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itcamefromthetoybox · 1 year

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The Wolf Queen Awakened

Greetings and welcome to another in our ongoing series of reviews of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” toys! Every week, we draw closer to the movie and I become more and more excited, and I’m also pretty thrilled to do this week’s review, since we’re looking at a gift my wonderful wife got me! Let’s dive into “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts: Beast Alliance Beast Combiners Arcee and Silverfang” and see how this set worked out.

If you think “female Transformer,” Arcee is the character who tends to come to mind. When she first appeared in the original 80’s cartoon, she was basically the sensible girl character that every 80’s cartoon had. Since then, though, she’s gotten a lot more characterization and focus in different adaptations. The hit series “Transformers: Prime” made her Optimus Prime’s go-to field operative, IDW Comics made her a battle-hungry blood knight who eventually found a sense of peace, and “Transformers: Cyberverse” had her as an energetic and cheerful hero out to have a good time. Different writers have all done different things with her, more than with other members of the cast, whose characterizations have been largely consistent over the years. As for the movies, where this Arcee comes from, they haven’t done much with her in terms of personality, much to my annoyance. The movie “Revenge of the Fallen” had her in it, and that’s about all I can say there. She’s there, she gets shot, it’s ambiguous if she died, and we’re moving on. “Bumblebee” features her in the very beginning with the other Autobots during the fall of Cybertron, but other than being a frontline soldier, we don’t learn much about her and she doesn’t do all that much. Hopefully, we get to see more of her in “Rise of the Beasts” and learn more about her personality and role with the Autobots.

As we’ve discussed previously, the “Beast Alliance” line is the more kid-friendly collection of “Rise of the Beasts” toys, with a focus on figures interacting with mechanical animals that become accessories. The “Beast Combiners” are figures that come with a larger animal who becomes bulky armor and some weapons for the figure to wear. The figures in this subline are larger than the Beast Weaponizers we looked at last time, meaning that, even though the two sublines share some characters, such as Optimus Primal and Arcee, the figures are completely different, a necessity for the Beast Combiners to be able to interact with their armor.

From the front, Arcee looks great. She’s broad-shouldered, a necessity for the “Beast Combiners” gimmick, has a predominantly red and white paint job that works really well, and has some touches of silver that, in addition to her blue headlights, really stand out and emphasize Arcee’s general role as a lighter fighter. Her face has a slight smile, showing some warmth and confidence, which serves to give her some personality that a lot of movie figures tend to lack. It’s a humanizing detail that I really like. I’m also a fan of her strong-looking legs. From what’s been shown in the trailers so far, Arcee’s someone whose fighting style focuses on jumping and skating, and while this figure can’t skate, it’s cool to see that she has the build of someone who runs, jumps, and skates. She looks like she’s built to kick some ass, as opposed to other characters, who are built to shoot or punch.

The lack of elbows means it’s either she stands like this or strikes a T pose

From behind, she’s very hollow. It almost looks like the manufacturer just flat-out forgot to put a back on the figure. The thing is, though, leaving her back open like that is actually a necessity due to how she transforms. Any covering there could impede the transformation. I’m not thrilled by it, but I understand it.

Arcee’s x-ray from the doctors

Arcee has pretty decent articulation, which is definitely something you want from an Arcee figure. Aside from a disappointing lack of elbows, she has all the same articulation as last week’s Optimus. A lot of her articulation is focused on her legs, which makes sense since moving them around is about half of her transformation. I do feel let down by her arms, though. The lack of elbows is a bummer.

Arcee transforms quickly and easily, which is what you want from a kid-friendly toy. The hardest part of transforming her into her motorcycle mode is just getting the tabs on her leg lined up with her hands, and even that’s not really a challenge. When I say it’s “the hardest part,” I mean that in a really relative sense, since this is a really easy figure to transform.

The motorcycle mode looks more alien than intended, or like something from a 90’s anime. Honestly, though, I like it. It rolls, it balances, and it looks like how the 90′s thought the future would look. It’s a fun mode.

Top of the line motorcycle of 2023, as envisioned by 1994.

Silverfang, Arcee’s partner, is a large, mechanical wolf, and he’s also a completely original character. Feel free to give him whatever characterization you want, because until he appears in anything else, he’s a blank slate to do whatever you want with! I really like his looks. One of the big appeals of the original Maximals and Predacons was that, when in animal mode, they looked like actual animals and not machines. While Silverfang is clearly a robot, it’s very downplayed. Aside from a few touches of silver, most of his mechanical parts are painted white, like his fur, which helps them blend in more. He also has sculpted fur all over his body and is painted predominantly white, which serves to further obscure his mechanical nature. While he’s still visibly a robot, he’s a robot who clearly has some effort put into his disguise. His head’s sculpted to radiate anger, so this is someone clearly ready to throw down.

A very good dog

In terms of articulation, we have almost no articulation. Silverfang’s entire body is designed to transform into a suit of armor for Arcee, so there is no room left for articulation. Yes, his legs do move, but that’s just so you can fold them up for his armor mode. As a wolf, any attempt to pose them looks weird and/or results in him falling over.

Combining the two figures is a really straightforward process. You fold up Silverfang’s legs, take off his tail (relatively speaking, this is the hardest part), and peg him onto Arcee’s shoulders, covering her head. Flipping down Silverfang’s side both reveals the combined mode’s head and triggers a bit of automatic transforming (automorphing, as it’s called in the fandom) that moves almost all of Silverfang’s body into position. The top of his head becomes wrist armor and his tail becomes a sword. It’s a super simple process.

The top half of the combined mode looks really great. The added wrist armor and sword hide how small Arcee’s arms are compared to the rest of the body, and the armor looks really cool. The head is meant to look like a combination of Arcee and Silverfang, which is the exact look you want for a combined figure. The bottom half, however, looks really skinny by comparison. It’s like you took the body of a buff, hairy dude and gave him the legs of a young teenager. It’s helped by how armored Arcee’s shins are, but her legs still look scrawny compared to the MASSIVE SHOULDERS AND WOLF HEAD ARM she has in her combined form.

Arcee’s “Princess Mononoke” cosplay

Combining Arcee and Silverfang limits Arcee’s arm articulation by a lot. The bulky armor means you can only raise her arms a bit, so don’t expect dynamic sword poses. Also, and I know this is going to come as a shock to you, but sticking a fairly large wolf on top of Arcee has made her pretty top heavy. Expect to have to do some careful leg maneuvering to keep her from falling over like me when I try to walk without my cane.

“Beast Combiners Arcee and Silverfang” is recommended for ages 6 and up, which I definitely feel is a good age for this set. The figures aren’t super complicated and are fun to play with, so kids will really enjoy them. The problem here is the price: $20. That really feels more than the set’s worth. $15 would be reasonable, but $20 makes me raise an eyebrow, especially from how the set’s packaged. It’s one of those open packages Hasbro’s been doing a lot of, where the toy’s exposed to the outside so you can see and feel it in the store. The problem is that this means there’s nothing protecting the toy from damage before you buy it. If you go back and look at the white on Arcee’s legs in this review, you’ll see some scratches on the paint. Arcee came like that, after getting scratched in the store, and it was really easy to miss. I’m not bothered by it personally, but if I’m paying $20 for a new toy, I would hope it wouldn’t come damaged. Would I recommend this set? I absolutely would, but just be careful about the paint. Next time, we’ll be looking at more “Rise of the Beasts” figures, as we’ll be doing until the movie comes out and maybe a little past that point. Until next time, this is JS signing off and wishing you Happy Toy Hunting!

#Arcee #Silverfang #Transformers #Rise of the Beasts #transformers rotb #transformers rise of the beasts #toys #toy #autobot #autobots #maximal #maximals #review #reviews #toy review

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shortkingvi · 2 years

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This is super petty of me but I think it‘s so annoying that so much of the talk about vi and caitlyn is about who‘s the bottom and who‘s the top. I think the fandom has warped their relationship into having a dynamic that cleary wasn‘t there in the show… Why do people want to make either one of those „a blushing virgin“ when it‘s clear that they‘re both confident in what they want. I don‘t mind if anyone headcanons cait as a top or dom or whatever but people need to stop acting superior because they think making a femme a top is revolutionary. And it‘s gotten to the point where people write/draw trans caitlyn penetrating vi… as someone who has been with a trans woman you realize not all of them can get an erection or even enjoy penetration? Stop giving someone a penis and acting as if you support them being trans if the only reason you did that is to write a smut scene in which a penis is involved. This also applies to omegaverse fics.

no no, you’re correct. this is a larger issue with, again, people assuming that being a top or a bottom is literally anything other than just whether you prefer to be penetrated or to do the penetrating. like that’s it. there’s nothing in a person’s personality that would make this clear because it’s not personality based!!!!

i’m not gonna go into my stone top vi headcanon right now since i’ve explained it before but like,,,,,,, whiny needy bottom vi is just so far away from canon (and her TRAUMA with touch) that it’s almost insulting lmao

also, you raise a very good point re: trans caitlyn. i think it’s a nice headcanon and i do appreciate it, but i think people also gotta be open to trans femmes being bottoms too! just because she would potentially be the one with a penis in the scenario doesn’t mean you should immediately jump to “yes and she doms and tops all the time” because uhhhh,,,, yikes. trans women are more than just a free penis for you to write about in your fic also lmao don’t even get me started on the inherent transphobia in omegaverse shit pls

now, i do wanna say that not all trans women have bottom dysphoria (nor do they need to or should!) but i think that just being like “yes and they jumped right into being totally fine with all of this!” actively neglects the exact things you’ve mentioned such as issues with getting an erection as a side effect of hrt or also just a general discomfort with penetration! pls stop acting like trans femmes are one size fits all in your works!

anyways though, yeah i think ultimately a lot of people just have a huge lack of understanding about sex and like, not always in a virginal way but also just generally they have not experienced it much so they make it their entire focus when talking about character interaction when they could literally just,,,,,, not

#like. they can just switch #ESPECIALLY if caitlyn is trans in it fic you might wanna consider that #but if not..... all the canon evidence for top vi is right there staring you in the face #pls like..... understand touch trauma lmao #asks #anon

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vs-redemption · 3 years

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tell me about your favorite tumblr users and some of your favorite fics!

I think I mentioned before that I'm really bad at recommending fics because I don't keep track of the things I read as well as I should, but I will name a few things I've read and enjoyed recently. In addition, I think all of my listed favorite tumblr users are writers and I highly suggest checking out their pages!

1. Touch written by the amazing @arvandus which is a (Dabi x Reader) fic that I fell in love with from the moment I stumbled across the preview. I never asked to be on a taglist so fast!

2. Date The Hell Out Of You is a cute (Denki x Reader) fic that I read lately from the coworkers collab I did not too long ago, written by @kingexpl0sionmurder

3. When the Day Met the Night (Hawks x Reader) requested by me and written by @/captainsolare. I love the way she wrote Hawks and I love her so of course she's on the list.

4. Affliction (Villain!Bakugo x Reader) written by @rinarecommends for another collab event I was a part of a while back. It's really hard for me to imagine Bakugo ever being a villain, but I really liked how this was written.

All right! I have way too many favorite tumblr users so this is going under a cut! If anyone wants to be untagged let me know. Also, by no means does this list include everyone. I just honestly started to run out of steam while writing this because I'm a sleepy face today.

@anlian-aishang is the first tumblr friend I ever made! She's so kind and supportive whenever I need a friend to talk to. We bonded over attack on titan first and then just life in general! I'm glad I reached out to her to draw Levi for me way back when! She is a great writer who I recommend to anyone who loves Levi!

@honeybunny-sawamura I think I started talking to Jade after making a post complaining about the lack of Daichi content on tumblr. I'm so thankful for her every single day! Her posts and our interactions always make me smile. Also, she's the one that got me started on Bokuto and Iwaizumi so, I'll forever be thankful to her for showing me what I was missing out on.

@todoroki-waifu is so kind and so easy to talk to! I can't remember how we first started talking, but now I can't imagine tumblr without her! I love our daily interactions about work, our dogs, and whatever else life throws at us each day. I also love how we've been fueling each others love for Atsumu Miya recently!!

@mer92 reached out to me after I started doing role play stuff and I'm so glad she did! She's helped my confidence grow with Character Corner a lot. She's also one of the most hard working people I know and I respect her so much. She's impossibly sweet and really fun to interact with!

@captainsolare I'll tell you a secret. She's the first person I ever turned on notifications for! She's super fun to interact with through tag games and I'm always happy to see her show up in my inbox. I love her writing and it makes me happy to have a mutual that is so supportive and who also loves Black Clover.

@jean-does-not-have-a-horseface I can't remember who tagged who in a tag game first, but it might've been me because I remember wanting to be friends with her but being nervous to initiate anything. I'm glad we're friends now though because I have someone to talk to about Hawks, and to get playlist recommendations from!

@undersero One of the first people to plant the Oikawa seed in my brain. I'm always happy to talk to her about our headcanons for the Haikyuu boys and I'm thankful for the support she gives my writing too!

#anon hour #idk how to tag this i'm so tired #I love all of you?

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wedreamedlove · 3 years

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Xu Mo vs. Mo Yi [Character Study]

I can never get over the aesthetic of these two pictures placed side by side LOL. But, anyway, the point of this post is to nip any undue comparisons in the bud and claims of copying organize my thoughts and compare these two characters to highlight their similarities, differences, and further explore each character through these contrasts.

Q) If you like Xu Mo, would you like Mo Yi?

Honestly, I think this depends on what you like most about Xu Mo. I already knew beforehand that I gravitate towards characters who think 5 steps ahead, are predominantly logical, and scholars/gentlemen, so it’s not surprising I bias both Xu Mo and Mo Yi.

However, as I got to know Mo Yi further (Themis is around 6 months old now), I find that he’s distinctively different from Xu Mo on three crucial points that’ll determine whether people from either camp will like the other character.

1) Stance on Others

In a post for Xu Mo, “Into Your World”, I argued that Xu Mo is an alienated genius who had troubles getting along with others, until he mastered the social game as an adult. However, you can still see glimpses of this as he tries to understand MC’s world and shares his own.

To be fair, Mo Yi’s past is still under wraps but I feel confident in saying that, while he was probably highly intelligent compared to his peers [SR Sculpted Heart], his isolation doesn’t seem to come from his innate nature but rather his social position (there’s heavy implications that he’s like some sort of noble or something) [SR Snowy Pine Fairytale].

IMO, these backgrounds really shaped the way these two men interact with the world.

Xu Mo has a detached and indifferent view towards other people. They simply exist and don’t bring anything positive or negative to him. His ambition to ensure the survival of humanity reflects this too because it’s pure utilitarianism; everyone (apart from MC) can be sacrificed equally for the greater good. If anything, he probably finds other people to be interesting subjects to study, no matter what kind of person they are. IIRC the only time he expressed dislike to people, or a group of people, was when he told Hades he enjoyed killing thieves LOL.

Meanwhile, Mo Yi has an elitist streak to the point where he and his MC actually clashed opinions and debated each other [SR Warm Fingertips]. It’s incredibly ironic because he’s a psychiatrist who treats his patients without judgment, but at the same time he looks down on so many things and people (PUAs, people who betray love, hypocrites who only seek power and fame) [Ch2; Personal Story Ch1-3; SSR Moonlit Ball].

One of the things I noticed early on is that Xu Mo draws from the Eastern scholar archetype, “Xu Mo Character Study”, while Mo Yi actually draws more from the Western gentleman archetype.

So, just to summarize this section, Xu Mo is detached from the world naturally and likes to observe people and try to blend in. Mo Yi deliberately draws a line between him and others and, at times, has the casual cruelty of someone born as nobility (arrogance is carved into his bones, even if he tends to keep it low-key because he generally has a “gentle and polite” attitude).

2) Stance on Love

Xu Mo didn’t understand love, or really even emotions. Love is grown between him and his MC (there’s multiple analogies throughout the game about how their love is like a seed). I think [Ch25] pretty much sums it up for Xu Mo, where he goes through that emotional rollercoaster and muses about how, at the end of human evolution, emotions should be discarded. He also admits that MC taught him the “fear” of a normal person, because now he has someone he cannot give up no matter what, which goes against his previous utilitarian beliefs.

Compared to this, Mo Yi fell in love at first sight. Yes, you read that right. The “scientist and logical” archetype fell in love at first sight LOL. Not only does he acknowledge it right off the bat, but he fully embraces it too and believes that real love makes people better versions of themselves [Personal Story]. Mo Yi is a through and through psychiatrist in that he never underestimates how primal emotions (and love) can be.

Heck, not only is this central to his personal story, but we also have hints that one of Mo Yi’s parents fell in love at first sight with the other person (and he inherited their predisposition for that). Unfortunately, their love had a tragic end and Mo Yi seems to have a huge grudge against his father for whatever happened to his mother (again, Mihoyo is keeping this a mystery LOL), but Mo Yi explicitly confirms that even if his love leads to a tragic end he will still walk down this road and attempt to change it [SR Cool Summer].

IMO one other difference between them re: love is this exchange that lives rent free in my head which I saw in a Xu Mo/Reader/Mo Yi fanfiction LOL. Bear with me here.

Mo Yi: Wearing a mask for a long time will tire you.

Xu Mo: It’s enough just to wear one in front of the necessary person.

Xu Mo and his MC make great efforts to understand each other’s worlds, but this understanding comes from the doors he chooses to open to her. He reveals himself as much as possible, but I think he’s an inherently private person (and there’s all that Ares stuff) so there are times where he hides things so that he doesn’t worry his MC. I think this is enough to count as a “mask”. Sometimes he pretends he’s okay when he’s not.

On the other hand, while I think Mo Yi shares the sentiment in not wanting his MC to worry unduly, he tries to reveal himself as much as possible. There’s an amazingly relatable conflict in him here where he wants her to know every side of him, but he’s also terrified of how she’ll react if he shows her his ugliest sides and imperfect sides (he has some sort of phobia or fear about imperfection, but Mihoyo has been keeping mum on the exact details of this so far) [Personal Story; SR Sculpted Heart].

It’s pretty ironic that Mo Yi wants to be perfect, but he realizes that the more perfect he is the more of a sense of distance there’ll be between him and his MC because of the subconscious pressure someone “perfect” brings LOL [SSR Border of Light and Darkness].

3) Stance on Growth

If you haven’t realized that one of Xu Mo’s greatest themes is the phrase “Take your time in growing”, then what have you been reading? Jkjk, but seriously this gets repeated in multiple places, although my brain always goes back to [Blossom Date] for this.

Even if he and his MC start off with fundamental differences (she believes all people have inherent worth and can’t be involuntarily sacrificed), he wants to personally watch the journey of her maturation. He also subtly guides and teaches her. Unfortunately, due to circumstances of the main story, he doesn’t get his wish and she grows up a lot out of his eyes, but their relationship still revolves around him wanting her to have as much time as possible to grow.

He’s, for a lack of better word, extremely gentle about this (setting aside as much of the Ares and story parts as we can, because LovePro’s story is tragedy on tragedy LOL). I think [Autumn Blaze Date] shows a good analogy for this, because he holds the bicycle steady for MC until she can get going on her own, and he also catches her the first time.

Meanwhile, Mo Yi... ha ha ha. I just came out of chapter 3 for his [Personal Story] and let’s just say his philosophy is tough love. It’s ironic because, in many of his other dates, he wrestles with an internal conflict to protect his MC but also to let her experience all sorts of things to both test and temper her.

This is going to touch on the previous topic about love for a moment, but a part of Mo Yi’s love at first sight experience is also “testing” the other person through all sorts of situations and, after seeing all their different sides, he can determine whether his love at first sight is one that’ll last for the rest of his life or if it’s just a fleeting moment of beauty and emotion.

He also extremely respects his MC’s sense of justice and pursuit of the truth in the world, no matter what she encounters, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what drew him to her in the first place. But MC’s occupation and beliefs will make her confront a lot of dark and dangerous things and so, whenever possible, Mo Yi lets her confront these in “controlled” situations to train her. If I had to make an analogy, IMO, he’d let his MC ride the bicycle and pick her up only after she falls, or when she’s like 0.1cm away from the ground LOL.

Mo Yi is (perhaps rightfully) called out on this by another character, who believes Mo Yi is too arrogant in believing everything is under his control and he can prevent MC from getting hurt whenever he lets her get into dangerous situations, and I’m interested to see if Mihoyo will let him experience failures with his philosophy so he can grow more, like the things Xu Mo went through re: his personal beliefs [Ch24].

Overall

I don’t know how well I explained myself, especially for people who don’t know anything about Mo Yi, and each section goes back and forth between the two characters LOL so here’s another section that attempts to describe their overall atmosphere.

If, like I said in my Headcanon Notes, Xu Mo makes me immediately think of all the words for soft, gentle, light, still, water, etc etc., then the words I constantly think about for Mo Yi is messily human. He’s like a bundle of contradictions, but coherent because it’s being intentionally done.

Mo Yi doesn’t discriminate against his patients, yet he can be elitist and looks down on others. He wants to let MC have dangerous experiences, but also wants to protect her. He wants to be perfect, but he also wants to reveal himself entirely to his MC because that’s real love.

In contrast, Xu Mo has a very clean and orderly personality LOL. You can draw clear cause and effect lines from his personality to his actions.

So, anyway, these are two interesting characters who start off with similar archetypes as scientific logical men of scholar/gentleman dispositions, but yet they’re also on opposite ends for a lot of things such as their approach to emotions and the world.

Oh wait, lastly, because I don’t have a good place to put this—but I think it’s funny—is that both characters are pretty possessive and greedy, but while Xu Mo does things in a sneaky, cunning and fox-like way Mo Yi gets ridiculously open about his jealousy and it’s hilariously cute but also almost childish? I often forget Mo Yi is older than Xu Mo by a year, because Xu Mo honestly feels a bit more mature than him LOL. If we count them actually aging by when their game came out though, then Mo Yi is 28 and Xu Mo is 29 now.

#mr love queen's choice #tears of themis #mlqc xu mo #mlqc lucien #wdsjb mo yi #love and producer #weiding shijian bu #mlqc #love and produc(ing) meta #tears of meta

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goth-albino-angel · 3 years

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Yugiri's smile is everything. She has so many of them and they all mean different things. When she's relaxed, when she's excited, when she's confused, when she has no clue what's going on but everyone else is happy so she's happy, when she's relieved, when she's proud... She has so many different smiles and if Tumblr didn't have the 10 image rules, I would absolutely gush about every single one of them in detail. Unfortunately, if I do that, all of those posts will probably be eaten out of the tag, so instead, here are my top 10 favorite Yugiri smiles so far, images included. (Pre-Revenge episode 9)

10. Season One, Episode 2: The First Smile/ 9. Season One, Episode 10: The Sentimental Smile

Episode 2 is the first time we ever see Yugiri smile. Before this, she seemed relatively nonplussed or generally disinterested in pretty much everything going on. Even though she was in a different time period with complete strangers and a madman demanding her to be something she has no knowledge of, she was fairly calm. Then the first time we see her smile, it's when she sees something completely familiar. Her own face. Not only that, but she directs that smile toward the character that is going to become basically her little sister. The first one means so much and it's so important.

Within the same vein, her smile to Kotaro in episode 10 is one during an emotionally heavy moment. It's the first time he's hit an actual snag in his plans. Sakura's singular focus on the Arpino show rather than on the bigger picture of the group as a whole would have been a massive roadblock had she not realized her mistake.

Yugiri is the only one who properly realizes the reason they were sent into the mountains in the first place. Instead of simply sitting on the information, she's proactive about it and actually goes to discuss the problem with Kotaro. She wants to understand his reasoning so that she might be able to help him. And when she turns toward him, she also gives him the observations she's witnessed throughout her new life. This smile may be low on my list of favorites, but it's still unbelievably important.

...Also, when they released the preview image of this smile, my brain short-circuited for ten minutes, so it had to make it onto the list regardless.

8. Season Two, Episode One: The Professional Smile

This smile isn't much out of the ordinary for what we've come to expect of Yugiri, but it's on here because this was our first look at Yugiri after basically two years of very little. None of us knew how the group would come back, how the writing team had incorporated the unexpected pandemic, how things would play out, or what would be happening. The Promo showed Tae's hand flying off to knock off Sakura's head, but as 2018 displayed, the promos can't always be trusted. This showed that, even in this new world where she's only been awake for a year, she's putting her skills to use and working just as hard as the others. Thanks to the conversation from Episode 10 of the first season, we know she was trained as a geisha which would make service work much easier than it would be for the other girls.

I don't have too much to say on this one, to be honest. I do like that she's in softer lighting, as opposed to the others who were all surrounded by harsh lighting on their season two introductions. The softer lighting lends itself well to the lack of pigment and coloration in the girls' makeup, allowing Yugiri to look like she has some color, even if she still looks somewhat pale and tired. It doesn't give her quite the same sickly look the others have at their jobs. The red dress? 100/10. Perfect decision.

7. Season One, Episode Five: The Proud Smile

SHE. DOES. GYMNASTICS. She has every right to this smile! I did the math for this specific part of the episode and Yugiri got third place. The judges liked her rope aerobics so much, they shot her all the way to third place even though her distance was zero meters. It wouldn't have gotten her interviewed, but it would have at least put Franchouchou at the forefront. I still applaud Tae snagging first place, but Yugiri deserves some praise. She really did go face first into the mud on a bike and said, "Never again." She's so proud of herself. I'll be gushing about the actual gymnastics part in a different post a little later, too, but she definitely deserves to be proud of herself. I'm really gay...

6. Season One, Episode Four: The Cute Smile

Originally, this was just going to be me doing some keysmash version of a squeal or something, but there's something I'd like to draw attention to. I'm pretty sure that, by this point, Franchouchou only knows two songs. Yomigaere, which was supposed to be performed in episode 2, and Mezame Returner, which is what's being performed here. Of these two, Yugiri has more experience with this one, but from what the audience had been shown, it wasn't good experience.

Memorizing the lyrics would have been the easy part for her. It's that a good portion of the dance practice was also spent helping Lily get the steps down and potentially calming her frustrations. Then the performance itself would have been a complete disaster if Junko and Ai hadn't gotten over themselves at the last minute to finally help.

This is the first successful performance of Mezame Returner we're witnessing and it's clear the group's had more practice since then. You can see how excited and happy Yugiri is here because this one is actually going well. They had a bit more time to prepare, the two lead roles were actually involved this time, and the audience also was clearly enjoying the performance. She's so happy and it's just so heart-warming to see. Yes, even with the CGI. Don't @ me, she looks adorable.

5. Season One, Episode Seven: The Sassy Smile

This one also was just going to be a squealing keysmash thing, but again, I have something to point out. Look how much more confident she is now that Junko and Ai have, once again, gotten over themselves. Yugiri sees the effect that Junko stepping in had on the others and just like the rest of the group, her movements are more relaxed and free.

It's more obvious, actually, if you look at the way the other girls are moving directly after Junko helps Ai up in comparison to how Yugiri is moving. She did a spin while waiting for Sakura and Lily to finish their segment, and she could be cheeky during her own. She sensed that the tension had mostly dissolved and because of that, she allowed herself to relax and could properly throw herself into the performance. When she throws out this smile and wink, it's not actually directed at the audience. It's Yugiri telling the others that they've got this without breaking the performance.

4. Season Two, Episode Four: The Gentle Smiles

I put both of these here because Yugiri's just... so... caring? So much of what she does is passive that you don't realize just how much work she puts into relieving the stress from the other girls until long after the problem has been resolved.

In the first, she's speaking to Sakura. No doubt, Yugiri probably noticed how worried Sakura was about Junko. Even though Sakura was trying not to let the others catch on just how anxious she really was, Yugiri still knew that something was bothering Sakura as well as Junko. Yugiri knew that the key to easing Junko's mind lay in placating Sakura first. She's seen what happens to them all when they fall apart and she wants to avoid that at all costs. So, Yugiri lifts Sakura's spirits and gives her back the fire and determination to make a great performance.

In the second, Yugiri is watching Junko eat. Unlike the others, it's clear Yugiri knows that Junko is in much higher spirits than when last they saw her. Junko would likely have still been a stuttering, quivering mess otherwise, but she wasn't stuttering and her actions were purposeful and self-assured. Yugiri is very observant. She would have caught on that something had happened to make Junko feel better. What makes this smile even better is that she's not the least bit disappointed. The reason she made dinner was to help Junko, but she doesn't view the meal as a waste of time. She's so focused on other people, that she's happy Junko is feeling better at all and even offers her different platters to help keep her mood up.

These are high on the list for two reasons. One, they're a show of just how much Yugiri does for her girls. Two, YUGIRI COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS HEADCANON CONFIRMED BITCHEEEESSS!!! I GOT ONE RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!

3. Season Two, Episode Six: The Affectionate Smile

I will be completely honest, I have no idea why this one is as high as it is. I admit, I did spend three hours replaying this single thirty second scene because it's really sweet and Yugiri and Tae don't interact very often, so seeing Yugiri not only be worried for Tae, but also be immediately reassured that Tae would be fine was just something my heart didn't know it needed until it had it. The sheer level of affection Yugiri shows toward Tae is too adorable. Especially since Yugiri usually only has moments like those with Sakura and, to a lesser extent, Lily. This smile's really cute, it's in the middle of a wholesome scene, and it made me love both Yugiri and Tae that much more.

2. Season One, Episode Three: The Excited Smile

Once again, an entry that was going to be a simple squealing keysmash until I realized there was something to point out here as well. This is the first smile we ever see from Yugiri that's genuinely enthusiastic. She has plenty of them, especially during her performances, but this is our first time seeing her fully incorporate herself into the group as an actual member and actually look excited to do something with the others. This was an omen of adorable things to come and damn did it deliver.

Honorable Mentions.

I'm only going to touch on each of these briefly because to be honest, there are a LOT of smiles I could've picked.

The first one is from episode 6 when the group is talking about their very first meet-and-greet. Lily asks Yugiri if she's keeping up okay, and Yugiri remarks that she's taking things as they come. This was a small look into the kind of character she is. As I mentioned before, she's very passive in the way she operates, but that's to the benefit of those she cares for. This is her admitting that she doesn't want to be a problem and it's just sweet that even though Lily is worried about her, Yugiri's still highkey thinking about everyone else.

To the right is a shot of Yugiri during Electric Returner. This one is just the squealing keysmash because she looks so genuinely ecstatic, it's contagious. She's NO DAMN CLUE what happened or why they sound so different, but she is absolutely living her best second life.

The next shot comes from the beginning of Yomigaere and is somewhat of a repeat of the above. She's excited to perform for such a big crowd, she's glad Sakura finally agreed to actually participate, and she's living her best second life. Whoever animates Yugiri's CG model? I love you. I want to send you a gift basket. She's always so happy during performances.

Then comes her smile after the group finds out Sakura's memories are back. She's just glad Sakura, her Sakura, has come back to them, that she accepts her crap luck and is still willing to stay. For Yugiri, this goes under the list of Best Possible Outcomes. Her family is whole again and she's so relieved.

Last in the top row is the first full frontal shot we get of Yugiri in the Saga Jihen music video. She's so unbelievably adorable here. I wish I could've gotten her first expression, but the curtain was still rising and without photoshop, I'm not editing an image to the degree needed to get her whole face lightened. Point is, she's cute and everyone deserves to see her adorable face on the first song she got to be center for.

First on the bottom row is Yugiri looking apologetic from episode 8 of Revenge. She's so cute. It was an honest mistake and she had no way of knowing the paper belonged to Kiichi. No doubt, that was probably why she offered to help him rewrite them later.

Next is how cute she looks in big sister mode. She's wiping the mud from Kiichi's cheeks and is taking such care with him. Throughout the entire episode, she treats him like a little kid and it's likely because her role was big sister for so long that she doesn't know how not to treat him that way. It really does shed light on just how kind she is to everyone, though, that she doesn't even think about her dirty kimono and focuses on cleaning him up a little first.

Then we have her smiling at Kiichi as she remarks on how beautiful his dream of reviving Saga is. She even says she hopes it comes true. His dream means something to her. She can't even fully see it, he can't even fully see it, but they don't need to. What Itou didn't understand this whole time is something Yugiri understood immediately just from listening to Kiichi talk. They don't need to see it in their minds, all they need is to feel it in their hearts, and that's something Yugiri knows.

And lastly on the honorable mentions, because this post is already super long, Yugiri smiling while she's cooking for her guests. It was a tossup between this or the pinwheel because it's just really nice that Yugiri can simply enjoy mundane things. I chose this one because it's a direct contrast to how she was at the beginning. Before, she ate with a disinterested expression, but now, she's cooking for guests rather than just for herself. The lift in her mood is obvious, and it's something so small but so heartwarming, I couldn't resist.

I would've put the pinwheel moment anyway, but unfortunately, as a com major, formatting and design are everything and an extra picture on the top or bottom without a balancer would've thrown the whole thing off. Maybe next time.

NOW FOR NUMBER ONE

1. Season Two, Episode Eight: The Softest Smile

This should have been expected. There's something genuinely touching about the fact that Yugiri really does give her everything, even to complete strangers. These girls barely know her, everyone in town barely knows her, but because her dance students suggested Yugiri go out and actually experience, Yugiri gives it actual thought. She doesn't dismiss them, she doesn't deride them, she doesn't make them feel foolish or anything like that. She treats their suggestion the same way she would if it had come from a close friend. And she does actually take them up on it.

Later, we see her come into contact with Kiichi to demonstrate that even full-on strangers aren't exempt from her kind heart, but this means more. All we know is that these girls take Yugiri's dance class, and from the way they speak when we first meet them, it's clear Yugiri has a professional wall between herself and those she instructs. But she still treats them as she would the girls back in Shimabara. It's proof that, even in the past, Yugiri really was just as kind-hearted as in the present. It's a show don't tell kind of thing that just speaks so deeply to the writer in me. I love this smile. It's everything. Her smiles are everything. She's everything.

#Yugiri #Yuugiri #Zombieland Saga #Zombie Land Saga #Zombieland Saga Revenge #Zombie Land Saga Revenge #Angel has spoken #rip mobile users #I'm sorry but I needed to do this #also sorry about the slight passive aggressiveness for entries five and six #I'll do better

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sometimesiwrite · 3 years

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Essi Daven: Character Reference

Aside from my own Headcanons and Theories concerning Essi Daven, I wanted to compile a character reference sheet for those of you who may want to write her or think about her independently from my own creative perspectives. This is, of course, still subjective, but I’ve linked my conclusions directly back to the source text and kept strictly to canon information for this. There is still conjecture, but that is largely where the role of fanfiction steps in. I hope you enjoy. Physicality

Right away, we see Essi as a blonde-haired, fine-featured, petite young woman. Nothing remarkable or extraordinary about her appearance aside from her eyes. As we come to know her more and more, it’s her behaviour and physical mannerisms rather than her appearance that make her more alluring as a side character. Throughout this story, we see her “smile oddly”, “snear”, and on more than one occasion, she’s seen “defiantly” tossing her head (usually accompanied by blowing her lock out of her face).

On more than one occasion, she’s seen drawing her head to her shoulders. To me, this is not shyness or desire to hide. It is a turtling at times if she’s feeling particularly vulnerable or overwhelmed, but it’s also a very casual pose. On the terrace during the banquet, Geralt finds her leaning on her elbows with her shoulders hunched up looking at the water. She’s capable of poise and all the social graces required of a banquet, but when she has time to herself, she slouches, reverts to what’s comfortable, is a dork when she’s in her own head. Yet she “daintily” steps onto the pier to join Geralt the following morning. Based on this information, I put to you that she is someone whose eccentricity cannot be fully tamed by “refinement”.

We see more evidence of this in her handling of her “birthday present”:

At first, her reaction to the stinky mollusk is, “Yuk!” and she responds in a “typically dainty” way, holding the shell at arm’s length. That is, until she's given permission to like the shell. No longer socially “required” to find the smelly slimy ocean thing disgusting, Essi lets her more relaxed side out, pulling a knife from her belt (!), and dumping the insides out the window with the practical announcement that “the cats can eat it.” Her ability to turn 180° from “Ewwww” to “Oh, here, let me just shuck this with my casual waist-knife and chuck it out the window” makes for a high likelihood that she wasn’t that grossed out to begin with, but was rather performing societal expectations.

This brings us to:

Personality

We’ve already touched on this a little, but I want to focus now on Essi’s personality, which is rather complex. One of the most general details about her personality, however, is in her speaking: she’s direct. Oftentimes blunt. Even if she’s feeling unsure, she’s not unsure of her words. She often says or asks things seemingly out of the blue, and doesn’t shy away from Depth in her conversation. Rather, it seems to be her comfort-zone, since she defaults to asking Geralt what he associates with the sea rather than making smalltalk.

That last statement, that she’s neither calm nor composed, to me says a lot. She speaks what she feels, often more easily than what she thinks. And I suspect that she often experiences her thoughts as feelings—something that comes from her gut rather than her head which is reserved for biting wit and incisive observation.

Essi knows people. Knows them well enough to push their buttons, either jokingly or politically. She’s not afraid of authority, and even though her emotions fill her entirely—to the point her hands will shake—they do not render her helpless to them; rather, it seems, her emotions fuel her rhetorical capacity. Being a bard, this makes sense since the language of song and poetry are driven by the dialogue between emotion and intellect.

Moreover, she speaks what she feels to be the truth of her experience, whether it’s her experience of someone else, or her experience of herself. What she believes to be true (however subjectively) she speaks. And if she doesn’t know something, she asks and bluntly:

The fact that she “blanches” yet doesn’t stumble over her words here tells me she’s an excellent performer, and reinforces my previous comment that while her emotions fill her, they don’t rule over her. And yet, we also know she is impulsive and impetuous from her conversation with Geralt on the terrace:

In this exchange, we see one of Essi’s most fascinating self-contradictions at play. She claims not to know how to control herself, says she is impetuous, reactive (the next morning she bluntly admits to being “nosey” and owns it). And yet her ability to recognize and acknowledge her lack of self-control indicates a depth and a level of self-awareness that reinforces my previous statement that she experiences life as a series of feelings—impulses, emotions, “vibes”—more than what we would categorize as “thoughts”. Essi doesn’t have an internal monologue; she has an external monologue of whatever internal experiences make their way into a verbal headspace. She’s not one to prattle on, talk for the sake of talking (like some Other Bards we know) because even though she has a lot going on internally, only some of it will ever make its way into words.

As demure, dainty, and fragile as Essi seems to be, she also has, as Dandelion puts it, “a dark side”.

Exactly what that is, we never really learn, but we get a glimpse of it from Geralt’s perspective at the banquet:

What did she say? While we may not be meant to ever know the answer, we know that a) Essi was smug about it; and b) whatever it was was cutting and more than likely sexually demoralizing in nature.

Which brings us to…

Sexuality and Romance

There are several instances throughout A Little Sacrifice that indicate a level of sexual maturity and confidence in Essi that contrast interestingly with her emotional naivety (which I’ll get to in a moment).

It’s possible, in this instance, that Essi simply doesn’t not abide by the same “rules” about physical boundaries and various social meanings behind physical touch. This moment is certainly not enough to draw any conclusions one way or another. However, the description of her kiss with Geralt on the terrace is less ambiguous in this way, more ambiguous in another.

I first want to fully acknowledge that this scene is a mess of different signals, and I believe the lack of further insight on the part of the author is not intriguing, but lazy. But I digress. She kisses him eagerly and expertly, which suggests that she, mechanically at least, knows what she’s doing with her face and someone else’s. The fact that she distances the rest of her body from Geralt suggests a few things: a) she wants to kiss Geralt but doesn’t know whether he feels the same way, so doesn’t want to commit fully; b) she knows that Geralt doesn’t know why he’s kissing her, and so is trying to distance herself from him so that neither of them makes a mistake; c) she’s caught off-guard and doesn’t mind having a good smooch but doesn’t want him to get the wrong idea about her wanting anything else; d) all of the above.

I would include the possibility that she feels threatened by him and is merely going through the motions, but there’s enough evidence before and after to refute that as a forefront possibility. That’s not to say it isn’t in the background, but the use of “eagerly” would suggest that she’s enthusiastic about a little lip action. We do know that she’s not “looking for a man for the night” from the end of their conversation before going back inside.

I have a few headcanons about Essi’s sexuality and I shuffle back and forth between them depending on the day. There’s enough evidence to support a halfhearted claim that Essi is a virgin (which doesn’t inherently negate the evidence for sexual confidence), but I lean more toward the notion that Essi is sexually experienced (thought likely far less than Dandelion), picky (hence the red-eared young man at the banquet), and romantically inexperienced. There is, I will say, a level of modesty, vulnerability, and hesitation in her interactions with Geralt that lead me to believe she has had minimal directly-sexual encounters.

Is it projecting to say she reminds me a lot of myself in my early-20s? Yes. But to say this character resonates very strongly with my personal experiences, I think, gives some character insight where information and road signs are lacking from the author. And I will say, it is very in-keeping with Essi’s ongoing self-contradictions to be both bawdy and sexually inexperienced. Her canon story arc, unfortunately, doesn’t allow us to imagine her a few years older, but the idea of a more confident, self-assured Essi at 23/24 makes me very happy.

Now, I’m not going to slog through the dialogue disaster that is Essi’s emotional outpouring to Geralt, but suffice it to say, it’s clear she’s never been infatuated/in love before, though she is clearly a romantic. She hates the feeling of being in love, hates that it turns her needy, hates the way it makes her skin crawl and her stomach churn. But there’s something appealing about it as well, and I think there’s a part of her that is desperate to make love. Regardless of whether or not she’s sexually active, to me it’s clear that she wants an emotional-physical connection of some kind; she seeks out comfort from Geralt, seeks out affection, tenderness, but she is also seeking an emotional return—the little sacrifice that Geralt cannot find within himself to give. If she’s had bedmates in the past, it would be remiss to call them lovers.

That’s it, folks! That’s all I’ve got for the time being. As always, questions and observations are welcome (as well as disagreements as long as you’re willing to do it nice and polite like).

#Essi Daven #Character reference #canon reference #tw canon discussion #character analysis #canon criticism #A Little Sacrifice #The witcher #The Sword of Destiny

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bearbaitmegs · 3 years

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I know I don’t have a lot of active followers here, but I’ve been going though some major changes in my life recently (both good and/or disorienting), and one of the things I am aiming to achieve with that is to reestablish myself online in some small way. Just casually, socially. I used to enjoy interacting and making friends online and some of my oldest friends remain people that I met through the web.

I hope these sporadic personal posts don’t bother you.

I think part of these changes that I’m aspiring to involve getting into the habit of simply posting more. I honestly am unsure of where to migrate to online outside of Tumblr. I’ve ditched Facebook except to check on businesses I’m planning on visiting and occasionally to sell something. I’m only on Snapchat and Instagram to follow one person. I haven’t logged into DeviantArt in almost 10 years. Yahoo 360 is long gone. Adjusting to Discord has been a slow and lurking process because it reminds me of some particularly haunting memories and it lacks most topics I’d be interested in (publicly, at least). Twitter never fit right. I refuse to engage with people on Ao3 or ffn because I’m very hesitant to engage with people who has the same media interests as I do because I’ve had far too much fandom-related trauma and drama and I still have trouble forming friend groups despite 9 years of distance

My brother has an undiagnosed and untreated personality disorder and it has often felt like his drama has been my defining feature for almost 2 years. I have gotten tired of carrying his monkey into all of my relationships and conversations, especially when trying to make new ones. I wish I had custody of my nephew because he and his ex are both sucky and neglectful, but all I can do is wait until the kid turns 18 or asks about emancipation. My brother deliberately seeks out relationships that renew and reinforce his past traumas in order to legitimize his unwillingness to move on and I hold him at least partially responsible for our parents’ decline in emotional, financial, and physical health. I recently opted to go for No Contact/Very Low Contact with him and it’s been freeing and refreshing and I feel immensely happier and more motivated.

I frequently feel like I don’t have anything worth saying or cannot really think of anything to say. It’s a work in progress. I have always carried a sense of awkwardness and that continues to persist into my 30s, despite the fact that I generally consider myself a confident person. I’ve been in a romantic relationship for 5 years and it fulfills 95% of my social and emotional needs, which... I think has led to leaving many of my other relationships to pasture.

Instinctively, I want to reach out and rectify all of these relationships all at once. Of course, it doesn’t work that way, and in trying to pace myself I find I often procrastinate. I set myself a goal of reaching out to a friend per week, but it’s more like one every two weeks. I know some of us will pick up where we left off like we’ve never been apart. Some of my friends will have moved on and our re-connection will separate again because we’re just different now and I’m honestly not bothered by that. It’s normal. I just hesitate because I don’t know where to start even though the script should be so easy. I feel annoying and needy. “Hey, I hope you’re well! I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch. I was thinking of you today every day.” Ugh.

I’m pretty financially, mentally, and physically stable and have been for a while. I like my job and I’m paid very well! I like me! I like my hobbies and my apartment! I’ve worked very hard to get here and there’s really only a few key things I want to improve upon.

But somehow I feel like I’m rediscovering myself again. Like I was shut out of something and didn’t even realize there was a door. I’ve missed something. I’m naturally comfortable alone and tend to be willfully obtuse about things that don’t involve me only to get startled by them later.

I moved back to my hometown 2 years ago in order to introduce my partner to my family and be around for some major family events. It was supposed to be a 4 month summer visit. The family drama just never stopped and I’m just...still here. I can’t wait to leave, but I also don’t resent my hometown as much as I did when I left. It’s changing immensely, but so am I. I definitely won’t be able to afford to stay.

I had a patio garden over the summer and, while we hardly got our money’s worth out of it, it was pretty and tasty and fulfilling. A few of the plants are overwintering with us.

I still haven’t lived somewhere that allows me a pet, but I keep saving stray cats.

I have way more fabric than I know what to do with from old clothes and dead ideas, but I finally tuned up my sewing machine and bought a set of sewing machine feet and I have lots of plans and ideas that I just need to sit down and actually execute. Especially embroidery.

I finally spent the damn $70 on an old school drawing tablet and took the time to download some free art programs. A modern tablet is still too much to budget for and a mouse and MS Paint is not enough. I do not know why it took me 10 freaking years when I’ve spent far more money on far less desirable luxuries.

I am hoping to find a decent enough mountain bike at a manageable price to do a long-distance cycling trip next year. If I don’t, I’ll divert to hiking a long-distance trail. I’ve never stopped craving spending weeks and weeks out in the woods with an overstuffed backpack since my first trek in 2016. I’m willing to go out of my way and budget hard to make it a reality on an annual basis.

I’m slowly picking away at my original story, JatGSL, a 10+ year Work In Progress, and I finally have a setting and characters that I feel good about and have a lot of fun imagining. I’m afraid to say much about it. It has dying androids and mushrooms and mythology and domesticated seals and braille and it takes place on a melted Antarctica. But my writing is a muscle long neglected and I don’t know if I’ll ever really get it back.

I sometimes think about moving some of my old fanfics over to Ao3 so they won’t be lost, but my old penname carries weight I’d rather not pick up and I don’t want to add anything else to JKR’s legacy and some of the things I wrote when I was 17-22 have aged pretty poorly. So, I hesitate and debate and do nothing.

I keep having simple, but neat ideas that nobody out in the market seems to be doing/making, but I lack the connections and knowledge to do anything with them.

My romantic partner is an amazingly perfect fit. Absolutely well-fitting, in-sync, mind-blowingly complementary in every way. I increasingly worry it might not last because my partner has 1 (ONE) key issue that I just can’t live with long term and if they can’t figure out a healthy way to cope I don’t know if I can go another 5 years dealing with it. I grew up with it. I won’t live with it.

It often feels odd to talk about myself (even here. even now) because I feel so much happier than I seem to be describing myself.

#megii's commentary #this is more a ramble than anything else

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autumnblogs · 3 years

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Day 18: Engineering our own misfortune

https://homestuck.com/story/2939

It never occurred to me until now that being betrayed by Jack Noir, the first person to accept him for who he is in a sense, is probably a signifcant part of the reason why Karkat is so angry. It’s probably ironic that the Blood Player’s relationships all have a tendency to disintegrate. Poor guy.

All but one of Karkat’s coplayers will either die, betray him, abandon him, or break up with him before the adventure is over.

More after the break. CW: This one has some suicide mentions in it.

https://homestuck.com/story/2950

WV and the other Carapacians may have some instinctive level of awareness of the players’ classes and aspects - while their legend is ensconced in Carapacian Lore, WV instantly senses the narrative presence of the Thief of Light.

https://homestuck.com/story/2960

Now here is something interesting. I just picked up on it, even though it has actually been present all throughout - when the Narrative addresses WV, it addresses him with information he almost certainly could not know - in a call and response fashion! While he’s jumping from one thought to another in terms of John’s different correspondents, the way that he phrases his dialogue suggests that he is aware of what the Narrative is addressing him.

https://homestuck.com/story/2962

And by all accounts, what he is viewing here is not the literal material events as they unfold, he’s literally looking at the same panels we are.

https://homestuck.com/story/2974

Vriska’s gloating here has always given me chills. It’s in moments like these that she really shines as not just a bully but an authentic diabolical mastermind who is, at least at this point in the story, utterly indifferent to the lives of other people.

https://homestuck.com/story/2975

Vriska’s external locus of control excuses her of feeling guilty about creating Bec Noir. While she is 100% responsible for it, that doesn’t mean, in her mind, that she should suffer any consequences for it (although she’s perfectly happy to take the credit for creating him, it seems.)

https://homestuck.com/story/2992

I’ve always thought that the Dream Bubbles were an extremely cool plot contrivance - semantically linking memories together with dreams and death is a really cool bit of linking.

https://homestuck.com/story/3008

Just as Jade has had effectively no parent to help her find her way in life, she will now have to suffer a sprite who cannot give her advice either. She remains alone.

https://homestuck.com/story/3010

Bec, to a greater degree than perhaps even the Seers, is directly cognizant of interruptions by Command Prompts.

https://homestuck.com/story/3017

I’m starting to be able to actually pick up the themes of the whole Exile plotline.

It seems, in general, to be a parable on power and authority, with each of the Exiles representing one kind or another. You’ve got WV who aspires to be first among equals, democratically elected, a community leader and organizer.

You’ve got the White Queen, who fits classical tropes related to the Good Monarch, a symbolic authority.

You’ve got the Peregrine Mendicant, whose take on governmental duty is more that of a functionary - her self-concept is as someone who does what is needed.

And then you’ve got the Aimless Renegade, who, as a Mad Max Type wasteland cop, could be read as either a playful parody of eighties and nineties copaganda, or as a criticism of copaganda, or both - government as the State, an enforcer of constructed order.

Of all of them, it’s clear that WV and PM’s takes on power are the most useful. The White King and Queen are quickly slaughtered once Jack arrives, because without their magical mcguffins, they remain little more than walking talking symbols.

AR is an interesting case though, because his defining character moment is that he hesitates to follow his orders, and while it could be argued that everything that ensues is his fault for not being stone cold enough to do what needs to be done, I’d argue that his hesitation is admirable - Jack escapes to live another day, and the Mayor survives. The Mayor’s infectious compassion ultimately saves his own life through the AR’s refusal to let him die by destroying the command stations in Cascade, because AR is not willing to trade lives.

https://homestuck.com/story/3040

I’ve never been entirely clear on whether the Dark Gods should be considered evil or simply incomprehensible, morally uncategorizable - in any case, the unique nature of the Kids’ session seems to preclude an ordinary relationship with them. By all accounts they also seem perfectly happy to help Rose create the Green Sun as well, sowing the seeds that will grow into Lord English, their own murderer.

Whatever they’re up to is extremely unclear, and they mostly seem to be a wildcard. I’ll have to see if any of my Homestuck chums have thoughts about the Horrorterrors. With the exception of the Dream Bubbles and their ability to facilitate interaction between the living and the Dead, talking to the Horrorterrors seems to be at best an exercise in facilitating inevitable misfortune - they seem to be all but completely useless.

I suppose learning how to navigate the furthest ring comes in handy exactly once, since it enables the kids to fly to the Alpha’s universe.

https://homestuck.com/story/3043

Rose’s pessimistic dissatisfaction manifests in two ways during this conversation - the first is her contemplation of self-destruction. Along with her suicide mission, one of the very first things she mentions about Doc Scratch is that he wants to die - which clearly fascinates her. The other thing is that, suspicious of the version of truth that Skaia presents, and lacking an anchor, she is very easily swayed by characters who offer her an alternative truth.

https://homestuck.com/story/3045

It has just occurred to me that while Rose doesn’t do anything directly to harm her co-players the way that Vriska does, the main actual thing that they have in common, that I was having a hard time putting my finger on, is actually another parallel between the two of them and Aradia - by allowing themselves to be manipulated by forces of evil beyond human comprehension - Doc Scratch in particular - Rose and Vriska both make manifest all sorts of misfortune. In Aradia’s case, it’s her continuous manipulation by the voices of the dead.

Both of them create nearly all of their own problems, and while they’re at it, create immense amounts of suffering from other people who happen to be in the vicinity. And, according to the rules of the Alpha Timeline, both of them therefore give their assent to their misfortune. The Alpha Timeline is, of course, the same as the Glub Glub trap - if you refuse to participate, you are destroyed, but participation is horrible.

https://homestuck.com/story/3055

Couple things.

The first and most obvious is;

Monkey see, Monkey do.

We’re starting to see the fallout of Vriska’s attempts to acculturate Tavros - she’s tried to force a square peg into a round hole, and has had no luck. Tavros doesn’t fit her vision of an ideal troll, and he never will; that’s not the kind of person that he is.

The use of the word hero is what’s important here. Notice especially the way that he draws a line from physical fitness and personal worth - the ability to do important things that you want to do has become Tavros’ idea of how to self-actualize. He has internalized Vriska’s toxic ideas.

The other thing is that while Grandpa may not have literally committed suicide, but he is clearly emotionally checked out of life - playing Indiana Jones when he’s away from home, and interacting with fantasy women at his tea party, instead of engaging with his real life granddaughter.

Suicide’s a touchy subject, one which Homestuck touches on. As I’ve already said, I’m not going to touch on the Epilogues or HS^2, both of which also touch on the subject. It’s not a central theme, I don’t think, although either killing themselves or waiting around to die recur multiple times as possibilities in the minds of different characters, particularly the Lalondes and Striders. I’ll have more to say about each individual instance, but in both the insincere threat of suicide Rose uses in her early strife, and here in Act 5, the act of self-destruction is not motivated by despair, but by spite - for Rose, self-destruction would be an act to spite someone else who wants her to exist.

Grandpa Harley’s complete emotional absence from the life of his loved ones might be called a bit of emotional suicide. Checked out of personal reality completely to pursue a life of fantasy (and to facilitate Sburb), Grandpa Harley may as well have been dead from Jade’s perspective, even before he died.

https://homestuck.com/story/3056

The link between being a Hero Coolguy and Romantic (Reproductive) Success is drawn very neatly by Tavros, but because the premise is false, the conclusion is also false.

https://homestuck.com/story/3059

Vriska immediately calls attention to the way Tavros is parroting her behavior because of her influence - without all of the chest-beating and saber-rattling that Vriska does, the skillfully executed showmanship of being aloof and confident, there’s not that much difference between what Tavros tried to pull just now, and what Vriska has always done - even repeating her romantic faux-pas.

https://homestuck.com/story/3078

And we’ll pause here, before I get to another walkaround, which I will do tomorrow.

Not a lot that inspired me to talk in the 150 or so pages I got today. Lots of action in Act 5, but less emotional meat to dig into.

For now, it’s Cam signing off, alive but not alone.

#liveblogging #commentary

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itsclydebitches · 4 years

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Hey Clyde! Love your reviews on RWBY. My question is about Ozpin. If he survived fighting Cinder, would the events of volume 4-6 still happen? I believe the only reason team RWBYJNR treated Ozpin that way was because he was with Oscar who basically looked like a kid to them. However, if he was still in his adult body, would they have been more respectful?

Hi, anon! Thank you! I’m actually super glad you asked this. I’ve touched on how Oscar’s age and looks have impacted how others perceive Ozpin a bit in other asks, but haven’t had the chance to compose a substantial meta about it. I will attempt to fix that here!

FYI, it’ll get decently image heavy from here on out.

First, as a general response to the question of whether the events of Volumes 4-6 would have changed if Ozpin had survived: absolutely. If only because Ozpin as a figurehead would have still been around to lead both his inner circle and function as a symbol of strength for the rest of the world. Unless he was completely incapacitated from the fight or something (like in a coma), the expectation is that Ozpin would have begun rebuilding his school. Glynda wouldn’t have been left alone to try and deal with a frozen Wyvern attracting grimm. Ironwood wouldn’t have been left to figure out where to go from here. Qrow wouldn’t have been sent on a mission to return Ozpin’s cane. The whole world (including Atlas) may have been less likely to panic with Ozpin there to provide perspective and support. Lionheart presumably would have been less inclined to betray him, at least so soon and so overtly. An Ozpin who will reincarnate at some unknown point is a future Lionheart problem, and therefore far less intimidating. An Ozpin who still lives and commands his inner circle is way more of a threat and Lionheart would be more likely to get caught. Remember that even Salem was surprised by how quickly Ozpin reincarnated and dove back into the game—all the baddies were banking on more time. So yes, a ton would have changed. The group’s focus is now more along the lines of, “So is Ozpin going to fix things and can we go back to school?” and less, “Ozpin is dead as a door nail and no one is able to fix things for us. Might as well go hunt Cinder ourselves.”

But onto the meat of the ask. Is the group treating Ozpin like they are at least partly because he’s in the body of a kid? That’s also a resounding ‘yes.’ Human beings, including the humans and the faunus that we write in fiction, are incredibly judgmental (for better and for worse) based on how someone else looks. If you’re able to see then you tend to prioritize that information over other aspects of a person. We create markers that we then learn and assume mean something when, much of the time, they don’t. Or, to put it another way, we create stereotypes. We can think about this in terms of gender presentation: a masculine-looking person giving orders is seen as the “boss” whereas a feminine-looking person giving orders is seen as a “bitch.” We can complicate that with race: we’re more likely to view a white woman giving orders as “assertive” when compared to a black man giving orders. That’s “aggressive.” From giving a girl long blonde hair when you want to cue people into the fact that she’s (supposedly) dumb, to making a man skinny when you want him to seem vulnerable, our media is chock-full of those markers, subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) encouraging us to read characters in particular ways. There’s a reason that Yang, the go-getter, is blonde whereas Blake, the bookworm, has black hair. There’s a reason that Cardin wasn’t designed as a twig and Jaune is a couple inches shorter than him. There’s even a reason why the sap the group collects is red rather than, say, yellow, orange, blue—literally any other color. Only red sap makes it look like Cardin is covered in blood when he attacks Jaune, thus increasing how much we read him as a threat. The characters’ designs matter.

What does all that have to do with Ozpin? Well, at the start of the series his markers all point to authority and wisdom. He’s a white man, for one. He dresses in a formal suit. There are nods towards his age (a cane, white hair) that tell us, despite his baby face, that he’s someone who has been around a while and thus has a great deal of experience to draw on. He’s also, significantly, tall. Take a look at how his talks with Ruby read visually.

Ruby is incredibly small compared to Ozpin. He towers above her and she’s constantly in a position of looking up to him, mirroring the ways in which she figuratively looks up to him for advice. Her mannerisms are also younger and don’t carry much confidence. Crossing her arms and sulking. Wringing her hands while asking if she’s made a mistake. The way Ruby moves contrasts Ozpin’s own very still, very composed mannerisms. Body language and facial expression is one of the primary ways that we communicate and the slightest change can carry a world of meaning. For example, compare these two shots of Yang from Volume 1 and Volume 6:

On the surface they appear quite similar, but provided there isn’t something impacting how we read these moments (such as some people with autism), we learn that these poses mean two very different things. Two hands on your waist is a relaxed pose; one hand on your waist is an arrogant pose. At least when combined with an angry expression. One arm, the placement of her eyebrows, and suddenly Yang’s attitude towards Ozpin has radically changed. We went from casual respect to defiance, and most viewers wouldn’t need to know anything else about RWBY’s story to read that here. Her body language alone tells the story.

Ozpin’s body language with Ruby then cues the viewer into the fact that he (supposedly) has the answers here, simply by virtue of him exuding a confidence that Ruby doesn’t possess yet. Who do you look to in a bad situation? The person screaming and running around in panic? Or the person who calmly announces that they can help, getting everyone else to calm down by keeping calm themselves? This sort of characterization is partly why the fandom grew suspicious of Ozpin early on. It’s not simply that he (on the surface) is modeled after the shady authority figure trope, but that we’ve learned from real life experience that a person’s ability to keep calm and speak eloquently doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re right. Sounding authoritative is a skill and it’s why the likes of cult leaders and dictators are so dangerous. If you just sound and look like you know what you’re doing, people have a tendency to believe you. And if you’re inclined towards critical thinking, you might be wary of the person whose demeanor is a little too polished.

Even when Ozpin is being playful he maintains a certain level of dignity. His clothes, his physical looks, and the controlled movement of the mug—he’s not jumping around like Nora might—all remind us that Ozpin is the headmaster here and thus, though he’s making silly jokes about popcorn right now, he deserves a certain amount of respect. Even his posture speaks volumes, one arm still tucked behind his back and shoulders ramrod straight. It’s a posture that speaks of training and discipline. There’s a reason that the general (Ironwood) is always animated as standing tall with hands neatly folded and the presumably less dependable drunk (Qrow) is animated with a constantly hunched posture. How Ozpin stands is a quick and easy way to tell the viewer, “This guy is in charge. He’s powerful. He’s wise. You can rely on him.”

All of this changes dramatically once Ozpin is thrown into Oscar’s body. Moving chronologically, it’s significant that the group is not introduced to this new Ozpin as a dignified individual.

This is what we get later. Note the crossed legs, still good posture, even the ‘adult’ way he holds a mug. In contrast, someone younger and more childish in terms of their personality, like Ruby, tends to hold a drink with two hands and chucks it all back in a manner that would never fly at a dinner party.

Rather than a dignified Ozpin knocking at the door, the group first encounters Oscar, someone who, like Volume 1 Ruby, can be incredibly timid and lacks in self-confidence. This isn’t the body language of a leader arriving to provide you with all the answers.

Oscar’s slouched posture, downward gaze, wringing hands, and fearful expression all paint him as the weak one here. Made worse by the fact that he asks to see Ruby and ignites (an entirely understandable) suspicion in the group. Their first interaction is characterized by perceiving him as both a potential threat, but also one they can easily handle. We don’t like that he’s asking about Ruby, but we can take him in a fight no problem.

And yes, this first impression makes a difference. Knowing something about someone on an intellectual level usually doesn’t trump the emotional response we have to the physical markers we’re faced with. As a non-RWBY example, let’s say you were introduced to these two characters.

Ignoring for a moment that we’re comparing a villain and a hero, let’s say for the sake of argument that you’re told—and are provided proof—that each of these characters are morally sound, powerful adults and you should afford them with the respect they deserve. Being told that simply can’t outweigh what we see. Who are you more likely to respect? The woman who looks like a literal child named Baby Doll in a cutesy outfit, or the very old looking man in badass robes, literally named the Ancient One? All the, “But I am an adult” in the world isn’t going to convince people to read, and therefore respond to, Baby Doll in the same way they would the Ancient One.

That’s the situation Ozpin is in now. He’s told the group that he’s Ozpin, he’s managed to prove it, but there’s always going to be a part of Ruby and the gang that doesn’t quite believe it. Not in Jaune’s literal sense of, ‘He could be lying about who he is,’ but just in a more instinctual, ‘He says he’s our headmaster, but all I see is a fourteen year old kid.’ What you see makes it really easy to ignore what you know, particularly when those two things contrast. Those markers Oscar brings to this new version of Ozpin are simply too influential and yes, that opens the door for the group to treat him with far less respect than they would in his adult form. We see it right from the start when, despite having been told that this is also Ozpin, the group coos over him in an overbearing, disrespectful manner.

This continues even after Ozpin has taken control and is doing everything he can (those dignity markers) to regain some level of trust and respect. Even while seated and attempting to command the room as Headmaster Ozpin, Nora nevertheless undermines that with “Cute little boy Ozpin!” She has chosen to emphasize his looks over his status and notably no one listens when he says, “Please don’t call me that.”

Ozpin has, in this moment, literally been labeled as a child. A “boy.” Though we can’t be sure about what age all his hosts were when Ozpin arrived, based on Jinn’s vision it doesn’t look as if reincarnating into teenagers is common. This may even be the first time.

Any of these past reincarnations would have been able to command more authority, simply because they’re adult men not dressed in dirty farm clothes. If this Ozpin had shown up in Haven,

we would have gotten a very different volume. Age matters. How we perceive age matters. We saw this right in RWBY’s second episode wherein Weiss calls Ruby out on attending Beacon.

It’s Ruby’s looks and Ruby’s looks alone that encourage Weiss to come to the conclusion, ‘You shouldn’t be here.’ The same thing has now happened to Ozpin. You look younger than us and are inhabiting a body that physically couldn’t beat us in a fight? You shouldn’t be here. You definitely shouldn’t be giving us orders.

The group had control of Ozpin’s safe house. They were poised to interrogate him for showing up at it unannounced. Now they emphasize Oscar’s age and characteristics over his, which is ironically the only time that they emphasize Oscar’s individuality over Ozpin’s. In short, they’ve created an environment where a part of them truly believes that they’re older and more knowledgeable simply because of how Ozpin now looks, even though technically they know this isn’t true. It’s a new dynamic and with that comes the confidence to treat him like the fourteen year old stranger he “is”. I don’t believe for a moment that Yang would have ignored Ozpin’s direct questions, shot out irrational accusations, and then demanded a promise from him if he still looked the way he did at Beacon. Especially as someone who came to Haven later and therefore missed the initial proof, Yang simply doesn’t read Ozpin as Ozpin. We’ve seen how other characters interact with him from a student-teacher dynamic and it’s far more respectful.

As this shot demonstrates, there’s also that issue of Ozpin’s size. Where as a headmaster Ozpin commanded authority by being taller than almost everyone else around him, Ozpin as Oscar immediately loses authority by being the smallest in the room. As I mentioned with Jaune and Cardin, size is an easy way to emphasize vulnerability. We quite literally couldn’t have gotten this scene if Ozpin was still 6'6" and looking twice Jaune’s age.

In this scene Jaune honestly thinks this might be Ozpin. He’s accusing him of lying again, of claiming to leave when really he’s spying on them, or just pretending to be this kid called ‘Oscar,’ whatever. The point is that Jaune is working under the assumption that he’s interacting with his headmaster, yet that knowledge obviously doesn’t give him pause. Because Ozpin’s new look outweighs everything else Jaune knows about him. He’s angry and now suddenly Ozpin isn’t an intimidating huntsmen capable of defending himself, Ozpin is a teeny-tiny kid with no training. Jaune becomes Cardin through the realization of, “Oh. If I’m bigger and more powerful than this person, I can do whatever I want to them.”

Ozpin’s size is an ongoing reminder that, despite possessing his own skill as well as magic, he’s in a vulnerable position. He needs to stand on the furniture in order to recreate his students literally and figuratively looking up to him, but now it just reads as a joke.

This isn’t the first time RWBY has used size this way. Cordovin is an excellent example of how a small, non-dignified looking person is unable to maintain authority in the way someone with another appearance might. Her white hair just makes her look old rather than wise and her short stature is so extreme that it invites humor. It’s not just that Cordovin is a racist, or that her guards act like Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Her appearance immediately gave the group another excuse for why they shouldn’t listen to her. Look at this tiny old woman trying to tell us what to do. Yeah right, lady. We could probably punt you into the sun so step aside.

This is a look that makes guards release prisoners in three seconds flat.

This is a look that encourages laughter and, by extension, a lack of respect.

The extreme camera angle in order to make Cordovin look ‘imposing.’ The fact that she looks like a literal child next to Weiss… none of it encourages the group, or the audience, to take her seriously. Rooster Teeth made a conscious decision when they decided to animate Volume 6′s “bad guy” as an old woman with sagging breasts and an extremely small stature.

The only time when someone that small is re-characterized as authoritative is when they’re standing up against unimaginable odds.

Ignoring that this scene in reality is Ruby refusing to take responsibility for the crimes she is currently committing, what Rooster Teen wants this shot to do is function as an example of extreme heroism. That’s accomplished by taking our second smallest character and situating her in front of a larger-than-life mech. Ruby’s refusal to back down in the face of something so much bigger than her is (again) supposed to be inspiring. She’s standing up to Cordovin’s “bullying” in a way Oscar was unable to do with his own mech: a bigger and more threatening Jaune.

(I really cannot express how awful Volume Six was wow).

All of which brings me to my final point. Namely that, by virtue of his age and size, Ozpin as Oscar will always look ridiculous when attempting to make use of his former markers. Using a cane?

Headmaster Ozpin’s age and height makes it look distinguished. Ozpin at Oscar’s age and height makes it look silly. What’s the fourteen year old doing with a cane nearly as tall as he is? (Acknowledging that this is an ableist assumption. Some fourteen year olds do need canes, but most viewers are going to question this in a way they never would with the white-haired adult). What’s the kid doing with such a fancy looking cane when he’s literally covered in dirt, bandages, rags, and badly mended clothes? That’s a silly contrast.

Headmaster Ozpin fighting? Totally badass. One of the shortest and yet most talked about fights in the show.

Ozpin as Oscar fighting? Still badass… if you’re willing to work for it a bit more. But really, the kid swinging a cane around just will never have the same feel as a grown man who looked like Ozpin did.

Ozpin himself is a dignified person, but anytime he adopts those mannerisms now he looks silly at best, arrogant at worst.

I think his look is largely why so many fans read the snow scene as him talking down to the group. He no more talked down to them here then he did when he conversed with Ruby, or Pyrrha, or the team while heading off to Mountain Glenn. The only difference is that the previous Ozpin commanded all that authority, so his warnings and criticisms held weight. This Ozpin not only doesn’t look the part of an authority figure, half his time is spent being Oscar, someone who defers to and scurries around the rest of the group. So when Ozpin tries to take charge here, everyone is far less willing to listen. People are inclined to read him as arrogant, patronizing, talking down to others, etc. because it looks like a small child giving orders to a more older, more powerful team. Even though it’s not.

It’s the combination of everything above that leads to moments like this. Where Ozpin is smaller, more vulnerable, looks too young, too naive, where the group towers over him for once and hurts him both physically and emotionally because now they can.

Tl;dr: Yeah. Oscar’s looks and Oscar’s personality changed things irrevocably. If Ozpin had still looked like Ozpin the group wouldn’t feel half as entitled to this behavior and gaining their respect—from ‘Please don’t address me like that’ to ‘Please understand why I kept secrets’—would be far, far easier.

#Anonymous #rwby #ozpin #mymetas

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thenugking · 4 years

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Grand Academy For Future Villains, Chapter 1: Introduction. A commentary for Three.

Because no one can stop me.

Here’s the important decisions, and other things it feels relevant to comment on, from Three’s playthrough. Contains spoilers for GAFFV, obviously, and there’s a few references to the sequel, although nothing I’d really call a spoiler. All game text is copied from the text files, found here.

General CW for the whole thing: parental abuse, internalised dehumanisation as a trauma response. Three’s not doing well.

Specific CW for this chapter: misgendering, transphobia

***

Rathna hisses with satisfaction, takes you by the wrist, and pulls you after her through the archway into the blackness.

It feels a bit like doing a belly flop into a pool of cold mercury. (And you would know; the exercise facilities back home were very well-appointed.) When the ringing clears from your ears and the fuzziness from your eyes, you're standing in a subterranean chamber. The walls are dripping. The lights are flickering. The screams are echoing.

An icy voice echoes in your head, making your ears sting. "Prepare yourself…to be screened."

"Oh, I am prepared," you assure Rathna the Soul-Flenser. "I trust the Academy! And if they say I need additional screening, I'm sure that's something that really is necessary for everybody's safety!"

How would you classify the expression in her dull metallic eyes? Quizzical? Startled? Pitying?

"Your faith," hisses the cold voice after a moment, "is… touching to me."

"Speaking of touching," you say cheerfully, "we'd better get to the screening part, right? The sooner I get screened, the sooner I can be reconstituted by, who is it, the fourth-year Resurrections class?"

There is a long pause. "No..." Rathna says. "You have passed the screening already. You are a true student of the Academy."

Nonplussed, you head up the stairs in the direction she indicates. As you glance back, you could swear she's wiping away one dishwater-gray tear.

Three’s entire introduction is them being a Good Student - it doesn’t even occur to them not to wait in line, or to try hiding their many, many weapons, or to try and get out of additional screening. They pick Rathna because they’re pretty sure Phil will mess it up and not screen them properly, which means they’re messing up too.

Phil, in Three’s opinion, clearly has zero discipline or competence, and they dislike him instantly. With his utter lack of commitment to the screening process, he’s off to a great start as Perfect Student Three’s unintentional narrative foil.

Rathna, on the other hand, they develop a mutual respect for in this scene. They don’t interact again in-game, and aren’t going to go out of their way to hang out with each other, but I like to think they get along well whenever they do see each other, and are at least friendly acquaintances. (I was very offended when the second game told me Rathna was my enemy, but I like Miriel Bloodshrike, because neither of these things are remotely true for Three.)

VERY WELL, THREE. BUT I KNEW YOUR MOTHER ONCE. AND SHE GAVE YOU ANOTHER NAME. YOU WILL BE THREE AT THIS SCHOOL, BUT TO MAEDRYN THE QUANTUM-WITCH, ONE OF OUR PROUDEST ALUMNAE, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE...

It's true. Your mother named you

#3.

Hardly a name at all.

I mean, Three’s life revolves around keeping their mother happy. They’re not going to throw away the name she gave them. They only changed it from the number to the word because of the massive bureaucratic hassle that trying to input your whole name as 3 was. And what would they change it to anyway? It’s not as if they have an identity outside of Maedryn, is it?

(This does, of course, result in a lot of funny experiences in-game, where people try and psych me out by knowing my birth name and Three’s just, “Yes, that is my name, are you feeling all right?” It’s not impossible that these still take place, even with Three using their mother’s name; in the very next scene, Xi reveals they can hear how people spell things. I’m sure there are some people in the Academy who would deliberately say 3, rather than Three, and hope that Three hears the insult. They don’t.)

As for gender… I think Three at this point still mostly identifies as female. They come out as agender part way through their first year, feeling more confident after meeting a lot of non-binary people at the Academy. They don’t tell their mum. While I’m glad that the game doesn’t have Maedryn misgender you, the fact that she consistently deadnames you and gets angry at you changing “her” body if you become a monster makes me feel it would be very in character for her to do. I’m sure she hears Three is using they/them pronouns now at some point, but has better things to do than remembering to use them.

If asked about their pronouns, Three will tell you that you are welcome to call them whatever you wish, and their closest associates usually use they/them. Expressing their own preference would be far too close to acting like a person with their own desires and feelings, though. Luckily they can easily justify being agender as, “What does a weapon need a gender for?”

“Let's get to know you, Three. What do you hate most?"

#Incompetence and idiocy.

And right now, Phil’s incompetence and idiocy in particular. Three is already up to 75% competence at this point, by the way.

Well, that's your mother. How do you feel about her?

#I'm proud to be her child. But I plan on choosing my own path- while keeping her as happy as I can.

The actual answer here is a lot more complicated. Three certainly doesn’t plan on choosing their own path, they exist only as a tool of their mother’s and are well aware that being anything more would not make her happy. They think Maedryn’s achievements are incredible and that she’s the cleverest person they know. They think they might be proud of her, if not of themself. They love her.

They’re also far more aware than they let on that she’s abusing them, and that they’re never going to get the love and approval that a part of them buried deep down still wants. While they absolutely keep it to themself, they dislike the way Maedryn’s destroyed worlds that could have had so much to offer, and believe she should treat her goons and servants (themself excluded) better.

And they have no intention of ever letting her know they've ever thought anything negative about her, because they value their life too much.

"Excuse me. I'm Three, and I-how did you do that? What were those wires, and all that stuff you were saying about humanity?"

"Nice, isn't it?" says Xi with pardonable pride. "Like I told you, I'm the ultimate fusion of human and computer. Instead of veins-" their voice is suddenly coming out of the speakers again "-wires course the length of my body, running directly from my mind to the Network."

"Oh! Computers!" the other student breaks in. "Whyever would you want to be all tangled up with those...things?"

Xi narrows their metallic eyes contemptuously at him. "I'm a cyberpunk villain. It's what we do. Wait- who are you again?"

The student draws himself up proudly. "Aurion Umbrator Malisar, Scourge of the Universe, Bane of Virtue, Shadow that Swallows the Light, and I-"

Xi sniffs. A shower of sparks falls from one of the wires. "This is the first time you've ventured outside your genre, isn't it? Let me guess, spawned in Fantasy, and now you're here expecting everything to be the same magic and mush you grew up with?"

"Well, that would explain things," Xi continues. "Trust me, pitiful lump of flesh, computers are the way to go. Why, the true power in this school, DarkBoard--no matter what any other genre says--is an artificial intelligence, one who has truly ascended beyond the tether of matter and mind-"

"That's the problem!" Aurion protests, waving his schedule again. "It will not heed my bidding!"

"Well, of course not, if you're talking to Them like that." You can hear the reverence in Xi's voice when they speak of DarkBoard. Odd, since as far as you can tell, the Grand Academy's administrative AI is basically a glorified secretary.

And Three gets to meet their best friends! They’ve been given permission to ask questions about something very cool! Even if they would never be caught using the phrase, “All that stuff,” and would much prefer a, “Would you elaborate further on your state of being, please?”

This also forms the very early seeds of their friendship with DarkBoard. They believe everyone deserves respect, and they know how easy it is to underestimate someone as being a tool. The majority of their previous knowledge on DarkBoard came from Maedryn, who they also know underestimates people she considers below her notice, so they’re very willing to take Xi’s opinion on DarkBoard over Maedryn’s. And if Xi calls DarkBoard a They, rather than an It, They is what Three will use too, because secretary or not, it’s only polite.

Xi sighs. "You've got to organize yourself, pitiful lump of- Aurion. Make some choices. Look. What do you want to do?"

"Have legions of darkness, take over the universe, slay the proud and noble, bring about a black reign of terror on the land, cast evil spells from my fortress, shoot out wires from my hand like that, seduce the pure and innocent, callously waste human life, destroy the world with a word, blow things up, have great men fall before the slightest motion of my hand, manipulate people's minds, be able to call up balls of fire, beat up the heroes, have Ultimate Weapons of Destruction, and wear a nifty cape!" rattles off the aspiring Scourge of the Universe breathlessly. "And more things, too, if they teach them."

Xi looks as if the student's enthusiasm has overloaded their circuits. You step in.

#Tell Xi I'll help Aurion with his schedule. That should earn me some points with the RA.

I mean, if Three had circuits, they’d be overloaded by Aurion’s enthusiasm too, but if there are two things they like, it’s sorting out schedules and making people in positions of authority happy! This encounter doesn’t make Three and Aurion friends, that comes later, but they gain a small amount of respect for each other, at least.

Sidenote - I’m not sure how close Aurion and Xi are supposed to be, they don’t interact much after this in-game, but I love their interactions here, and I really enjoy Three, Aurion and Xi as a group of friends.

#Better get Xi to advise me on this. Isn't assistance in their job description?

You stick your head out into the hall. "Xi? Can you help me with something?"

After a moment, Xi appears, expressionless.

"I need to get my books," you explain, "so I need to access my money. Can you tell me how to make DarkBoard do that?"

One of Xi's wires cracks like a whip. You hope that means yes.

Three might value self-sufficiency, but they also value making use of the resources available to you, and when someone’s job is to provide you with help, it would be arrogant and foolish to rely solely on your own conjecture.

They are also an eighteen year old who’s never spent much time with people their own age suddenly discovering that they find cyborgs in control of wires they grow out of their fingers really hot.

#Get a quick fund refreshment from Mom.

It won't make your mother happy to have you draft her account like this--she prefers more face-to-face groveling, as you've had plenty of chances to observe--but you know that you can make a quick transfer from the Student Security Deposit. A few words to DarkBoard, and the money is yours, with a little extra cushion to cover you in case of emergencies.

I mean, Three’s definitely going to call Maedryn up for a proper groveling session later tonight, and hope that helps a little. But she’s also expecting them to get perfect grades, and they’re worried about their chances of doing that without all the equipment available. Anyway, that’s their first day at the Academy finished!

#grand academy for future villains #choice of games #three #long post #u know what i'm gonna tag the other characters bc i love them #maedryn #aurion umbrator malisar #xi #darkboard #gavril philippe des anges dechus #marsh ocs

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madlori · 5 years

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Unveiled - Chapter 6

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9 || Chapter 10 || Chapter 11 || Chapter 12 || Chapter 13 || Epilogue

by MadLori Word Count: 3300 Fandom: Men’s Hockey RPF Pairing: Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin Rating: NC-17 (like, heed this, please) Tags: Arranged Marriage, Modern Royalty AU, Mpreg, Not Omegaverse, No Consent Issues, Veiled Sex, Weird Traditions, Don’t Think Too Hard, Handwavey Biology

Definitely sex in this one.

Read it on AO3

A week passed.

Zhenya and his consort did not have sex every day, but it was frequent. Temporarily free from the pressure to conceive, they engaged in a variety of non-procreative activities as they explored one another’s preferences. He learned that his partner did not enjoy having his feet touched (the first thumbs-down signal he received from him) and had to deploy their signal himself when the consort had started to maneuver them into the 69 position, one he found deeply uncomfortable. That still left a lot of options, though.

He saw Sidney almost every day. Sometimes they took a ride together, sometimes they fished. Sidney made good on his promise to teach Zhenya to spar, and he flattered himself that he was picking it up quickly.

He tried to keep his outings with Sidney...unobtrusive, and away from too many observers. But he was pretty sure that his fondness for Sidney would be apparent to anyone who saw them together, and he was becoming increasingly confident that Sidney was fond of him, too. He worried about the staff gossiping, or thinking him a cad for socializing with another man, but given that he was literally prohibited from socializing with his consort, Sidney’s friendship was a luxury he couldn’t seem to deny himself. He’d had so few genuine, true friends in his life, and he didn’t want to give it up. Not to mention that whatever people assumed, he wasn’t actually having an affair with him -- his interactions with Sidney were wholly platonic. His attraction to him lay uneasily alongside his intense desire for his consort, and his continued admiration for how his husband was conducting himself in his new life. Seryozha sang his praises at every opportunity, and embargo or no embargo, the palace staff were all becoming very fond of him.

Of course they are, they actually get to talk to him, Zhenya sometimes groused to himself. He yearned for the day when he’d see the man’s face, and hear his voice, and finally share his life with him as they were meant to.

But unveiling his consort would mean losing Sidney. It was a trade he was prepared to make, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t dreading it.

His parents had departed on a trip abroad right after his wedding, and the day they returned was the day Zhenya hoped that they’d get news about his consort’s conception or lack thereof. He’d seen his husband several times in the palace that morning, guards in tow (no sign of Sidney, for which he was guiltily grateful)...everyone seemed to be milling around in a holding pattern, as if they all knew that today was important.

“Zhenya, my son, you look good,” his father said, hugging him enthusiastically and slapping his back. Zhenya’s father was nearly a foot shorter than he was, a source of much mirth around the palace, and it made such greetings awkward to say the least.

“You too, Papa. How was your trip?” He bent to kiss his mother’s cheeks as they moved to the settee in his parents’ drawing room.

“Dull, dull, dull. Balls and dinners and meetings and the same boring conversation every time. The only bright spot was the many congratulations on your marriage.”

“We appreciate them.”

“How is your consort, my dear?” his mother asked.

“He is very well.”

“And you are...getting along all right?”

He smiled. “We’re getting along great, mother. He’s a remarkable man.”

His father frowned. “You haven’t broken embargo, have you?”

“No sir, absolutely not. It’s just that one can’t help but deduce a few things about someone you see so often. I hear how the staff speaks of him, and I know how he’s behaved towards me. These things reveal a man’s character.”

“Of course. Just...be cautious. The whole idea of embargo is to minimize attachment.”

“I know.” He didn’t mention that the task of minimizing attachment was already a dismal failure, on several fronts.

The door opened and a page entered. “Your Majesties, Dr. Rjskov would like permission to enter with His Highness the Prince Consort.”

His father sighed. “Was he waiting by the door for a cue? I imagine this is news we should all hear.” He looked at Zhenya. “Embargo will be observed once your husband enters, son. Anything you want to say now before they come in?”

“No, sir.” Zhenya was on his feet and all but vibrating out of his clothes.

The page opened the door and Dr. Rjskov entered. At his side was the consort, draped in his dressiest veils (Zhenya had gotten to know the range of drapings he possessed) over a suit. He bowed to the King and Queen, then came to stand next to Zhenya. Dr. Rjskov was walking ramrod straight, like he was being filmed. “Your Majesties, Your Royal Highness. I come before you this afternoon with the news that His Highness, the Prince Consort, is with child.”

His father whooped and his mother cheered; they embraced each other, beaming wide, happy smiles, his mother dashing tears from her eyes. Zhenya’s heart felt like it might burst from his chest. He stood there stunned for a moment, then looked down into his consort’s upturned face and wished he could see it. He grinned and a fast exhale escaped his chest. He lifted his eyebrows in a “really?” gesture, watching the consort...he nodded quickly, the gesture containing all his own excitement and relief.

If he’d been a regular person with an ordinary spouse, learning that they were to become parents, he’d have been able to kiss him, to see the joy on his face, to babble excitedly with him and talk about what to do next. But none of that was available to him, because he was a prince, and this was his embargoed consort, and he did not even know the man’s name to exclaim it aloud in jubilation. All he could do, all he could think to do, was clasp his consort’s gloved hands and press them to his lips.

“Doctor, do you know when the consort conceived?” his father was asking.

“Yes, based on our bloodwork, I believe His Highness conceived on the wedding day.”

Zhenya’s heart soared again; that was the best possible outcome, as it meant the shortest embargo. If all went well, he’d see his husband’s face in less than three months.

As his father and the doctor continued to talk about the embargo and the pregnancy, Zhenya just stood and let happiness wash over him. Out of sight of his parents, his consort slipped his hand into Zhenya’s, lacing their fingers together, and squeezed.

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Zhenya paced in his bedroom later that night, hoping to hear a knock soon. He considered going through and knocking himself, but he didn’t want to presume. He preferred that any contact they had was initiated by the consort, and he felt pretty confident that contact would be initiated, tonight of all nights.

He’d barely had time to internalize the news before the consort was whisked away by his mother so they could start talking about whatever baby-related plans had to be made, which of course had to be done out of Zhenya’s earshot. His father had immediately started harassing him about plans for the unveiling. Such a large occasion, the formal unveiling followed by a public introduction and a grand ball, required a lot of work and even though there was always a chance it would have to be cancelled, they’d proceed as if it would go ahead when the consort’s pregnancy reached three months.

Zhenya had finally been allowed to retire after dinner, his head spinning, half-dizzy from the emotion of the day.

A child. He’s carrying my child. I’m going to be a father. We’re going to be parents.

I wonder if he’s told Sidney.

The thought drew him up short. He realized with a jolt that Sidney hadn’t crossed his mind all day, which was unusual. He also hadn’t so much as glimpsed him today, which was also unusual. He wondered where he’d gotten off to. He’d seen the consort’s guards, including Fleury and Letang and Crosby (the strong blond ponytailed woman he’d noticed the first day), but not Sidney.

He jumped when the knock finally came, feeling guilty that he’d been thinking of someone else when his consort asked for his attention. He leapt to the door and flung it wide, grinning. He couldn’t see it but he could almost sense his consort’s answering grin beneath his drapings. Zhenya couldn’t help himself; he rushed into their bedchamber and swept his husband into his arms, embracing him fully for what was actually the first time. They’d held each other in bed, but had never hugged like this. It wasn’t forbidden, but it was generally considered bad form to touch an embargoed consort anywhere he or she was veiled, which sort of ruled out all but the most perfunctory hugs, which this was not.

He didn’t care, and judging by the enthusiasm with which his consort hugged him back, he didn’t care, either. He felt broad and strong in Zhenya’s arms, his hands digging into Zhenya’s dressing gown and his face tucking into the side of his neck.

Zhenya pulled back and knelt at his consort’s feet, the man’s hands lingering on his shoulders. He slid his hands to the curve of the consort’s waist, those ridges of muscle over his hips forming a V framing his abdomen. Zhenya leaned in and kissed the smooth skin of his flat belly, feeling a hand card through his hair as he did so. He looked up at him, palming the softness at his waist, and the hand in his hair slid down to cup his cheek, the consort’s thumb stroking across his cheekbone. He pulled Zhenya to his feet and held up a “just a moment” finger, then went over to a table near the door into his bedroom. When he returned he was holding a piece of black cloth -- Zhenya realized that it was a blindfold, a large one molded to fit over the upper part of the face. He looked up, confused.

His consort held up the blindfold, pointed to it and then to Zhenya, and then mimed removing his veils. Zhenya’s heart stuttered -- was he suggesting...? He was. Zhenya nodded eagerly, and between the two of them they stripped him quickly of his dressing gown and pajamas. The consort sat him down in a chair then hesitated a moment, holding the blindfold. Zhenya squeezed his hand in encouragement. His husband gave a nod, then carefully placed the blindfold over Zhenya’s eyes and tied it behind his head. Its shape, sweeping down over his cheeks and halfway up his forehead, meant that not even a sliver of vision was left to him. He felt a hand stroke down his face and then sensed him step away.

He heard a quiet rustling of fabric and anticipation clenched in his belly. Here in this room, mere feet from him, his husband was unveiled and exposed, naked before him. He felt the warmth of his body as he stepped close again and then...oh, and then.

The consort joined him in the chair, straddling his lap. No drapings separated them now. Zhenya’s hands twitched nervously; he could scarcely believe he was allowed to touch him freely. His husband had to pick up his hands and place them on his smooth, bare chest. Zhenya shuddered and his hands trembled against his consort’s warm skin. The consort slid his own arms around Zhenya’s neck and leaned in; there it was again, the smell of him, clean and strong, earth after a thunderstorm. His breath ghosted over Zhenya’s face, bearing a hint of the spiced hot tea that he liked to drink.

The consort cupped Zhenya’s face and leaned even closer. Zhenya craved him; he was desperate to close the gap but he didn’t dare -- he could barely bring himself to touch him. Then, barely louder than a puff of air, his mate whispered “Husband” and pressed his mouth to Zhenya’s.

The touch sent a shock through Zhenya’s whole body. No kiss in his long history of kissing men had ever felt like this, had ever felt so consuming, so earth-shattering. He fell into his husband’s mouth, Zhenya’s arms winding around his back and holding him close. The consort’s lips were full and plush; he was solid and strong in Zhenya’s arms. His mouth opened beneath Zhenya’s and they tilted into each other, breath coming faster and hearts thudding against each other’s chests.

Zhenya slid one arm underneath his hips and stood up, bearing the consort with him. He felt a slight gasp escape the man at being hoisted up like this. He wrapped his legs around Zhenya’s narrow hips and kissed him harder as Zhenya carried him to the bed and laid them both down. For an indeterminate time they writhed together, hardly able to contain their mutual excitement at this newfound freedom to touch.

But that freedom did have its limits, Zhenya realized after a few moments. Several times he lifted his hands to his partner’s face and had them gently redirected. Clearly his consort didn’t want him forming a visual picture of his face through touch. Zhenya could have told him that his fingers weren’t so skilled that he could see with them as a blind man would, but his consort wasn’t taking the chance. Zhenya could kiss his face -- and kiss it he did, all over and then again -- but touching it was off the table.

He kissed down the man’s throat, feeling his pulse throbbing beneath his lips, and then down his chest. His nipples were flat and soft; Zhenya’s tongue flicked over them, wondering when they would begin to distend in preparation for their child’s arrival. His consort’s hands were all over him, in his hair, on his face, clutching at his shoulders, as if he couldn’t touch enough of him. Zhenya’s hands roamed his back and chest, sliding down to his ass; they were both hard but the novelty of this new contact was distracting enough that neither of them were paying much attention to their cocks.

Even without touching his face, Zhenya gleaned a little new information about his husband. He had short hair, which wasn’t exactly a surprise. His features felt strong, his jaw sharp and well-defined. None of this told Zhenya much at all, but he hoarded any morsel of intelligence about his consort that he could find.

It didn't help that his mind insisted on conjuring up Sidney’s face, much as he commanded it to discard the image as irrelevant. The two men seemed to be merging in his subconscious to the point that if he imagined what Sidney’s cock looked like, he saw it as like his husband’s, and when he imagined his husband’s face, there was Sidney.

They rolled on the bed, kissing wildly and grabbing at each other, for what felt like a very long time before Zhenya’s arousal began demanding that he move things along. All at once, he knew what he wanted. He pulled his consort on top of him and parted his legs so his partner’s hips slotted between them. The consort pulled back a bit, moving his hips forward carefully, his body asking if this was what Zhenya wanted. Zhenya nodded and wrapped his hands around the back of the consort’s neck, pulling him back down into a kiss.

His husband slipped a hand between them and positioned his cock, then thrust forward into Zhenya with a shuddering sigh. Zhenya couldn’t help it, he cried out a little before biting it back and grabbing the consort’s ass, hoping he’d get the message that he wanted it, and hard.

He got the message. The consort dropped his head into the hollow of Zhenya’s shoulder and fucked him just as he wanted. The day’s news freed them to reverse their habitual roles without concern that Zhenya could become pregnant as well; pregnancy left the consort temporarily sterile. Zhenya couldn’t seem to hold him tight enough, his hands roamed restlessly over every part of him he could reach. His husband had a fantastic cock, and he’d taken great pleasure in it before now, but nothing could have prepared him for what it would feel like inside him.

Nor for the sheer athleticism of his consort. Zhenya was taller but his partner was broader and stronger; he felt wholly surrounded and dominated by him, and to his surprise it was touching a place of arousal he’d never reached before. Being pressed down into the bed by the solid, heavy body of his mate woke a deep desire he hadn’t known he had. His whole body shook and his orgasm snuck up on him, breaking and crashing over him, his cock jerking and spilling between their bodies. The consort kissed the gasps out of his mouth, slipping his hands underneath him to seize his shoulders as he thrust in harder; his body shuddered, he held deep and came into Zhenya.

They sagged into a sweaty, sated heap together, pulling in fast breaths and stroking each other’s skin. Within a few minutes the cooling perspiration felt uncomfortable, and both their bellies were splattered with Zhenya’s come. He felt his husband sit up and get off the bed, then he grasped Zhenya’s hand and pulled him up, too. He led him to the door -- not the door to his own chamber, but to Zhenya’s. Still unable to see, Zhenya let his consort lead him into his own bathroom and then into his large walk-in shower.

Still a bit muzzy-headed from the frankly life-changing sex he’d just had, Zhenya let himself be taken charge of. He stood in the shower while his consort started the water and began washing them both, clearing the sweat and fluids from their bodies, stopping frequently to kiss him. It was an odd sensation to be bathed while blind, but Zhenya was finding it pleasurable. There was something about being cared for like this. Usually it was him looking after his consort, who was embargoed and seen as a precious treasure to be protected and coddled, but having the roles reversed was pleasingly subversive.

They dried each other off and then Zhenya was led to his own bed and sat down on the edge; the consort pressed one finger to his lips in a “wait” gesture, then Zhenya heard him walk away. He returned in a few moments, untied and removed the blindfold. Zhenya blinked as his eyes readjusted; his consort’s drapings were back in place.

The consort leaned closer, stroked his hand down Zhenya’s face again, and turned to leave. Zhenya caught his hand and held him back; he jerked his chin back over his shoulder at the bed and tugged at his hand.

Stay. Stay here with me.

The consort’s head cocked, questioning. Zhenya nodded. He wasn’t sure his husband would agree. If he stayed, he’d have to sleep in his veils. The consort hesitated, went to the door that led back into the royal bedchamber and his own bedroom...and shut it, staying in Zhenya’s room.

Zhenya grinned and got up, holding out his hand. His husband joined him and they peeled back the sheets and blankets, climbing in together, the consort careful to keep his veils secure around him. It took them a few tries to maneuver into a comfortable sleeping position but they finally spooned up together, Zhenya behind with his husband curled against his chest. He slid his hand over the consort’s hip to rest low on his belly; after a moment, his consort covered Zhenya’s hand with his own.

Next Chapter

#unveiled #sidgeno #sidgeno fic #hockey rpf #unveiled chapters #my writing

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spnfanficpond · 4 years

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November 2019 Pond LiveChat Recap

We had a great time chatting with @tricia-16, today! Thank you so much for joining us and giving us your thoughts!

We had a great time today chatting about keeping characters true to what we’re used to seeing on screen, even when we’re writing them into an AU. How do you decide what traits are sacred and what you can or should change when you take our beloved boys out of the hunting life and into other worlds? A rundown of the chat, as well as general Pond new, is below the cut!

For those who don’t know her, Tricia is not (yet - I’m gonna work on her!) a member of the Pond, but she is a popular Destiel writer on AO3, and a force for good in the fandom on Twitter. Most of her stories are AUs, with a couple of canon stories, so she has experience in both types. Her current WIP is called Light Me Up, and it’s based around Dean and Cas discovering that Lisa had a child after a fateful night with the two of them. Lisa has recently passed, and gave joint custody of her son, Liam, to Dean and Cas together. The prequel, Why’s It Feel So Good? is simply hot, Hot, HOT, and shouldn’t be skipped! She updates every Monday, which helps to fight off the Garfield in all of us and make Mondays something to look forward to.

We started off talking about side characters.

Q: (@loudenswainfangirl (Michelle H.) How do you create that AU version when you don't have a lot of canon content to draw from? For instance, Donna. Canon gives us some in sight to her character but there is also a lot we don’t know. I've been working on a fic with Donna as the main and I'm having a difficult time putting my own interpretation on her. Inner thoughts, hang ups, struggles, that sort of thing.

Tricia: Michelle, I have no idea how you do that with the side characters who don't have a lot to go on. I think that's why in my stories they tend to focus more completely on Cas/Dean than the surrounding characters. I think in a lot of cases they end up more like an original character with a familiar character's face, in my head. If you're talking AU, I'd create almost an entire new character with Donna's personality. Write down how she grew up, her likes/dislikes, her personality flaws and strengths. You'll get an idea of who she is, which should help influence her dialogue and motivations behind why she acts how she does within the story.

Q: Have you gotten any backlash for side characters not sounding right or being OOC?

Tricia: I don't think many people read my stories for the side characters, so I haven't gotten a ton of feedback on them. I know people didn't like Charlie's big mouth in Start of Something Good, but I think she'd be super forward like that to try to help Dean so it didn't bother me.

Q: Which do you find easier, AU or canon?

Tricia: AU, without a doubt. And it's for the simple reason that I think there's more wiggle room when it comes to keeping them in character that way. While a lot of the big character traits will remain the same, there's wiggle room to change some things up depending on the world I create. A big one is family life. If Dean grew up with both parents in a loving home, I find it easy to believe he wouldn't be quite as emotionally unavailable as he is on the show, for example. @katehuntington (Kate): I get that, I can relate to that. I find both comfortable, but with AU’s I feel like I need to establish where I wanna go first, and then think how Dean (for instance) would get there and how it would affect him. AUs also create situation that wouldn’t be possible in canon, like certain side characters interacting with each other. That’s what I like about it. Michelle H.: That's what I love about AU, Tricia. Creating a different background opens up so many possibilities. An AU is, essentially, your world. I feel more people will be more critical and have higher expectations with canon based fic.

Q: What do you do when you're afraid you've maybe taken a character too far outside of their usual character?

Kate: Say their lines out loud if it’s dialogue, checking if I can hear that character say that. And it depends on the background. I’m honestly not worried that often. Guess with two or three betas on board who would tell me if it’s OOC, you build that kind of confidence. So what was said earlier: if Sam or Dean for instance grew up in a stable environment, they would respond differently than they would canon. @mrswhozeewhatsis (Mrs. Michelle): Betas help a LOT. Talking it out with other fans is HUGE, sometimes. (If you’re looking for a beta, check out this list of betas here!) Kate: Going over scenarios with people who know your story, your style, etc, is really helpful! Michelle H: You think so? Because that's what I want to do and have so far but I'm afraid of backlash. Mrs. Michelle: Never be afraid of backlash. If someone else doesn't like your interpretation, they don't have to read it. And if they're rude enough to comment, they're just RUDE. Michelle H: Good point. I guess because I write rare pairs I have so little exposure and I'm afraid to chase away those I do have. Tricia: If you can explain WHY your character is the way that she is (even within the story or outside of it in comments, etc) you shouldn't face much backlash. They might not like the choices you make, but that's on them, not you.

Q: What are the easiest and hardest parts of staying true to SPN characters when writing AUs for you?

Tricia: Easiest is the big things. Dean loves pie, drives his car, loves rock music. Sam's a nerd, Cas doesn't know much about pop culture/doesn't get a lot of jokes. Those are the things I feel should stay the same in any universe. (Imagine a world where Dean doesn't like his car? WHO IS HE?) Hardest is getting Dean to talk about his feelings. We know him to be closed off and anti-emotion, so to make him open up enough to fall in love while still remaining in character is always a struggle. That's why so many of my fics are from Dean's POV. Without access to his inner thoughts, he'd come across completely different than he does with them. Kate: Easiest parts for me is taking there personality traits, analyse where they come from and if you can, use those traits in favor of your story. Hardest part for me is when you wanna make certain changes for the sake of the AU, but feel like it’s not in character. That’s the hiccup I experience most. For instance (for the people who know Ride With Me) Dean on the show can’t really play guitar and his singing isn’t great either. For my country boy/cowboy AU, I added that, even though it’s not of significant importance to the story line. It just felt good. I go on gut feeling a lot personally.

Q: What changes to their character might you first consider when you're coming up with a new story line? Are there any traits that you immediately considering changing without question, and conversely, are there any traits that are sacred? For example, you've already discussed how Dean is different when he's had a stable family. Is that a common starting point for you, or does it depend on the story?

Tricia: This might seem like an obvious answer, but Dean and Cas's sexuality is always a big one. Do they know they're attracted to men when they meet? Are they purely attracted to men, bi, do they think they're straight? Dean "getting around" sexually is almost always part of my stories. I can't imagine a prude-ish version of Dean. Kate: For me Dean’s self worth (or the lack of it) and his kindness for the people who need it, are traits that I won’t ever let go of.

Q: Besides pie and Baby, are there any other traits of Dean and Cas that you feel are sacred and shouldn't be touched?

Tricia: Dean's fierce protectiveness of Sam is the first thing that comes to mind. I think I tend to write Cas as seeing Dean as almost... perfect. He refuses to give up on him, forgives him even when he shouldn't, and that's all based on who he is on the show, too.

Q: Has there ever been a story line or story element that you've loved, but ultimately decided to ditch because it was too OOC, even for an AU?

Tricia: When I wrote Molting Expectations, there's a scene where Cas was basically going into "angel heat" and I actually wrote Dean giving into temptation and something physical happening between them when Cas clearly didn't know what he was asking for. And once I wrote it, I read it over, and immediately went, "Nope. Dean's stronger than that." And I ditched the whole scene.

Q: On those occasions where you wrote in canon, you obviously have to be more strict about changing things. How do you decide what's sacred and what can be shifted? Basically, what’s your barometer for “I’ve gone too far this time”?

Tricia: I think for me, it comes down to my interpretation of the characters. Some die hard fans would tell you that Dean is 100% straight and nothing can convince them otherwise. I believe there are moments of episodes that imply he's not 100% straight, so I feel justified in making that more explicit in my stories. Dean admitting he likes chick flicks makes me think maybe he's a bit softer inside than he wants to present a lot of the time, so I can almost exploit that about him in canon fic, for example. But more than anything, I think, it's the dialogue that I struggle with in canon fic, and after reading it back, it's a gut feeling. There's a lot of tweaking individual words, changing the way I make my characters talk to the way Dean/Cas actually talk. I do that by looking at transcripts of episodes. That's actually how I wrote Donna's dialogue in Light Me Up, even though it isn't canon, because I haven't written her character very much. I looked at the words she repeats in all of the episodes she's in to get a sense for how she spoke. I wrote a big love confession from Dean during Don't, and then scrapped it all because I couldn't see him actually saying that out loud. (And it frustrated me because it was SO GOOD and all things Dean was thinking, but I knew in my gut they were words he'd never say out loud.) Mrs. Michelle: I've noticed that the characters in this show we love really don't talk much. Any time I've written a long paragraph of one of TFW talking, I've always cut it down to a third of it. They rarely make speeches. @girl-with-a-fandom-fettish (Kaisha): Those are Winchesters for you, as few words as possible! Tricia: They also use each other's names 100 times more than regular people in regular conversation! LOL Kate: I go on gut when it comes to taking a character too far. And also remember that it’s your story. If you believe that Dean or Sam would respond a certain way under these circumstances, then write it.

Q: Dean and smoking: In character or not? And why or why not?

Tricia: Smoking seems self-destructive enough (with the benefit of soothing nerves, or so I've heard) that I could see Dean smoking. The only reason I can think of why in canon it wouldn't be in character is because of the cost. Especially when the Winchesters didn't have the bunker, would Dean always have the money to buy a pack of smokes? I would guess probably not. Michelle H: I would think he'd rather use the funds for whiskey. Mrs. Michelle: I could see Dean stealing smokes. Like, back in the olden days when they weren’t kept locked up. Of course, the first time he got winded, and therefore injured by a monster, he might decide to quit.

To wrap up, we all kind of agreed that when we’re questioning if a character is OOC or not, we try to imagine the character in canon doing or saying what we’ve written and we go with our gut. If we’re still unsure, we ask friends and beta readers for help. As always, Betas make everything betta!!

Next month we’re going to talk about structuring long plots with @jhoomwrites on 12/7/19 at 5PM Eastern time! Mark your calendars!

General Pond Updates and Reminders

What we’ve got cooking up next: Not much, at the moment, since everyone is busy, so we’re just trying to keep up with the day-to-day at the moment! Our to do list is still long, though, and will not be neglected forever! Next up is organizing the tagging system on the blog to make it easier for readers to find the stories they’re interesting in and for writers to find the help they’re looking for!

Reminders:

Angel Fish Award nominations are accepted all month long! No need to wait to tell us how much you liked a fellow Fish’s work! IF YOU HAVE SENT IN A NOMINATION, BUT HAVE NOT RECEIVED A PRIVATE MESSAGE CONFIRMING WE RECEIVED IT, WE DIDN’T GET IT. Be sure to use Submit instead of Ask!

Don’t forget to submit your stories to be posted to the blog! When your stories are on the blog, then they are easier to nominate for Angel Fish Awards!

Say hi to October’s New Members! (If we missed someone, let us know!)

Check the Pond CALENDAR to see when Big Fish will be in the Skype chat room/discord general channel and other Pond and SPN events are happening! Know of something that’s not on the calendar, send us an ask or submission with the deets info details! The calendar offers a lot of features, such as showing you when things are in your own timezone! Since we’re an international group, that’s a definite plus!!

We’re looking for a guest speaker for January to talk about RPF! If you know of an RPF writer that you’d like to hear from, let us know!!

#spnfanficpond livechat #chat recap #chat room #let's chat #THE CHAT ROOM #pond chat #character development #Characterization

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sharktoraptor · 5 years

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Linkeduniverse Daemon AU

So uhh I posted it on the Discord and thought I may as well share here too. I put a lot of work into this one, beware that there’s a LOT of text beneath the cut!

If you’re unfamiliar with daemon AUs (referring to daemons from the His Dark Materials series), the basic concept is that your soul lives outside your body in the form of an animal that represents your personality. There’s a whole lot of character exploration involved in making a daemon AU!

If you’re unfamiliar with Linkeduniverse, it’s a Legend of Zelda AU where all the different incarnations of the hero meet and are on a quest. This daemon AU should be understandable with just a basic working knowledge of what the Legend of Zelda franchise is, this is all character/daemon stuff and no plot!

Again, a whole lot of text incoming. You might want to get comfortable. Enjoy!

Time: Wolf (white/gold)- Faekuri [fay-KYU-ree] (Kuri)

From Farore, fairy, Deku, and Kokiri.

Hyrule: Wolf (brown)- Fernwai [FURHN-why] (Fern, or just Fernwai)

From ‘fernweh’ (German for wanderlust) and fairy.

Twilight: Wolf (dark grey)- Aiyvona [eye-VOE-nuh] (Vona)

From ‘ayna’ (Turkish for mirror), Navi, Fai (Fi), and Ordona.

Warriors: Wolf (light grey)- Audelfi [awe-DEHL-fee]

From ‘audax’ (Latin for bold/reckless), ‘bellum’ (Latin for war), and Fi.

Wild: Field Mouse- Firielore [FEE-ree-uh-lore] (Firi)

From Farore, Fi, and Ciela.

Four: Field Mouse- Emper [EHM-purr] (no nickname, sometimes Em)

From temper, as in to temper a sword.

Sky: Blessed Butterfly- Lydivia [lih-DIH-vee-uh] (Lydi)

From Hylia and ‘divum’ (Latin for heaven/sky/open air).

Legend: Hare- Faistina [FY-stih-nuh] (Fais, rhyms with ‘vice’)

From Farore, ‘aisling’ (Irish for dream), and ‘obstino’ (Latin for persist).

Wind: Seagull- Marumi [mah-ROO-mee] (no nickname, sometimes Umi or Rumi)

From ‘mar/mare’ (Latin for sea), Ruto, and ‘umi’ (Japanese for sea).

The heroes traditionally settle when they first are draw/touch the Master Sword. This is true for Time, Legend, Wild, Warriors, Wind, and Sky (when the sword was completed). It doesn’t matter how old they are when they get the sword- Wild and Wind were both quite young, and Time technically settled when he was 9 years old, just before going into his seven year sleep. The exceptions are:

Twilight- Was already settled when his adventure began, he and his daemon merged upon entering the Twilight realm to create their wolf form.

Hyrule- Settled upon receiving the Triforce of Courage. Of the Links, Hyrule settled the latest in his journey.

Four- Officially settled upon restoring the Four Sword; however his daemon was already close to settling and was a mouse for the vast majority of his first adventure.

~Form Explanations~

A lot of the forms here aren’t necessarily exemplative of the Link’s personalities like a real daemon is, rather more of a symbolic representation of the character.

...Or something I thought would be cute because my city now.

The Wolf Pack (Time, Twilight, Hyrule, and Warriors)

All of these together, because the forms are the same. Because “Link” is the spirit/soul of the hero reborn again and again, it makes sense that there would be some overlap with forms. Each Link is their own person, but having legends of the hero with the wolf daemon as one of the most common depictions of the hero sounds cool and makes sense lore-wise. Right off the bat we have Time as the Heros Shade as the Golden Wolf, and Twilight following him with Wolf Link, the divine beast of the Twili.

Analysis/personality-wise, the form doesn’t fit all four of them as well as I’d like it to, but aspects of it do and like I said, we’re going more Pullman form/lore/symbolic here (not Pullman’s ‘wolves = evil’ though, that sucks). Wolves are hierarchical (Warriors), cooperative (all), social (Twilight, Warriors, the others to lesser extents), hard working and loyal (all), etc. All traits that would fit most of the Links well enough, but I like it for these four especially.

Important note, though: though all of their daemons share the same form, they’re still incredibly different. The differences in color is the first thing they all noticed, but their personalities are their own- not just the “soul of the hero.” That goes for all of them, of course, but it’s especially important for these four.

Mouse Friends (Four and Wild)

My reasons for picking mice for Wild and Four are so, so superficial. The analytic form actually fits both of them somewhat (again in different ways)- some of the core traits are things like independent, adaptable, observant/aware, defensive (physically and emotionally), but here are the real reasons.

Picture this okay. Four shrinks down to the size of a Minish, but his daemon doesn’t (or maybe she does but just a little bit). Now they’re like the same size. He can ride on his daemon and it’s adorable what’s not to like?

I made a big post about my botw daemon AU already here (disregard stuff about the other Links, I made this post before I’d really gotten into LU or any of the other games). Part of it that I don’t think I mentioned is logistics of the way Wild gets around, climbing and paragliding and swimming and stuff. He needs a daemon that is small enough to cling to him and stay safe when he’s doing stunts and shit.

Pink Bunny (Legend)

The Dark World in ALttP picked Legend’s daemon for me… I can’t give him a literal pink bunny though, so I took liberties. He’s much more of a hare personality than a rabbit, with hares being bigger and wilder, more independent, and having coats that change in the winter (get it? Oracle of Seasons, get it?). Not much else to say here, again more so picking a form to match the existing lore rather than doing an in-depth character study for it.

Butterfly in the Sky (Sky)

Alrighty, Sky was kind of hard because of his setting. What I chose eventually for him is the (fictional) Blessed Butterfly from SS, for a few reasons. It makes sense to me that daemons of people in Skyloft have to fit a couple of criteria: 1) small or fast enough at flying to ride a loftwing and 2) only take forms native to the sky, because it’s all they know about. Blessed Butterflies are one of the only animals in the game (according to the wiki- I’ve never played it myself) that are found on the ground and in the sky, so it works symbolically for his character.

I used the Monarch butterfly analysis as reference to make sure it wasn't totally off base, and it works for Sky surprisingly well from what I know about him. They're adaptable and adventurous (as a migrating species), and value group cohesion and teamwork (again because of the migration swarms). Lots of liberties being taken here, but the Blessed Butterflies in game apparently appear mostly in groups, so I'm willing to roll with it.

*Inhale* (Wind)

Wind has a seagull daemon because look. Have you seen Wind. Have you seen a seagull. Yes.

In all seriousness, there are some obvious reasons. Most of Wind’s adventure(s) take place on the ocean, so he needs a form that’s either adapted for that or small enough to fit on a boat, or both. You can literally take control of a seagull in WW. Plus she can nest on his head like the doves do in Spirit Tracks!

Personality-wise, I’m going to just copy from the ring-billed gull analysis because this one probably fits the best of all the Link’s, analytically. The form is listed as chaotic neutral (I’d say Wind is probably chaotic good but it’s the chaotic here that counts). Seagull souls value social interaction, cooperation, courage, confidence, and duty, and are stressed by lack of control, boredom, lack of purpose, and dishonesty.

~Individual Links and their Daes~

Time and Faekuri

Faekuri settled when Time drew the master sword as a child. He settled the youngest of all the heroes at 9 years old, and she was still settled even when they traveled back in time. Time is bitter about that; another aspect of the childhood he never had, stolen from him.

Before settling, Kuri mostly took forms traditional of the Kokiri ( small woodland creatures and fairies, though fairies are still separate entities). When they set out on their first adventure her repertoire expanded and she took bigger forms, but never left her forest shapes for long. Settling as a wolf was unexpected and jarring for both of them, especially the experience of waking up in an unfamiliar, war torn world in shapes that neither of them knew how to deal with. Going back in time to be a child again didn’t help- Kuri never changed again, and Time had to live with that.

Kuri isn’t quiet, exactly, but she’s not generally conversational. She’s fairly blunt with scolding or encouragement if it’s needed, but if something is important enough for her to talk about, the others listen. However, she’s the most physically affectionate of all the wolf daemons, often nosing at, walking alongside, or even playing/rubbing up against the other wolves. She and Time are usually touching during downtime, but not as openly cuddly with one another as some of the others. With age comes a deep understanding of one another, and that’s enough for them.

Hyrule and Fernwai

Hyrule, by contrast, has one of the oldest settling ages of the Links at around 16. Fernwai’s settled form (which she took when they received the Triforce of Courage) was somewhat of a surprise to them both, but not as shockingly out of left field as it was for Time. It was a form they had taken before, just infrequently. They settled towards the end of their adventures as the Hero, and because they didn’t have to navigate their journey in unfamiliar skin, it feels wholly right and natural to them now. Before she settled, Fernwai preferred bird forms over landbound ones. They knew that the Hero of Time had a wolf form, so they’d tried it before, just in case, but the Hero of Legend didn’t, so maybe it was a one time thing…

Fernwai is a little more pragmatic and cautious than Hyrule, but aside from that, they’re basically the same. She doesn’t often initiate conversation with the others, but is very chatty to Hyrule. She’s less touchy with the other wolf daemons, though she’s become the most popular perch for the smaller ones while traveling, but she and Hyrule are the most openly affectionate with one another. It’s common to see them sleeping on top of each other, not just next to or touching like most of the others do. Their tight bond comes in part from the lucky timing of their settling; they had time to work through it without much distraction after, while most of the others weren’t so lucky.

Twilight and Aiyvona

Twilight was the only Hero to be settled at the start of his adventure, which he’s sometimes hyperaware of. Aiyvona settled when he turned 15, about a year and a half before meeting Midna. People in Ordon village joked about his being the ‘lone wolf’ of the village, but he was a member of a pack then (the village and the children), and he’s a member of a pack now. It’s always suited them, and it had the bonus of being a good, mobile form for herding.

The Twili don’t have daemons, and the spirit people in the twilight realm don’t either, which is horrifying from Twilight’s perspective. But that’s why when they were taken into the twilight realm, Twilight and Vona’s forms merged into Wolf Link, a combination of both of them. Both of their minds are in Wolf Link and they can both control the form, but they’ve only ever fought for control once, when Vona tried to stop Zelda from sacrificing herself for Midna and Twilight won out, holding her back.

Despite the obvious similarities between Vona and “Wolfie,” the Links that don’t know about their secret haven’t figure it out. It’s a pretty big leap of logic- besides, Wolfie has all those strange markings, and a shackle around their paw. Wolfie doesn’t mind if the others touch them, even if Vona is in there too- it’s a magical form unique to them both, and it’s neither of theirs completely. Vona is as mature as Kuri is, but more talkative with the others, less touchy, and far more willing to tease and rile the younger daemons up. She doesn’t actually talk to Kuri much- the two wolves recognized each other as soon as they met, and they have an unspoken understanding. She talks to Twilight the regular amount, but they don’t need physical contact as much as the others do- they can share a body whenever they want, and nothing feels as close anymore.

Warriors and Audelfi

Audelfi settled when Warriors drew the Master Sword, but she’d been taking a wolf form on and off for some time before that. It was a noble form to take and common among the unsettled soldiers; the legendary form of the Hero. They were both quite happy with the form, though settling in the middle of a conflict is never easy.

Despite her name, Delfi is absolutely Warriors’ voice of reason and caution. It’s not a mostly even split like it is with Hyrule and Fernwai, she got just about all of it and he got almost none. She’s the one to talk him down from his most reckless decisions, or to sit by exasperatedly when she can’t. It’s sometimes caused noticeable friction between them; every rare once in a while it gets so bad that they flat out won’t speak to one another, and Delfi has actually pulled at their bond to try and drag him away from a dangerous situation before. They (obviously) always apologize and make up, but it’s a cycle that keeps repeating.

Delfi sees herself partly as her Hylian’s protector (she’s not entirely wrong), so it took her a while to relax around the other daemons and interact with them instead of Warriors, who was the exact opposite and warmed up to the other Links very quickly. She’s the only daemon that will talk to the other Hylians uninvited, which they don’t mind, exactly, but find a little bit… forward. Her ego is definitely smaller than Warriors, but Delfi was the Greek center of the world, after all.

Wild and Firielore

Wild settled young, drawing the Master Sword when he was 13. Firi settled as a field mouse, which was a cause for concern at first. Scholars quickly reassured the King that everything was fine; the Hero’s daemon was most often a wolf, yes, but there was at least one other in the ancient texts that took the shape of a mouse.

Wild and Firi have the longest bond distance of all of the Links, because of the painful pulling that they frequently put themselves through as a knight and as Zelda’s guard. Every once in a while she’ll climb a rock or something and Wild will go carefully still, automatically pretending not to be fazed- old habits die hard. Everyone has noticed, but no one brings it up. It’s none of their business, even when any one of them would be doubled over with the pain of the distance while Wild stands outwardly unaffected. Twilight tried talking to him about it once, and Wild didn’t respond but ignored him for the rest of the day, Firi like a statue of a mouse on his shoulder.

Firi is and always has been a quiet daemon, but she got even quieter as the weight of her and Wild’s responsibilities settled over them Pre-Calamity. She never speaks except to Wild, and even then, only softly and occasionally. She’s opened up considerably since their awakening in the Shrine of Resurrection in that she’ll leave Wild’s shoulder and interact with the other daemons for longer and longer periods of time, often riding with Emper on Fernwai’s back during long days of uneventful travel. The others have only heard her voice once or twice, and she always pretends that they haven’t in case they make it a big deal.

(More on Firi pre-LU here)

Four and Emper

Emper settled when Four drew the completed Four Sword during his first journey, but she was taking the mouse form long before that. It was just always who she had been, and it was really a relief to settle, because they’d been wondering why they hadn’t already. Four loves her form for a multitude of reasons- he’s small, and she’s small. She can’t really help in the forge, but she can fit into lots of places that he can’t (when he’s big). She can ride on his shoulder, and when he’s the size of a Minish, he can ride on her back. They’re perfect for one another!

Emper doesn’t shrink when Four does, but she does change when he splits. It’s kind of complicated. There’s not four Empers the same way there’s four Fours, but they each have an aspect of her the same way they do of him. What form that takes I’m unsure of- there aren’t four mouse daemons, though.

Emper is one of the calmer social daemons, just like her Hylian. She's very friendly with all the other daemons, and she was a big part of helping Firi to feel at home in the group (meeting Four and having their form validated was actually very important for her and Wild). It's hard to be super cuddly with a mouse, but she and Four manage. They prefer to communicate silently rather than openly, but they have a healthy combination of both.

Sky and Lydivia

Sky and Lydivia settled later in their journey as well, when Hylia’s blessing completed the transformation of the Master Sword. The people of Skyloft didn’t have as much form variance as they would as the people of Hyrule, because of how deeply ingrained the loftwings were to their culture. Daemons only took shapes that were small enough to ride on a loftwing, be carried, or fly quickly enough to keep up with one; though only the the Goddesses themselves (and by extension all Zeldas) could settle as one of the sacred birds. Lydi always favored the butterfly form, and it was fitting that she settled as something found both in the Sky and on the land beneath the clouds.

Lydi is quiet, because even though her wingspan makes her larger than Firi and Emper, it’s hard for a butterfly to be loud. She does speak sometimes, just very softly, and mostly lets Sky voice her thoughts if she needs him to. It’s not uncommon to see her settled on one of the other’s daemons, either listening to them talk or just being near them for comfort or camaraderie. She’s content to just be, listening to the other Hylians and daemons (who learn what the different movements of her wings mean and include her in conversations when they can) and talking silently to Sky.

Legend and Faistina

Faistina settled when Legend drew the Master Sword, like most of the others, but they already sort of knew. The Dark World reveals your true self, and they had been a rabbit- he feels unspeakably lucky they didn’t settle that way, though he’d never admit it out loud. A hare is a better form, faster, bigger, and more capable. He is not a defenseless rabbit.

When they’re forced into the rabbit form in the Dark World, it’s sort of the same experience that Twilight and Vona have when becoming Wolf Link, except that it’s a weakening and incomplete merging and not an advantage. It’s more like Fais- all of Fais, not just the parts that they always share- is forced into Legend’s mind all at once, and he takes on her base physical traits, but softened; the ears, the fur, the face… it sucks for both of them. He’s so glad they didn’t settle as a rabbit.

Like Hyrule and Fernwai, Legend and Fais have similar base personalities- they just don’t get along as well as they maybe should. It’s not like Warriors, where he and his daemon have spats and then reconcile, more like they have some unresolved things they probably should have talked about long ago but most likely never will. Her form still makes him uncomfortable and self doubtful, and she knows it, though she’s long accepted it herself. Fais interacts with the other daemons in the same way that Legend interacts with the other Links; a little bit needling at times, kind of aloof, but able to see when she’s needed to be serious or kind. Despite their differences she and Legend do love each other, of course they do, but they don’t show their affection as outwardly, instead verbally sparring with one another or sharing exasperated looks at someone else’s expense.

Wind and Marumi

Wind settled when he drew the Master Sword at age 12, young even for a Hero. He’s never had any issue with Marumi’s form; seagull daemons are pretty common on the Great Sea, and he’s happy to represent that. It’s a good form for a sailor and a pirate, as long as she’s perched when the King of Red Lions goes fast, and she can even glide from traincar to traincar to check on passengers and cargo if they’re careful about it. They aren’t upset at how early they were forced to settle, either, except maybe for the fact that Marumi didn’t get to play with forms as much as most kids. Time is bitter about it on Wind’s behalf.

Wind and Marumi are young and have an innocent, open daemon-Hylian bond despite their mature experiences. They’re used to silent communication, because she’s in the air whenever possible and it’s hard for her voice to carry over the roar of the sea and the wind. Marumi helps to serve as the group’s navigator if they’re lost and she and Wind can get up high enough to not stretch their bond too badly (they have a larger than average bond distance, which is helpful for avian forms, but it’s natural and not forced like Wild’s is). She has a good sense of direction and the flight power that Lydi lacks to get a good view of their surroundings.

Marumi loves to talk to the other daemons, and she and Wind have reacclimated fairly well to talking to each other verbally. Sometimes Wind will still yell out non sequiturs to her, though, because they’re used to the one way communicating. She’s not flying that high, and he does not need to yell so loud and startle all eight of his fully armed travel companions, thank you very much. Marumi stays in the air most of the time during the day, but nests in Wind’s lap or hair at night.

~Other Stuff~

- All of the daemons call their Link ‘Link,’ and all the other Links by their title. It’s not as confusing as one would think. Everyone learns the other daemons’ voices very quickly, so that if one shouts out in the heat of battle they can identify who needs help.

- Listening to the daemons talk about their Hylians can be confusing. Not for the daemons themselves, though.

- Most of them know on some level that Legend is unhappy with Fais’ form, they just don’t know why. Sky, Wind, Four, and Wild have tried pep talking him about not having a wolf form, thinking maybe that’s the problem. It’s not.

- They all worry about the extremes to which Wild and Firi push their bond, and how often they do it.

- If they need to split up, the wolf daemons communicate long distance with an agreed upon system of howls. Most of the group is impressed with how quickly Wolfie picks it up too.

#linkeduniverse #legend of zelda #the legend of zelda #daemonism #daemon au #daemons #(this is dipshitcoyote btw)#(if the readmore is broken for anyone im so so sorry)#validate me #my post

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glacierfront · 4 years

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I WANT... 2 KNOW... ALL THE ANSWERS

WOW….

What is an aspect of your muse that you’ve wanted to explore the most? i like the concept of comparing julie’s self confidence versus her… lack of it? she’s sort of been working on it a little already, but she doesn’t really value her opinion over other peoples’, especially regarding her like… self worth. but at the same time she loves to joke about how good and skilled and kind and talented and just overall great she is… hmm.. i just think it’s neat ! also julie x touch, and julie in general just being a badass with powers

and i just really in general want to explore… um… julie, and, sharing things about herself. she doesn’t think she’s important enough to other people to share her opinions (because they dont matter!) but i posit that because characters care about her they want to know these things. but she doesn’t believe me

Name one idea for a plot you’ve had but never got around to writing. jeez i like never hide my ideas from anyone, i always just spit them out into the open ??? more recently i made a verse where julie learned about her water powers a lot earlier and went to the xmen school as a kid and in the future is an environmental activist with an emphasis on the water… she is the julie of my dreams who travels to tsunami and hurricane and flood prone areas (and fires, and droughts, and melting glaciers) to try and reduce human casualty… and weighing with the guilt of not being able to help everyone, and the anger of watching governments be like “why do we need to do anything when you’re here lol” and capitalists be like “lmao lets make water a sellable commodity”, and the stress of constantly overloading herself with marcus’ help. hmm. i like it

Are there any songs that remind you of your muse and/or get you in the mood to reply? not really ! i like solo piano stuff sometimes. hearing soundscapes can get me in the mood sometimes; i am particularly fond of running water and train tracks. if i listen to nanananananana by uhh, fallout boy ?? i think ?? then i immediately think of maes hughes. but that’s about it

If you’re a multimuse or have more than one blog, is there a muse that you wish you used more? jesus fuck ALL OF THEM… i think i have very good writing but really only when im writing anyone but julie lmfao. i like that i can write different moods and different characters and feel like i do them justice; i like feeling like my words actually have a rhythm to them. and this is really only possible with like anyone but julie, so like. literally all of my other characters. but if i had to pick one, then probably link! because He Is My Son.

Is there a character you consistently have muse for? julie,

Do you have any symbols/motifs/themes/etc that you’re currently trying to get across or plan to get across? right now i’m really into the themes of learning how to be a person, but i wouldn’t say i’m putting particular effort into getting them across. ..

Do you have any arcs planned out or already in the works for your blog? my blog is generally very wibbly wobbly re: time, so i would say not particularly ! i would say maybe something i’m excited to think about is the au where she does not infact have dual powers, but gets her water powers ripped out of her when she like insults poseidon and gets her dream powers when she asks athena to fill the void?

there is probably a lot of potential there… and sometimes i think about julie being asked, frantically, to do something by people who know she has water powers and her being like…… i can’t

Name one of your favorite tropes. character thinks they are making a joke but actually hit the nail on the head… found family… character tries and fails and suffers and tries again…

What has influenced your writing and blog? my friends and their writing! i can name like at least three writing things that i’ve seen in my friends’ writing and have been like “interesting.. i will pepper that into my own writing starting immediately”… i havent read a lot of books lately but i am also very influenced by them. i think big influences are tess gerritsen’s books and cressida cowell’s books. and then also fanfictions influence me a lot because it’s basically all i read nowadays anyway and probably is half of why my writing doesn’t feel too hot right now lJFDLKF

If you’re an oc blog, did you have any characters in mind while creating your character? no !

What is a trope you want to subvert? i do not care enough about tropes to like… want to subvert any ?

Is there a fact/detail about your muse that you think would surprise people if you told them about it? no i feel like julie is very predictable and easy to accept at face value. i find that the best thing for me to do is write stuff as if people already know it, and then i get to be delighted when they actually did not know it and show emotions because of it

Name a question you’ve always wanted to be asked about your muse. i don’t really have any ! in hindsight this was not a great meme for me to reblog because most of my answers are just “idk” … i think more than anything i want characters to ask questions about julie to julie ! let her sweat a little

How has your muse changed since you first began writing them? 2012 julie was very edgy. i do not like her. she was also very ready to fight people all the time. nowadays her primary emotion is unsure, and, she is much tamer, and i think her sense of humor is less abrasive though it still has a little bit of teeth…

Take the opportunity to write a short ramble/drabble about something you want to write about. one of the biggest draws to me about writing poe is just the idea of interacting with rey and finn? and i think a lot of people see that too which is why i see it in a lot of fanfictions; rey and finn are missing a lot of experiences and context in terms of how… the resistance and generally people who aren’t assholes work?

rey has grown up in a world where she scrounges for scrap only for the asshole at the counter to decide how much it’s worth (how much her life is worth) in terms of garbage food and finn from the get-go has been just another cog in the wheel, a disposable unit, no thoughts allowed, no opinions allowed unless they are the order’s… no fucking names

and poe like… i just like… poe who like… immediately is kind to these people… he gives finn a name, and they’ve known each other for like 30 minutes,,, and (in my heart) he reaches over not to take but to drop more food on rey’s plate,,, and he just…. trusts openly, like, these two people who… have not had a lot of trust placed upon them in the past, and while they dont have to trust him back, he would, you know, like them to???? i just like poe’s kindness. and. i like that he is kind in relation to these two people who have probably been starved for kindness in the past… and just… also, i love him??????

#whinedarksea #thank you !!!#ooc #uwuwuwuuw #whinedarksea 00

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vios-rockland-corner · 5 years

Photo

My Rockland OC Sasha Holmes.

I was in another small drawing mood and wanted a tiny break from writing another Zeitgeist thought post. Tried a new position again, but didn’t really feel like drawing full body or coloring it this time. I also drew her without her headband this time so I can get comfortable with the fact that it’s not something constantly glued to her. She wears it a lot though because she likes using it to keep her bangs out of her face. I just put her in a tank top/pyjamas to switch things up too.

I drew this because of my self-made rule, “I can’t talk about Sasha unless I draw something for her too.” I actually came up with a possible backstory for her, and that’s really what I wanted to spend my time writing about anyway so I don’t forget it.

It’s not really important for anyone else though, and it could very well get scrapped later. So I’ll just place it below to save space (it’s stupid long for personal reference only).

Why I have Sasha

I’m just reiterating here. I don’t really insert myself in these stories, and I don’t like disrupting the canon either. Sasha’s going to be more like an NPC in the Rockland universe that is capable of OBSERVING certain events and characters, but will probably never end up interacting with any of them directly. That’s probably for the best anyway because let’s be honest...there’s a good chance she’ll die if she ends up meeting the wrong character, haha.

If I do commit with her, I could actually utilize her as another type of post whenever I’m low on ideas or lack the motivation for a full thought post. Basically, journal entries made by a character in universe. Sasha would basically be doing...the same kind of thing I actually do with the thought posts. Now one might say, “Isn’t that kind of lazy? Like you’re just duplicating your own content?” And I say, “Kind of, yes.”

Fun fact about me though, I’m not really a creative writer. Most of the writing I’ve done has been for more scientific papers. With those, you’re just getting the facts in. Now my thought posts are a little more carefree and show a bit of personality in them I think. Basically, tumblr is intended to be my “lazy time.” Still, I’ve hardly ever tried to write in first person from a character’s perspective. Also, while I myself would have a wider grasp of the Rockland universe and its characters, I would be placed in a challenging position with Sasha where I can only have her commentate on events and characters revealed in canon that...basically COULD be fair game as “news” or “rumors” around town. For example, she’s not going to know about an MC’s personal experience with a character after they’ve been kidnapped (and they don’t escape). But if there’s some news or rumors around town that people are disappearing, that’s fair game for her to speculate about.

The Misfits actually I think have the most potential for regular civilians to have an idea that they exist. One story even had the police investigating them, so you know there’s probably some curious individuals that start gossip as a result. So I will probably end up having Sasha in the general vicinity of wherever most of the Misfits’ activities take place.

Oh yeah, the Rockland universe is going to have so many characters, groups and likely locations. Sasha’s only human, and it would be WAY too much of a headache for me to actually have her contemplating more than one aspect of the universe. Looking into the possibility of angels existing vs. supernatural beings existing (Hand of God) vs. a dangerous/unruly group of killers (Misfits) is just...that’s too much, haha.

I know Zeitgeist is coming out first, but I’m pretty sure the Misfits will be introduced more formally once that game is complete.

Now then, I still want to make the best of Sasha as a brain exercise. What’s the point of having a character if you can’t develop a personality, history and motivations for them? Character creation isn’t my forte, but if I can establish a solid background for her, I think it’ll help have the character stand on their own better. Even without interacting with any of the other characters.

Possible Backstory for Sasha

This is pretty rough, but here’s what I have so far. Sasha herself and her life in general was pretty average growing up. She was taught the usual ideals of: work hard in school, get a job, be nice to others, don’t do drugs, just anything that helps a person be, “a good civilian.” Don’t worry, it wasn’t a strict military household or anything, just one where the parents wanted their kids to live happy lives, make friends and hopefully be working a job they love when they grow up.

Now Sasha had one sibling: her older brother. They were very close and did everything together. Her brother always seemed “perfect,” to Sasha. He had a fun personality, he looked out for her, his grades were good, he wasn’t bad at sports, and he was good looking. Stereotypical golden child, I know. Just bear with me here for a second. During these years, Sasha and her brother never opposed anything their parents taught them.

Eventually her brother went off to college away from home. Sasha was sad, but otherwise fine with this. She knew they could keep in touch through the phone and internet easily. So they did, and everything was fine for awhile...but slowly the calls, emails and text conversations would become fewer and fewer.

Eventually a point hit where the communication stopped. Sasha began to get antsy, but figured when all her attempts at contact failed, she might be bothering him. Perhaps he was just focusing harder on his studies?

Time passed and suddenly...her brother was back home prior to when he would have been graduating. Sasha and her parents were very surprised to hear that he had been kicked out. Of course, they tried to comfort him and assured him that everything would be okay. He could stay home as long as he wanted until he got back on his feet. No one’s perfect.

Sasha was actually happy for a few days to have her brother back home, but...he was different. He wasn’t quite as social as he was before. In fact, he hardly seemed to want to do anything with his family. And gentle coaxing from her parents about how things were going during dinner was rebuffed by her brother.

He’d go out frequently, day...and VERY late at night. Sasha was making sure to keep her own life in order, but she couldn’t help but become curious as to what was going on with her brother. Sometimes, she’d follow him out secretly. The people that he was hanging out with now weren’t like his old friends. There was something unsettling about them. She became more alarmed when she noticed small red stains on his jacket once when coming home. The next time he was out, she snuck into his room. After sometime, she found a plastic bag with some old clothes of his she noticed he’d stopped wearing. They all had the same red stains on them. It was blood.

Sasha keeps the discovery a secret from her family, but she starts to watch her brother with eyes like a hawk. He starts to notice and eventually asks her what’s up one day when they’re alone in the house. Snapping, she admits to what she found and ask him why he’s acting so strange. He doesn’t take this well and they get into a massive argument. After what felt like an eternity, it ends with both feeling physically exhausted from the emotional outburst. After a few minutes of silence, the brother says he’s needs to head out tonight to finish something up. Sasha gives him a sad look and asks him quietly, “Come back safe, please.” He’s a little taken aback by this, but nods and promises he’ll be home in a little while. He leaves.

Sasha’s brother never returned home that night, or ever again. [Author’s note: I have not decided yet, if he’s been flat out murdered, or he’s still alive but just never came back- both change a lot about the story]

This messes up Sasha. Everyone she knows consoles her and says they’ll be there if she needs them. On the outside, Sasha keeps up a strong front and continues on with her life. She knows he’s gone and she doesn’t want other people to worry about her. Life has to go on anyway. She wants to keep being a “good civilian” and not fall like...

Sasha was slowly becoming obsessed. Not simply with what might have happened to her brother like most people thought. No, instead she became focused on why did her brother change so much? She started getting curious. She had a feeling that he was doing some very unlawful...very awful stuff. She would never have guessed though in her younger years that her brother would even be capable of such things. She wondered if something bad had happened at school. Did his confidence get shot? Did someone influence him? Was the stuff he started doing now more appealing than being what they had always been taught as children? That last one in particular settled in a part of her brain uncomfortably.

Obviously, she’d never get the answers now that she wanted from her brother. She’d have to find another way to get into his head. Perhaps...figure out people who may be similar to him?

How the heck am I linking this to the Misfits?

Sasha basically sees herself as an average “good civilian,” as I’ve stated before. The Misfits, she’d view as a group of people that are generally “bad.” Degenerates you wouldn’t want to associate with or become. However, after everything that happened with her brother, she’d now view the Misfits with an unhealthy curiosity. She’d view them with disdain, but is compelled to figure out what makes them tick. She absolutely refuses to believe her brother was some sort of sociopath or psychopath all along. She’d never want to place him as the same group of the Misfits, but she thinks that maybe there’s some allure that pulled him into that lifestyle. She also wonders, “Are these people who were always like this, or became this way overtime?” Characters of the latter she’d feel would be more useful for understanding her brother.

Now I have two options for why she knows the Misfits exist:

Option 1) She has always lived in the town where the Misfits currently exist, and they’re a recent development after her brother has gone. Pretty standard.

Option 2) She finds a note with the word crumpled up in one of her brother’s jacket pockets. It’s not his handwriting, more like a note someone else gave him. It said the name, “This Misfits” on it as well as “This is where you want to go” and lists a city and state. That’s it. This prompts Sasha to MOVE to where the Misfits are. She doesn’t know anything about them, but wanted to know why her brother was curious. No, I would NOT be making her brother a Misfit in this case. More like...it’s possible he was interested in being part of the group. Possibly.

Please note that this ENTIRE backstory and mindset of Sasha is completely capable of being scrapped. Why? I still don’t entirely know what the Misfits are all about. I need to have at least a decent grasp on the group’s general atmosphere, goals, personality, etc. Without knowing that, I can’t say this backstory would suffice for Sasha.

If this backstory DOES work, the benefit is that Sasha then clearly has her own issues and a personal goal of closure. Thus, her not interacting with canon characters at all wouldn’t necessary stunt her as a character. At least I think so?

Well at the very least, this was kind of fun to write. It’s a lot, so I had to write it down if I didn’t want to forget it.

If anyone actually decided to read this (this was more for own personal notes), uhhh hope it was fun? XD

Now to continue waiting for the next game.

#rockland #sasha holmes #my OC #drawing practice #the misfits #backstory

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