis. When he came for Marius & Marius fought back, there was a HUGE battle that nearly burned down the Chateau & its village.

What Rhosh's goons said about Lestat's Court was just like the Children of Darkness. Like what Marius said to Santino, & Lestat said to Armand, the Court told Rhosh's coven that the Court (a microcosm of the world) was there for the benefit of vampires. Lestat's DUTY was to protect vamps from ANYONE who threatened them--including other vamps, whom they'd literally CANNIBALIZE.

Just like the Theatre of Vampires, the Court was a horror with a beautiful veneer; Blood and Gold. When the court ate Rhosh & ate Baudwin, it was like ANIMALS/demons. It did nothing to help find Gabrielle, Louis & Marius, and served no real purpose but for the mob to act in Lestat's name, shoving a signet ring on his finger in the shape of a MONSTER (Medusa) while the vamps danced & Lestat was busy grieving.

He hated what the Court was turning into in Marius' absence, in the wake of Rhosh's war, renovations happening beyond anything he'd planned before as they needed to repair all the structural damage to the Chateau. Like Armand told him afterwards: the Court/Coven gave them all the illusion of purpose on what Louis called "The Devil's Road." (What was REALLY cool is that Armand was begging Lestat to kill the Replimoids, but everything he said ALSO fit when applied to vampires themselves--they're ALL monsters, but as Lestat insisted with the human dungeons:

"There is killing and there is killing. There is murder; there is massacre; there is slaughter. And what I willed for this Court was something that was now in great peril.... We are not barbarians."

"some of the most hair-ripping parts of TVL are when he pontificates on his secular, rational, progressive quintessentially 18th century mind that rejects superstition & tradition"

So yeah, AR pretty much tries to have her cake and eat it too? The Prince Lestat trilogy stresses that vamps will rise above the religious/superstitious castigation of both humans AND vampires who see them as nothing more than uncivilized monsters, living with Lestat & feasting on the Evil Doers locked up in the Chateau's dungeons, dancing all night and never in-fighting again. But ironically, this is NOT the secular Enlightened Age of Science AR though it would be in PLatRoA. The Chateau was fully restored by the Winter Solstice--the start of the New Year; the Chateau decorated to look like Christmas. Marius gives a big speech explaining that Lestat had fought Rhosh fully expecting to have died, and that because Lestat was willing to lay down his life for all of them, he deserved to be their Prince forever--the messianic Christ figure. They celebrate having become one Tribe. Leading the Court, Marius is the Prime Minister, Gabrielle calls herself the Queen Mother, Lestat is the Prince/King, and Louis is his Prince Consort. (Even Lestat's favorite architect is turned into a vampire, LOL.) NGL Anyone who doesn't like Lestat should probably never read the PL Trilogy, cuz AR basically creams herself every other page over Lestat--he's her GOD.

It's not a plea of sympathy for monsters, but rather a celebratory paean to the Vampiric Court; "We take what we must have to live and we do it without regret." 💀 God & the Devil don't exist, cuz AR retconned Memnoch by making all angels AND vampires aliens from Atlantis. Everyone cheers & dances as Lestat declares "May we never drink the poison of self-loathing!," the way Nicki did, and Rhosh, Santino, even Armand & Louis. Loustat dance in the ballroom before taking their places, Lestat sitting on his golden red velvet throne, Louis standing beside him, and everyone cheering on their Blood Communion.

Sorry this was so long, @undecimber-of-joy XD

#the vampire lestat #lestat de lioncourt #the vampire chronicles #undecimber-of-joy #prince lestat trilogy & the chateau era #iwtv tvc metas

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aadmelioraa · 1 year

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PLEASE tell me the context of the line, "If this fails and there is no escape for you, please tell me you'll find a man you trust to kill you softly." that is THE most intense line of dialogue i've ever ready holy shit i need to watch this show??

AHHHHHHHHH Beth it is literally SO intense, like…ok, so…Uhtred, the main character and guy who says that line, is at this point in a relationship with Aethelflaed, the woman in the gifset. I very decidedly do not ship them together, I resent how often her character is sidelined to prop him up, among other things…the historical Aethelflaed is an incredibly impressive figure, but a lot of her achievements are given to the fictional Uhtred in the show…I will stop there, just…I really really do not ship them for a variety of reasons and that is a big one lol.

I do, however, ship Aethelflaed with the bowlcut dude, aka Aldhelm, our favorite morally flexible Mercian who at this point is ride-or-die for Aethelflaed. Their storyline makes me feral, which you know at this point given my unhinged posts. But like…Aldhelm is canonically in love with her and has been for a while (he confesses it during the s3 finale while bleeding out in Aethelflaed's room, having been stabbed by her abusive and nefarious husband for siding with Aethelflaed's leadership tactics over his, after he'd spent many years being loyal to the husband, scheming on his behalf, etc).

It's a GREAT scene, his s3 arc is just him slowly shifting to her side entirely and it is so FUN, the actor (James Northcote) is excellent and provides so much depth to what, in s2, had been a fairly straightforward characterization (though still very fun, I loved him in s2 also). Anyway, Aethelflaed never reciprocates Aldhelm's affections (which I personally think is a great writing choice) BUT they are like…functionally a team, very much operating as partners, he is supportive of her and she can rely on him fully in her function as a leader but also in a personal capacity.

So the thing with that find a man to kill you softly moment: they're about to fight in a huge battle with the odds stacked against them and there is a risk that Aethelflaed, as Lady of Mercia, might be taken as a political prisoner and be tortured, used as collateral, etc. Uhtred, her love interest, tells her to be sure she won't be taken alive, and then Aethelflaed reveals SHE ALREADY PICKED SOMEONE TO KILL HER SOFTLY and that THAT MAN IS ALDHELM because OF COURSE IT IS!! BUT THE ACTUAL THING IS when it comes down to it…ALDHELM CAN'T KILL HER. HE HAS A KNIFE TO HER THROAT AND THEY'RE SURROUNDED AND SHE'S LOST HER SWORD AND HE'S WAITING TIL THE LAST SECOND but HE CAN'T KILL HER!! LOOK AT HIS FUCKING FACE WHEN HE REALIZES IT!!

They're only saved by the last minute archery intervention from her brother, their ally, who shows up with his army in the nick of time. This is a mere season and a half (though this does include significant time jumps, tbf) after Aldhelm suggested to Aethelflaed's husband that he HAVE HER ASSASSINATED. And a season after ALDHELM WAS SENT TO BE THE ONE TO ASSASSINATE HER! He has a knife to her throat there too, though he doesn't intend to actually kill her, he's just a lowkey dramatic bitch. There is so much fucking knife kink in their storyline, I swear to GOD.

Also, back to the original question (sorry)…the writers made the choice to have Aethelflaed be in a battle couple with Aldhelm during this ep, not Uhtred (her canonical love interest), and it FUCKS. The whole sequence is just FLAWLESS. I have my issues with that season (season 4 out of 5 total) as it relates to her storyline, but the ship moments are so good. I can't recommend watching the show on the basis that it's good but I can recommend watching it on the basis that those two have burrowed into my brain and live there permanently. I have never written so much fic for a ship as I have for those two, they make me insane, I love them. The show is very much not about either of them (they both appear in s2, also), but they have a really satisfying joint arc for the most part. It's the perfect recipe for shipfic, for me: I am dissatisfied with enough that I have plenty of canon-based ideas, and that pairing has an extremely compelling relationship that's never consummated. Plus it hits all of my kinks: loyal advisor/queen, enemies to lovers, pining, angst, repression, and there is sooo much fic potential for secret relationships, and of course my beloved sexy paperwork feat competency kink as they tackle administrative duties together.

Thank you for letting me yell at you about them, I hope this answers your question hahaha.

#kat replies #bettsfic #they give me so much life for real #aethelflaed x aldhelm #the last kingdom #long post #[incoherent screaming]#anti uhtred #anti aethelflaed x uhtred

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cardanfckinggreenbriar · 1 year

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the stolen heir thoughts

so apparently people are not liking this book. which icl is a little bit WILD to me because i thought it was brilliant.

but here are my thoughts on why that *might* (emphasis on MIGHT don't come at me if you have some ✨quirky✨ reason for why you didn't like it i literally don't care) be the case.

there will be some spoilers ahead, i will try to limit them, but you guys are pretty unpredictable anyway, just don't say i didn't warn you.

most people reading this duology have come straight from tfota (and if you're not wtf are you doing here, go sit your ass down and read tcp, you demon) and if that's the case, there is a high likelihood you are a reader who idolises jude and cardan and puts them on a pedestal (AS THEY DESERVE ABSOLUTE BEAUTIFUL ICONS.) and you know, although we were warned by holly that this first book would be in suren's perspective, it's not so comfortable to not only be so tantalisingly close to them and not see them (we want our babies back), but to see them, to see this world, to see other characters, too (like oak), through a completely different lens.

i've heard people saying it's flat for that, and i get we're returning to a world, it might feel like holly is just doing some recycling but icl i kinda really love the book for that, and it also seems like a really holly thing to do.

i mean sure, i could have maybe lived without madoc's return, but i also think that it really works.

back to the point tho, for suren, this is a very different world, her relationship with it is different, and the people in it, though familiar to us, are not to her, and i think the main thing to take away from this is to remember that not one of these characters are clear cut heroes or villains. they're people.

jude, to suren, is just a cold, harsh, strategic mortal queen — funnily enough, suren probably didn't get to read tfota, so hasn't experienced jude the way that we have, and the same for other characters that we are familiar with.

i mean think about it, when we read tfota and suren was described as 'creepy' and all that, did we bat an eyelid? no, we accepted it, mainly because we were seeing suren the way that jude and her family were, as a monster girl, whose parents wanted her to marry oak, and we didn't want that. we see it politically, also. when we see this through suren's eyes, all of a sudden, it's heartbreaking, and ofc it is, because she was a child, and she was being manipulated and used, she wasn't saved, she wasn't treated with any sort of love, from anyone.

but jude couldn't give her that love. for so many reasons. but still, that makes her seem like less of a hero (again, not that she was one to begin with.)

and if they're not the heroes anymore, if our way of seeing things suddenly becomes blurrier and less defined, where does that leave them? we feel like everything becomes less stable, because in most books, we're used to the protagonist telling us how we should feel.

so it feels like the possibility of things going south for our favourite characters is all too real, and no one likes that. i hate the idea of jude and cardan not getting their perfect happy ending, whatever that looks like... but i'm not too sure that i want it to look any different to how we expected it: them being in love, high king and queen forever and ever and having lots of children, until they get too old and tired and decide to retire together.

of course, the plot itself also destabilises the chances of this, but i won't go into that in detail here just in case someone with a taste for chaos has decided to read this far (!! i said begone, demon !!)

but here's the thing, like i said, in holly's books, the characters are first and foremost people. jude makes mistakes, does so many horrible things, and tbf in the reading community, we have a bit of a nasty habit of glorifying that, and just saying slay, she's a badass (which she IS, but also guys... murder... bad...?), especially when it's the main character (see the way people still villainize taryn... but that's a whole other discussion.) and what does that mean? it means independence. yes there's mention of fate in the books, but there is independence and true character growth.

now here's the thing. we have a whole other book to come. i doubt that holly is going to leave suren where she is (unless she does which could also be so cool and open up a whole new universe of opportunity for the direction in which elfhame goes and whilst this might be completely evil, i could so get behind that. ANYWAY) why is holly writing suren? what are suren's fears? what is suren's motivation rn? if we examine all of these things, we see that wren is still grappling with all of these things, and that the position she is in right now isn't going to help her or satisfy her.

suren's whole life has been dictated by the greed and megalomania of the people around her. she is suffering because of that exact greed and megalomania. power will not heal her, not like this, at least.

and finally, coming to oak. holly has already played the 'i-don't-want-to-be-king-but-ends-up-being-one-and-a-really-good-one-because-i-didn't-want-to-be-one-in-the-first-place' card with cardan. i don't personally think she's planning on playing it again with oak. i think it's a really clever way of suggesting at it, and reminding us, and showing us what we're used to, but i think oak is being honest. ofc, i also HOPE he is being honest.

there is also the next book's title to think about (the prisoner's throne) but in all honesty, i don't think speculating on that will be worthwhile. holly really could throw anything at us.

i have a couple of other thoughts, about jude and cardan and what might be going on there, but those thoughts don't really sit right with me and aren't really constructive to the happy endings lol so i don't like them and will not be sharing bc i do not have to !! 🥰

all in all, if you didn't like it because of what it suggests for our favourite high king and queen... anything could happen. i trust holly to write a book that truly devastates us all. but i hope that i've also shown you that what she has written is not unjustified. i'm not going to conclude with a what i think will happen, even though i have very strongly suggested it because i don't want to jinx anything... if i'm wrong, i'm wrong, and i'll happily be wrong, though i know my happiness isn't guaranteed...

#the stolen heir spoilers #stolen heir #the folk of the air #queen suren #oak greenbriar #prince oak #suren #oak x wren #oak x suren #elfhame #high queen of elfhame #high king of elfhame #jude duarte #cardan greenbrair

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brother-genitivi · 8 months

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pulling the uno reverse card to say hello???? your bg3 thoughts???? anything you'd like to share with the massess? 📸🎙️ what's the wildest thing you've done so far what are the basics for your ocs?

HEJHKFSSJ hi merhaba hello I have SO MANY thoughts (I've played up to 1/4 of Act 3 before restarting so I'll try and be vague)

WOW. What a game what a GAME!! I have never got attached to so many side characters. I love that I can give them closure and conclusive ends to their arcs, and they're not even main characters. I love that as a player, I can have an influence in my environment. I love that I can challenge my companions and be challenged, and that opinions don't simply change overnight. There's development. There's so much satisfaction in the companion character arcs. Also some of the dialogue options are straight up FOUL in classic Larian Studios style. ok this is getting long sdksjlkds;

I can actually have consequences to my actions. Playing a good character FEELS good, rather than it being 'oh I need to please (companion) and I know this choice will help'. Some of the companion quests made me cry. I burst into tears at Astarion's. tbf I cry at everything but I just djnvhfadklcKLD;

I've done some wild shit... speaking of, I flung some at someone's face and started a fight. Walked into the barn and saved the situation by saying 'this smut would sell well in bookshops'. Got beaten to an inch of my life by a hottie who took a LOT of pleasure in my screaming, then I said I enjoyed it. Vandalised a portrait of Vlaakith... in front of Lae'zel. Shoved a man into lava. Got a statue of myself to put in camp. It's really big. And obnoxious.

I've only been playing one oc really, and that's Safaa. She's a seldarine drow and bard. She spent the entirety of her life living in a drow village in the Underdark, adopted by her mothers after her parents died under mysterious circumstances. Safaa meets her first love after a group of circus performers are waylaid on the road and seek refuge in her village. She's utterly enamoured by them, or rather their intimate knowledge of what the world looks like under sunlight. One of the performers, a young, handsome half-drow takes an interest in her.

He tells her about the world above. She tells him about her paintings. They walk arm in arm speaking of things meant only for each other, always giggling about inane things. She reads to him when the words don't make sense to him. He teaches her to play the flute, how to dance. She's young and infatuated with the first person to express romantic attention towards her. She believes she loves him. He stays with her in her village long after the other performers move on. He promises to take her to the surface, to show her the sun.

He doesn't get the chance. Their relationship doesn't get the chance to bloom. He dies. No one knows why. Bad luck, perhaps. And Safaa is utterly convinced it's her fault. People she loves seem to drop like flies around her. It must be her fault. She adopts a 'stay away from me, I only cause death' attitude and isolates herself from her family. She makes her way to the surface, but before she has the chance to cherish the sunlight, she's snatched onto the nautiloid.

She romances Astarion <3 she is the epitome of sunshine mired in guilt, and he's a vampire. Do you see the- do you see the vision do you s-

Here's the girl in question

#asks #safaa salhani #baldur's gate 3 #TYSM FOR LETTING ME INFODUMP <3<3 SO MUCH LOVE TO YOUUUU #i am dark urging her playthrough rn #so i'm gonna see what that's like before i decide if i wanna incorporate that into her story hehe #she's so babygirl i'm-

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missgowgow · 9 months

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uncanny counter season 2 is definitely weaker than season 1 (tbf season 1 was really well written so it’s hard to live up to) but im not able to fully place why, I think my main problems are

1. the villains are wayyy less fleshed out and what we do have doesn’t work well with prior world building. I was down for “they came back for revenge” thing but it’s not focused on as much as the money and there’s no real reason for them to be that focused on the money? with the exception of baek hyang-hui who’s rage was based on her expensive tastes, evil spirits were characterized to be driven by fulfilling their impulse for violence and by strong desires from their human lives (ie. ji cheong-sin helping his adoptive dad and protecting the kids at the orphanage). gelly and hwang pil-kwang are definitely doing violence but they obviously must have other motivations if they’re so focused on this money and I feel like there hasn’t even been hints/slow character building about what those motivations are. ma joo-seok is getting fleshed out really well as a sympathetic villain so that makes up for a lot.

2. the few plot points from season one that could be followed up on feel like they’ve been dropped. we still don’t really know why so mun is special. it felt like they were hinting at romance between so mun and hana that was entirely dropped. even minor things like whether chu mae-ok went to the wedding or if mo-tak got in touch with jeong-yeong’s family after her death. kinda feels like a new story in the same universe instead of a continuation of the existing story.

3. not enough non-supernatural stuff. season 1 was strong imo because it showed how the supernatural was wrapped up in the mundane. evil spirits are abusive husbands and shitty bosses and school bullies. ordinary evils could also be possessed by evil spirits. even ji cheong-sin was being used as a hit man by normal evil businessmen who just cared about profit. it made everything feel more real and made the characters feel like people who existed outside of the plot. I’m feeling much less of that so far this season. big exception there is hana and her high school crush. was really hoping on more of a focus on what exactly everyone thinks so mun is doing rn if he’s not in college (also how did that happen?)

that being said, I’m actually really enjoying the season and I feel like the episodes are getting stronger as they go so I have high hopes. it’s just that season 1 was really well written so that every plot line was relevant and connected and every character was well fleshed out, so it felt jarring going right from season 1 to season 2.

(also this is petty but I wish they had kept the tighter curls from season 1, everyone looks really good there’s nothing to complain about, I just liked the tighter curls as a story element lol)

#the uncanny counter #the uncanny counter season 2

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just-a-plain-old-bitch · 2 years

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Ok, I just saw someone do this and I just did it to my friend...

So here are the Les Amis and Co. As described by me :)

Enjolras: oh boy, gay. Very gay. Also blonde. He has a big forehead. (This is the guy Joe Quinn played). He likes red a lot. Sings a whole damn song about it. He dies

Combeferre: what a funky man. He likes moths. Also, like the ENTIRE fandom has decided he's a medical student. Pretty sure it's not canon tho. He's played by that guy I was on about the other day who I thought was like 40. He also dies

Courfeyrac: gay. Short king. Defo likes theater. Literally everyone's friend. Either dating Jehan or Combeferre depending on the fanfic you read. I've met the guy that played him in the film. Also dead

Grantaire: Cynic. Has a crush on Enjolras. The fandom has decided he's a cat person and he does art. Bi. He's an asshole. But a loveable one. Honestly I can talk about the different characterisation of him for DAYS. My boy Vicky Hugo did him so dirty tho. Also dead

Feuilly: Orphan. Bless him. Sweetest boy. Honestly so slept on. Wants to adopt the whole world. Enjolras has had a crush on him. He also makes fans (how funky is that!). He's ginger. Most people Headcanon him as Polish (same tbf). An icon. I can talk about him for days. Oh he's also tall. And dead

Jean "Jehan" Prouvaire: Monarch of "what the fuck is gender?" No fashion sense whatsoever. Also another favourite of mine. Gay. Or queer. Something along those likes. They also speak like 10 languages (canon) I find that so freaking cool. He also plays the flute. And he does poems. Alistair Brammer plays him beautifully. They are the youngest of the barricade boys. They were kidnapped on the barricade and died alone. (I can talk about them for months)

Bahorel: Sometimes queer. Sometimes straight as fuck. I can't decide. Sports a stunning moustache. Boxer. Very muscley. I don't think about this guy enough. I should. He's a funky guy. Very loud. Also dead

Bossuet: B A L D. Big part of his character. Oh he's also bi. And polyamorous. Dating Joly and Musichetta. Very clumsy. Vicky Hugo makes this VERY obvious in the book. It's like he has 2 personality traits. Bald and Clumsy. He's also rad. Best buds with Grantaire. Dead

Joly: Med student. Also a hypochondriac. And germaphobe. This man.. please help him. He's very extravagant. Has a cane. And a top hat. Dating Bossuet and Musichetta (as said earlier). Also short king. Also Chinese. What an icon. And he's dead.

Marius: poor soul. Help him. Constant state of confusion. But somehow he pulls 2 bitches? Idk how either. Bless him, he's trying his best. Courfeyrac is his comfort extrovert. He is also afraid of Enjolras and Combeferre. Don't blame him tbf. Noodle boy. He's so tall.. like 6"5 or something. He actually survived.

Eponine: Has a crush on Marius in canon. But my Headcanon.. she's bi. She's also a bitch. But in the best way. I love her. Feminist. Marius is probably also scared of her. Shitty childhood. But y'know, she vibes. She also reminds me of you. And I've seen the person that plays her perform live. HOLY SHIT I cried. (For the record, the show was Frozen). Also dead

Cosette: Marius' main girl. In canon. Headcanon she's defo queer. Cottagecore goth. Adopted. Listens to Taylor Swift (so does Eponine, I forgot to mention that) she's probably Eponines girlfriend, let's be fair. She needs a hug. Trauma central. Bless her. I love her so much. I'm still deciding weather I like her with Blonde hair or Brown hair. Her and Jehan are besties. She also survived.

Musichetta: Icon. Ginger. Suuuper curly hair.. like wild. Pansexual. Also poly. As said earlier, dating Joly and Bossuet. Don't know much about her.. but she defo loves musicals. Watches bootlegs with R (grantaire) when bored. Indie/grunge style. Girl boss. I believe she survived.. idk tho

#enjolras #combeferre #courfeyrac #grantaire #feuilly #jehan #jean prouvaire #bahorel #bossuet #joly #Marius #cosette #eponine #musichetta #les Mis #les Amis

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mochiwrites · 1 year

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Lucy... i'm love her. from like the moment i saw her i was sure i wasn't gonna like her but then more and more of her character was revealed and i just fell in love.

Like she's so hard-working and started her journey in the first place to prove to herself that she's independent and hard-working and that she's worth it. everytime she found a new key she worked hard to develop a bond with the spirit because she knew that not all of them would be treated right y other holders (as proven by Leo's fears and avoidance at first) but she fights for not only her friends but her keys too!!!! like!!!! Who else (besides yukino) does that!!!!!!!!! We've seen how other holders treat their keys and it's like "oh wow wait a min, lucy was onto something" and she learned her compassion from her mom and instead of squashing it like her dad wanted she made it flourish!!!!!! And her dad!!! He was working on changing himself and she didn't have to forgive him at all, but she did and she healed from it. there's sm more but i feel like i've gone on for long enough but i'd love to hear your input too!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

listen 12 year mochi who didn't know she was a lesbian at the time was Instantly in love with lucy (young mochi the signs were there you loveable fool) and she was Onto something.

I think what I love a lot about lucy is the fact that unlike in a lot of shounen anime, she wasn't forced into a relationship with natsu. like don't get me wrong, I'd love for her and natsu to finally get their shit together however. there's been so many animes where the lead girl fell for the lead guy and confessed their feelings and she turned into this really flat character (I'm not gonna point fingers *coughs swordartonline coughs*)

like does lucy fall for natsu? yes. but it feels so natural and gradual over the course of the series. but it also isn't her 1 (one) character trait y'know??? what mashima does really well with lucy is that he establishes her as her own character, and she is a strong character.

she runs away from home at like 16, literally throws her dad's money aside, and leaves her rich and cushiony life to make something of herself! she runs away and works to establish her own life (and it makes sense why she freaks about money so much, she's literally lived on her own and that apartment is her's, a home she made herself, a home she worked hard to achieve) and it takes a lot of guts to do that, especially as someone who grew up very sheltered.

at the start of the series, lucy may not be a character who can meet her guildmates on the same level of physical strength, but she has the strongest heart out of everyone. in every situation we see her in, her heart is where she really shines and it makes me melt so much.

where lucy may lack in physical strength (at first, because we do see her become physically stronger and WOW IM GAY AS FUCK), she makes up for it with her very big heart and the bonds she makes with the people around her and UGH!!!!!!!!!

not even lying I think about her saving loke literally all the time. it's such an emotional scene and it is SO fucking well done like holy hell. lucy hardly even knows loke, he's flirted with her a couple of times, he was kind of an ass one or twice (though tbf luce didn't know what was going on), and yet here she is, holding him as he's slowly disappearing and risking her own life to save him and SHE'S DEFENDING HIM. IN FRONT OF THE CELESTIAL SPIRIT KING. SHE'S CALLING HIM STACHE FACE.

she was ready to sacrifice it all for loke.

and she is so loving to her celestial spirits. you can tell how much she loves all of them, and how much they all mean to her. hell, she's literally going on a journey to find aquarius' key!!!!! that is her MAIN goal in 100yrsq and it breaks me. I sobbed like a baby when she broke aquarius' key. like that DESTROYED me. aquarius is probably the most important bond she has because aquarius was layla's key and she watched lucy grow up and GODDDDDDD that scene breaks me. BUT AGAIN. IT JUST SHOWS THAT LUCY IS READY TO RISK IT ALL TO SAVE HER LOVED ONES AND AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lucy's character is just so. she is SO important to me. I love her development. and I think a lot of people who hate lucy let the fanservice ( >:( stop treating my girl like that I stg ) and exaggerated character moments get in the way of their view of her. so many people are quick to say that she's weak because of her magic and I. do not think people realize that being strong isn't just something physical. they also forget that lucy lived a very sheltered life before joining fairy tail, so of course she's not going to be on the same level as say erza or wendy or mirajane. she has to work for it, and she does!

she has soooo many powerful moments, like the oracion seis arc??? bro she literally won gemini because angel treated them like shit and her compassion, her heart is what swayed them. I think they even said they wanted to form a contract with her too. aND THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES???? DO I EVEN HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES ARC. BECAUSE I CAN. AND THIS POST WILL GET SIGNIFICANTLY LONGER. BUT I SO CAN.

future lucy. fucking future lucy. LOUD YELLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will contain myself but COME ON. THE ENTIRITY OF THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES ARC IS SUCH A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW STRONG AND WONDERFUL LUCY IS???????

also. key of the starry sky arc. like I. HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I love lucy so fucking much man. despite fairy tail's many flaws, she really is a wonderfully written character who can stand on her own without natsu (and that's a whole other post because I can talk about those two for FOREVER) and gah. I love her. she's so strong. my wife. beloved.

#mochi speaks #hello hi #I'm very normal about lucy heartfilia #she means the world to me #LMAO THIS GOT SO LONG MY BAD #I DIDN'T MEAN TO GO ON FOR SO LONG #BUT THE HYPERFIXATION REALLY GRIPPED ME THERE

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revclver-jesus · 3 months

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{{ ok. having watched what i think is all the new takaya scenes from near the beginning to the end... Here are my final thoughts!

It was worth the wait !! dfhkgskhgd

Takaya's great, the decision to have him develop a fixation on the main character is Iconic, he feels like a deeply weird and intense and erratic feral stray cat that has lived on the streets too long and gone completely haywire, and he's just the right balance of tragic and a little pitiful and menacing and heartless enough to not pity him TOO much. Like, you can choose to feel sympathy for the guy or just see him as a fun over the top antagonist, and that's an impressive line to walk tbh.

Jin is great, he's so much more emotional now, and to go with it they gave him such a sympathetic and almost melancholic end. The tone felt a lot more sad for him this time around, but his devotion to takaya comes across as really sweet as much as it is fanatical. And YES btw-- they did have Takaya do what he did in the movie and says Jin's name as he dies. So don't worry, all his third wheel simping did pay off and Takajin is still online skhgdfdskh

BUT........ I do have one major complaint. Though, tbf i kinda didn't really expect this to change, I just really hoped so. Chidori Chidori Chidori, she.... still doesn't interact with them! At all lmao! I know she spends 70% of the game bedridden, but she also doesn't utter a single word during the scenes where she's with them. It would have been so easy to have her make a single line of banter between the two to indicate some kind of dynamic or history. And when she's outright asked what she felt about the other two she blows the question off in just the right way where its impossible to read how she felt. I get Takaya not being close with her, he doesn't want to be openly close to anyone, but it is just very strange to me to have Jin say twice how much he cares about Chidori as "one of them" and being eager to get her back only for neither of them to say a word to each other. Such a shame, though maybe we'll get to see it in supplementary material/DLC who knows.

It also would have been great to see all three fight together, since they went through the trouble of adding that "takaya team up" battle, but I think the way they fight separately is symbolic so i'll let it pass lmao.

Also-- though this is def more of a long shot and less of a criticism, but in the manga the depiction of them as children really went a long way in showing them as lost and unlucky souls, ( like showing takaya go from sitting alone at the steps of tartarus to being a little boy still sitting alone in the dark ) so I was kinda hoping they'd depict them as children at some point! But that's ok honestly, they'd have to make more 3d models and all that lol

But no, yeah, overall? Really glad to see them again, and this felt like a major improvement in general! Lots more heart and nuance and more intimidation and power to them, I love to see it!

Oh and btw? their last names are indeed still in the credits lol. }}

#persona 3 reload #spoilers #✯ ✧ ✧ o.o.c. ☾ ✞ ☽#✯ ✧ ✧ reload rambling. ☾ ✞ ☽#and that's that !! not that i won't do further rambling as headcanons come to me but hhhhh

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craw-dacious · 5 months

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The things I did by Lolo-ro fic review

Chapter by chapter, until i got distracted by the story lol.

Still fairly new to marauders but am loving it.

summary review: I truly adored this fic, probably my fave Wolfstar so far. I thought the worldbuilding was fantastic, as well as the characterization of baby Harry. Fairly angsty, but with plenty of fluff to make up for it. The raising Harry idea is becoming one of my favorite tropes, and this fic did an amazing job of weaving parenthood into a world that is still filled with complexities and evil, as well as lives outside of the main characters.

SPOILERS BELOW BEWARE

Chapter One

Again, the aftermath for Remus is getting me

So so so sad, and him believing Sirius innocent makes it worse

The traitor shit is horrible to deal with emotionally im sure

I am upset to realize just how much remus ignored harry in the books/canon

Like thats ur nephew fr come onnnn

Chapter Two

Aw he’s doing a good job as a dad

This fic is making him out to be very forgetful, fully forgot about both harry and Sirius

The pacing is much more clear in this which I enjoy quite a bit

Cutesy Christmas, cutesy harry

ALSO I LOVED THE HAGRID MOMENT

I do feel like we need to get the Weasleys involved tbh baby Ron and Harry is PEAK

Chap 3

Pls dont let that annoying ass bitch be important, if theyre in trouble bc of this shit ill kms

Shut up Hagrid he needs everything he wants his parents ARE dead brother

Okay actually I like that annoying ass bitch a lot, this is very good

I guess he actually is spoiling him tbf

Ok so he’s actually forgetful as fuck. Forgot Harry’s birthday, forgot about Sirius AGAIN.

Like actually what is going on is his brain damaged

This chapter has been depressing

The fight IN AZKABAN how will this turn into legit wolfstar if they are so mad they fight WHILE SIRIUS IS IMPRISONED

But also he didn’t talk to a single person for 12 years in canon im gonna kms

Marauders is making me realize just how shitty and sad canon was bruh, remus and Sirius were like ALONE, obvie remus did shit and wasn’t a complete waste but its just so SAD

OKAYYYY I TOLD Y’ALL I LOVE A GOOD MOODY MOMENT

Literally obsessed with alastor moody he’s so fucking cool and we BARELY KNEW HIM in the books because of FUCKING CROUCH

This chapter was incredible, good baby harry, good angst, good FIGHT (love romantic arguments, make me nostalgic) (imy [REDACTED] we fought so cutey)

Ok I think I complained earlier about this, but it’s important for there to be conflict and issues when there’s this much trauma. Great plot choice. Also makes it 20x more interesting

Fuck Peter. I fucking hate Peter.

Chapter 4

Ugh stupid muggles messing everything up

Someone should try to kill them all off or something idk they’re getting in the way

But this is shaping up to have some LEGAL ISSUES which I LOVE because im a fucking NERD <33333

Harry is so cute. I actually prefer this to the last baby Harry bc he has sm more personality.

Almost forgot the meat of this chapter omg its good im getting distracted

Sirius and Harry together was a NEED bruh actually so cute

And I talked to you kate about this earlier but remus has been different in other fics and I do kinda like him in this one, he’s more depressed and stressed than normal, but the forgetfulness almost lends itself to aloofness in a way that fits him

I very much appreciated him being so kind to Sirius. While I understand him being pissed at him for thinking he’s a traitor, the man is in Azkaban, like you’ve got to chill out, talk to him about this stuff when you have more than 15 minutes and less dementors

Anyway that scene was nice, I like the idea of their little family

Chappy 5

Good shit again

THIS is the perfect chapter length, not so long I forget what happens but no so short I have to stop reading every five seconds to review

The werewolf prejudice is a big thing in this fic, im not sure how I feel about it. Obviously from an equality standpoint, werewolves should be seen as human. Yet, there is something to the idea that the actual transformed wolf is very dangerous. I’m worried the wolfsbane study will be viewed as Remus “hiding himself” or something like that, when it should be viewed as a solution to the one thing holding werewolves back.

This can’t be compared to real life discrimination. You can’t be like “so you hate minorities” because none of the minorities I know turn into wolves once a month bruh

Anyway, Dumbledore being morally grey-ish, making mistakes but always anti-voldy. He’s such an interesting character. I like his presence in the book as well. Hagrid should come back soon he’s so nice.

Chap 6

Permanent pass <3, so cute. Having to abandon muggle friends? Not cute. Fuck Dumbledore, but only like a little

Not a dumby stan or hater tbh hes just a little silly in both directions

I’m so conflicted on this situation. Yes, it SUCKS that Sirius thought remus was the spy, but it’s not necessarily damning. It’s likely he convinced himself of it because it was the most painful option so it must’ve been the truth. It seems like fear, almost, and jealousy of the wolves over him? Might be over analyzing and overomanticizing but that is what im seeing atm.

The teaching position goes fucking CRAZY man, If remus was my history teacher my life would be GOLDEN

Do you think remus lupin would be a good addition to upper H hall yes or no

Chapter 7

Jesus fuck I forget how sad all this shit is sometimes

To begin with, the teaching position seems great. I do wish Remus would understand that he’s qualified for it

Speaking of teachers, I would love to see who the DADA teacher is, I know its not permanent but still fun

Anyway, I think 7 kids would be the end of me. I love children, and I still relate to Remus far more than Arthur in that scene, there’s actually no fucking way.

Like yes give me a shot I cannot do it, the strong drink joke was a good cover because I am sure its Arthurs greatest desire

Also, love him just dropping interest about muggles, would love to see that chat actually play out but it seems unimportant

But maybe it’ll be how he catches worm tail …

Azkaban visit was good, Sirius is being less racist, and Remus is being kind. Wish they would love each other again already but slow burn wins <3

Also you could just tell that Sirius missed harry, very cute

Chapter 8

Heart hurts, poor Sirius

I said that remus should be nicer

Chapter 9

Okay, information has been gained

Sorry for short 8 summary

So Sirius FORGOT that he and remus broke up, which is CRAZY

There’s a whole lot of forgetting in this fic im realizing, very relatable

I would actually kill myself

I’m sitting here pondering how I would react in this situation and genuinely tweaking just imagining it

He needs to go break it off with him, he can explain, there’s not really another option for him. If he maintains this it’s going to end poorly. I’m assuming he’s going to do that anyway, as it creates the most drama and is fantastic for the plot

I do think Remus is underestimating the importance of being taken even somewhat seriously by the Wizengamot. I know it’s not what he fully wanted but it’s legitimate progress.

Chapter ten

WHAT DID I SAY HE’S NOT GONNA TELL HIM

This chapter INFURIATED ME

Also im gonna start skipping chapters bc otherwise the review will be long asf

Snape is a piece of work, obviously. Like Remus isn’t being shitty to you and you were a fucking death eater man. Also he despises children which is a red fucking flag

Just let him pet your stupid cat motherfucker

Unless its secretly regulus as an animagus that would be sick asf I saw fan art the other day where he was a cat and it was good

Moving on, im appreciating the slow burn on discovering Peter. Like they easily could have discovered him 3 chapters ago when remus was first there.

Chapter 11 & 12

The enchanted parchment

Leaving him on delivered is crazy actually

Literally reads exactly like the GHP texts between me and [REDACTED] LMAO

“I guess I’ll talk to you later, assuming you’re at soccer, imy!!”

Actually devastated reading this im going to be honest

Lots of shit going down, forgetting and memory issues are such an interesting plot device, it makes any part of the story unreliable, and confuses the reader just a little bit. It also creates a lot of dramatic irony, which can often be very sad and tragic

Also, order members calling voldy “Voldemort” all high and mighty is a bit strange considering that they all chewed harry out about calling him “He Who Shall Not be Named”

Snape stole the parchment read it and slipped a potion into lupins chocolate that he would give to Sirius to sabotage their relationship

Bc Dumbledore told Snape everything as his extra special spy obviously

Ok so I was wrong it was dementors again. And remus told Sirius about the breakup. Which is, the right thing to do I guess

This is so hard for everybody man, Sirius’ perspective is heartbreaking

At least it shows his chats with dumby, who happens to be the funniest person in this fic

Chapters 13 & 14

Reconciliation came a bit too easily but thats alright, I want them to be happy

The amount I would give to receive a cat for Christmas. I want that so bad bruh.

Ok at least they’re acknowledging how bad Remus is with dates

Okay him being a dog seems helpful, I do feel like that should have been noticed a while ago

Honestly am feeling a bit lost in the romance, long distance pining is not my fave but hopefully Sirius will be freed before long and they can be happy for once.

I just am so curious as to why they broke up, I know thats the point but it just doesn’t make sense

Also ignore my random theories I keep throwing about, I dont actually believe snapes cat is regulus or that Snape poisoned Sirius its just fun

Chapters 15-16

They explained the plan so I know it will go horribly wrong

HELL FUCKING YEAH THEY GOT HIM THAT SNEAKY LITTLE CUNT HATE THAT MOTHERFUCKER FUCK PETER I HATE PETER

Still not happy. I dont know what I expected

2 chapters and they’ll kiss, im expecting a huge fight in chapter 17

Chapters 17-20

Ok this is strange. The relationship dynamic has developed very differently than I thought it would. They really need to figure out this memory I’m sure it all a misunderstanding or some stupid shit like that

Someone thought someone else killed somebody else

Also why is this so mirroring to me and [REDACTED] from like July forward

Distant over text/parchment, not allowed to say I love you, basically only physical, guilt for things I couldn’t remember

Except for the baby and trauma and everything

Last fic was me and remus being the same this time it’s Sirius. When am I going to consume content and not think about [REDACTED] again Im tired of him being in my brain

Chap 21-22

KATE I TOLD YOU NO I LOVE YOU FICS I HATE THIS

I also talked about [redacted] with ppl for like an hour and a half last night it was terrible

Did it again the next night bro why is that rat still in my head

23-24

The memories are throwing me for a loop. On the one hand, everything is devastatingly sad. On the other hand, they’re all being emo and need to get it together

Sirius getting “lost in his memories” is a cool idea though, I’m liking the new magic thats being explored in this fic

I need them to have a huge blowup fight. Like a massive fight that sucks and is terrible. I don’t know how they’d do it but I need it

Also I think I can take one more “oh poor Sirius” memory until I blow my brains out. Big whoop your plan failed and you were insecure about it, I’d reach out to the closest person to blame to. I blamed [REDACTED] for not winning an award at model un, not his fault. Sirius can blame Remus for his plan failing and have a moody moment then move on, trust can be rebuilt.

Last five chapters

Ok everything is happy again and the reunion went FANTASTIC

The one thing I feel like I haven’t commented on enough in this fic is Snape

His character is well done, he’s so mean and bitchy but not like completely evil which is just hilarious, I love his and Remus’s dynamic its very good

I also think his relationship with Harry is funny, and I’m glad it’s not as shitty as it started out.

“Harry, friendly and bright-eyed, took the opportunity of silence to lean onto the counter, put his face right up to the goblin’s, and say, “Meow.”

Remus pulled Harry off the counter, embarrassed, and plopped him on the ground. “Don’t meow at people, love.”

That is actually the silliest cutest thing I’ve ever read in my entire life. Literally would birth a child rn bc of how cute that is. Jesus fucking christ bruh

Can they stop making out in public. Like in front of one other person in public. Its so awk

I KEEP TRYING TO GIVE KUDOS THIS IS LIKE SUGAR BRUH SO SWEET

My criticisms are growing though, there are a few things im concerned about but im gonna finish the story before I discuss

Why can I not escape my Draco phase. One sentence about “the little Malfoy” and harry going on playdates and I RUSH to think about how that changes their school dynamic and how they treat each other and all this shit

Looks like they’re leaving some loose ends on purpose, telling not showing a lot here at the end tbh

I WANT A CHILD HE’S SO CUTE

This is the first time ive actually been obsessed with a child character hes ADORABLE

Gonna read the epilogue before writing my final review, but don’t want to take it in for my review

FINAL REVIEW:

Ok. Done. Having to write this a day after finishing because I fell asleep right after

My favorite parts

ANGST: very well done, miscommunication can sometimes be overdone but I feel like it worked this time. I loved how easily apparent the love that was still there was.

Humor: This fic made me laugh out loud multiple times. This was mostly Harry, but there were a couple of moments from the doctor guy and Arthur that made me giggle

CHILD: literally have never seen a child portrayal that was this good. Like literally from beginning to end it was good. I’m sure some people would read this fic and say 2 yo harry is too advanced, but he’s so bright and I feel like growing up with Remus would breed him to be a talker. The accuracy of the 8 yo and 11 yo at the end was good as well, it ticks me off when people fuck up ages of a child, especially one so parenting-focused as this

Depth of world building: I could truly see this world, like I understood the flat, I understood the weasleys, I understood the dorm at Hogwarts. The scene at their graves, everything was great.

Now my weaknesses

Some underdeveloped plots

Peter: they brought up having to talk to him, made it a big deal with getting a memory and then just abandoned it and said “remus had the perfect memory.” Then, the memory was SO MUNDANE. I’m sure the author just fucked up and had to figure something out, which is fine, just was a little dissapointing.

Poison: this is another where I think the plot just ran away from the author, but I was expecting something more than “Sirius asked them to fix it and they did”

Some(?) characterizations

Remus was perfect. Sirius was a little too nice, he’s volatile and little bitt crazy and I got less of that in this fic. Sometimes it was perfect. This isn’t really a criticism, more “it could be a little better”

Overall: 8.3/10

I truly adored this fic, probably my fave wolfstar so far. However, I know this is just because I love children and loved baby harry so much, so my rating is attempting to be unbiased.

#fic rec #remus lupin #wolfstar #fic reviews #gay shit #harry potter #marauders

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tiodolma · 1 year

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So, as you're watching Camelot, who's the better Merlin? 😗 Physical appearance, character, magic, the way he behaves?

As of writing this, i have only been finished watchcing 5/10 episodes of Starz Camelot (2011). I’m going to just answer with what I know for now.

Will contain some spoilers.

I love Colin Morgan but without a doubt, Joseph Fiennes’s Merlin is the best Merlin adaptation I have seen so far. (tbf i've only seen like 3 arthuriana adaptations or 4 if u include monty python)

Physical appearance: I wish his Starz Merlin wasn’t bald. He looks too modern. But BBC Merlin is still more modern-looking compared to him. Starz Merlin’s baldness could be a dealbreaker to some. I know because I had been skeptical at first. Anyway. This Merlin is OLD. No one knows his true age (im still at ep5). This is key because he’s a lot more famous, respected and feared not only coz of his magic but because he knows and has seen things.

Character: It’s like Starz Merlin popped straight out of Prose Merlin. Starz Merlin has the madness, the mystery, the wisdom, the experience. This one is a proper kingmaker, strategist, and an actual tutor to Arthur. He is still very protective, caring and watchful for him not in a “i am your servant” kind of way but more like in a “you better not fck this one up, kid. I placed all my bets of the future in you so can you pls live up to your birthright and pendragon name ffs.”

Magic: He’s as powerful as BBCMerlin (i think). He does not flaunt his magic because the consequences are too great. He’s a proper sorcerer tbh. He’s witchy and etc. His logic and motives are mad and you better just say yes to what he will say. This Merlin is plagued by visions. He can scry effortlessly and without the use of magical objects like waterbowls or crystals. If u watch the show u can see how he does it. He uses his scrying to his advantage tho (which is frkn great i love it.)

The way he behaves: if BBC Morgana has her trademark smirks then Starz Merlin is kinda the same lol. Starz Merlin is crazed and barely holding it together and yet still getting things done. He masterminds a lot of the organizing, the propaganda, the political maneuvering... just to prove arthur’s legitimacy, claim and worthiness. It’s very close to Merlin from the legends I think.

Power Comes At a Cost

What’s important is that Starz Merlin’s main thing is “power comes at a cost”. This is vital in the characterization and what I had been looking for in the entirety of BBC Merlin. Both Starz Camelot’s Merlin and Morgan get hurt or suffer terribly from using their powers. I think it’s also why Starz Merlin has a lot of other skills. Unlike BBC Merlin who rarely shows any regret when he kills/hurts somebody using his magic or just for the sake of “destiny”, Starz Merlin does feel remorse and is afraid of the fact that he can kill people if they dont give him what he wants. This makes his character a lot more nuanced and compelling.

The Plot and Other Characters

I have to admit though Starz Camelot’s storyline is more solid. The characterization of Arthur, Guinevere, Morgan is also strong and goes on par with Merlin’s. They’re not caricatures imho. Plus they act In the age they are supposed to be in the show. Arthur and Guinevere are the youngest but they slowly grow out of impulsivity and into maturity and assertiveness. Morgan Pendragon shows the result of 15 years stuck in a nunnery while stewing in magic, knowledge, revenge and hatred against Uther and Igraine. It’s not a Monster of the Week kind of thing so there is not a lot of senseless killing involved —make no mistake, there is killing involved but it’s not the main focus....unlike in the BBC Show where the story at its core is to “secretly eliminate every threat to the pendragons” due in part to the Monster of the Week format.

The main focus, as of ep5, for Starz Camelot is Arthur growing to be A King with and without Merlin’s constant guidance and protection. This makes the plot and writing better and more coherent (in this first 5 episodes anyway). Moreover I do not think the good vs evil plotline is rubbed in one’s face. In fact there is no blatant mention of good vs evil (which is a relief gdi, everyone in Starz Camelot have a bit of asshole energy in themselves).

BBC Merlin vs Starz Camelot Merlin

I do understand though that BBC Merlin and Starz Camelot were two different stories. BBC Merlin told the storyof Merlin growing into his power whereas Starz Camelot’s Merlin already has power but just refused to use it. In the BBC show Arthur is 2 years older than Merlin and was already trained as heir-apparent and kingdom administrator. In Starz Camelot, Merlin’s age is uknown while Arthur was basically a teenager who he just plucked out of the countryside right after Uther was assasinated. We can already see the power dynamics and scope of influence just between their ages alone. Moreover In BBC Merlin, the magic ban, the genocide, and kilgharrah/gaius, all influence and dictate a lot of BBC Merlin’s secrecy and life. They’re both very lonely characters but Starz Camelot’s Merlin has more freedom and has more control of his own life because there is no magic ban. As expected, BBC Merlin has a more uphill battle.

They both have their idealogies and act in extreme and atrocious ways to getting there but... I know I’ve said this before but BBC Merlin acts more like an indoctrinated bioweapon secret service agent rather than an actual person. Starz Camelot’s Merlin is a lot more nuanced, more grounded and more complicated. Starz Camelot’s Merlin is not the extremely self-righteous-i-am-holier-than-thou-as-the-Emodiment-of-Love-Light-and-Loyalty-creature we know as BBC Merlin Emrys.

Starz Camelot’s Merlin is A Sorcerer and A Kingmaker, in every sense of the word:

smart, tactful and resourceful

Cautious but still cunning

Knows how to handle and manipulate people

Remorseful,

has seen things,

snakey,

duplicitous,

Has meltdowns when overwhelmed,

still sad and caring in his own way and

...most of all have a certain degree of prickly and dangerous madness (and i think he is aware of it)

This one is more faithful in spirit to the basic arthurian legends compared to BBC Merlin.

Conclusion: BBC Merlin (the character) has his charms, but he can be extremely frustrating to watch because he underperforms constantly. What I am trying to say is that everything I complained about BBC Merlin had been fulfilled/achieved/fixed by Starz Camelot’s Merlin in just 5 episodes.

I do not know what is going to happen yet but as for now I am impressed and quite satisfied.

#thots #starz camelot #camelot 2011 #merlin crit #essays

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