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loopy-calico · 23 days

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Sun analysis !!

had some thoughts after i read this tsams confessions post about Sun and how it doesn't feel like he has bonded with his family outside of Moon. you should probably read that first bc i'll be quoting it.

so here's a bit of a (completely lowercase) rant on some of the (in-universe) reasons why i think that might be

'-seeing your entire family grieving over someone [solar] who didn't really give the same amount of love to you as they did to them'

yet sun still acted extremely upset after solar died, which is understandable, but i think has deeper meaning than just 'oh he's sad because he was close to solar (he wasn't) and then watched him die'

it could be an extension of the grieving he never got to do after old moon and lunar died

acting more distraught than he really is makes him fit in more with the rest of his family, who all were close to solar and are deeply affected

he did watch solar die so, that does contribute

not to say he wasn't upset about solar dying! or shouldn't be! it's just that he didn't really...know solar. or talk to him. they never once connected. so why would he be as upset as he is?

'How Sun just leaves, and Lunar, Earth, and Monty go off to grieve without him.'

i think this comes from how him and old moon never talked about their problems. if they felt bad, they had to suck it up and deal with it alone-- after all, you wouldn't want to burden your already stressed out brother with your insignificant problems!

sun and old moon followed that pattern for long enough that it's nature to sun now: he can't be emotional around his siblings, he's not supposed to. it's why he leaves once earth and lunar are going off to properly grief.

'When he speaks to them, he doesn't know what to say or how to respond most of the time. It sometimes sounds like he is talking to a complete stranger.'

sun and old moon were tremendously codependent. they were so close. concerningly so. sometimes, it felt as if they had zero connections outside of each other:

they spent the first years of their life in the same body, together 24/7. after that, they still live and work in the same place, once again being together 24/7. at the start of the show, it seems as if moon doesn't talk to anyone outside of sun, and that sun rarely talked to anyone else; monty and roxy, sure, but they're relationships with sun weren't great, either.

even once lunar rolled around, sun and old moon only believed they could truly trust each other. they were each other's purpose.

sun will never have that amount of a bond, or those intimate of experiences, with anyone else. sun only talked to old moon for so. long. how can he learn to talk to anyone else, if they're not him?

'-said he’s in the best mental state he’s been in a while, but sitting alone in your house just seems extremely lonely.'

old moon would get annoyed with sun easily. sun was anxious and felt the need to check up on moon a lot, make sure he wasn't doing anything that hurt him-- but moon never liked it. he got snappish.

sun and old moon's conversations went better when old moon initiated them.

sun is too afraid to try initiating affection with his siblings anymore. after all, what if they get annoyed? they have real things they're dealing with, what if he's just bothering them? not just with his problems, but with wanting to talk at all?

why even try if it'll probably end up bad anyway?

(BY THE WAY THIS IS JUST MY INTERPRETATION. NOT TRYING TO SAY ITS CANON OR ANYTHING.)

#our poor boy #love him #love him alot #tsams sun #sams sun #analysis #rant #sun and moon show #:)))#i had fun writing this #his only friends are his cats #only 'people' he can truly talk to #the sun and moon show

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kafus · 5 months

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okay i just talked to every NPC in veilstone because it's been a long time and man sinnoh's NPCs are peak, at least out of the 2D games i feel like they provide the most humor and the most random lore tidbits and stuff. i love this region. i'm going to talk about it

first off sinnoh is full of little things like this. random dialogue/flavor text that ties back to the mythos of the region. i love how widespread the sinnoh myths are

i'm also obsessed with when there's two NPCs that link together like this. you talk to one and you move on and then you talk to another and you're like oh! lmao. by the way the rage candy bars being here is cool because sinnoh is canonically connected to johto through the sinjoh ruins and the rage candy bars are from johto, which means they're imported and sold here. in general i'm obsessed with the locations in pokemon that have special treats associated with them, like the pewter crunchies of pewter city in kanto, or the lava cookies from lavaridge in hoenn. iconic

btw don't worry lady literally everyone sucks at making poffins. unless you have four players it's pretty much impossible to make poffins that are better than the storebought ones. good luck getting four people with rare berries who are good at the minigame to play with you, ESPECIALLY in 2023 jesus christ. the basement poffins are OPTIMAL

anyway in speaking of linking NPCs, these two - i wonder if the dialogue in the french version of this game is turned into english? they did that for lt. surge's french pikachu trade, the french versions of HGSS make the pikachu english instead lol. but anyway as usual it's very fascinating to me how much pokemon loves to drop foreign language in its titles, and fittingly i know a lot of people with english as their second language got interested in learning english from a young age due to wanting to play pokemon. how many kids do you think got interested in french because of dialogue like this. the girl even implies what the meaning of his words is

veilstone isn't short on game hints either, useless to me now as an adult longterm pokemon player who knows all this stuff already but still really cool to see. if sinnoh is your first time playing pokemon, those hints on trade evos and stuff are always appreciated.

of course, funny dialogue too that got a wheeze out of my nose, not uncommon for pokemon NPC dialogue SDKFSFDK some of this shit takes me so offguard it's like extra funny

like GIRL ISN'T THAT WHAT A PARASOL IS FOR????

edit: my DUMB ASS (lighthearted) has been reminded that parasols are for the sun and are NOT an umbrella equivalent. okay she makes more sense now LOOL

also LOOKER JUSTIFYING HIS GAMBLING :skull emoji: this shit is taking me out. see this is useful because it's like oh galactic is really all over this city huh. not only their massive building but they have their logo in the fucking slot machines, they probably have some amount of ownership over this place like team rocket did over the celadon game corner. but also it's funny because SDFSDFK

OH AND MAYLENE'S DAD IS JUST... HERE? generic NPC. generic sprite. no name. he's just here. maylene's dad. you know, one of the gym leaders. help girl

anyways i'm aware i basically just posted most of the dialogue in veilstone city verbatim but I JUST THINK IT'S INTERESTING! I MISS WHEN POKEMON GAMES WERE FULL OF DIALOGUE LIKE THIS AHHHH i have more to say about the galactic lore but i'm running out of image space and i need to use the bathroom and get some food so i'll post about that a little later

#kiki was here #kiki.txt #kiki plays games #pt playthrough #long post

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tarjapearce · 8 months

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Hey, I wanna say i really really like the way you write fics. It feels??? Natural?? To read it?? Always an adventure everytime I read a fic of yours.

How do you write so good?? I'm a writer as well and I'd love to hear your tips and tricks ^^

First of all, I wanna thank you for liking the crap stuff I write. (Cause I'm genuinely amazed some times that people just like it and I'm not saying this because.)

⚠️⚠️LONG AND POSSIBLE CONTROVERSIAL ANSWER AHEAD ⚠️⚠️

It's kinda funny, ngl. Lemme tell you something, I don't know if you guys struggle with Impostor Syndrome a lot like me, but everytime someone gives a compliment like this my brain just goes into self sabotaging mode.

In the outside its :

But in the inside, my brain immediately goes:

Cause I'm aware that I can do better. (And we will ~) it's weird. I'm always striving to do better.

As for the tips and tricks, I'm surely not the right person to ask advice from 😅, but Imma just tell you this from what I experience and from my perspective (Hopefully won't get backlash from this, if not, R. I. P. me jsksj) Be warned though, it's kinda contradictory cause writing is hard yo!

1. You gotta read. Either books or whatever your favorite genre is, but you gotta read. I consume fan fics and non fanfics cause you learn from other people too. I read fanfics mostly to know new words, how the character develops and the like.

I read more spanish stuff than anything. Which I try to transfer to what I write.

2. I try to keep it as simple as possible. With that I mean to not over embellish words cause it gets boring and weird. Sure, everyone wants to make their fanfics pretty (nothing wrong in that) but sometimes I feel that less is more. Like, nothing wrong if you wanna poet the f- out of your fic. (THIS IS A DOUBLE EDGED ONE SO BE CAREFUL!!)

I mean there is a huge difference in reading:

"The anger and frustration on her way of living was taking a toll on her mind"

and:

"Her nemesism had muddled her mind into an endless spiral of what ifs and what not, and frankly if her mind could speak, it'd beg for a break."

It's hard to pick one style, but as long as you keep it consistent, I guess it's all good (?) (Funny cause I always aim for the second one and end up in the first jsksj and I dont even know myself if I'm keeping it consistent)

3. Get yourself a beta reader that doesn't coddle you. It helps alot!!!! Cause again, compliments sure are nice, but they don't tell you where you could get better. ✨( Unless the reader provides puntual feedback on what they liked and what not. Those are my favorites and a rare gem ❤️)

4. I know this one is hard because everyone at some point have done this. But IF YOU COMPARE yourself to other writers? You'll lose yourself. Not only you'll lose motivation cause you seem unable to write like them, but you will fall into this... vicious circle of self deprecating and burnout. And the self doubt sky rockets nonstop.

Everyone is different. Everyone learns in a different pace. Trust me, I wanted to make great stories with a good looking writing when I had the slightest idea of what I was doing (Still do!) 😂. Writing fanfics is not a competition to who writes more beautiful/good/professional than others. Or who has more notes or the most canon-stuck character, or the cause let's face it, none will get a character's personality to a 100%!!! (And that's ok cause it's fanfiction and we all have a different approach to the character either emotional or mental) .

Personally for me, the cockyest thing someone can do is to claim to know a character more than the creators themselves. Kinda rude for me, if you ask . Like, sure feeling a deep connection with a character doesn't mean it'll grant us instant access to their whole self. Characters just like us evolve. Either for the good or the bad, but they don't remain the same, so knowing them completely is a big fat lie. Unless stated by the creator. (But we're delusional in this site, so~)

I mean, sure characterization is something we all struggle since we guide ourselves by some of the character's most prominent traits and make them their default personality. (I've sinned in this jsksj so don't worry)

5. HAVE FUN AND TAKE BREAKS. I mean it. The favorite things I've written is where Im genuinely having fun writing it. But also after a well deserved rest. Cause if something doesn't feel right, it won't be right. And burnout is easier to get at than we actually think.

6. I recently started to follow writing advice blogs, one of my favorite @heywriters.

@she-who-fights-and-writes. (They have amazing writing resources, so does Pinterest and YouTube. Seize them!!!)

But yeah, I'm still an amateur on this, I make emphasis in the 5th one tho.

Hope this helps you? ;w;.

Love you❤️✨

Thanks for stopping by. ❤️

#talking with t✨#personal takes #thoughts on my writing

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jackdaniel69nice · 10 days

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I know that dark shadow and Tokoyami have different personalities, but do you think there's anyone they feel the same about?

There are a couple people who could fit that but I would say the best answer for that is Midoriya! If we are strictly following canon their first interaction is with mido asking tokoyami to join his team and making some perfect analysis for dark shadows capabilities. Tokoyami was thoroughly impressed and dark shadow was very flattered mido was paying so much attention to them. The thing that makes this unique is that their friendship starts on equal footing, with mido recognizing both tokoyami and dark shadow from the beginning. If you want to delve into non canon lore there was an anime short released that has the class return to the USJ to do some actual rescue practice and tokoyami and Midoriya got to interact there. Midoriya gushes on about how cool dark shadow is and tokoyami just looks so shocked.

For tokoyami and dark shadow it is rare for someone to recognize dark shadow much less regard them as their own individual, ESPECIALLY from a first impression. This is probably the only time it’s happened to them to be honest. Tokoyami tends to create a divide between himself and others because of their lack of awareness for his Other. It takes time for people to understand and get to know dark shadow before he can tell them about their true individuality. From having an avian mutation to a “villainous” quirk people are mostly afraid of him, much less willing to accept a sentient quirk on top of that. But Midoriya bypassed ALL of that, he finds them amazing and cool, so tokoyami allows himself to form a connection in turn.

Talking to Midoriya makes Shadow feel like a person. They feel recognized and get the attention they have been craving, and tokoyami couldn’t be happier for them. The only other people to regard dark shadow so highly were their grandparents, and now they are gone. For however much of a divide tokoyami makes between himself and others, dark shadow’s is twice as big. Shadow is a creature of darkness and everyone else are creatures of light. They long to be close with others, to walk in the sunlight with them, but it’s just not possible. Tokoyami can bridge that gap, he can walk in the light for BOTH of them, but it’s not the same. Midoriya doesn’t even know how important it was to Shadow that he took that first step and reached out to them first. Maybe this is a little dramatic but shadow has big feeling and is very emotional actually.

On a completely normal note, there are lots of things about Midoriya that tokoyami and Dark shadow both feel the same way about. Mido reminds tokoyami of dark shadow, he is excitable and chatty and actually pretty funny. Shadow thinks Midoriya is adorable with how expressive he is and loves to tease and get reactions out of him. They are all smiles when mido is around. He is never judgmental towards others interests and even said their room was cool.

There are also lots of things shadow and toko have in common with mido. Midoriya has a kind heart but also a dark side. When Shadow was going on a rampage during the summer camp he was determined to help save everyone, that sacrificeing nature to protect others at any cost is one the twins know well. When mido leaves UA that self isolation and destruction is all too familiar of a darkness for tokoyami to sit back and let happen. Midoriya is also…odd, he can be creepy with his mumbling and taking notes on people which can weird people out but tokoyami understands his odd nature and see him as a kindred spirit. As a consequence of their unique behavior’s, both tokoyami and mido were bullied growing up, and you know what they say, misery loves company. Really, Midoriya’s embodiment of both light and darkness is what makes him so compatible with shadow and tokoyami because they are the definition of dual nature.

(Speaking of dual natured, todoroki was a close second for this ask, maybe I will write about him some other time)

Honestly I wish I could tell you all the reasons Midoriya likes tokoyami and dark shadow but that would turn into a complete mumble storm. He could go on and ON about how funny and cool and amazing they are. In fact since tokoyami is so secretive Midoriya keeps all his notes on them in a separate journal, and there are a LOT of notes. From personality traits to possible special moves mido is completely facinated by these little birds.

As far as hang outs go dark shadow loves to sneak over to his room in the middle of the night when they know he’s awake. They are both chatty so from hero’s to quirk specifics they never really run out of things to talk about. It is dark out though so dark shadow can be a little rambunctious. They watch movies or tv shows to calm down. Tokoyami is a better listener than a talker but Midoriya has a way of making people feel comfortable and getting them to open up. He’s willing to tell mido about his interests and even some of his secrets. He’ll talk about the prequirk era, gothic literature, and some of his past and insecurities. Midoriya is also one of the only people tokoyami likes to train with, he prefers to create his special moves in secret but mido is full of good ideas and advice so he helps them. Midoriya finds all of Tokoyami’s little hobbies fascinating too so he is always willing to learn and join in when toko is doing something fun. Sometimes they will sit together and write in their journals while listening to music.

Mido and toko can talk to each other very easily because of their shared issues, they are both good at giving advice and reassuring others. They might not interact a lot but their friendship is strong.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #tokoyami fumikage #dark shadow #izuku midoriya #mha #my hero academia #bnha headcanons

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bellagrimfox · 2 months

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Mickey Mouse Headcanons/Ideas for Epic Mickey

Headcanons

Mickey's connection to the blot means that he can communicate with the Shadow Blot telepathically.

Mickey would prefer to use Paint but he has used Thinner for both fights and for light pranks.

Mickey doesn't believe the Thinner is entirely evil but is aware of the consequences of overusing it.

The blot is a manifestation of Mickey's concern with how Walt's dream is being treated nowadays.

Mickey has rare vision dreams that predict his fate or the fate of his friends.

Mickey can speak to Tints and Turps and is the only one who can understand them.

Mickey can temporarily morph himself into his previous designs, mostly for tricks and jokes.

One of his favorite parades is the Main Street Electrical Parade and he was so happy to see it come back.

Mickey remembers his clubhouse/preschool shows fondly, even if people in the Real World don't.

Mickey does what he can to make sure Toons don't stay forgotten, though some things are out of his hands.

Ideas

This is gonna use a mix of original ideas and scrapped content to see if I can use any of them in a way that fits with the canon lore.

Mickey's connection with the paintbrush technically allows him to use his ink powers with his hands. The issue is that the more he does it, the more fragile his body becomes, draining his colors and messing up his body. Will appear in Epic Mickey 2.

Due to recent issues involved with Disney, Mickey wonders if he's better off being forgotten since his image is stuck in a place between being loved and being hated by the public. This idea may be expanded in Epic Mickey 2.

Mickey can fuse with the Tints and Turps to create temporary forms that strengthen either Paint or Thinner or both at the same time. The downside is that the Guardians magic is very limited and too much can erase them completely.

Mickey getting new types of Paint and Thinner colors. (To be extended in world-building post)

Mickey getting a gas mask inspired by the real life WW2 masks that was supposed to be for kids so he can avoid getting too much Thinner in his lungs. This would only be for cases in which he has to use so much or he's in an environment that forces him to wear one. Of course he finds absolutely nothing wrong with the mask itself, nope not at all.

He still hates war at least.

And finally, his Tints and Turps get special designs in Epic Mickey 2 thanks to their strong connection to him. These designs would be inspired by the Tokyo Disney Resort Summer Splash water drop mascot designs.

I might draw my own design using these during the times I'm not doing college work.

That's all for now but up next is Oswald and boy do I have plenty of ideas for him.

#epic mickey rebrushed #epic mickey #epic mickey 2 #oswald the lucky rabbit #mickey mouse #headcanon #my post #story ideas #disney

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crypt1dcorv1dae · 2 months

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I think part of why I like bbrae as a concept (and usually not in practice bc it's almost never been done successfully, cus I'm a picky bitch) is because one of them is absolutely terrified of being sexually intimate with anyone, not because she doesn't want to be, but because she's afraid of HERSELF and what she might do in that situation, and is also (from the ntt era at least) comes off, to me at least, as a big romantic who desperately WANTS to love and be loved but doesn't know how/is scared of that too, and probably has at least a little crush on basically everyone who has ever been nice to her (but she would never ever ever pursue that) (certain canon events aside) because so few people HAVE... She probably has a hard time truly differentiating platonic and romantic feelings (which is actually supported by canon) due to having little experience with either one so far, but she learns how to easier with time (but probably never fully grasps the "difference", and maybe there isn't much of one to her, because she's also extremely autistic. Go autism girl go!!!)

(also must be said that raven absolutely must be the equivalent of a scared prey animal, if she doesn't have little bunny rabbits anxiety at all times it's just not my raven)

And the other is someone who will basically throw himself at anyone who gives him half a chance but has never had a successful, healthy relationship because he's been used and abused almost his entire life, has only had a few scant healthy influences on his life since he was a small child, his character, to me, is FUNDAMENTALLY influenced by being an abuse victim, and that type of trauma almost always causes some kind of issues later on with emotional connection and intimacy. He's got the physical stuff handled, that makes him feel useful, but he's scared to let anybody actually IN given how badly people who were SUPPOSED to care about him have treated him in the past, so that kind of emotional intimacy is terrifying to him. (Which is often supported by canon, he rarely lets down his mask and truly let's people in)

Also tbh gar BPD king

So, basically, I like the relationship in concept because it's two people who are so so different, who feel and love and care in SUCH different ways both because of trauma and because of just... How they're built. but both being willing to try to bridge that gap to understand each other despite speaking completely different languages and making absolutely no sense, and building something that's absolutel nonsense to anyone else but it makes sense TO THEM amd it WORKS (first platonically, bc I cannot see these two ever growing feelings without a good 7 years of comradery as a foundation, and also bc both absolutely would need full-adult emotional maturity to make a relationship work with all their Trauma Landmines to avoid)

And this is why I am extremely fucking picky about content of them (both canon and fan made) because almost NOTHING I've ever come across has ever even scratched the surface of the kind of dynamic and relationship I know they COULD HAVE... No offense at all meant towards people with a different take on them, it's just not my style

#not tagging this i know the right people will find it

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asexualenjolras · 2 years

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S04E02 of BBC Ghosts was such a special episode to me and it was mostly due to Kitty and the Captain's engagement throughout. I headcanon that they are both on the autism spectrum and I think the episode was really good at showing how different people show different traits.

Let me explain.

Kitty and the Captain are two very different people; the way they see the world is very different. But, what we do see is that they connect with one another in a very unique, very autistic way. It isn't uncommon for autistic people to communicate with one another in a way that only other autistic people would understand.

Ghosts is such a well-written show and I love that we get such authentic neurodivergent representation, whether it was intended or not. I love that we can see ourselves in these characters.

While Kitty is rather free-spirited and enjoys going with the flow, the Captain is the complete opposite. Their differing upbringings and lives have shaped the way they behave and view time.

Kitty is shown to be a fun-loving, intelligent, empathic, positive and free-spirited person. She is depicted as be excitable and friendly. She is depicted to be intelligent and she always thinks outside the box to come up with solutions to issues that the other ghosts find difficult to deal with.

Meanwhile, the Captain is shown to be rigid, rather cold, difficult to communicate with and very, very particular about rules and regulations. But, beneath that mask (and it is a mask - it's a mask he struggles to take off, which is common in autistic people) he is mellow, loving and honest. He is shown to have a strong moral compass and a positive attitude. While he struggles to communicate his emotions and his feelings, he brightens when he talks about his interests - the military and all things related to the military.

The Captain is dedicated to his role and is shown to understand people's emotions. While all of these are rather stereotypical traits, the Captain is not shown to be unlikeable. He's relatable and the other ghosts are fond of him. He doesn't shy away from negative feedback and does his best to better his communication and opinions. It's so pleasant to see. He's a people pleaser.

I think it's very interesting that the Captain has to wear this mask and Kitty doesn't feel the need to. Cap worked in an environment and grew up in a society where being yourself was frowned upon - especially as a homosexual man. He had to adopt a regimental view on life and grapple the way of life that was expected of a soldier. Whereas Kitty grew up in a different world. She never had to undertake any duties or try to impress anyone. She simply existed in her own bubble. While her family didn't particularly want her to be her complete self, she remained true to herself and stuck to her guns.

I love that. I love when autistic people can be themselves.

Another interesting difference between the two of them is their relationship with conflict. The Captain, as expected, was not opposed to violence or war or conflict because of his role. He opts to think strategically about how to win a battle against the enemy, whereas Kitty is very conflict-avoidant. She refuses to get involved and avoids all forms of conflict - opting to offer solutions to avoid further violence. This is a very common autistic trait in women.

On another note, Kitty's vocalisation is very emotive - she speaks in emotions. You can tell how she is feeling by the tone of her voice, whereas the Captain is rather monotonal and rarely shows emotion. Both of these are common traits of autism.

It's not uncommon for autistic people to misinterpret when someone is uninterested in what we are saying when talking about our special interests, and Cap is no different. He doesn't pick up on the social cues very well. Even in this episode, he doesn't recognise that Kitty is uninterested in his facts about ants.

It's canon in my mind that his special interests extend into birds and insects, and he likes to puzzle this together with facts about the military.

LOOK AT THAT SMILE WHILE HE'S TALKING ABOUT ANTS AND MILITARY REGIMES.

This is an autistic man talking about his special interest. I won't hear any arguments.

In addition, the Captain is shown to have a difficult time with co-ordination. It isn't a stretch to imagine he may be Dyspraxic. He struggles to dance and can never get a rhythm.

This episode was further evidence of this, when he was struggling to skip with Kitty in the garden. Dyspraxia is co-morbid with autism.

Oh, and both of these ghosts stim. The Captain rocks on his feet, fiddles with his hand and plays with his stick when he's trying to regulate himself and his emotions. He clears his throat and raises his chin. These are all stims. They're stims he's adopted to help him cope with the outside world. And they're so natural. Kitty, on the other hand, flaps her hands, stims with her voice and throws her limbs in the air to show excitement.

Kitty's stimming is shown to aid her regulating her emotions, which is so important for autistic people ... because we all know what happens when she gets too excited. She throws up.

And, of course, this whole episode is evidence of the Captain's autism. The whole reason why Kitty was trying to help the Captain was because plans changed. He couldn't cope with that, he went into a panic. He has a very strict schedule that he sticks to religiously. And when things change unannounced he doesn't know how to cope. I like that Kitty was able to help him with that in this episode because it's something we all struggle with as autistic people. It was so well-written.

I just love the way these two interact. They couldn't be more different in personality but they are always able to find a common ground; they understand one another in a way the other ghosts can't.

I love how Kitty helps the Captain to relax and find peace with his life (or death), and I love that Cap helps Kitty to understand the world better and navigate through her life (or death) in such a simple way.

LOOK AT THEM. I love these two autistic ghosts with all my heart.

#bbc ghosts #the captain #kitty #autism #autism headcanon #autism in media #neurodivergent #actually autistic #ben willbond #lolly adefope #headcanon #autism spectrum

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miraculouslbcnreactions · 14 days

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Do you have an opinion on the fanon ships of Lukagami and Felila ? People expected them to become canon before S5 shut the possibility of both of them down, especially Lukagami which from what I read had the red oni/blue oni paralel with their characters and also apparently the Snake and Dragon are supposed to be perfect matches in the Chinese Zodiac.

Lukagami

Generally speaking, I'm really not a fan of pairing up the rejected love interests. It often feels like it's only done to give everyone a romance-based happy ending and not because the rejected love interests are actually a good match. So, if it's a story where Luka and Kagami get together off screen or otherwise feel like their relationship is a consolation prize, then I'm probably not going to like it. I don't think that every character needs to be paired up for a story to have a happy ending.

However, I have now written these two characters in a fic where I gave them the non-love-interest-based roles that I think they always should have had. As a result, when I was writing them, I wasn't worried about the consolation prize issue and I can now see the appeal. I really came to enjoy their interactions! I even low-key ship them to the point where they may end up together by the end of that story even though that wasn't my original plan. They have a very fun dynamic when you let Kagami's rigidity play off of Luka's more go-with-the-flow nature, which is a variant of that whole red oni/blue oni thing.

I can't comment on the Chinese Zodiac part since I know very little about it and I don't think that canon actually used Chinese beliefs to assign characters to their miraculouses. That being said, I would love to see a story from someone who understands it all! Using the zodiac to hint at/guide who ends up together could be a really fun way to explain this part of Chinese culture.

As far as canon goes, I briefly thought that we were going to get Lukagami during Frozer. I thought that Adrinette's obvious disinterest in their dates was going to lead to a "you snooze, you lose" crush flip, but I quickly realized that was not going to be the case. I also thought that we might get Lukagami after the whole wax museum date at the start of season five, but that quickly went nowhere. Outside of those two moments, I don't think that Lukagami has much backing in canon since the two don't interact outside of the episodes where Adrien and Marinette need chaperones for their dates.

Final verdict: I think this couple has high potential. It's easily my favorite canon-based pairing for both Luka and Kagami. But I'm not surprised that it didn't happen it canon as I never really expected it to.

Felila

I adore villain couples who are insane about each other and villain couples who are just using each other, but may end up falling in love along the way. (It's one of the rare enemies to lovers setups I that I actually enjoy!) In other words, I'm at least theoretically here for Felila. I think it could have been a lot of fun!

I also think it has zero backing in the actual show. Felix and Lila never met and there was never any indication that they would. Even if they did, it's hard to picture a scenario where they'd get together. Their canon goals are just way too different, plus I don't see how a relationship would be mutual beneficial. While I could see Lila wanting the prestige of dating Felix or the in she gets from his relationship to the Agrestes, there's very little that Felix could get from Lila. She's a social climber with no true connections and he'd realize that in a heartbeat since Felix is allowed to be smart.

The stories I've read where these two get together almost always age the characters up and/or massively change the plot. They also tend to make Felix want a hot model girlfriend while not caring if she's just using him for status, which has no backing in canon. I'd argue it's actually a pretty major change to his character, though not one that ruins him by any means.

In other words, you need to make some serious changes to the story or the character or both to make this couple work. I am happy to indulge those changes in fanfic, but I just can't picture anything remotely close to canon that makes Felila work. If you've got a fic that proves me wrong, feel free to send it my way! I love seeing the clever ways that authors massage canon to make their ships work.

Final verdict: I could see a fanon version working, but I never thought it'd be a thing in canon nor do I see a way to make it work in canon.

#felila #lukagami

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avallachs · 8 months

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i don't have her timeline 100% pinned down, but i thought i'd share some of my ideas about elarys as she is in her canon. her durge au is fun but the canon i made for her, in which she's still connected to the antagonists (primarily through ketheric & myrkul) is more fun for me.

she's born to a wood elf mother and a human father shortly before the curse is unleashed by ketheric's dark justiciars. they abandon her to flee for baldur's gate, and she "dies" to the curse as barely more than an infant.

except we know that nothing really dies while the curse takes hold, so she lies there dormant, rotting, cursed, warped. she looks like a corruption of a half-elven child, but she's something entirely other now, with one tiny foot in the grave and the other in the shadowfell. a necromantic thing.

this is where i'm playing fast and loose with the timeline, but i think myrkul gets his claws in the shadow-cursed lands a while before he picks his chosen (read: steals shar's from her). when he establishes a presence there, something interferes with elarys.

about 30-40 years before the events of the game, the infant elarys wakes up as myrkul begins establishing a foothold in the shadow-cursed lands. somehow, his presence undoes the physical manifestations of the curse, even though she remains corrupted. being undead, he can't create(?) spawn as bhaal can, but in this abandoned child he sees an opportunity and directs a small band of his clerics to find her. once they do, they retreat to a sanctuary just outside of baldur's gate. she was raised within the church.

as she aged, she was his original first choice for a chosen. he never spoke to her, but he did speak to the priest the clerics had given her to. but elarys proved a poor fit for his chosen, far more fascinated by alchemy, necromancy (for which she had little innate skill), and her cursed blood that gave her access to a rare and frightening type of magic: shadows.

elarys may not be interested in tracking down her mother (for her father is surely dead), but she is interested in magic and science. she throws herself into a passion project that turns into an obsession, which is achieving necromancy and complete resurrection like her own through alchemy rather than increasingly rare spells. the offering satisfies myrkul, but he loses interest in her and eventually finds ketheric instead.

in the meantime, elarys has encountered an ancient rogue mindflayer who calls himself the architect (hi da girlies). he has managed to extend his lifespan far beyond the normal range for an illithid through research of his own, and now seeks a way to permanently liberate himself & others like him from the influence of elder brains. so he strikes a deal with elarys: she helps him with his research and lures victims for him to feed on, and he grants her more magic for her repertoire, as it may aid her research.

so, they set up a clinic in the lower city. she gains a favourable reputation very fast; the most efficient healer in the city for the lowest price with the highest survival rate. it's not long before the well-to-do of the upper city are calling upon her for visits when they need healing. but that's also when the disappearances start in the lower city.

a string of disappearances coinciding with a string of grizzly murders begins to sew fear in the city. all roads lead to moonrise towers, it seems, for it's not long before a white-scaled dragonborn with blood on his breath and bhaal's amulet around his neck tracks her down and makes her an offer she can't refuse: how would she like to help his colleague in a special laboratory? except he phrases it as though he's useless and needs assistance. elarys, who has always loved having her ego stroked, is quick to accept.

to moonrise towers they go, where they meet the other two. she and enver don't get along at first, given that they're both two massive egos making a name for themselves in the modern sciences suddenly having to share space, but ketheric likes her almost immediately. maybe it's because he knows a fellow undead (or, undead in the way he is) when he sees one. maybe it's because he can feel that she's been touched by myrkul as well. or maybe, just by virtue of being a young half-elf woman, she reminds hm just enough of his isobel.

there's also a myrkul-shar divine custody battle going on here. but that's not important babygirl don't worry about it

#surprise! ophelia made another weird little dead girl!#ophelia.txt #ocs tag #oc: elarys

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tiny-katara · 2 years

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I can totally buy that Zuko could fall in love with Katara. She’s amazing. But why would Katara fall in love with Zuko? She may have forgiven him and become friends with him, but it’s one thing to become friends with a former enemy and another love them. Zuko really hurt her in many ways. Please don’t think I’m trying to be rude, I’m just genuinely curious. I want to understand the way Zutara shippers think. I have to because the ship is so popular.

no you're totally fine anon! your question is perfectly respectful and i have no issue answering. in fact, it would be a pleasure :)

now i can only give you my perspective on why i believe katara could/would fall for zuko and a lot of it is heavily based on my own experience as i do relate to katara in more ways than i'd like to admit lol. anyways... let's begin (this will definitely be extrememly long).

zuko definitely did a lot to hurt katara, but she forgives him in the show and they are ride or die besties immediately afterwards. katara strikes me as someone who forgives wholly and completely upon seeing a genuine effort to be better and zuko showed that to her. i really don't think if she hadn't completely let the past go they would've been able to joke around like they do in ember island players, so i don't really see that in particular barring their potential relationship. might just be me tho lol.

the thing about katara is that she is very good at taking on others' burdens but very poor at asking for help with hers and i think this has a lot to do with the death of her mother.ccanonically, katara immediately fills the void her mother left behind. mothers generally take on the burdens of their children and expect nothing in return--as it should be! children are not responsible for dealing with an adult's problem. all this really goes to say that katara is a character that struggles to receive help because she's been channeling what she saw her mom do and it pretty much outright says in the runaway that katara is the motherly figure of the group and that responsibilty is heavy weight to bear, but one she does anyway. she takes care of everyone, but she really struggles to allow herself to share her inner turmoil with everyone as a result. like we do see her talk about how she lost her mother a fair amount with people, but very rarely do we see her discuss the specific impact it had on her with them. it's almost always used as her method of empathizing with people who have suffered as a result of the war, not as a means to gain closure.

katara does tell one character the full story of what happened to her mother and the character she chooses to share that with is zuko–which is absolutely crazy if i'm being honest! it says a lot that katara is able to speak her mind more freely to someone who has deeply hurt her than her friends/family--and not necessarily bad things. again, it just shows that katara feels like they need her to be the tough one, or the caregiver, but she never does that to zuko. he's one of the few characters katara can freely express herself to and that's not just me making assumptions, that's canonical. it's insane when you're watching through the show and looking for katara's most vulnerable and honest moments and noticing that a lot of them occur around zuko. it's pretty clear that katara feels some kind of connection with zuko from like the first moment they have an actual conversation. like our girl just pulled that spirit water we'd all forgotten about and deemed fixing zuko's esteem issues worthy of it.

if you step back and think about it though, zuko and katara are some of the most similar characters in the show. both of them are very passionate people who fight for what they think is right. both deeply understand the meaning of a sacrifice since their mothers both gave up their lives for theirs (ursa obviously isn't dead but from zuko's reaction in the show he clearly thinks she is and she did still sacrifice her current life/lifestyle). both are pretty emotional and reactive if they're pushed to it. both are deeply empathetic, which often drives their sense of justice. it makes sense that katara would feel more comfortable opening up to him because zuko just gets it.

now this isn't about kata/ag and i don't want this to turn into anything like that, but this is the reason a lot of us zutara folk don't like kata/ag. no offense to aang, but our boy is 12. he is not going to be good at emotions and deep-rooted trauma no matter how wise and knowledgeable he may be lol. He just doesn't notice this struggle of katara's, and this isn't exclusive to aang. none of the members of team avatar are ever truly able to see this in katara and actively try to help her. that is until zuko.

the southern raiders is an episode that is wildly controversial across the fandom. there is no denying that lol. my interpretation will no doubt be different from yours, especially since it seems like you ship kata/ang (? this is not meant offensively love whatever you what anon!). in this episode we katara finally snap. she isn't being kind and caring, she's being selfish and angry--which let's be real, she deserves. like i said, none of the members of the team ever really notice that she's bearing the brunt of the weight in the group and our girl is doing a lot. it's really just a culmination of her family separating again, the burden of playing mother, the long journey (you can't tell me she's not completely exhausted), and the hurt zuko caused. everything builds up and katara does say some things that she definitely should not have, but it's mostly because of how blunt and hurtful they are.

a bit of a side note, but katara's comment to sokka is something that has always bugged me. i hate that we didn't get a scene between the two in which they reconcile and actually talk about what she said, because basically what she said boils down to "even though we shared the same mom and experience, the trauma we went through as a result is not the same." that statement is 100% accurate. sokka is very clearly not carrying around the same baggage katara is. it's pretty clear that katara feels responsible on some level for her mother's death as she is the last waterbender and that's why the fire nation was there in the first place. it's obviously not her fault, but we don't always process these things in the most logical ways now do we?

anyway, katara is hurting very badly in this episode and we see her lash out at zuko specifically, which is completely understandable. he’s from the nation that killed her after all and then on top of that royalty lol. it's the perfect storm really. i think it's important to note that although katara doesn't exactly state what's wrong apart from mentioning the betrayal in ba sing se, zuko is able to see how much she's actually hurting and tries to fix it as best he can. we also see zuko defending katara's decisions throughout the episode. he has her back 100% and he never expresses any sense of disappointment in her. zuko trusts katara's judgment and choices, something we don't see aang or sokka do in that episode. a partner should be able to let you make your own choices and have your back. zuko's giving katara that chance and he isn't telling her what to do or expressing disappointment in her actions.

this is probably based more on my own preferences, but i really don't think it's unrealistic for a teenage girl to fall for someone who is older and cares for her. i mean the guy jumped in front of lightning for her??? like idk but it would definitely make my heart skip a beat especially if he's also someone you get along with quite well. the two are ride or die besties in the span of like an episode. AND katara actually is amused by him on some level as seen in ember island players when they have their little moments of banter. all of the boys katara shows interest in before the finale/that aren't aang are older too. jet is older and if you count haru he is too (it's up to you there, i personally don't really know how to feel about it). that's also without mentioning how strikingly similar zuko and jet look. it is absolutely wild how closely they resemble each other, so it really doesn't seem outside the realm of possibility to say that zuko would fit katara's aesthetic if you will lol.

something else that is fairly unique to zuko is that he always treats katara as his equal. katara and zuko are always battling on the same level and he never acts like she can't handle herself. in my opinion, zuko is the one who shows the most respect for katara's bending abilities. zuko asks her to come fight azula with him because of that. like he definitely acknowledges that toph is also insanely powerful, but katara is someone who worked hard for what she is, and that's something zuko had to do himself. he knows exactly how hard it is to work for what she has and i think that understanding of her innate talent and work ethic are both reasons she would zuko to be an appealing partner, especially since katara has always had to demand that respect from other people. zuko respects it without her saying a word and i think it's safe to say that pretty much everyone wants a partner who acknowledges their talents and abilities without being specifically asked. i think this also ties in with part of her affections for jet because he also showed interested and respect for her bending. i mean he also did abuse her bending but still! katara would not put up with someone who didn’t show her respect.

zuko is just a more appealing partner than anyone else to me. he grows up a lot and has a strong sense of responsibility, is empathetic, passionate and ambitious, kinda dorky and awkward, and all around trying to be the best person he can be. those are pretty attractive qualities in a partner, so it just makes sense to me for katara to feel similarly, especially since i very much identity with her character lol.

so that was absurdly long, but i hope that helped your understanding of zutara! it's a ship that very strongly values strong individuals that are similar and different and respect each other as equals. my explanation is a bit messy and all over the place, but i really hope you did find it insightful! if you want a better and more in-depth view of the ship, i would recommend this video by snzeey reviews (its a long one but it is extremely thorough). she's able to explain it very politely and with much less bias than me. she even talks about how aang in a very respectful way, which I will admit to failing at lol. book 3 aang drives me up the wall!

anyways thanks for your ask :) i am so sorry it took me so long to answer but i have literally thought about it all the time since receiving it lol. it was a lot of fun <3

#sorry this took me a while to put out anon #i had a lot to say #and i loved writing this out #zutara #zutara meta #i guess lol #i don't really know

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mountmortar · 1 year

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i do love red using sign language but also i once saw someone put forward the idea that red and blue just have this psychic connection or something like that and that's how blue can understand red without red even needing to speak. and quite honestly it's one of the most hilarious ideas i think i've ever heard and i absolutely love it because you have to remember that blue's relation to professor oak aside they ARE just two kids from bumfuck nowhereville and it would be so so so funny to me if like. idk. blue canonically gets sabrina's badge first so he waltzes in there and sweeps her team or whatever and she picks up on Some Bullshit from him like hmmm this child seems to have a psychic link to somebody on this earth....how rare. perhaps he will one day meet them perhaps not. and then later on red comes into the gym with that same Bullshit and sabrina's just like ???? because no fucking way....

and also it makes it even funnier if red and blue just. don't fucking notice this. which i DOUBT they would if it was true. someone comes up to blue like hey man how the fuck do you understand red when he never says jack shit and blue is like Ah! this is because he's my Rival! i need to be able to Understand my Rival to Beat him in Battle! and that's the fucking end of it. can you IMAGINE

#trainer red #rival blue #kanto

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signanothername · 4 months

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Hello, well, I really have to ask you something because doubt has been eating away at me since I started imagining the situation, How do you think your evil versions of the turtles will interact with Casey Junior? (Either in the past or in the future)

Thank You for reading me (and for answer me if You do)

Ooooohhh that’s a very nice question (and no thank you for asking!! I love when people ask me about my fave au i ever made dhhdhxhx <3333)

Ngl I never thought how they’d interact with him at all, cause Villainous brothers’ story will differ a lot from canon, the whole “Krang invasion” isn’t exactly gonna happen the same way it did in the show, so the whole “Junior goes back in time to save the future” isn’t gonna happen

I mean, speaking realistically, the turtles are far from the heros of the story, they’re gonna be the protagonists yes, but a protagonist isn’t necessarily a hero/good person

But back to the subject, while I don’t have plans to include Junior in the story of VB, it’s still fun to explore the what ifs

So to be clear, it’ll end up really REALLY bad for Junior if he were to meet Mikey or Donnie first, Mikey is extremely aggressive and a tiny bit sadistic, he might attack Junior just for the fun of it, but at the same time, he may not actually attack him at all

Mikey might actually start pretty well with Junior, but suddenly outta nowhere start attacking him

That’s exactly what makes Mikey the most dangerous, he’s unpredictable and with the frozen smile on his face, it’s hard to actually read his emotions, and unless he invites Junior to a tea party, which is Mikey’s way of declaring someone has made it into his circle of family/friends, he’s not to be trusted at all, cause trusting him before his invite is an immediate death wish

However, if Junior somehow managed to amuse Mikey enough to form a connection (which is rare but possible) Mikey can actually become Junior’s greatest leverage against Mikey’s brothers in case they wanted to harm him, as once Mikey considers someone a friend, they’re instantly under his protection (and believe me none of his bros are gonna try their luck to hurt Junior once Mikey invites him to a tea party xgxhxhhzh)

As for DonDon, he has that unrivaled hate for humans, and unlike Mikey, Donnie would make it pretty clear from the beginning that Junior is gonna either end up a lab experiment, or a mutant, DonDon would definitely start attacking without question, and the thing is with Donnie, he’s an unpredictable fighter, Mikey is more unpredictable when it comes to his emotions/behavior, but he follows a routine when using his powers, even if occasionally fights outta the box, Donnie is the opposite, he follows a routine when it comes to his emotions/behavior, but when it comes to his fights you can never be sure what he’d do, his fighting style is both calculated yet messy so it’s safe to assume Junior is absolutely going to lose if he doesn’t think very quickly of an escape

There’s no chance Junior would be able to make any kinda connection with DonDon, neither is DonDon relenting and helping introduce him to his bros, so it’s definitely better if Junior doesn’t encounter him until he becomes part of the family

Raph is a bit of a complicated case, Raph would be extremely suspicious of Junior and he’d definitely act coldly towards him, immediately warning Junior not to overstep and try his luck, and to stay far away from his family, but he wouldn’t go outta his way to hurt Junior for no reason

Raph doesn’t attack someone unless provoked in most cases, so while Junior would definitely be safe from harm in Raph’s case, he would not get far in terms of forming any kinda connection with him or even through him to connect with Raph’s younger brothers

So i’d say Raph’s a hopeless case, that is unless Junior does something to help/save one of Raph’s bros, that might convince Raph to give him a chance, but he’d still be under Raph’s watchful eyes

In Leo’s case, I’d say he’s the easiest to form a connection with, Junior’s chances of Leo listening to him and actually giving him a chance is very high, the thing is with Leo tho is how calculated he is, Leo is a very good actor, so while yes he’d form a connection withJunior in no time, it’s most likely cause he gets something out of it, Leo is terrifyingly manipulative, so i’d say Junior’s in for a bad time if he trusts Leo way too blindly, that of course doesn’t mean Leo is never genuine, but it’s always hard to differentiate between a manipulative act, or a genuine action

Leo would most likely hold no actual attachment to Junior at first so he’ll most likely manipulate him to get what he wants, and Leo’s really good at lying, so you can imagine Junior’s shock when Leo immediately abandons him the moment Leo gets what he wants, to put it simply, Leo’s untrustworthy

If Junior actually gets to know the family through Leo, that’d be bad, as DonDon would be adamant to have Junior as a lab experiment or Mikey feeling a bit too trigger happy that day and Leo would not stop either of them, he’d let them have their way with Junior, not even outta malicious intent he just doesn’t care about this boy he just got to know

Funny enough, Junior would only be truly safe to get to know the family if it was through Mikey, or Raph, cause even if it’s dangerous with Mikey, or difficult with Raph, both of them are extremely protective of who they consider family and would not allow any harm to come to Junior once he makes it in the family circle, not any harm by them or by the outside world

So you can absolutely tell Junior’s journey to get to know the family is not going to be an easy one, but if he manages to become family before getting killed, then he got nothing to worry about :D

———

Villainous brothers AU masterpost

#anothers ask #Villainous brothers au #VB asks #rottmnt #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt raph #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt leo

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bloodpotency · 6 months

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I'm going to rank my favourite 5E clans and explain why under this cut

1. Tzimisce

Simply excellent all around. Interesting powers, interesting clan history, fun social-political dynamics to explore and a debilitating enough clan bane to come up with ways it might affect a person psychologically over time. A lot of my tzimisce characters explore the idea of "home" and belonging as well as the horrifying nature of having your brain rot from the inside not just from the beast but from even more innocuous toxic thought patterns like claiming ownership of friends. It must be so challenging to be a tzimisce and remain human, which is wonderful for storytelling and character studies. My only regret with this clan as a DM is that I'm committed to them seeming rare in my setting so there aren't many characters I can write.

2. Ventrue

They are, imo, the funniest clan. All I need to do is show you LaCroix and you understand. Though I can understand also why people think they are annoying for the reasons I find them hilarious. Let me pitch you this: my beloved Ventrue OC, Thomas, is a loser tech bro boyfailure who is entitled to everything and is regularly punished. He was sired illegally, swept under the rug and forced to associate with anarchs cuz no one else will take him. I never understood the beauty of misfortune comedy before I was introduced to Ventrue. It's all about the narrative framing.

3. Lasombra

Similar to Ventrue (obviously) but they have sexy evil Eldritch darkness powers. What's not to love. I recently read through the clanbook in its entirety with my partner and the way they are all so comically villain-like in how they conduct clan business it rivals the Tremere clan. I love their drama and their aesthetic. Their only ding is that you have to ignore a lot of awkwardly handled racism (to show how evil they are!) from the canon leader characters. I'll have to read Chicago by night soon and hope it handles it fine.

4. Nosferatu

You can't go wrong with a bunch of fucked up looking monster dudes. Nosferatu get a ton of points for how creative you can be with their character design, similar to tzimisce. I also really love how they are probably among the least-toxic clans to be a part of, so it's just as easy to write wholesome character dynamics as it is to write messed up ones. As a DM, they are also great utility characters that can write you out of a lot of corners. Need information? They literally just collect it for fun and profit. It's free world building and plot hook real estate.

5. Malkavian

Now listen... I know Malkavians have the obvious drawback of being frequently portrayed as mean-spirited caricatures of mentally ill people. However... If you are mentally ill yourself, writing one that is a respectful exploration of your struggles is really cathartic. Beyond that, though, my favorite part of the Malkavian experience is the cosmic horror element. I love how their antideluvian is some unknowable incorporeal being that connects all of them. I love unknowable mind breaking horror! And I love their utility as well. If your player is a Malkavian attuned to the cobweb, you can just speak to them as the Storyteller for free basically. It's great fun.

6. Tremere

Wizards.

...

Clan lore is good too. The rigid structure of the clan is good for making a world with a Chantry nearby feel larger and more powerful. Also I guess it's pretty fun that they can do real magic.

7. Toreador

They're kinda mid to me. I don't dislike them but a lot of what makes them unique in WOD is just normal typical vampire fluff in other media. They're seductive, romantic, artistic, yeah whatever. These things gotta be subverted or executed flawlessly for me to be invested so Toreador neither wins nor loses. It doesn't help that their 2/3 of their 5E disciplines are ones I find kinda boring in practice (Celerity, Auspex).

8. Hecata

Carried almost entirely by how funny I find the Giovanni clan, stands low-mid tier Hecata clan. It's sad how much this clan/clans got butchered in 5E. It suffers most clearly from WOD's desire to not "retcon" things in Vampire. Clan lore is non-existent because they tried to just mash a bunch of clans together and pretend like it makes sense and created what sounds like the most boring traits of all of them to be the default. Points for potential, and the ability to carry on playing as if you are simply one of the original clans that made up this one.

9. Gangrel

Even though by all means I should be into Gangrel, they still end up being kinda mid for me. They fulfill a similar niche that either Tzimisce, Nosferatu or actual werewolves could fill just as easily. There's nothing wrong with them, the things I see in them are just done better by other clans in my opinion. They become forgettable to me and I'm gonna have to will myself to make some more cuz it would make sense for my home game!

10. The Ministry

I think they could be very interesting. I think it's silly and goofy that one of their clan traits is "wants to make you evil", that's good for comedy. And the vibe they have is good. I love a good cult, I love snakes... But I don't know if I find the whole Followers of Set thing to be compelling unless I missed some lore about how Set has adapted in the modern world. Maybe it could be cool if Set was the Wyrm or whatever. The Ministry is good for plot devices but I don't know how interesting they are as characters otherwise.

11. Brujah

I admit I'm biased on this one. I think it's kinda sad that in "modern" day, the time period most vtm games are run, Brujah are just stock angry countercultural guys. They're set up to be protagonists of a story against corrupt leaders and...nothing else. The clan doesn't give you much to work with. Strong fast and sexy guys with their three disciplines and basically zero clan structure (I miss VTM Redemption philosopher Brujah) does aesthetic). Every good Brujah character is good because of their writing and gets no shortcuts from being Brujah.

12. Ravnos

The last two clans get like. Negative points for the racism baggage they were born with all the way back in the earlier editions. I think Ravnos has a bit more interesting clan lore (what with their antediluvian wiping them out in recent-ish canon memory) but it takes a lot of conscious effort to make a character that isn't an uncomfortable appropriation of nomadic culture stereotypes.

13. Banu Haqim

It's difficult to ignore how their clan bane used to be THAT... And the whole fact that their clan lore, to this day in 5E continues to struggle to untangle itself from islamic extremist stereotyping. Saying "oh the extremists are just the evil faction of this clan now!" doesn't really cut the level of how bad and uncomfortable and disrespectful this clan was. I am not equipped to write a character of this clan that does not exist entirely separate from its lore. You get no favors from Banu Haqim.

My thoughts on caitiff and thin bloods are separate, and I can't really put them on a numbered list due to how they feel like separate entities entirely in vampire. Might make a separate post?

Thanks for reading! Remember all the above content is just my opinion and I am a DM who makes ocs, I haven't actually been a player in this game as of me writing this. I'm sure it shows lol

#vampire the masquerade #vampire: the masquerade #vtm #v:tm #vampire #ttrpg #my opinions!!!!!!!!!!#long post

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artofchira · 1 year

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4. Fav character/subject that’s a bitch to draw: I'd love the follow up of this if you have time, I understand so clearly!! Love to hear your experience!

Sure. For context, the follow up explanation will be to the response I answered HERE.

To expand on it, my process with drawing characters has less to do with how they visually look like and more with understanding who they are. My goal in drawing a character at any given moment is for you, the viewer, to look at them and feel like you know what they're thinking and what they're feeling. Appearances and visual details are merely supporting paragraphs to that as a thesis in my view.

Normally, character designs and personalities that shine through them come to me as fully formed out of my head as Athena did out of Zeus'. I tend to know who I'm drawing pretty clearly, to the point I feel like drawing them out is more a formality and doesn't feel very creative at all. I very rarely go through iterations to settle on a character design, and the times when I do it's because of something important about them remains opaque.

So with that said, I feel it's obvious that I vibe really well with dramatic or expressive characters, because they're focused on projecting an intent outward, and the characters I have trouble getting the hang of are ones who are so secretive, private, or double-dealing. It becomes difficult to thread the needle of understanding their headspaces and where they're coming from, and more importantly how to portray that enigma visually so the viewer can intuit the contradictions.

As for which characters, to date Luca Valentino (Sfeer Theory) and Jimmy Wonder (Small Town Witch) are the two that gave me the most trouble for me to 'click' with.

(Of course they're both canonically Gemini, so go figure right lol)

LUCA - It took about halfway through the first chapter before I started vibing with Luca properly. Luca being an unreliable narrator wasn't as much of an issue, what made him difficult for me (at the time) was simply my own lack of relatability to someone who could be that passive-aggressive and timid about their own ambitions and passion, which Luca has a lot of. Even on my best days, I'm bullheaded, ambitious, arrogantly confident in my entitlement to accomplishing my goals, and extremely irreverent to obstacles and people who attempt to block me from it -- charming, I know. So in my young and immature days I was far more obnoxious. Luca acquiescing his determination was easily frustrating to me at the time. lol readers of the comic can already probably see in personality I'm closer to Balzac, and unsurprisingly Balzac is graceless with connecting with Luca for the same reasons. Luca became extremely easy when I stopped being obnoxious about asking 'why are you like this' whenever I drew him, which poetically is similar to how Balzac bonds with him.

JIMMY - Honestly the entirety of the main trio for Small Town Witch was a bitch and a half because they're all infuriatingly smug duplicitous assholes who start their mornings off with a nice hot cup of hubris. Buuuut in a hierarchy from most bitch to least bitch it'd be: Jimmy Wonder (as previously stated), Vincent Byrde, and Kitty Lovelace. Jimmy is the top of the list because of the three he's the most facetious, but at the same time most genuine. Tricky contradiction, that. He considers himself honest despite never speaking honestly, and in some ways he's right and other ways he's wrong. A lot of my trouble drawing the book was trying to make sense of drawing this fucker because for the longest time his faces never turned out right, which was maddening when facial expressions are kind of my bread and butter. I don't remember when it happened but I had the epiphany one day that the reason his faces drove me crazy with frustration was because his expressions were always lies and it's not possible to read his thoughts through his expressions. Don't get me wrong, Jimmy does have sincere faces occasionally, but those occasions never come up in the book. (I look forward to one day getting to those tho) So when I actually thought about it the thing that came clear to me without hesitation were his hands. You can tell exactly what's going on in his mind and how he's strategizing based on what his hands are doing or how they're sitting. Once I noticed that, I flipped the process and I always drew him from the hands first, his face was always the last thing I drafted because it was the least important thing about him. As for the other two protags -- Vincent was troublesome only in the early parts of his design, I could never draw him looking the same successfully for about a year, and then @moonsheen and I unlocked the achievement of his backstory (which he was extremely guarded about) and he became an open book to me after that. The only trouble I had with Kitty had to do with her leaning hard into what people expect of her. She's a pretty genuine person but she exploits being underestimated constantly, and I had to be careful about not buying into what she plays up and keep a firm eye on who she really is moment to moment.

As for other examples... easily the biggest ones involve Libertus Rubedo. I have a LOT I can say about Lesley and Daiki, but I don't think I can type out my behind the scene thoughts here yet. There's actually big announcement for it in the works regarding the story coming up so I'll circle back here once that drops and I can share context of what the evolution of those characters were like.

Hope that's interesting! Feel free to spam any follow-up questions.

(Already Answered Questions)

#ask box answers #weirdly specific artist ask game

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incorrect-koh-posts · 1 year

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Which is your favorite Baldwin ship? Like with an oc Or a male character . My favorite is him and Saladin lol.you know enemies to lovers shit . I didn't even consider this ship at first but after reading a long torturous sorrowful fic, this ship just hit the right spots. Anyways, do tell us about ur thoughts.

To be quite honest, I am capable of shipping just about anything as long as you sell it to me well, lol. But all right, here are my two cents on various Baldwin ships I have or have not encountered in the wild:

Baldwin/Saladin: This is very intriguing, but it's difficult to make into an actual romance in the canon universe simply because they meet so rarely. But I agree, they have great chemistry, and in a canon divergence fic I could absolutely see them have a sort of soft, reasonable enemies-to-lovers arc in a "We met five times in our lives yet always felt a special connection" kind of way. There are some very nice fics for this pairing that really managed to make me ship them a little, so yeah, anon, I feel you.

Baldwin/Balian can also be good, depending on how you sell it, though I'm sometimes not sure if I headcanon Balian as painfully and irrevocably hetero or not. What I'd personally find interesting would be Baldwin/female Balian - I haven't yet seen a gender bend for Balian, but I think that could be fun.

Baldwin/OC really depends - I'll admit my Baldwin headcanons lean a bit more in the direction of him being gay (and possibly asexual?), but a female OC can totally work, too. I suppose I just kind of dislike it when the OC is overly dramatic, since to me Baldwin really seems like a low drama sort of guy and surrounding him with shrieking or perpetually giggling female OCs isn't a thing that works for me personally. But generally speaking, YES, give me all the OCs of every conceivable background or gender (though now I really want to see Baldwin/male OC). They're one of the reasons why I love the KoH fandom so much - in other fandoms OCs are often reviled and looked down upon, while in our little niche they're basically standard procedure.

Baldwin/Tiberias: I love the concept in theory, since the dynamic of young forceful yet gentle king and world-weary yet totally devoted older knight really ticks the right boxes for me (yes, I am weird). I've read some lovely fics that featured subtle variations of this, but anything that is a bit more heavy on the romance and/or the more physical things between them usually isn't my cup of tea because at some point I tend to remember that they're related and I somehow cannot see past that.

Baldwin/Sibylla: Now this is definitely too much incest for my taste, sorry.

What I haven't yet seen is Baldwin/Imad, which could potentially be a good match in terms of personality. They're both calm and collected men, probably share a number of interests, and I just think Imad would fit rather well since he's not as uptight as Balian, nor as unapproachable as Salah ad-Din, nor as creepily related to Baldwin as Tiberias and Sibylla. But yeah, as you see, I only need the thinnest of pretexts to come up with a total crackship. Which brings me to:

+ My personal, oddly specific crossover crackship: Baldwin/Rebecca of York from Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. Do yourselves a favour and don't ask.

#asks #kingdom of heaven 2005 #sorry for taking ages again to answer your asks people #i just started my masters at uni and all the social interaction and trying to make friends left me kinda drained #but everything's fine now #so back to our itty bitty koh committee i go #thus in conclusion #i really am capable of shipping everyone with everyone in this fandom #there are simply too many appealing boys #baldwin iv #my fandom rants

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