#because there's this recognition that he deserves it AND a near inability to accept it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

batrachised · 7 months

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saw these tags from @the-piper-and-the-lion and I want to give my two cents, but I also suspected it would get long.

I think you've hit the nail on the head for Robin, and my theory is there is a very similar explanation for Andrew. Robin was spoiled growing up, the golden child, very young and relatively sheltered, and had someone who catered to her every need and want. This is what she brings in with her to her marriage.

So, what about Andrew? Well, I think the answer is in a line from Aunt Irene: "I've always been more like a mother to him than a sister." As others have pointed out, we get very little insight into Andrew and Irene's life, but what is made repeatedly clear is that Irene is to Andrew what the Grandmother is to Robin. It manifests in a different yet (almost) equally insidious form.

Andrew is selfish, has been petted over his entire life, has also had his every need and wanted catered to, and really could also be seen as the golden child as well. This is what he brings in with him to his marriage. As you indicate, the war trauma also plays a huge role here in my opinion. I don't think Andrew was exaggerating when he talked about his first impression of Robin, despite the flowery language. He was desperately grasping onto anything that was not the war, specifically anything that was the opposite of blood and filth of the war, and one of the first people he sees? Robin.

Andrew's deal is that he did not understand that he was marrying a person in her own right. He was marrying an escape route. This is not to say that Andrew was not actually in love with Robin; it's more to say he saw all the shiny parts of her - and that was it.

So you take that, and you combine it with what Andrew is bringing to the marriage - selfishness and unreasonable expectations - and you combine it with what Robin is bringing to the marriage - naivety and unreasonable expectations - and you get one hot mess. Both Andrew and Robin were taught what love is like by Aunt Irene and the grandmother, respectively. Andrew seems to be more well-rounded in his views because he wasn't as sheltered as Robin, but at heart that influence is there.

Robin is described as spoiled, but what's unstated is that Andrew was too. It's implied in almost everything he does. He expects his marriage to be about him. He expects Robin to focus on him. Of course he's going to be mad about a baby; it means he's not the center of attention anymore. On top of that, if we want to leap into more speculative territory, we also have his reaction by seeing the medal from the war over a decade later; I can only imagine what living with him must have been like when he was fresh off the battlefield and beginning to really grapple with what he'd seen.

And, very importantly, in the midst of this hot mess, in the midst of everything crashing down, you have Aunt Irene. She's picking apart Robin - and she's definitely affirming Andrew. Yes, Robin is being unreasonable. Yes, she's being hysterical about Jane's health. Yes, she's spending too much time with her baby; good thing I was there to help get supper on the table. She's fanning the flames of Andrew's pride and driving every wedge she can find between him and his family.

This is not at all to excuse Andrew's behavior here. He should have been capable of taking that millimeter step of recognizing Irene's toxicity, but he likes that Irene affirms him and pets over him, and his self-centeredness blinds him. It blinds him, and in the end, it costs him everything.

As for who Andrew is...I think Andrew was the cocky, confident man in uniform who was charming and knew it. He also wasn't just a blowhard; he was intelligent and sharp. He writes political commentary and gets along well with everyone. He's shown to be a pretty outgoing, hotheaded, arrogant dude who is more than a little stubborn (he did stay up arguing with his friend until the wee hours of the morning). He's seen things he can't forget and that he'll always carry with him. He's spoiled. His ego is massive. He's friends with everyone from fellow political commentators to the Jimmy Johns.

You're right in that we only ever see Andrew through Jane's perspective, but we do get the bare threads of who he is outside of "dad." Someone struggling with PTSD, someone so arrogant he can't-or won't- see what's in front of his face, someone who spends time advocating for international peace, someone who snaps savagely at his friends in arguments, someone willing to stay up all night for those arguments, someone who is a keen learner, someone who seems so ashamed of his behavior he doesn't want to be called father, someone so arrogant and ashamed at the same time he thinks Jane hates him even after he has met her and doesn't expect her to want to return - it's barely there, but it's there. I'll end this long post by saying i would have killed for an andrew/robin perspective or prequel or sequel lol.

#really andrew can be summed up in that reaction to jane #he thinks jane hates him #which is both arrogant and self-debasing at the same time #because there's this recognition that he deserves it AND a near inability to accept it #while also a framing that it's still not him - that robin taught jane to hate him #that single moment has so many complex layers to it #andrew cannot believe his daughter doesn't hate him bc he knows underneath it all what he did was hideous #and he also cannot admit fully to himself what he had done #yet at the end of it all - when all is said and done - he listens to Jane; he believes Jane; and he gives Jane her agency #and that's what matters to Jane #lantern hill book club

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fantasyinvader · 3 years

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Beat Binding Blade tonight

So, right off the bat I'm going to admit. I abused the arena and save states. This is a really, really hard game. And while I enjoyed it, I'm going to give three things I didn't like about it.

1)Enemy reinforcements arrive at the end of the player phase, and can attack during the enemy phase. That is unfair, especially when I assume that parking a unit on the spawn point will prevent them (It doesn't) or my healer just happens to be in the area. I like difficult games, but when I fail at something in those I want to feel like it's my fault for doing so. When I die in Bloodborne or lose a unit in Fates Conquest, I'm willing to accept it because I felt it was fair (plus I'll just restart the chapter in Conquest anyway). I could have not died if I had played a little better. This game was not fair when it did that.

2)The supports. A lot of the stuff about the characters is locked away in their supports, since this is one of the old Fire Emblems where it throws units your way because it's assuming you didn't reset the game when one died. They don't get cutscenes to be important, and with only five supports per character (barring if one dies, then any unit that had supports with gets those supports back). And even then, getting an A rank doesn't pair up any units except for Roy. So you don't get to play love doctor here, it's only really there for the stat boosts. But in the case of my boy, he needs those supports in order for his character to fully come through.

3)I can take 8 units into the final battle, and they're the only ones who get full ending cards. Everyone else just gets a single line. Kinda weak if I use someone like Fir for most of the game, but bench her at the end to give Rutget Durandal.

Even with my cheating, I still enjoyed this game. Mostly for the story. When Fire Emblem first appeared in Smash Brothers Melee, as a kid it instantly caught my attention. Roy and Marth just looked so cool with their swords and armor (true fact: My favorite design for Link is the Skyward Sword design, simply because it has chainmail under the tunic. I get it, the tunic is iconic but SS's Link just looks practical), and I preferred Roy because I though his fully-charged shield breaker hurting him was cool. I even keep a Cipher card of his in my wallet for good luck. I wanted to know what Fire Emblem was, what kind of game it was. My friend showed me a screenshot of the upcoming GBA game in Nintendo power, which I got for the following Christmas (sadly, I didn't get Sacred Stones as I got a PS2 the following year). I loved that game, but the idea that I was playing as Roy's father always was a bit of a sour point for me. It's because of that game when I got a 2DS a decade later, because I wanted to game but kept getting pulled away from my console, I eventually went back to Fire Emblem.

And, I'm going to admit, Binding Blade hurt me because I played Blazing Blade first. It really did. I mean, Hector dies early on, Lyn is presumably dead hell a lot of my old comrades probably died in this war, Eliwood's wife dies shortly after they are married while Eliwood is more useless than ever, the kid I saved in Bern becomes a genocidal maniac, and the fact that the characters of Blazing Blade kinda caused this to happen by releasing the seals on the Legendary Weapons in their own quest... It kinda bugs me that the Legendary Weapons I used in Blazing Blade are in their trap filled storage places. Like, who returned them there? And if I have characters from that game returning in Binding, I find it strange they don't comment on needing them again. But this is a case of the game trying to be a prequel to a story that wasn't written with it in mind.

But at the end of the day, one thing just kept popping up in my mind. Binding Blade is the antithesis of the Crimson Flower route from Three Houses. I know they said Genealogy of the Holy War was an inspiration, but I can't help it. I've seen so many people try to praise that said route as some sort of denouncement of the rest of the franchise. That it's about putting power in the hands of the people (it's not) instead of having some Lord be the good king. Granted, the Mandate of Heaven seems like it's a running theme of the series, so without understanding what that is I can understand why people don't grasp what that part of the message. But Binding Blade, it just hit so many things on the nose that I needed to say something.

So without further adieu, I'm just going to bring up a few points.

With Regards to Humanity

It's interesting how both Zephiel and Edelgard come at this from different angles. Sure, they both lead wars of conquest across the entire continent, and I'm guessing Zeph didn't tell his troops what he was planning on doing once he won so there's likely a level of deception going on there as well. He really doesn't care for his fellow man, and the game goes out of it's way to show us why. Hatred, greed, or even selling out your people in the name of self-preservation. The game doesn't shy away from showing us any of this, saying that it's wrong and thus why Roy has to kick some guy's arse. Zephiel knows this, but in Edelgard's case? She's out there fighting for absolute power, destroying anyone who won't bend the knee to her while those who do out of self-preservation like House Gloucester are rewarded for it.

In essence, Edelgard is everything Zephiel saw wrong with the human race, she is why he felt we needed to go extinct. The very things he condemns humanity for are the things she reward. Zephiel would have actually handed over power to those he felt deserved it if he had won, whereas Edelgard is demonstrably shown to hold onto power until near the end of her life. One wants humanity dead, the other wants all the dragons. They even oppose each other in their classes. Edelgard is based on the red emperor archetype, she wears red, her class is the heavily-armored Emperor and her weapon of choice is an axe. Zephiel is a king, armoed but wearing purple and he uses a sword in battle.

Even if they both have screwed up history with their family's due to their father's inability to keep it in his pants, they're both presented as villains despite being ideologically opposed which goes to show with Fire Emblem the method IS the message.

Ancient Wars, Super Powered Weapons and Lies.

War of Heroes vs. The Scouring. The former is an event where the full details are shrouded in mystery, up to the player to piece together the clues and figure out the truth for themselves...or in Crimson Flower's case, ignore the truth and act out in your ignorance.With Binding Blade though, when the truth starts coming out, it hits hard. I mean, right from the beginning of the game we're told man was the one who broke the peace by attacking the dragons, but then we learn that those legendary weapons messed up the environment, resulting in dragons needing to use human forms only to be slaughtered by man. Dragons were blamed for the environment, the people who used those weapons were revered as heroes. We don't know why mankind launched their attack, but we do know that they weren't able to slay the Demon Dragon, one who had her soul destroyed in order to control her, because the Heroes felt sorry for her. It's making dragons out to be the victims here, much like the dragons in Three Houses. But Crimson Flower only serves to demonize them, acting like they can't understand humanity when the dragons in that game are a lot closer to humans emotionally than the ancient dragons in Elibe.

The Elites in comparison weren't heroes, and that lie has been confirmed as Rhea trying to make peace.

The good ending for Binding Blade is being able to save the dragon whose soul was destroyed, whereas Crimson Flower ends with slaying a dragon after you've spent the entire game triggering her (and is the ending that leads to oppressive rule under Edelgard, in addition to the only ending without sunlight. What? You thought you'd get the good ending when her final boss theme was playing on the last stage?). Also, you need all the Legendary weapons in order to unlock the final stages, which all play into the big mystery. Crimson Flower requires the player to not understand that the world-building was done to support fighting against Edelgard instead.

Merits of a leader

Let's not beat around the bush here, Roy will not carry you through Binding Blade. His bases are low, and while he has good growths he is unable to promote until the very end of the game. Even then, you need to save the Binding Blade's usage to ensure you get the good ending. Roy is also very unsure of himself, thrust into a position of leadership despite his young age. But look at what happens when he succeeds, he manages to overcome the odds and take down the mightiest army on the continent. At the end of the game, he's shown himself as more than capable of leading. Not to mention, he also believes that humans and dragons can live together, even seeing this in Acadia (and if Ninian was his mother, he's unknowingly proof of this as he is 1/4 dragon himself. May explain his poor bases). If he marries Liliana, he even becomes a King for likely much of the same reason Byleth does in SS/VW (most leaders are dead following the war, plus combining his territory with Ostia which had already taken over Lyn's land after she abdicated/married Hector). Roy learns the truth as already established.

Compare this to Crimson Flower Byleth. Byleth leads the Black Eagle Strike Force, but credit for it goes to Edelgard. Byleth never gets any recognition for this, no position of authority despite proving themselves, instead that goes to Caspar Jenkins of all people, and ends the war continuing to fight TWSITD from the shadows to support Edelgard's regime. And if you read between the lines, Edelgard is NOT a good leader, resorting to bribes, threats, cronyism, secret police, propaganda, and even TWSITD's support and later stolen tech in order to maintain her rule. Byleth lost whatever emotional development they got from White Clouds during this route, once again becoming the Ashen Demon, and is even willing to let themselves die if they can't keep their “humanity” in check showing a distaste for their own draconic heritage (showing humans and dragons can't live together in this timeline). They didn't grow into being a leader, they devolved into being Edelgard's unthinking muscle. Byleth never learns the truth in this route, falling for Edelgard's manipulations resulting in them losing Enlightened One/Nirvana status.

Not to mention, Heroes Relics have really low weapon levels. In theory, they can be used by anyone but only safely by those with Crests and most fully with a matching Crest. Legendary Weapons, on the other hand, can be used by anyone with an S rank in their type. Your characters have to EARN the right to use those things and you'll need them to deal with all the Manaketes during the final level, whereas Relics aren't exactly that level of broken.

Honestly, seeing the ending of Binding Blade and Idunn recovering put at least one tear in my eye. Crimson Flower's just made me feel like the game was calling me an idiot (which considering the Nirvana/Enlightenment thing, it kinda was). I would love if Binding Blade got the Echoes treatment, or even if they just did a GBA collection for the Switch. But after all these years, one thing is as certain now as it was when I was a kid.

In this house, ROY'S OUR BOY!

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twelvesignsrp · 7 years

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congratulations sav, aries is now kieran campbell with the faceclaim dudley o’shaughnessy !

APPLICATION

Character Sign: Aries

Character name: Kieran Campbell Birthday: 04/02/1997 Sexuality: Homosexual Gender: Cisgender Male Moon Sign: Capricorn Faceclaim: Dudley O’Shaugnessy Power: Fire Manipulation – He can only manipulate fire, not create it, so he carries a lighter with him in order to spark a flame when needed. He’s still not the best at controlling this ability yet, so it takes an intense amount of concentration on his part to keep the fire from going haywire. This, as you might imagine, takes a considerable toll on him. Usually after only a few minutes of continuous use his knees get wobbly and his head starts to spin.

Secondary ability (from the sudden power up): Enhanced charisma. Fire signs have incredibly large personalities and, just like the element they represent, can be very charming and magnetic, drawing people into their area of influence. This added ability allows Kieran to subtly persuade others to see his opinion/take his side. It’s not an exact science, and some people seem to be more susceptible than others. Of course, he can’t persuade someone to jump out of a window or hand him a million dollars. His natural born charisma is only slightly heightened, giving him a mild edge when it comes to things like: suggesting that the librarian allow him to check out more books/research materials than is usually allowed, convincing the chef at his favorite restaurant that an item that’s no longer on the menu should be reintroduced, etc.

What do they study?: Kieran is a law student

Biography:

T H E N

Kieran Campbell grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father was a respected incumbent member of the Scottish Parliament, his mother a devoted homemaker and caregiver. From a young age, his parents impressed upon him three essential traits that, they believed, were the key to success: Ambition, Excellence, Dominance.

[First, ambition. Do nothing without enthusiasm, charisma, and innovation. Do not drag your feet. Motivate yourself. Be an example. A leader. Do not wait to be asked. Anticipate. Outrun, outgun, and outperform those around you. Do not settle for average, because in this world, average is a death sentence. Averagewon’t get you noticed. Average won’t pay your bills. Average won’t get you anywhere.

Next, excellence. Do not attempt something unless you’re aiming to be the best – anything less is wasting your time. Do not accept participation trophies or consolation prizes: they’re symbols of your defeat, your inability to be number one. “Trying” is only an excuse created by those who cannot do. Who cannot achieve. “Trying” means nothing. Winning means everything.

Last, dominance. Do not pity those below you. Do not give charity or handouts. The only thing separating them from you is that you made it and they did not. You’re on top because you deserve to be, so show no mercy. Take what you want. Take what is owed. Lead. Delegate. Do not apologize. Do not offer excuses or justifications for your greatness.]

Kieran was a model son. Top of his class every year, head of every committee or club he could join, and an exceptional athlete. His parents took him out to society dinners and exclusive functions and paraded him around, singing his praises to anyone who would listen. He lived for it. The attention. The recognition. It became an addiction, a fix that he craved. To be applauded and told “Yes. Yes, this is life and you are doing it right. You’re going to go places young man, I already know it. You’re such a smart boy. Such a winner.”

By the time he was halfway through secondary school, there wasn’t a soul in his school that didn’t know his name. The faculty, the staff, the students: they all watched him walk by with the same look – equal parts awe and fear. He was a rising football star, the best player in his league. He carried his club team with ease, winning every match. He practiced on the pitch for hours each day after class, honing his skills. Perfecting his form. He was guaranteed a scholarship at this point to any school of his choosing. He was going to be able to take his pick: a feat not even his father had boasted.

Things were perfect.

He was perfect.

But a house of cards can only be stacked so high before its own weight becomes too much to bear.

His last year of school before applying to university, he met a boy. A boy who didn’t care who his father was. A boy who wasn’t impressed by his grades or his skills or his good looks. A boy who saw through the arrogance. The confidence. A boy who drank whiskey out of water bottles and doodled on his bare, white skin with permanent marker. A boy who called him late at night to ask questions he couldn’t answer and spin pipe dreams he could never have (dreams he couldn’t hope to want, no matter how badly he ached for them). A boy with dark hair and green eyes who kissed him one day on the train and shattered every little piece of him.

His grades started to slip. He started lying to his parents, sneaking out at night for midnight rendezvous. People began to notice, especially after he started skipping football practice. To stave off suspicion, he started dating a petite little blonde who smiled when he opened doors for her and put a napkin in her lap when she ate. Her face would crumple every time he told her he was too busy to hang out after school, but he never felt bad.

Three months after he met the boy, the two of them drove Kieran’s father’s luxury sedan over a median and straight into a light pole.

Kieran doesn’t remember much, after that, except pain and, even more agonizing: regret.

There’s two surgeries to repair his left leg. Metal plates and screws and physical therapy. He finishes out the rest of the year from home, his parents… disinclined to let him anywhere near that school again. The house is like a prison, silent and sharp with disappointment. His father won’t speak to him. His mother cries every time he hobbles by her on his crutches.

Climbing his way back to the top is exhausting, but he throws himself at it with renewed drive. He studies for hours. Does extra credit. His phone rings and rings and rings, some days, and he locks it away in his sock drawer because he can’t look at the caller ID without feeling like he’s back in that car again, hot blood running down his cheek and pain searing white hot through his lower body. Eventually, he takes out his SIM card and throws it away in the trash bin out back.

He graduates. But he’s not number one. And it stings, even though he’s expecting it. Without a chance for a sports scholarship and with his lackluster finish to the year, only a handful of universities contact him back, and none of them are up to his family’s standards.

His father pays for a spot at Durham.

N O W

Kieran knows what’s at stake, now. He’s already screwed up once: there won’t be any second chances. After the scandal (“Unlicensed Teen Son of Prominent Scottish Parliament Leader and Friend Collide with Light Pole After Drunk Driving Escapade, No Causalities”) his chances of following in his father’s footsteps were all but destroyed, but a career in law is just as respectable, and he really doesn’t mind the subject all that much. Durham is his only hope to salvage his reputation and his strained relationship with his father, and he’s not going to let anything distract him.

(Not even magic, he tells himself as the flame from the candle on his desk flickers and grows with a wave of his hand.)

Five interesting facts about your character:

Kieran is stressed, repressed, and overdressed like, always. He appreciates good fashion.

He loves pickles.

He still watches football matches, even if it’s a painful reminder of the future he could have had.

He doesn’t talk to anyone from Edinburgh anymore besides his parents, preferring to bury his past and move on rather than dwell on his mistakes.

While he’s still as determined and stubborn as ever, his drive is largely born out of desperation, now. He’s secretly terrified of making another mistake.

Character Quote: “Cause I fuck with myself more than anybody else.” – BANKS (“Fuck With Myself”)

If your character had a patronus what would it be? and why?: Komodo Dragon. These dragons have been around for centuries. Just like Kieran, they know the value of staying power. They’re patient and meticulous hunters and doggedly pursue their prey, sometimes for hundreds of miles, until their stubbornness is rewarded. Komodo dragons are often associated with fire, as many believe they can secretly breathe flames.

WRITING SAMPLE

He’s got one hand wrapped around the neck of a bottle of whiskey and the other is gripping your thigh, squeezing so hard he’s sure to leave bruises. You take your eyes off the road to look at him. He’s slouched down in the passenger seat, an unlit cigarette hanging between his lips. His eyes catch the light of neon shop signs as you pass and you can’t help but wonder how something so beautiful, so mysterious, looked at you and saw anything but a fraud. An empty, hollow vessel that’d been stuffed full to the brim with the thoughts and expectations of others.

“C’mon. Lemme drive.”

You pull over onto the shoulder and the two of you swap spots, shimming one at a time over the middle console so you don’t have to get out in the cold and circle around to the other side of the car. You take the bottle and he starts the engine. He slams his foot down on the accelerator, merging back onto the highway as you take a swig of whiskey, grimacing at the burn. He looks over at you and smiles, amused, and you smile back, helpless.

He turns his attention to the speedometer, eyes alight with chaos and exhilaration as it steadily climbs higher, and you lean over to turn on the radio.

“Oh, shit!”

You don’t even have time to blink. Your outstretched hand, frozen halfway between your body and the dash, is the last thing you remember. (The image lives beneath your eyelids, now, and every time you close your eyes you see it.)

You wake up, briefly, after the dust has settled, but all you recognize is pain, white hot agony tracing its way down your spin. Something hot and sticky drips from your nose. Your lips.

You hear him, screaming himself hoarse beside you, but you don’t know what he wants, so you close your eyes.

(You find out, later, that it was a dog. A dog, crossing the road.)

ANYTHING ELSE?

My favorite color is green! Thank ya’ll again for the generous reserve!!! (Also, just so there’s no confusion, the football I refer to here is the European football – so, soccer!)

#aries #accepted #we got a full set!!! ahhh!!!!!

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