#exactly the kind of person to actively seek out the validation and affection of his abusers. and continue that cycle of abuse on | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blackswaneuroparedux · 3 years

Text

Anonymous said: I didn’t know too much about the late British philosopher Sir Roger Scruton until I followed your superbly cultured blog. As an ivy league educated American reading your posts, I feel he is a breath of fresh air as a sane and cultured conservative intellectual. We don’t really have his kind over here where things are heavily polarized between left and right, and sadly, we are often uncivil in our discourse. Sir Roger Scruton talks a lot about beauty especially in art (as indeed you do too), so for Scruton why does beauty as an aesthetic matter in art? Why should we care?

I thank you for your very kind words about my blog which I fear is not worthy of such fulsome praise.

However one who is worthy of praise (or at least gratitude and appreciation at least) is the late Sir Roger Scruton. I have had the pleasure to have met him on a few informal occasions.

Most memorably, I once got invited to High Table dinner at Peterhouse, Cambridge, by a friend who was a junior Don there. This was just after I had finished my studies at Cambridge and rather than pursue my PhD I opted instead to join the British army as a combat pilot officer. And so I found out that Scruton was dining too. We had very pleasant drinks in the SCR before and after dinner. He was exceptionally generous and kind in his consideration of others; we all basked in the gentle warmth of his wit and wisdom.

I remember talking to him about Xanthippe, Socrate’s wife, because I had read his wickedly funny fictional satire. In the book he credits the much maligned Xanthippe with being the brains behind all of Socrates’ famous philosophical ideas (as espoused by Plato).

On other occasions I had seen Roger Scruton give the odd lecture in London or at some cultural forum.

Other than that, I’ve always admire both the man and many of his ideas from afar. I do take issue with some of his intellectual ideas which seem to be taken a tad too far (he think pre-Raphaelites were kitsch) but it’s impossible to dislike the man in person.

Indeed the Marxist philosopher G.A. Cohen reportedly once refused to teach a seminar with Scruton, although they later became very good friends. This is the gap between the personal and the public persona. In public he was reviled as hate figure by some of the more intolerant of the leftists who were trying to shut him down from speaking. But in private his academic peers, writers, and philosophers, regardless of their political beliefs, hugely respected him and took his ideas seriously - because only in private will they ever admit that much of what Scruton talks about has come to pass.

In many ways he was like C.S. Lewis - a pariah to the Oxbridge establishment. At Oxford many dons poo-pooed his children stories, and especially his Christian ideas of faith, culture, and morality, and felt he should have laid off the lay theology and stuck to his academic speciality of English Literature. But an Oxford friend, now a don, tells me that many dons read his theological works in private because much of what he wrote has become hugely relevant today.

Scruton was a man of parts, some of which seemed irreconcilable: barrister, aesthetician, distinguished professor of aesthetics. Outside of brief pit stops at Cambridge, Oxford, and St Andrews, he was mostly based out of Birkbeck College, London University, which had a tradition of a working-class intake and to whom Scruton was something of a popular figure. He was also an editor of the ultra-Conservative Salisbury Review, organist, and an enthusiastic fox hunter. In addition he wrote over 50 books on philosophy, art, music, politics, literature, culture, sexuality, and religion, as well as finding time to write novels and two operas. He was widely recognised for his services to philosophy, teaching and public education, receiving a knighthood in 2016.

He was exactly the type of polymath England didn’t know what to do with because we British do discourage such continental affectations and we prefer people to know their lane and stick to it. Above all we’re suspicious of polymaths because no one likes a show off. Scruton could be accused of a few things but he never perceived as a show off. He was a gentle, reserved, and shy man of kindly manners.

He was never politically ‘Conservative’, or tried not to be. Indeed he encouraged many to think about defining “a philosophy of conservatism” and not “a philosophy for the Conservative Party.” In defining his own thoughts, he positioned conservatism to relation to its historical rivals, liberalism and socialism. He wrote that liberalism was the product of the enlightenment, which viewed society as a contract and the state as a system for guaranteeing individual rights. While he saw socialism as the product of the industrial revolution, and an ideology which views society as an economic system and the state as a means of distributing social wealth.

Like another great English thinkers, Michael Oakeshott, he felt that conservatives leaned more towards liberalism then socialism, but argued that for conservatives, freedom should also entail responsibility, which in turn depends on public spirit and virtue. Many classical liberals would agree.

In fact, he criticised Thatcherism for “its inadequate emphasis on the civic virtues, such as self-sacrifice, duty, solidarity and service of others.” Scruton agreed with classical liberals in believing that markets are not necessarily expressions of selfishness and greed, but heavily scolded his fellow Conservatives for allowing themselves to be caricatured as leaving social problems to the market. Classical liberals could be criticised for the same neglect.

Perhaps his conservative philosophy was best summed up when he wrote “Liberals seek freedom, socialists equality, and conservatives responsibility. And, without responsibility, neither freedom nor equality have any lasting value.”

Scruton’s politics were undoubtedly linked to his philosophy, which was broadly Hegelian. He took the view that all of the most important aspects of life – truth (the perception of the world as it is), beauty (the creation and appreciation of things valued for their own sake), and self-realisation (the establishment by a person of a coherent, autonomous identity) – can be achieved only as part of a cultural community within which meaning, standards and values are validated. But he had a wide and deep understanding of the history of western philosophy as a whole, and some of his best philosophical work consisted of explaining much more clearly than is often the case how different schools of western philosophy relate to one another.

People today still forget how he was a beacon for many East European intellectuals living under Communist rule in the 1980s. Scruton was deeply attached in belonging to a network of renowned Western scholars who were helping the political opposition in Eastern Europe. Their activity began in Czechoslovakia with the Jan Hus Foundation in 1980, supported by a broad spectrum of scholars from Jacques Derrida and Juergen Habermas to Roger Scruton and David Regan. Then came Poland, Hungary and later Romania. In Poland, Scruton co-founded the Jagiellonian Trust, a small but significant organisation. The other founders and active participants were Baroness Caroline Cox, Jessica Douglas-Home, Kathy Wilkes, Agnieszka Kołakowska, Dennis O’Keeffe, Timothy Garton Ash, and others.

Scruton had a particular sympathy for Prague and the Czech society, which bore fruit in the novel, Notes from Underground, which he wrote many years later. But his involvement in East European affairs was more than an emotional attachment. He believed that Eastern Europe - despite the communist terror and aggressive social engineering - managed to preserve a sense of historical continuity and strong ties to European and national traditions, more unconscious than openly articulated, which made it even more valuable. For this reason, decades later, he warned his East European friends against joining the European Union, arguing that whatever was left of those ties will be demolished by the political and ideological bulldozer of European bureaucracy.

Anyway, digressions aside, onto to the heart of your question.

Art matters.

Let’s start from there. Regardless of your personal tastes or aesthetics as you stand before a painting, slip inside a photograph, run your hand along the length of a sculpture, or move your body to the arrangements spiraling out of the concert speakers…something very primary - and primal - is happening. And much of it sub-conscious. There’s an element of trust.

Political philosopher, Hannah Arendt, defined artworks as “thought things,” ideas given material form to inspire reflection and rumination. Dialogue. Sometimes even discomfort. Art has the ability to move us, both positively and negatively. So we know that art matters. But the question posed by modern philosophers such as Roger Scruton has been: how do we want it to affect us?

Are we happy with the direction art is taking? Namely, says, Scruton, away from seeking “higher virtues” such as beauty and craftmanship, and instead, towards novelty for novelty’s sake, provoking emotional response under the guise of socio-political discourse.

Why does beauty in art matter?

Scruton asks us to wake up and start demanding something more from art other than disposable entertainment. “Through the pursuit of beauty,” suggests Scruton, “we shape the world as our own and come to understand our nature as spiritual beings. But art has turned its back on beauty and now we are surrounded by ugliness.” The great artists of the past, says Scruton, “were painfully aware that human life was full of care and suffering, but their remedy was beauty. The beautiful work of art brings consolation in sorrow and affirmation…It shows human life to be worthwhile.” But many modern artists, argues the philosopher, have become weary of this “sacred task” and replaced it with the “randomness” of art produced merely to gain notoriety and the result has been anywhere between kitsch to ugliness that ultimately leads to inward alienation and nihilistic despair.

The best way to understand Scruton’s idea of beauty in art and why it matters is to let him speak for himself. Click below on the video and watch a BBC documentary broadcast way back in 2009 that he did precisely on this subject, why beauty matters. It will not be a wasted hour but perhaps enrich and even enlighten your perspective on the importance of beauty in art.

vimeo

So I’ll do my best to summarise the point Scruton is making in this documentary above.

Here goes.....

In his 2009 documentary “Why Beauty Matters”, Scruton argues that beauty is a universal human need that elevates us and gives meaning to life. He sees beauty as a value, as important as truth or goodness, that can offer “consolation in sorrow and affirmation in joy”, therefore showing human life to be worthwhile.

According to Scruton, beauty is being lost in our modern world, particularly in the fields of art and architecture.

I was raised in many different cultures from India, Pakistan, to China, Japan, Southern Africa, and the Middle East as well schooling in rural Britain and Switzerland. So coming home to London on frequent visits was often a confusing experience because of the mismatch of modern art and new architecture. In life and in art I have chosen to see the beauty in things, locating myself in Paris, where I am surrounded by beauty, and understand the impact it can have on the everyday.

Scruton’s disdain for modern art begins with Marcel Duchamp’s urinal. Originally a satirical piece designed to mock the world of art and the snobberies that go with it, it has come to mean that anything can be art and anyone can be an artist. A “cult of ugliness” was created where originality is placed above beauty and the idea became more important than the artwork itself. He argues that art became a joke, endorsed by critics, doing away with a need for skill, taste or creativity.

Duchamp’s argument was that the value of any object lies solely in what each individual assigns it, and thus, anything can be declared “art,” and anyone an artist.

But is there something wrong with the idea that everything is art and everyone an artist? If we celebrate the democratic ideals of all citizens being equal and therefore their input having equal value, doesn’t Duchamp’s assertion make sense?

Who’s to say, after all, what constitutes beauty?

This resonated with me in particular and brought to mind when Scruton meets the artist Michael Craig-Martin and asks him about how Duchamp’s urinal first made him feel. Martin is best known for his work “An Oak Tree” which is a glass of water on a shelf, with text beside it explaining why it is an oak tree. Martin argues that Duchamp captures the imagination and that art is an art because we think of it as such.

When I first saw “An Oak Tree” I was confused and felt perhaps I didn’t have the intellect to understand it. When I would later question it with friends who worked in the art auction and gallery world, the response was always “You just don’t get it,” which became a common defence. To me, it was reminiscent of Hans Christian Andersen’s short tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, about two weavers who promise an emperor a new suit of clothes that they say is invisible to those who are unfit for their positions, stupid or incompetent. In reality, they make no clothes at all.

Scruton argues that the consumerist culture has been the catalyst for this change in modern art. We are always being sold something, through advertisements that feed our appetite for stuff, adverts try to be brash and outrageous to catch our attention. Art mimics advertising as artists attempt to create brands, the product that they sell is themselves. The more shocking and outrageous the artwork, the more attention it receives. Scruton is particularly disturbed by Piero Manzoni’s artwork “Artist’s Shit” which consists of 90 tin cans filled with the artist’s excrement.

Moreover the true aesthetic value, the beauty, has vanished in modern works that are selling for millions of dollars. In such works, by artists like Rothko, Franz Kline, Damien Hirst, and Tracey Emin, the beauty has been replaced by discourse. The lofty ideals of beauty are replaced by a social essay, however well intentioned.

A common argument for modern art is that it is reflecting modern life in all of its disorder and ugliness. Scruton suggests that great art has always shown the real in the light of the ideal and that in doing so it is transfigured.

A great painting does not necessarily have a beautiful subject matter, but it is made beautiful through the artist’s interpretation of it. Rembrandt shows this with his portraits of crinkly old women and men or the compassion and kindness of which Velazquez paints the dwarfs in the Spanish court. Modern art often takes the literal subject matter and misses the creative act. Scruton expresses this point using the comparison of Tracey Emin’s artwork ‘My Bed’ and a painting by Delacroix of the artist’s bed.

The subject matters are the same. The unmade beds in all of their sordid disdain. Delacroix brings beauty to a thing that lacks it through the considered artistry of his interpretation and by doing so, places a blessing on his own emotional chaos. Emin shares the ugliness that the bed shows by using the literal bed. According to Emin, it is art because she says that it is so.

Philosophers argued that through the pursuit of beauty, we shape the world as our home. Traditional architecture places beauty before utility, with ornate decorative details and proportions that satisfy our need for harmony. It reminds us that we have more than just practical needs but moral and spiritual needs too. Oscar Wilde said “All art is absolutely useless,” intended as praise by placing art above utility and on a level with love, friendship, and worship. These are not necessarily useful but are needed.

We have all experienced the feeling when we see something beautiful. To be transported by beauty, from the ordinary world to, as Scruton calls it, “the illuminated sphere of contemplation.” It is as if we feel the presence of a higher world. Since the beginning of western civilisation, poets and philosophers have seen the experience of beauty as a calling to the divine.

According to Scruton, Plato described beauty as a cosmic force flowing through us in the form of sexual desire. He separated the divine from sexuality through the distinction between love and lust. To lust is to take for oneself, whereas to love is to give. Platonic love removes lust and invites us to engage with it spiritually and not physically. As Plato says, “Beauty is a visitor from another world. We can do nothing with it save contemplate its pure radiance.”

Scruton makes the prescient point that art and beauty were traditionally aligned in religious works of art. Science impacted religion and created a spiritual vacuum. People began to look to nature for beauty, and there was a shift from religious works of art to paintings of landscapes and human life.

In today’s world of art and architecture, beauty is looked upon as a thing of the past with disdain. Scruton believes his vision of beauty gives meaning to the world and saves us from meaningless routines to take us to a place of higher contemplation. In this I think Scruton encourages us not to take revenge on reality by expressing its ugliness, but to return to where the real and the ideal may still exist in harmony “consoling our sorrows and amplifying our joys.”

Scruton believes when you train any of your senses you are privy to a heightened world. The artist sees beauty everywhere and they are able to draw that beauty out to show to others. One finds the most beauty in nature, and nature the best catalyst for creativity. The Tonalist painter George Inness advised artists to paint their emotional response to their subject, so that the viewer may hope to feel it too.

It must be said that Scruton’s views regarding art and beauty are not popular with the modern art crowd and their postmodern advocates. Having written several books on aesthetics, Scruton has developed a largely metaphysical aspect to understanding standards of art and beauty.

Throughout this documentary (and indeed his many books and articles), Scruton display a bias towards ‘high’ art, evidenced by a majority of his examples as well as his dismissal of much modern art. However on everyday beauty, there is much space for Scruton to challenge his own categories and extend his discussion to include examples from popular culture, such as in music, graphic design, and film. Omitting ‘low art’ in the discussion of beauty could lead one to conclude that beauty is not there.

It is here I would part ways with Scruton. I think there is beauty to be found in so called low art of car design, popular music or cinema for example - here I’m thinking of a Ferrari 250 GTO, jazz, or the films of Bergman, Bresson, or Kurosawa (among others) come to mind. Scruton gives short thrift to such 20th century art forms which should not be discounted when we talk of beauty. It’s hard to argue with Jean-Luc Godard for instance when he once said of French film pioneering director, Robert Bresson, “He is the French cinema, as Dostoevsky is the Russian novel and Mozart is German music.”

Overall though I believe Scruton does enough to leave us to ponder ourselves on the importance of beauty in the arts and our lives, including fine arts, music, and architecture. I think he succeeds in illuminating the poverty, dehumanisation and fraud of modernist and post-modernist cynicism, reductionism and nihilism. Scruton is rightly prescient in pointing the centrality of human aspiration and the longing for truth in both life and art.

In this he is correct in showing that goodness and beauty are universal and fundamentally important; and that the value of anything is not utilitarian and without meaning (e.g., Oscar Wilde’s claim that “All art is absolutely useless.”). Human beings are not purposeless material objects for mechanistic manipulation by others, and civil society itself depends upon a cultural consensus that beauty is real and every person should be respected with compassion as having dignity and nobility with very real spiritual needs to encounter and be transformed and uplifted by beauty.

Thanks for your question.

#ask #question #sir roger scruton #scruton #art #aesthetics #beauty #architecture #music #paintings #film #cinema #personal

48 notes · View notes

mdawritings · 3 years

Text

Wanna Be Yours: Ch. 5

I.V

Masterlist

Content warning: smut, daddy kink... you've been warned

"You almost ready, Einstein?" Katie calls from the other side of the door. You hurriedly slather on another layer of concealer on the fading bruise on your neck. It’s still pretty god awful after your meeting with Hotch yesterday. The deep purple splotch is the only one visible because it’s right smack under your jawline. It’s been hell trying to hide it from Katie. If she saw it, she would inevitably get curious and since you spend almost every moment together, you couldn’t simply lie and tell her that you had hooked up with someone randomly yesterday.

"We’re going to be late! You’re just asking for the sexy professor to yell at you!" She teases and knocks again on your door. You roll your eyes at the nickname for Hotch and scramble to pick out some clothes.

"I’m coming, just one more minute!" You glance over yourself in the mirror. You smooth out your skirt. It’s the only other skirt you own and it’s definitely not daytime appropriate. It’s a matte black fake leather skirt. Turns out, you did indeed rip the seams in your skirt the other day when you were busy on your knees. You hurriedly pull on some sheer black tights, tuck your shirt into the skirt and slip on your boots.

"Y/n, I swear to god-" Just as Katie is about to yell at you again you swing the door open, slinging your bag over your shoulder.

"No more yelling. I’m ready," You shake your head at her and move around her in the door frame.

"You look… nicer than usual," Katie teases and hands you a to-go cup of coffee. "Dressing up for someone special?

Your heart picks up in pace, thinking about how Hotch will react to your attempt to dress up for him. It worries you, how desperate you are to impress him. It’s not out of character for you to seek validation from respected figures, but you’ve never been one to seek validation through looks or appearance. That’s not to say you’re not good-looking, because you know you are. But you don’t pride yourself on being the hottest, most attention-grabbing woman in a room.

Just over two weeks ago, you were hoping for attention from Professor Hotchner, but not this kind of attention. You want him to shower you with compliments in relation to your hard work, your intellect, your drive. You want to know you’re the star student. It’s obvious, you’re the smartest student in the class. He’s made that clear to you. But he holds you to such a high standard. It’s as if your work will never be good enough for him. That would normally anger you, but this new, more personal kind of attention has distracted you from the intense standards he has for you. You love that he can’t get enough of you. He can’t keep his hands off of you.

Sleeping with your professor was never something you necessarily dreamed about or fantasized. You had exes try and role play with you but it never really turned you on. This new fling with Hotch has made you truly understand the appeal.

The idea that he can’t resist you. He’s so into you he has to have you. The stolen glances in class. He’s risking everything. His career, his job, his standing as a professor, all just to sleep with you. Just to have you. That’s how irresistible you are to him. And damn, that makes you feel good about yourself. But it feels as if you’ve sacrificed your need for respect for unbridled, animalistic passion.

"Huh?" You glance over at Katie, realizing you’ve ignored her question, losing yourself in your thoughts of Hotch, "No. No one special."

"Not even Charlie?" She smirks over at you, smiling behind her coffee cup like a giddy school girl.

You feel your face growing hot, "Charlie? No, I’m… I’m over that."

"Over that?" Katie stops in her tracks and latches a hand onto your arm, "When were you ever," She pauses, "On that?"

You laugh at her word choice and shake your head, "He’s cute! And really sweet to me and smart and we have really good conversations and—"

"So then why are you ‘over that’! He’s always finding ways to touch you casually," Katie throws an arm around your shoulders, imitating Charlie. You roll your eyes. If only she knew about your extracurricular activities with a certain ‘sexy professor.’

"I don’t know." You shake your head, "He’s just so… So unfocused. Don’t get me wrong, he’s smart, he really is. But I need someone driven like me. I need someone who understands my mind." Katie rolls her eyes and lets out a small scoff at you.

"I’m not saying you have to marry the dude, but you have an opportunity for a very," She wags her eyebrows as you open the door to the lecture hall, "Very fun time in bed with him."

You laugh boisterously at Katie as you step into the classroom. The class is loud, every student talking and socializing with those around you. Your eyes land on Hotch. He’s leaning against the whiteboard at the front. You swear you can see his eyes widen as they run up and down your figure. You give a smirk and turn your attention back to Katie.

"If you like him so much, you can sleep with him," You put your stuff down by a seat at the front. Katie takes the seat next to you like always.

Something about knowing you’ve caught Hotch’s attention is empowering you. You’re feeling bold. You keep your focus on Katie as she rambles on about your social activities. "This isn’t about me. This is about you, Einstein. And you? You need to get laid. I’m sure that Charlie would be more than willing to be that man for you."

"Katie!" You scold her and shove her arm playfully. You glance around to make sure that Charlie hasn’t heard any part of your conversation. He glances up from his friend to give you a small wink and a wave. As you take your seat, you bring your eyes back to Hotch. His brows have furrowed, his arms crossed against his chest. You give him another smirk and lean back in your chair, parting your legs just enough that it’s clear your actions aren’t innocent.

He clears his throat, "Alright everyone, quiet down. Time to get started." His eyes flick back to you. He gives you a glare that says ‘behave’ but you simply lean back a little more in your chair, parting your legs just enough to draw his attention. You see his line of sight travel down and you swear you hear him stumble over a word or two as he starts today's lecture.

——————————

Hotch has never been much of a fan of teasing. He likes to be in control. And looking at the way you’ve parted your legs, the black leather tightly clinging to your skin, and the devious sparkle in your eyes, he knows exactly what you’re attempting to do, and he’s not amused.

A mix of frustration, irritation, and desire bubbles inside of him with every passing minute he looks at you. He tears his eyes away from your velvety figure, pushing his attention onto the 50 other students in the class. He tries his best to hide the growing heat in his body but he practically lets out a groan when he looks back over to see the way that you’re pressing the end of your pen to your plump lower lip.

Hotch stumbles over his words for a second, seeing that damnable smirk of yours quickly growing as he does. There’s only one word he can think best describes you right now: wicked. Your whole demeanor, your outfit, it all reminds him just how much he hates being teased. He wants to grab you by the front of your shirt and take you over his knee, show you just how much he won’t tolerate such wicked behavior. He hates that he’s let you affect him, have some sense of power over him.

Just as he’s regaining his composure, you lean a little forward, flashing your cleavage in his direction. "Miss Y/L/N," He has to avert his eyes from you, not sure how he could possibly hold himself together while you look like that, "You mind giving a small summary of the facts of the case I’ve just discussed and its importance in the context of the history of criminal law and the state of the country at the time of the court’s decision."

"Oh not at all," You pause, "Sir." You give a small nod. He’s hoping to trip you up. Hopefully, you’ve been so distracted by your cunning little charade that you haven’t paid attention to his lecture. He’s hoping to regain some sense of power back. If he can remind you just how quickly he can embarrass you, he’ll feel less powerless.

To his surprise, however, you begin reciting an eloquent and complete response to his questioning. He mentally curses you. He’s not sure why he expected anything less from you. His mistake is underestimating just how powerful your mind is. You’re utterly intolerable. A wicked mind and a wicked little body. How is he supposed to remain composed?

"Was that enough? To your satisfaction, Sir? Or shall I go on longer?" That knowing little smirk hasn’t left your face and Hotch shakes his head.

"Good enough, Miss Y/L/N," It feels like the glow of his cheeks and the lustful look in his eyes will give him away to the rest of the lecture hall. He’s almost positive that every student can sense exactly what’s going on and that simply cannot stand. "Try to wipe that blank look off your face and at least pretend to be engaged in the lecture." He scoffs before forcing his attention back to the prepared lecture.

You don’t pull any more stunts the rest of class but just your appearance is enough to drive him wild. His head feels as if it's in a haze. Hotch isn’t even really quite sure how he manages to get through the lecture. He decides to dismiss everyone a few minutes early but he can’t let you get away with such utterly unacceptable behavior.

"Miss Y/L/N," Hotch calls from the front of the room as the entire class begins to pack up and file out. He gives a small gesture of his fingers to tell you to come to the front before pointing down at the ground.

Katie gives you a confused look and Hotch sees you mumble something to her as she glances between the two of you, hesitating a little before finally leaving

————————

You’re not sure whether or not to be terrified or proud. It’s clear your actions have gotten your professor’s attention. It’s also clear that he’s frustrated and/or upset. You gather up your books and throw your bag over your shoulder, making your way over to Hotch’s desk.

His eyes dart around the classroom as the last few students file their way out the door. In a blink, his hand grabs at the front of your shirt, yanking you close to him, "What the hell was all of that?"

You smirk. As soon as he grabs your shirt, you know he’s not actually angry with you. "Have I done something wrong, professor?" You glance up at him. Your tone is innocent but your body language tells a different story. You press your pillowy breasts into his chest and place your hands on his shoulders, attempting to brace yourself.

"I can’t wait a full week to see you," He mutters under his breath. You feel his hands ghosting over your body. He wants to touch you. His hands are itching to feel your skin, to take your warm skin in his hands. He wants to feel your lips moving with his. You want his touch. The feeling of his rough hands running over your body. "Come with me to my office now," You hear an almost pleading tone in his voice.

You smirk, his lips inching closer to yours every second, "I have plans. Sorry."

A low groan erupts from his throat but he tears himself away from your tempting, enchanting form. You feel him slide something small into the palm of your hand and you glance down at it, his messy scrawl is a series of numbers.

He walks around to grab his briefcase, packing up the classroom, "It’s my number."

You’re a bit confused, assuming that your interactions wouldn’t be more than just the weekly meetings and every day in class. He’s not some schoolboy crush that you’re going to call on a Friday night, sitting on your bed, your feet in the air, giggling and laughing to yourself over the phone with him, arguing about who will hang up first. He’s a man. A much older one at that. He’s over 10 years older than you. This isn’t a silly little flirtation. It’s rough, it’s messy. It’s purely physical and animalistic.

When Hotch looks up at you, he can sense the confusion in your expression at the gesture, "I’m not saying we’re going to talk on the phone each night but you know… just in case I have to get in contact with you."

You almost laugh at the diplomatic way he’s going about this, "Right. Well, I’ll put the number in my phone in case of an emergency." Now your word choice brings you to the brink of laughter.

In case of an emergency? What kind of emergency? An emergency booty call?

You turn away from him with a small nod and walk towards the door but he calls out stopping you, "Miss Y/LN,"

You turn back and Hotch stands at the desk, running his eyes languidly down your figure, taking it all in one last time, "Pull a stunt like that again and you’ll be sorry." He quirks a brow in disapproval.

"It won’t happen again, sir," You grin.

"And wipe that smirk off your face," He rolls his eyes. You press your lips tightly together, struggling to hide your pride as you leave the classroom.

You meet Katie outside the lecture hall. She stands up straight, pulling away from the wall she was leaning against. Just as you open your mouth to explain to her you feel an arm swing around your shoulder, pulling you close to a warm body.

"You get in trouble again, Einstein?" You’re pressed close to Charlie and you can feel his voice rumbling in his chest as he speaks.

"You know actually," You turn his arms to look up at him. He keeps his arm wrapped around you, holding you close so that when you turn, your chest presses against his. Your face is much closer to his than expected, "It’s none of your business."

Charlie glances down at you, a boyish smirk plastered across his face, "I like the new look," He grins and looks over your outfit. Katie lets out a small laugh and shakes her head at the two of you.

"Don’t be creepy, Charlie." She walks closer to the two of you.

"I’m not! I’m being genuine, I think you look really nice, Y/N," Charlie lets you go but wraps his free arm around Katie’s shoulder, bringing her in close to him as well. You laugh at the image of the three of you, Charlie’s arms around each of you, all laughing animatedly.

"Mr. Miller, I don’t mean to interrupt such an utterly enthralling conversation, but I do need to get to my office at some point." When you turn around you see Hotch standing in the doorway, that you, Katie, and Charlie have managed to block. His head is tilted slightly down as he scours at the three of you. Well, there goes his good mood.

"Sorry, sir," Charlie’s voice is soft and small as he releases his grip on Katie so she can move to the right, but keeps an arm wrapped around you, pulling you to the left so that you all move out of Professor Hotchner’s way.

You feel Hotch’s eyes linger on you for a second before he goes storming down the hallways to his office.

"I swear to god that man is the devil spawn," He shakes his head, twirling a ring around his finger.

"He’s not that bad," You roll your eyes, pulling your bag up on your shoulder.

"Not that bad? Einstein, I’m pretty sure he hates you more than me if that’s even possible." Charlie teases, dragging you down the hallway with him and out into the cold outdoors.

You shake your head with a laugh and lean into Charlie’s arms out in the cold, Katie trailing close behind you, "It’s fine. I can take it."

"So what are our plans for tonight, ladies?" Charlie glances back at Katie behind the two of you who simply responds with a little shake of her head.

"Our plans," Katie pulls you out of Charlie’s grip and you laugh, feeling a rag doll being pulled between the two of them, "Are to watch a movie and get drunk in our apartment."

"Sounds like fun," He grins.

"Aw too bad you’re not invited," Katie gives him a small little pouty face.

"I never agreed to getting drunk," You shake your head, "It’s a Thursday and we have class tomorrow. How do you expect me to get through the day if I’m hungover?"

"God you know sometimes you can be such a buzzkill, Einstein."

"Do you ever stop to think that maybe I’m so much younger and smarter and more successful than you two because I work hard?" Your words might seem harsh but it’s just how you interact with your friends. You all tease each other, make fun of one another.

"Yeah, yeah we know, high IQ, blah blah blah, you’re basically a kid genius," Charlie rolls his eyes.

"Well, kid genius," Katie chuckles, "Could you just humor me? One or two drinks?"

"The things I do for you."

————————

Katie was not joking when she said she was planning on getting drunk because she’s already finished off a bottle of wine herself and you’re barely halfway through the movie you two are watching together.

Your phone buzzes on the couch and you reach for it, flipping it open to see a text from Hotch. You furrow your brows slightly and read the message.

What are you doing tonight?

You bite your lip at the message, taking a second to glance over at Katie, whose eyes are glued to the tv screen.

Drinking, watching a movie. You?

The texting feels unnatural. Again, he’s your professor, not some cute 20-something-year-old boy that you casually text on a Thursday night.

Isn’t drinking alcohol illegal at your age?

You roll your eyes at his response. He has so flagrantly demonstrated a lack of respect for rules, aka, not sleeping with students.

Contrary to what you might think of me, I don’t always follow the rules

His responses are rapid. What happened to getting his number in case of emergencies?

I think I prefer you when you listen to instructions.

Where’s the fun in that?

There’s a long pause in which he stops replying. You let out a breath and turn your attention back to Katie, whose eyes are starting to droop closed, the wine bottle tightly wrapped in her clutches.

You reach across her body and pull the bottle away, "Okay drunk-o, time for bed for you. And time to drink some water," Katie lets out a small groan and rolls over on the couch a little. You grab the empty bottles and cans, carrying them to the kitchen to recycle them.

"Einstein!" Katie’s shrill, wine-soaked voice rings throughout the apartment.

"One second, K," You call back, dropping everything into the recycling.

"Who the fuck is A.H. and why is he texting you?" Your heart sinks into your stomach. You let the last few cans clatter into the bin with an aggressive clang before rushing into the living room to snatch the phone out of Katie’s hands.

"Do you have a secret admirer?" Katie wags her brows at you.

"No. You’re drunk. Go to bed." You point at her bedroom like a disapproving mother.

"No, I can’t let you clean everything up by yourself." She stands up, swaying a little as she does. She reaches down for an empty glass but you’re quick to scoop it out of her hand.

"Please just go to bed." You laugh a little, still clutching your phone tightly against your chest, out of her reach.

Katie grumbles out a ‘fine’ before turning and disappearing into her room.

You finally get a chance to steal a look at your texts.

I’m still at work. Meet me at my office. Now.

——————

You teeter back and forth on your toes, waiting outside Hotch’s office. You glance down at your phone again, checking the time. Hotch texted you nearly an hour ago. It’s only been one week and Hotch is already switching up your agreement. You’re not upset about it, you’re actually excited to see him more. You do wonder, whether or not this infatuation he has with you will soon fade. Will he get bored of you? Will he realize that the initial attraction was all physical, nothing more than a few slip-ups? You know there’s more to you than just appearances, but does he know that?

You let out a long drawn-out breath, flipping open your phone to look at the time again. If he wasn’t going to show, he should’ve let you know. You take one step away from the office door when Hotch catches your arm to stop you. You let out a small gasp in shock.

"Going somewhere?" Your eyes snap up to his and there’s a hint of a smile playing on his mouth, "You’re not going to bail on me, are you?"

"Me?" You shake your head, "You texted me nearly an hour ago! I’ve been waiting for you."

Hotch sighs and reaches for the key to unlock his office door, leading you inside, his grip still firm on your upper arm. In an instant, Hotch whirls you around, pressing you back against the door, trapping you between it and his body.

"Do you know how impossible it is to be around you all day without touching you?" He inches in closer to you and you can feel his hot breath fan across your face. His lips gently brush against yours. You instinctively lean your head up, wanting to press your lips against his fully. "That little stunt you pulled today?"

Your breathing stutters as his hands roam your whole body, squeezing. Your hot flesh in his hands is pliable and you melt under his touch. "You liked it," You pant out.

His hand comes up to your neck, wrapping around it tightly. He forces your face up so you look at him and he slams your head back against the door, "Don’t be so fucking snippy with me." He growls and yanks you by the neck to press his lips to yours. His mouth is hot and needy. The kiss lasts a long time, one hand still firmly wrapped around your neck, the other tangling in your hair at the base of your neck.

He kisses underneath your jaw before hooking his hands up under your legs and lifting you off the ground. You cling to him tightly, hoping he doesn’t drop you. He slams your back against the wall and you let out a small gasp, both out of pleasure and excitement. "This is what you wanted, right?"

You’re panting heavily already and he’s barely touched you, your skin on fire. "Mhm," You manage to moan out. You’re amazed at how Hotch is still managing to hold you up against the wall. You gasp out as he presses hard against you, spreading your legs widely, pushing up your skirt so it bunches around your hips.

His head buries into your neck, kissing and nipping gently. Both of his hands move to cup your breasts, his palms filling with your warm skin. You let out a loud moan at the touch and Hotch chuckles under his breath at the sound. You grip his shoulders tightly and only manage a small whimper as you clench your thighs together.

Hotch brings his mouth up to meet yours once again, hungrily devouring your moans. You want to tangle your fingers in his hair and tug at it. You want to cup his cheeks and hold him close. He presses even closer to you, leaving no space between his body and yours.

"I can’t stop thinking about this," Hotch groans, pushing your shirt open more, now only holding you up with one arm. You can see the muscles in his arms rippling, the veins protruding. He tugs aside your bra and palms your breast, his rough hands on your velvety skin. He rubs your nipple between his fingers, "Your mouth, your body, us together."

You rock against him, pressing the hardness in his pants against you, eliciting a loud moan from you and a small growl from him at the pleasure you send radiating through him.

Your hands drop to start to undo his belt. He pulls you away from the wall spinning you around to place you on the edge of his desk. You push the fabric of his slacks down and stroke his warm skin. He hisses and grits his teeth in response, pulling away from your kiss to throw his head back.

"Be careful," You smirk, "Someone might hear us, professor."

"Let them." He shakes his head. Hotch’s eyes snap back down to yours and he doesn’t care about anything but pleasuring you. He pulls your mouth back against his and he feels himself consumed by your scent. He reaches down, gripping your thighs in his hands, placing your feet on the edge of the desk, parting your legs wide, all for him.

You slide closer, rubbing yourself against him. You need him. You want him and you’re so fucking tired of waiting. His hand trails between your bodies, rubbing you slowly, dipping just one finger into you, thrusting it ever so slowly.

"Please," You whine and as you throw your head back, Hotch’s mouth clinging to your throat, sucking and biting, kissing over the fading marks from your last rendezvous.

"Please what?" He grumbles against your neck.

"Fuck me," You can barely get the words out before he lifts you up, flips you over onto your stomach and thrusts up into you, in one motion. He thrusts hard and deep and you let out a moan, louder than anything.

Your body moves with his, your hips going back slightly to meet his every thrust. He fills you in just the perfect way and you’re panting and chanting his name, "God yes, sir, just like that."

He reaches around to grab both of your wrists, pinning them behind your back. "You wanted me to do this. To get angry. To take you. Show you, you’re mine, right?"

You struggle to let out a throaty ‘mhm’ in agreement. He keeps your wrists pinned with one hand and grabs your hair, yanking you up.

"That’s why you put on that little show today, right?" He growls close to your ear. You grind your hips back against his, "Use. Your. Words." He demands. He yanks on your hair a little tighter, in an attempt to remind you who has the dominant position.

"Yes!" You whine out, "This is what I wanted!"

"Good girl," His voice has a malicious tone, but not in a way that scares you. It excites you. He’s rough. He’s wild. He’s uncontrollable. And you’re the one who makes him feel that way. That’s powerful.

You arch back, your chest pressing against the wood on his desk. Hotch keeps your wrists pinned tightly behind your back as he pounds into you relentlessly. He bottoms out with every thrust, which leaves you struggling to cry out with pleasure. You cry out senselessly, every muscle in your body trembling, "Fuck daddy!" The words tumble out of your mouth and you barely take notice of them, your eyes rolling back in your head as you do.

"Did you just call me daddy?" Hotch releases your wrists to bend down and grab your neck. He wraps a large hand almost entirely around the base of your throat and yanks you up, your back pressed fully against him.

"Sorry," You attempt to moan out as Hotch continues to fuck you harder.

"Don’t apologize, pretty girl," He groans against your ear, "Say it again."

"Fuck, daddy!" The pace increases into something animalistic. Your body is shaking wildly at this point and you feel the pleasure building steadily, surging through you with every thrust. You feel his grip on your wrists loosening as his palms grow sweatier.

It’s not long before you’re tightening around him, desperately wishing for something to grab onto. You’re squirming under his touch, the pleasure almost too much as he barrels into you. You come hard and fast and he continues to fuck you through it, yanking you up against him again, a hand wrapped tightly around your throat.

He thrusts into you a few more times and you’re practically crying out in response, your eyes watering, tears running down your cheeks at the overstimulation. He soon comes to a halt, shuddering and groaning, throwing his head back as he releases into you. He lets you down back onto the desk gently, your overheated damp skin contrasting against the cold, smooth wood.

You lie there a second, attempting to catch your breath and steady your heart rate. You feel Hotch press a small tender kiss along your shoulder blades and spine and it’s oddly comforting. "That’s it pretty girl." He says against your skin. He helps you sit up, "I knew you could take it."

You wipe your face, attempting to clean any smudged makeup but you know you must look a mess. Your eyes are glossy and your face is flushed. Your hair is a knotted mess from where he’s tangled his fingers into it. You right yourself, fixing your skirt, tucking your shirt back in.

There’s a long drawn-out moment of silence where you glance at Hotch awkwardly, not sure what you would say to him now. It’s odd how you two are so intimately equated with each others’ bodies but you feel flustered just speaking to him. "I guess I’ll… head home." You smile softly.

You start towards the door but Hotch stops you, "You shouldn’t-" He sighs and grabs his briefcase from the desk, "You shouldn’t walk home alone. It’s dark outside."

"I live just one or two blocks from campus, I should be fine," You shrug, "Plus I’m sure you want to get home. You’ve been working all day."

Hotch rolls his eyes and practically pushes you out of his office as he shuts the lights and locks up, "Stop being so stubborn and just let me walk you home."

You simply shut your mouth and nod, knowing there’s no point in arguing with him over this. You walk out of the building, Hotch walking alongside you.You wrap your arms around yourself as you step out into the cold, a small shiver running through you.

"You should’ve brought a jacket," Hotch nods slightly at your shivering.

"I didn’t really think to grab one when I was rushing out the door," You tease. Hotch smiles in response and the conversation comes to a lull as you both walk alongside one another. You glance down for a second to see Hotch rubbing his fingers together at his side. It’s something you’ve seen him do a few times, whether it’s while he’s lecturing or when he's focused or when he’s reading. "You do that a lot." You uncross one of your arms to point down at his hands. "That thing with your fingers. You rub them together."

He glances down at his hands and gives a small shrug of his shoulders, "It’s just something I do, I guess."

"It’s how I know you’re really focused on something," You nod letting silence take over once again. You try to focus on the sound of your shoes on the pavement or steadying your breathing. Your heart is beating fast. It always is around Hotch.

"That’s good," Hotch speaks suddenly. It’s as if he was having a conversation with himself before speaking out loud, "Being observant. It’s a good quality for a lawyer."

"How so?" You glance over at him, eyes trailing over every single facial feature. You smile at the way the cold air has given his cheeks a slight pink tinge. The wind tousles the little hairs at the top of his head.

"Being able to observe and understand your opponent’s behavior. The jury’s behavior," He nods, "you need to know what flusters people, what trips them up. You need to know their tells, their weaknesses, their strengths. If you can understand and observe the behavior of all the people in that courtroom… you have full control over them."

"So by analyzing behaviors… you gain some sense of how to control people," You nod, reciting back to him. There’s a pause in conversation again. "Do you know my behaviors?"

A wide smirk starts to spread across Hotch’s face, "Yes. I know when you’re angry, or when you’re focused. I can tell when you’re…" He trails and glances down your figure, "Excited. I know what makes you feel good."

You feel the heat rising up your neck and into your face. Suddenly the cold air isn’t as biting anymore. "Care to share any of these behaviors of mine?"

"I’m pretty sure you said it yourself earlier… something along the lines of ‘where’s the fun in that?" He laughs and you give his arm a nudge.

Another pause. You’re nearly a block from your apartment, do you just give up and resign yourself to silence?

"What’s your favorite color?" You blurt out and turn to look at him.

"My favorite… what?" He laughs and shoves his hands deeper into his pants pockets, "Are you serious?"

"Fine, nevermind." You shrug, "I’m just trying to get to know you."

"By asking about my favorite color?" There’s a judgmental tone to his voice but when you look over his face, that small hint of a grin lingers.

"I said nevermind," You stop in place and nod up at your apartment building. "Well… this is my stop." You joke. You feel a strong urge to stick your hand out to shake his which would be incredibly awkward, but you’re not sure what kind of send-off is appropriate. A goodnight kiss is simply far too intimate and a hug is too friendly. You settle for an uncomfortable nod and tight-lipped smile, "Good night Hotch."

"Aaron," He nods, "You can call me Aaron."

Your cheeks ache from smiling so hard. You give one last look before walking up the steps to the front door of your building.

"Hey, Einstein," Aaron calls out and you freeze in your place a little. Something about hearing that nickname come out of his mouth is incredibly endearing. You turn to him, "Blue."

"What?" You furrow your brows at his words.

"My favorite color. It’s blue." He smiles. You pull your bottom lip between your teeth, suppressing your smile.

"Good night, Aaron," You repeat and open your door.

"Good night, Einstein."

Chapter 6: I.VI →

#aaron hotchner fanfic #hotch #hotchner #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds fanfiction #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotcher x y/n #hotch x reader #aaron hotchner fanfiction #wanna be yours fanfic

38 notes · View notes

im-the-punk-who · 3 years

Text

So I've been thinking a lot about Thomas Hamilton (lmao what else is new) but specifically in the ways in which he's flawed. Because he is flawed. We always like to say no one in Black Sails is totally good or bad - and I absolutely think that is true, and applies to Thomas as well.

The main criticisms of him seem to be his idealism and the ways in which he supports the colonialist empire. That he was incredibly privileged, and that the people he surrounded himself with were not even close to good people.

(Especially valid since the Enlightenment thinkers he is touching elbows with are the ones who started arguing for why slavery was Actually Good and caused a lot of the social problems that still extend to today in terms of ableism and homophobia and racism and like you name it the Enlightenment thinkers probably helped.)

And all of that is absolutely true when we first meet him - especially in his first interactions with James, Thomas comes off as kind of smarmy and the exact kind of person we all love to hate - someone who is privileged and doesn’t even realize how much. And reading him as the ‘benevolent colonialism’ character is totally valid.

In the show’s overt text, he appears as a foil to the blatant colonialists - Alfred, Woodes, etc. The ‘at least he’s better than these guys’ guy. And he is a great commentary on the Enlightenment as a whole, on how privileged people can mean well and still fuck up, and still be wrong. Because his plan with James is absolutely not the end all be all. It’s flawed - it supports the empire and doesn’t(blatantly) take into account slavery or indigenous genocide or any of the supports that would be required for it to function. And also because he frankly expects a *lot* of James that he has no right to expect. “I need someone who is willing to put his career on the line for the plan I want to enact” is not exactly the sexiest of pick-up lines when you’re talking to someone whose career is literally the only thing he has, T.Ham.

I like to sort of affectionately call him the sexy lamp, because at first glance he seems to be this very static character whose only trait is ‘good’ who is the MC’s motivation for everything(and his ‘reward’ at the end) but not really much else. And he does fit a lot of the tropes of The Love Interest.

But the real ‘problem’ I suppose, is that we never get to see him grow out of any of that. We do see him start - the Thomas Hamilton who sniffs around James' past and thinks he knows All About Pirates and that "The New World Is A Gift, Lieutenant" is not the same Thomas we see in his final moments in London. But with the other characters, and particularly Flint, we get to see that arc of growth and reasoning through a microscope, whereas with Thomas it’s all subtext.

And that’s not to double down on the ‘Thomas is perfect’ thing. I do genuinely think he, just like all the other characters in Black Sails, has things that are good and bad about him. And like, particularly the colonialism thing - all of the characters in Black Sail function within a colonialist system - Thomas more closely than most of them. Possibly the only ones who wholly reject the system are the Maroons(Julius in particular), I could see an argument for Vane, and *maybe* there’s an argument for Flint as the very end of the series. All of the others - Silver, Jack, Max, Eleanor, Flint, etc, and yes, Thomas - all function within the society they were raised in and the biases inherent within it.

And breaking out of that is incredibly hard to do. Since the entire finale of the show has to do with what an empire will force us to choose between, and how for some, personal sacrifices are not allowable to forward a movement, I think it’s fair to say it might even be impossible for some of them.

But the thing that I personally love about Thomas (and Flint) that is missing in the others is the *acknowledgement* of that. Thomas flat out says he knows he is privileged. He asks James to help him, because he recognizes that he is not capable of seeing the solutions that would really be helpful. And I think someone like that given access to people with real world experience of the horrors of colonialism(someone like Mr. Scott, or the Maroons) would absolutely be open to changing when he is proven he’s wrong, and sacrificing his personal comfort in order to help those who have more to lose.

Thomas may have been an idealist, but I don’t think he was at all naive about what he was risking. It would have been impossible for him to be, with everyone around him(Miranda, Peter, James, etc) telling him what is at stake for him personally. And I think there is a very real discussion to be had about him being willing to put other people’s safety on the line(Miranda) for his idealism. But he absolutely knew the risks of what he was doing, he just thought it was that important to try.

*That* is what speaks to me about Thomas’ character. That when he is shown he’s wrong (with the hanging of the pirate and James showing him that society ‘needs it’s monsters’) he changes. He’s willing to fight for what he sees as injustice. The thing that speaks to me about Thomas isn’t that he’s perfect, it isn’t that he is some magical paragon of pureness that even through his immense privilege managed to come out Good uWu. It’s that he realizes that he is *not* perfect, that the *World* is not perfect, and makes genuine efforts - in the best ways he knows how - to change that and to affect the world around him. To make changes that would genuinely benefit society and people(as he understands them). He learns, and he tries to grow, and he tries to use his power to make things better.

And again, he fails. He does fail. His goal was to change England and to make them realize that a system of government that survives based on the subjugation of The Other was wrong, and he fails at it. But he tries, and he does realize the problem. And that’s all we can do, yeah? Just....all we can do is fucking try our best, admit when we’re wrong, and try to do better. He is a reminder that those in a place of privilege need to use it: that we need to care about things that don’t necessarily effect us because it’s what’s *right*. But also that we’re going to fuck up just by the very nature of our privilege. That we all, no matter how ‘good’ we want to be, have unlearning to do, and sometimes our best isn’t going to be good enough.

Sometimes our best is still going to hurt people. Thomas is a reminder that we all intersect on so many different levels and that sometimes we see it and sometimes we are blind to it, and that you have to listen and actively seek out people who intersect with the world differently, and above all you’ve got to be kind, and you’ve got to realize that the only way to exist radically in a world that wants to separate us is to live without the shame of failing. Know no shame - the shame of failure, the shame of not being perfect, the paralyzing fear that we are never going to be good enough. Because we’re not. We’re all flawed. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

#thomas hamilton #black sails #long post #black sails meta #black sails discourse #anyway thinking about this A LOT in writing doubting thomas #in trying to show the WAYS in which thomas is juwst as flawed as anyone else and just - the ways in which he learns that #and has to reckon with it #anyway i love thomas a lot because i relate to him a lot and like thats all you can do in fandom you just #*Sees character you relate to* and you grab hold with your teeth and hold on for dear life #also this post is long enough but i think a LOT about how thomas is sort of the stand in for oglthorpe #since historical oglethorpe was a staunch prison reformer and abolitionist once he figured out what the horrors of colonialism were about #how he tried to reform prisoners and give them land and a new start in georgia(sound familiar?) and worked SUPER closely with #the native americans and actually WORKED with them and traded with them ad asked for the land and WAS GRANTED it instead of stealing it #and how he was lifelong friends with ayuba and when ayuba was like 'hey these white guys in london are makign me nervous'#he helped to pay his way back to africa #and for thomas to end up on (a bastardized version of) his plantation i think #is a clear indication of where thomas would have been going and probably where he ended up #(Also all of this is NOT a 'you gotta like thomas' thing like - i realize there are very real reasons why people just Wouldnt Jive with him)#but this is mostly in response to a post about how everyone seems to think thomas is perfect and no one criticizes him #so here is me criticizing thomas #we can love things ad still acknowledge the probematic aspects of them #also i know some of this directly conflicts with an earlier post i made about thomas NOT being a colonialist #call that personal growth and changing our opinions based on multiple conversations where people made me put my money where my mouth is #SORRY ABOUT THE GIANT POST IM GONNA PIN TO MY BLOG #milos black sails meta

65 notes · View notes

sommerfelds · 3 years

Note

FOR ALL THREE SOMMERFELDS: HOW DO THEY SHOW LOVE??

libby, you are an angel and i love this ask because i have SO many thoughts about this for all three kids.

ezra : will make you gifts by hand. he’s never quite sure if he’s good at the whole love thing, on any front, but he sure does try really hard. ezra’s a very hands-on sort of person with about a million hobbies and his birthday / hanukkah / everyday gifts for everyone tend to be gorgeous handmade items of various sizes and types. he crochets. he makes soap. he makes jams and pickles things. he builds bikes. he rebuilt a classic car as a wedding gift for his brother and his husband. he knows it’s kind of an odd way to express his affection, but it’s his way and he just can’t seem to not do it. so if you care about him and he gives you a candle he made, or a scarf, or some preserves ... validate him, because he’s trying really hard.

will listen to you. ezra’s typically not much of a talker - although there are exceptions - but he will listen for hours, if you need it. just listen. he doesn’t always know what to say and he’s very bad at solving social / personal problems ( so he thinks ) but he can lend an ear and often does with people he cares about, even if he has no real advice to give. however, if he does ...

will try to fix things. that’s where the third bit comes in. ezra often feels his greatest use is simply in his utility - so he has a tendency to try to fix things. any problem he feels he can tackle for somebody, he will. like i said, in terms of social / personal problems, he often doesn’t know what to do, but if you bring to him an issue to talk over that he feels he can help solve, he will try to do so, and thus sometimes has to be asked very softly to just listen and let someone work through something. on the flip side, if you tell him that your car has been making a weird noise or that there’s something up with your garbage disposal or the chain on your bike is acting weird, he’ll show up at your place to fix it without being asked ... which we have to admit is pretty great.

will defer to what the people he loves wants. ezra isn’t really very good at standing up for himself to start with, but when he loves someone very much - romantically, platonically, or in a familial way - he will basically go with the flow of whatever that person wants. this is, of course, a double-edged sword, because while it can be very sweet with the right person, it’s very NOT sweet when he’s with the wrong person and they steamroll him without trying to figure out what it is he wants - which is, of course, partially because he does need to get better about voicing his own desires and needs.

simeon : small meaningful gestures / quality time. this is a love language he learned from his mother. while sim isn’t always very good when it comes to voicing his affection, particularly in romantic situations, he instead does little things to subtly prove he cares. he remembers your favorite dessert. he cooks your favorite meal for you, even if he’s never tried that dish before. he spirits you away for spa weekends when you’re stressed out. if he knows you’re uncomfortable with asking for / receiving things, he’ll pretend like you’re doing HIM a favor by coming over to his place and having a relaxing movie night where you paint each other’s nails or snuggle up under a blanket on his comfy couch and watch movies or sit under the stars on his patio. despite appearances, he REMEMBERS little things about the people he cares about and uses that information to do little things to remind them that he loves them.

physical touch. simeon isn’t very touchy - until he is. there are only a small handful of people he’s physically affectionate with, but with that handful of people, he is incredibly affectionate. when he’s with his husband or his best friend or his mother, or one of the very few other people he trusts, he will not stop holding their hand or brushing a hand through their hair or kissing their temple. physical touch with someone he trusts makes him feel grounded, just as physical touch with someone he doesn’t trust absolutely repulses him. to tell the truth, it’s really quite cute to watch ... most of the time.

words of affirmation. this one can be hard to pick out, with him, because there is a difference between his sincere compliments and the ones he gives people for show. those who know him well can tell the difference in his tone and the way his eyes light up and get warm. he knows how to use compliments to ingratiate himself with people when he needs to ( he plays the entertainment world like a fiddle that way ) but the way he speaks affectionately to those who matter to him is far different. he’s always telling his closest friends how beautiful and cherished and loved they are, one way or another. if you got a new outfit? a new lipstick? changed up your hairstyle? found a new moisturizer? simeon notices and comments ; he wants to make the people he cares about feel good about themselves, always. he also pays attention to the things that they might need to hear to validate them, and tries to do so as often as he can, when he gets to a certain place with someone.

reading your love language. sim is fairly adaptable in this regard, believe it or not, and once he’s close enough to someone, he will make sure he learns their love language and try to speak to it - even if he isn’t always the best at it. of course, this requires that he becomes very close to someone and trusts them very much - but despite appearances and despite how guarded he can often be about his heart, he is fundamentally an incredibly soft man who, by nature, wants to give back, especially when he feels safe and cared for.

shoshana : lets you into her space. shoshana is a fairly closed off person in general, which is no secret. she likes to cultivate and maintain her space as her own, which is why she would always have trouble with the concept of living with someone. a good indication of sho starting to open up is her being more and more willing to allow someone into her private spaces, such as allowing lovers to sleep over and stay at her apartment for significant periods of time, allowing them to leave a jacket or sweatshirt at her place - god forbid a toothbrush ! if it becomes actively obvious that somebody is staying over at her apartment with some frequency, it means she’s beginning to grow feelings, and with that comes a growing space in her life that may seem small and quiet but is actually very significant. this also applies to shoshana inviting someone to events, especially those at which family will be present, or ANYTHING having to do with her work ; both of those things are actually deeply important to her.

small touches in public and private. she isn’t terribly affectionate, typically ; not with her family or friends or anyone else. but while she’ll never be an overly affectionate person, it’s a pretty clear indication that she’s growing some serious feelings for someone if she’s seeking small touches here and there. if she takes your hand, if she leans her head up against your shoulder, if she links her arm in yours or brushes your hair behind your ear ... these are all things that seem very small, but shoshana ABSOLUTELY does not like to touch or be touched unless she feels very close to somebody - something that goes not only for other people, but sometimes for her own family as well. if she is seeking physical contact with someone outside of sex, that is incredibly meaningful, even though it may not be obvious.

jokes / laughter. shoshana is a very serious woman, typically, with a serious job and a serious schedule and a serious demeanor. her humor, when she has it, tends to be incredibly dry and often difficult for people to understand ; it often makes others uncomfortable because they can’t tell if she’s joking or not, especially since she doesn’t tend to do much laughing ... pretty much ever. it’s when she’s willing to cut loose a little and PROPERLY laugh, when she’s willing to be a little bit sillier, when she actually relaxes a bit, that you know the person eliciting that response is important to her.

??? at the end of the day, sho tends to be pretty closed off - and both she and I are still fairly in the dark about what, exactly, all her love languages are. she, frankly, hasn’t allowed herself to become close enough to somebody to find out. unlike her brother, who closed himself off due to the things that happened to him when he was young, but who is nonetheless starved of love and wants it more than anything, shoshana finds she doesn’t really need love to find fulfillment - so she hasn’t made it a priority and fears that, if she did, it would interfere with her career and the rest of her life. when she gets to that point with somebody who’s willing to take her as she is with no reservations about her somewhat colder personality, then she might discover something long dormant that will surprise her.

ALWAYS ACCEPTING HEADCANON ASKS !!

#kyberborne #long post /#this makes me warm about all three of my siblings....... i love them so much i do.#* study : shoshana.#* study : ezra.

4 notes · View notes

xxinthewindxx · 3 years

Note

Heyyy I was wondering if you could a Haikyuu ship for me I’ve been having a shitty month and it would mean the world to me.

p.s I just stalked your account and I love it

I’m 5’7 with black short straight hair, big droppy brown eyes and full lips. I have an atheltic build but thick thighs I’m very insecure about.

I’m a really curious and adaptable person I love delving into everything that interests me. I also love meeting new people because it doesn’t matter what kind of person the other person is I do a five minute survey of that person and adjust my personality accordingly. I have actively remind myself to be kind tho thoughts like “That’s mean don’t do that” arewayy too common” but I still manage to be a good person atleast in my eyes. I love reading all genres from classics to fantasy to suspense anything really and I also play volleyball (setter). Also I love seeking adventure and thrills idk like you want to visit that abandoned house? Im up for it. You want to ride that crazy ride? We can do this girl. There is one thing I like about me is that I’m really good at dealing with people who have anxiety, depression or other disorders. I do an extensive research get professional advice so that I know how exactly to help a friend or a family member with it. However, I have to detach atleast once every two weeks shut everyone and let myself breath and I get lost in my thoughts way too often. I also have a strong need for academic validation and if I don’t get that I’ll just keep criticising myself and procrastinating so extensively until I’m so stressed I start vomiting and whoever is with me during that period will hear me whine and complain about how I knew I wasn’t pretty but now I’m not smart either.

I’m a libra with a scorpio rising and an Aquarius moon.

My ideal partner would be someone I can have deep conversations with one minute and indulge in witty banter the next. Someone I can manage themselves well during social activities I’m not sure how to put this I hope you get it. I have a set of morals that I like to follow but I can drift someone who can keep me grounded would be a miracle for me. Also someone whose smart and analytical and still knows how to have fun is it for me.

She/Her

Straight

I ship you with...

Toru Oikawa

You guys would be the it couple- Everyone knows you guys and who you are. Oikawa would just know when you are adjusting to a persons needs or there personality, he’d give you that look of like annoyed frustration but it’s fine he cause he does it too. The two of you would just be hyping each other up before a game and we all know damn well Oikawa will bring his whole team to watch you play. Oikawa complaining about how you woke him up in the middle of the night cause you wanted to go ghost hunting but he eventually gives in because you convince him- We all know how insecure Oikawa can get, you’d be there to reassure mans that he is just fine the way he is.And when he realizes you began to detach yourself from everyone he’d give you your space but once it starts affecting your mental health he’ll just simply hold you everywhere. He is practically attached to you so good luck getting rid of him. As soon as you start overworking yourself mans will literally be protective over you. He calls every night so you sleep or to check if you ate dinner. If you’re studying at the library he makes you an extra snack. He’ll also get mad at you if you start to bully yourself because he knows how incredible you are. When you start panicking he’ll do this thing where he just makes you focus on him and the two of you are just taking deep breaths in like the janitors closet-

Date idea- Oikawa realizing that you haven’t called him since practice ended he thinks you’re ignoring him but really you are just so invested in your book you forgot that your phone existed. So invested in your book you don’t realize the boy standing in front of you. He has his classic pout out trying to get sympathy point but you ignore him saying sorry and he could chill with you but mans crawls up you and clings onto like a koala his head on your chest and he just says how you rude you were for hurting his feelings (obvi just teasing) you end up reading to the setter till he fell asleep.

Hope you enjoyed and thanks sm for the support <3

3 notes · View notes

zanecosh · 4 years

Photo

’ ･ﾟ : 👽 : ･. INTRODUCTION — Zane Wancosh .･: 👽 :･ﾟ ’

⌠ CHANCE PERDOMO, TWENTY-ONE, CISMALE, HE/HIM ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, ZANE WANCOSH! according to their records, they’re a FIRST year, specializing in MEDICAL TRAINING; and they DID NOT go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of (sunglasses in every imaginable color, serenading ‘ my heart will go on ‘ loudly at 4 am, finger guns to the pals and the gals). when it’s the (aries)’s birthday on 04/18/1999, they always request their FRENCH FRIES WITH GRAVY from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation.

tw; drugs, jail/prison ??, alcohol

PAST but not rlly since i always had to mention what it did to him

- Zane was raised in Ottawa, Canada .. something he is very proud of and will mention a billion times as soon as he gets to know someone -- he will also deliberately say ‘ eh ? ‘ to let people know b ut we all know he ain’t sleek !!

- His parents had always been a loving bunch so he grew up receiving so much affection and attention that he now is a little FULL of himself but only because he seeks love and won’t stop until someone provides it for him im srry i didn’t make the law

.- So given his upbringing he’s always been the completely affectionate type, having his hands everywhere all the time and achING for hugs and small things like hand holding or just a pat on the shoulder like he is seriously convinced that if he doesn’t get at least four hugs a day he will die a painful, lonely death

- So in addition to that, he had always been a very active, youthful and energetic kid which was pretty much something he got from his dad since he sort of kept things playful and always did the best that he could while his mom was on the stricter side but instead knew how to teach him things that were important !!

- So growing up he always made friends very easily because of how open he was ( except that time when he brought this girl home at the age of 7 because he thought she’d make a cool pet ) and because he was always vERY friendly, even if he had a tendency to be too nice at times and just got upset when people didn’t like him ?? which is honestly still the case

- Of course he loved being popular which is kind of his aspiration in most things nowadays?? he seeks to be liked so much it’s sometimes a lil sad but he will legitamately try anything to make you his friend and he wont care if ur bothered because at least then he’ll get a reaction out of you !! but yeah it’s something he never really learned bc he’s used to getting validated from his parents so he genuinely doesn’t COMPREHEND meanness ://

- It was when he was around ten ( 10 ) years old when his dad randomly moved to New York ?? which was honestly super scary to him but his mother assured him that it was for a special job which was definitely weird for him because that was the only thing she ever said when he asked her about his father and ofc zane wasn’t dumb just a little idiotic !!

- They still visited his father often where Zane was able to get to know America and New York a little better, which he definitely enjoyed even though he sort of preferred Canada always because he likes snow a lot and the fact that it kind of melts when you pee on it but anyway he was getting a bit more suspicious as he grew older

- Then on his sixteenth birthday he was able to visit his dad once more to which he then was revealed that his dad was the ring leader of a spy business !! WOW to which Zane was baffled of course bc his dad ??? who tripped over his 7th birthday cake because Zane saw a squirrel and started to chase it ?? exactly !!

- So of course, Zane wanted to start working there !! Not only because of curiosity but school was kind of boring ( ngl ) and he missed his dad a lot so while his mother was not happy about his choice at all she always believed in people doing whatever they wanted so without much time passing the male moved to New York and started working for his father !!

- it was quickly noticiable that Zane wasn’t great at spy work, considering he was incredibly clumsy and was always distracted by everything and almost shot off his left toe ONCE okay it was only onCE !! Anyway his father got a little frustrated with his chaotic energy so he gave him the jobs were he was usually with someone else so they could babysit him which was honestly better for him too bc he could make friends !!

- So when he was around 19 that’s when he got to know his boy Landon, his main squeeze, one could even say the love of his life ( only he would say that ) but they immediately vibed with Landon being his driver even though they lowkey ended up doing stuff that completely wasn’t what his dad wanted but Zane was honestly just loving life and just doing a bit of shady stuff with his buddies was bonding ??

- HOWEVER NOT ALL THINGS CAN BE SUNSHINE AND CAKE; so they often kind of got into trouble ?? they were good at hiding and sort of running from the cops a couple of times but honestly not that much of a big deal as Zane would say but once upon a time, these assholes rlly got caught ahead of their time to which Landon then got away in time with someone from Gallagher helping while Zane honestly didn’t know what was happening n got caught ??

- To which he then ended up in jail for a year !! love carrying contraband while being high as fuck !! anyway, it was a very self reflecting time . even though he sort of learned nothing ?? anyway not even his dad could bail him out, only shorten the time if he in return joined Gallagher, a school where he would learn how to behave and use his spy knowledge to some good instead of just causing trouble !!

- Which he honestly didn’t vibe with so much because he was kind of scared of these spy kids ?? legit all of them could kill them w a look he wasn’t sure was his dad was thinking but that’s also why he chose medicial training, in order to not get hurt and if he did, he would be able to take care of himself which honestly wasn’t that much of a help when he was about to bonk this girl but ended up hitting his dick against the ground as they rolled around ?? he doesn’t wanna talk about it

- Anyway, he sort of grew into Gallagher for the most part, since he is a very adaptable person in general and was looking forward to making friends with people who were way cooler than him which was honestly a plus !! he just vibing y’all there ain’t no problem at all at all

PERSONALITY & LITTLE QUIRKS

- He’s super chaotic and all over the place, loves talking about anything and everything and sort of philophises over the most mundane things because its fun to talk about life y’all

- He has a super colorful taste in clothing and decoration and is pretty extraordinary in most things in life, whether its sunglasses or flowers on his backpack and shirts and stuff that’s way too big

- Is a slow talker and also doesn’t understand people who talk fast

- Has a habit of interrupting people mid-conversation and doesn’t realize that it could appear rude

- Loves everyone, is also super affectionate and always has an arm around his friends or will at least ask for conSENT bc that matters to him but he will most likely touch u some type of way im sorry

- Probably because he is super fidgety too, he legit has his hands everywhere all the time because he doesn’t like to stay still

- Somewhat of a class clown and certainly does not enjoy studying or any school related work so he’s kind probably always on the verge of failing ?? idk how he does it you guys

- will fist bump you but will also grab your ass

- Just wants to chill most of the time but somehow still always stressed

- Is a party ANIMAL like if there is a party, he’s there and probably drunk and high before the party even starts ?? in general i don’t think he’s been sober a day since he turned 18 who the fuck knows

- Will probably trip and fall everywhere as a drunk but he just laughs about it the second day, like he says if he doesn’t get hurt it won’t be a good party and i honestly worry about him and i’m not sure how he’s still alive

- does the peace sign way too often

- could be considered a sunny boy but since he’s from cold ass Canada he loves snow way much more and the cold for some reason

- has the biggest potty mouth like he doesn’t even realize he’s swearing

- is extremely honest like he will just stand there listening to someone complain and be like well that’s a bitch

- also huge flirt and also catches feelings fast and will mostly say it outright when he falls for someone like boy has seriously no shame ?? he will feel the heartbreak but he believes he can deal with it better than questioning it all the time and if they feel the same he will just loVE

- he also might be polyamerous he doesn’t know it yet bc he’s never had that many chances but he just likes to love whatever

- his head is everywhere and nowhere at the same time so it’s possible that he doesn’t make sense 80% of the time

- has tattoos that don’t make sense at all, i like to refer pewdiepie or uhhhh what’s his name uhhhh kURTIS CONNER ?? im too lazy to fact check i been writing this for an hour let me be

- knows how to juggle and thinks that’s that probably the coolest skill he’s ever learned

- has two earthworms that he got during a biology project back in high school who have been in his possession for six years now ?? ( i checked they live for four to eight ) he loves them to death ok their names are Niall and Liam ....... ( yes he was an 1D stan don’t confront him about them he’ll cry )

- is very superficial, loves the horoscope and believes in like bad luck and stuff like that, will scold u if u don’t listen to him rant about unlucky things !!

/ @gallagherintro

#gallagher:intro #not putting any wcs bc he legit fits everything ok #this got loooong #but i could meme for 4 hours w this dude

14 notes · View notes

riddledeep · 4 years

Photo

Timmy’s Full Character Profile

Slight Riddleverse ‘fic spoilers. Your mileage may vary.

OVERVIEW

Full Name: Timothy Tiberius Turner

Title(s): The Chosen One, The Worst Fairy Godkid Ever (Formerly), The Longest Fairy Godkid Ever

Preferred Form of Address: Timmy (Until age 16); Timothy (Beyond age 16)

Alternate Forms of Address: Timothy / Twerp / Turner / Cleft the Boy Chin Wonder / Mr. Turner / Sport / Dad

Aspiration: Form a strong, loving, intimate connection with someone who’ll stay forever

Born: Spring of the Pink Star

Zodiac: Sky

Birthday: March 21st, 1992

Hometown: Dimmdale, California; USA

Age During Frozen Timestream: 10

Species: Human

Ethnicity: Has English and Welsh heritage on his father’s side; has Ustinkistan heritage on his mother’s side

Nationality: American

Mindset: Often childish and immature, but he means well.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder - Timmy has ADHD, but is more inattentive than hyperactive (Compare with Mikey Munroe). During his life he occasionally takes Adderall, but he's rarely consistent unless someone else urges him on. He doodles a lot and takes frequent stretch breaks too.

Stats:

Power: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Endurance: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Wisdom: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Adaptability: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Charisma: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Openness: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Conscientiousness: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Neuroticism: Below Average | Average | Above Average

Residence: 1010 Cobbler Street

Moves in with parents again after Tommy is born

Dream Career: Comic book artist; likes to think he’d be a good elementary school teacher too

Other Employment: Pencil Nexus (“The Boss of Me”), delivered pizzas throughout his teenage years

BACKGROUND

Self-Perception: Fun, friendly, and creative, he’s a pretty great guy (albeit average) who’d love to have a family of his own someday and possibly travel the world with his future wife once they become empty nesters.

Alignment: Neutral Good

MBTI: INFP

Deadly Sin: Sloth

Heavenly Virtue: Kindness

Love Language: Quality time

Reinforcers: Attention; small accomplishments

History: Smothered in his childhood by helicopter parents, then tortured for several years by his over-the-top babysitter. Timmy received Cosmo and Wanda as godparents at age 9 and later wished for them to have a baby named Poof. The joined him in many wacky adventures and even helped him save the world a time or twelve.

Timmy’s godfamily remained with him for years (especially since Timmy secretly froze time for fifty) before they finally parted ways. This left Timmy with memories of an imaginative childhood and encouraged him to get into tabletop RPGs.

Personality: Timmy has always been an emotionally cautious kid. As a young child he was able to make a few friends, but after years of disappointment, secrets, and betrayal, he’s been wary of allowing new people close to his heart. Timmy has a very gentle view of the world and that’s been used against him in the past (by Remy in particular). He’s guided by his heart more than his head.

Introverted and a little shy, he often hesitates to initiate conversation. That said, he isn’t afraid of asking for help when he needs it. Until he was eight, Timmy was raised to have impeccable manners. He’s still quick to say “Please” and “Thank You” (most of the time) and tries to respect his elders. Although cautious to share his feelings, he values the intimacy of being with someone you can trust completely, leading to his desperation to have a girlfriend.

Although Timmy can be oblivious (often selfish), he really does have a heart of gold. His first instinct is to defend himself since he doesn’t trust easily, but he’s also a sensitive child who tries to do the right thing even if it means he doesn’t get exactly what he wants. He has a sassy tongue, but also a sense of shame; much more likely than, say, H.P. to lie awake in bed thinking over his words and wondering if he should apologize for them.

Timmy is very curious and likes to explore, but he requires high stimulation. He likes adventure, action, danger, and intense emotions. He knows what he wants and how to get it (which of course has resulted in him having little patience). Although he causes problems almost as often as he fixes them and he has a habit of shoving himself into other people’s business, he doesn’t want to hurt people (but will defend himself and his friends if it comes to it).

Timmy has a tendency to commit fundamental attribution error, perceiving actions as a result of personality regardless of situation. He tends to back away from those he considers problematic and hesitates to give someone a second chance... but if he feels you’re willing to change, he’ll extend the hand of friendship (Befriending Mark is the most notable example of this). As of “The Switch Glitch,” he’s tried to take a “Kill ‘em with kindness” attitude and not retaliate just because he has the power to. He isn’t the type to actively seek revenge... though he might read your diary and tuck away the info he finds for a rainy day.

Deep down, Timmy knows he’s become reliant on his fairies and would like to develop better life skills... but he’s also become so accustomed to them, he has a hard time imagining what life would be like without.

Education: Attended school in Dimmsdale and is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the basic subjects his classes covered during the frozen timestream. Knows an extreme amount of random trivia like world capitals after decades of pop quizzes. Can tell you which countries border other countries but struggles to identify them on a map.

Elementary School: Attended Dimmsdale Elementary and is extremely familiar with its layout and teachers.

Middle School: Thanks to his fifty years of repeated elementary education, Timmy was mostly prepared for middle school. He performed well in world history, science, and English, though new topics in math tripped him up. His biggest struggle was lack of motivation.

High School: Timothy played on his high school soccer team, which helped motivate him to keep his grades up. After decades of familiar information, learning new material proved a struggle. Frequently comparing himself to Chloe and A.J. didn’t help. Procrastination became a constant problem, leading to him staying up late and often falling asleep at his desk.

Further Education: Briefly attended community college before dropping out to care for Tammy and Tommy. On one hand he’s not planning to return since he doesn’t like school anyway... on the other he’d kind of like to finish what he started.

Favorite School Subject: World History

Least Favorite Subject: Geography

Had Fairy Godparents: June 3rd, 2001 (Age 9) - October 15th, 2010 (Age 17)

Favorite Wish: Poof

Notable Likes:

His godfamily

Visits to Fairy World

Hamburgers

Sour candy

Amusement parks

Video games

Soccer

Spending time with his family

Tabletop RPG games

Exploring the woods

Hunting

Goals:

Have a committed partner who loves him

Maintain good relationships with friends

Publish a fantasy novel

Be a good dad for his kids

Move out of his parents’ house

Finish school someday so he can be a better elementary teacher than Mr. Crocker was

Beliefs:

People and positive relationships are incredibly important

Success is mostly hard work, not luck

Kids have a lot to say and their views are as valid as adults’

Animals are very intelligent and need to be treated kindly

Raising kids is a lot of work, but also a lot of fun

Fears:

Abandonment

Boredom

Clowns

Vicky

Upsets:

Frustrated by a lack of caring attention.

Stressed when placed under time limits.

Flustered when confronted by authority figures one on one.

Comforts: Doodling, scrapbooking, talking about his feelings (Usually with his godparents, Sparky, or his therapist), playing with Sparky, exploring nature

Indulgences: Video games, drawing, and (from age 17 on) writing fantasy

EXTERNAL

Verbal Notes: Says “Hey!” and “Guys!” often; “Aaah!” is also common in his vocabulary. Constantly gives people nicknames, though he usually keeps them to himself (Cosmo and Wanda don’t know he thinks of them as Mr. and Mrs. Literal). Chloe is one of the few he calls nicknames out loud.

Timmy’s natural inclination is to say “Please” and “Thank you.” He often says what he thinks without realizing he might hurt his friends’ feelings, and that sass can ruffle feathers. Despite this, he can be a bit of a smooth talker at times, especially when flirting. Timmy and Molly bonded over both being direct, blunt people (although this caused their relationship to suffer in the long run). Timmy’s charming gestures of affection and flirtation skill have won him girlfriends even if he is a little sassy around the edges.

Language: Speaks English fluently, took several years of Italian in school.

Physical Notes: Timmy has always been short for his age and wasn’t well-muscled in his youth. He mostly ran, played soccer, and swam for exercise. After dropping out of school to raise Tammy and Tommy, Timmy devotes more time to working out. He’s more muscular as an adult than he expected to be as a kid.

Handedness: Somewhat ambidextrous; favors left hand

Body Language: Often talks with his hands in his pockets, leaning back on his heels or adjusting his weight to one side. Has a tendency to look up while he’s talking. Quick to wave his hands to grab attention. Usually makes gestures with both, not just one. Prone to twitches and is rather jumpy. As a young adult he often plays with his necklace.

Hair: Soft and scruffy; usually kept short, though he grew it long at ages 15-17 and had a crewcut at age 18

Teeth: Infamous buck teeth

Scars: A few random scars across his body from wishes gone wrong; the one he notices most is a long cut on the back of his right hand, which he picked up around “Abra-Catastrophe”

Tattoos: Three small shooting stars (Pink, green, and purple) on the inside of his right forearm; match the ones Chloe has on her left arm

Style: Casual; doesn’t come off quite like a nerd, but doesn’t come off quite like a jock either. Refuses to lose the necklace no matter how many times he’s teased about it.

Regular Clothing: Usually wears pink, though in later years switches his pink shirt out for a pink jacket. Sometimes ditches it and sticks with the white shirt, though carries the jacket from room to room with him.

Casual Clothing: A plain t-shirt, usually pink or white.

Nightwear: Wears striped blue pajamas, occasionally pink ones.

Formal Clothing: Prefers white suits (the fancier the better) with pink accents, though mint green accents are his second favorite.

Height: 5′3″ (Shorter than average)

Hygiene: Excellent oral hygiene; average hygiene where all else is concerned. He rarely brushes his hair. He prefers showering before bed over showering in the morning, especially since he often works out late in the day.

Morning Schedule: Timmy wakes up about 7:00 every day, has breakfast, and heads to school or work.

Typical Day Schedule: When he first dropped out to care for Tammy and Tommy, he didn’t have a job (or consistent schedule) and his day mostly revolved around caring for them.

Evening Schedule: Once, Timmy preferred spending afternoons with his godparents and playing video games in the evening. Since dropping out, he no longer has to do homework and tries to spend time with Tammy and Tommy. Living with his parents has been a blessing in that respect since some evenings they can all play board games together.

Sleep Schedule: Stays up late working on homework and only sometimes crawls into bed. Sleeps as late as he can and throws himself together in the morning, leaving just enough time for a cereal breakfast. Living with Molly helped him focus, and she’d usually wake him if he drifted off at his desk.

PERSONAL

Relationship Status: Dates and then cohabits with Molly for several years; spends part of his adult life as a single dad. Eventually marries another woman (giving Tammy and Tommy a step-mom) and he fathers another girl

Ideal Relationship: Timmy needs to feel loved, appreciated, and important, and wants a partner who isn’t embarrassed to hold hands with him in public, or introduce him as “my boyfriend.” He’s affectionate. Having someone he can openly flirt with and kiss in front of his friends would be ideal. Timmy likes all kinds of food and would hate to date a picky eater (especially since he loves spontaneous outings). He has a history of going for girls with long, dark hair.

Sexuality: Definitely questioned his identity a lot over the years before concluding he doesn’t want to pin a definitive label on himself and that’s that. He’s very “go with the flow.”

Intimate History: Molly was his first “official” girlfriend, and they cohabited for several years in their early adulthood. In that time, they had both Tammy and Tommy. He always remained faithful to Molly and didn’t engage in any one-night stands even after their break-up. Though out of the dating game for a few years due to being a single dad raising two small kids, he eventually picks himself up again in the hopes of getting married someday.

Turn-Ons: Spontaneity. Timmy is a bit of an adrenaline junkie and likes to be kept on his toes, and is easily bored by predictable dates. He finds holidays such as Valentine’s Day and anniversaries romantic only so long as they promise an exciting day; if his partner acts like they’re some boring obligation, he’ll be miffed.

Children: Tammy Wanda Turner, Tommy Gary Turner, Addison Julia Turner

Father: Thaddeus “Dad” Turner

Grandfather: Trevor “Pappy” Turner

Grandmother: Teryl Turner (née Jackson)

Aunts: Great Aunt Gertrude (“Power Mad”)

Uncles: None

Notable Ancestors: Ebeneezer Turner (One of the original settlers of Dimmsdale)

Mother: Dominika “Mom” Turner (née Vladislapov)

Grandfather: Vlad Vladislapov

Grandmother: Gladys Vladislapov

Aunt: Anabel Kane (née Vladislapov)

Cousin: Kimmy Kane

Fairy Godfather: Cosmo Julius Cosma

Met June 3rd, 2001

Fairy Godmother: Wanda Venus Fairywinkle

Met June 3rd, 2001

Fairy Godbrother: Poof Nebula Fairywinkle-Cosma

Met February 18th, “2008”

Godsister: Chloe Carmichael

Met March 1st, 2004

Timmy and Chloe see one another as step-siblings. Their relationship was rocky in the beginning, but it blooms into a friendly step-sibling-like relationship over the years.

Dog: Sparky

Met March 8th, “2053”

After Timmy parts ways with his fairy godfamily, Sparky remains by his side for many years (albeit under strict orders to keep his mouth shut). During Timmy’s teen years, he gets into hunting with Sparky as his faithful companion.

Girlfriend: Molly Gwendolyn Oakes

Met June 17th, “2011”

Mother of Tammy and Tommy while they cohabited

Endgame Spouse: Presumably Tootie or Trixie, but left up to reader interpretation

Mother of Addy, whom she was pregnant with during the epilogue of “Channel Chasers.”

Other Important Relationships: Timmy maintains his friendships with Chester and A.J. into his adult life, and even begins to see Sanjay as a good friend too. He mocks Crocker on occasion, but after parting ways with his fairies, sees him more as a quirky teacher than a threat, and ends up on average friendly terms with him.

Timmy eventually makes his peace with Vicky, even attending Doidle’s funeral (“Bones”). He maintains a fond friendship with Mark, although sees him less and less as they grow older. He also befriends Kevin over time, especially once he begins dating Molly since Kevin and Molly are step-siblings. Timmy dates both Trixie and Tootie at different points during his adult years following his break-up with Molly (Along the Cherry Lane) and presumably marries one of them in the end. Or maybe he marries Veronica; who knows?

TRIVIA:

He lives at 1010 Cobbler Street. Chloe lives at 1011.

His favorite sport is soccer, which he’s played since he was 7; he continues playing in high school.

He’s a scrapbook keeper (“Abra-Catastrophe”).

During his teen years, he taught himself a lot of sleight-of-hand magic tricks and is pretty skilled at them.

He’s allergic to sauerkraut (“The Fairy Flu”) and oranges (“A Bad Case of Diary-Uh”).

His aunt Gertrude (“Power Mad”) is actually his great aunt (“77 Secrets of ‘The Fairly OddParents Revealed’”).

His house phone number is (323)-555-9597 (“Boys In the Band” along with the assumption that Dimmsdale shares Hollywood’s area code in reference to the Dimmsdale sign on the hill).

His locker number is 110 (“Power Pals”).

His Squirrely Scout troop is Troop 13 (“Girly Squirrely”).

The license plate on the Turner station wagon says RO32TH (“Mooooving Day”).

Due to spending so much time with his godparents, Timmy has picked up a few of their magical immunities, like being more resistant to pain than non-godkids. For example:

He’s more acrobatic than average (and much more difficult to kill).

He can’t get paper cuts, stub her toe, slam his funny bone, and it doesn’t hurt if you yank his hair.

When he’s itchy, he has to scratch his skin much harder than normal in order to find relief.

APPEARANCES

Riddleverse Classic Timeline: “Pulling Your Puzzles Apart” > Come What May > “Seven Days At Sea” > “See That Dust Fly” > “Bells On Bats’ Tails” > Along the Cherry Lane

130 Prompts Timeline: “My Life, Your Death” > “Back In Action” > “Do the Math” > “Best. Day. Ever.” > “Nonbeliever” > “This Is a Box” > “Take a Break” > “Bones” > “Repeat”

AU Appearances:

“School’s Out! - The Sort-Of Musical”

“Project Carmichael”

Dust to Dust

#RD Timmy #RD canon characters #RD character ref #RD profiles

8 notes · View notes

miraculouscontent · 5 years

Note

Hi! I read your analysis and criticism of MLB in your other blog and let me tell you that I really love them!

Gabriel/Hawk Moth is what I’d like to call “a mess of ideas.”

Gabriel started out in Season 1 as just kind of a neglectful dad. He tied down Adrien as much as possible, but there were also hints in episodes like Jackady and Origins that he has at least some sympathy for Adrien’s wants and desires (even if that sympathy needed to be forced onto him). Still, he was redeemable, even is unlikable; you could blame at least a few of his traits on his wife “disappearing”.

Then, you had Hawk Moth, who was a devious yet somewhat campy villain. There wasn’t much to his character aside from the fact that he knew Emilie and wanted the ladybug and black cat miraculouses for his own goals. He wasn’t really on the “redeemable” spectrum, as there just wasn’t enough for him to show that he was sympathetic. After all, he took over people’s minds and twisted them into supervillains for his own ends, presumably not caring about the consequences since taking their powers away doesn’t negate what they did. It’s Miraculous Ladybug that restores everything, which can’t be used if he takes that miraculous away.

And then… Gabriel and Hawk Moth were revealed to be the same person, which brought along a whole new host of problems.

[Gabriel the Father]

Suddenly, Gabriel was no longer just a neglectful dad. Gabriel was someone who willingly caused akuma near his own son. Even in episodes where he didn’t akumatize one of the students in Adrien’s class, he akumatized people who would go after him (as in Gabriel), which already puts Adrien in danger since someone could so easily use Adrien as a hostage. Take Jackady, for example, which had him akumatize someone who was in the room with Adrien at the time. Even in Season 2, which had already had revealed him as Hawk Moth by Episode 1, there were episodes like Style Queen where the person he akumatized sought him out and Adrien was in the room. Then, he’s surprised when Adrien gets turned to gold, simply not having the foresight to text Adrien away before the akuma takes hold of Audrey.

And then, there’s Riposte, where Riposte actively seeks out Adrien. It’s not like Hawk Moth tries to coerce Riposte into going after Marinette instead; he just lets her chase after Adrien. Yes, he tries to stop her once to remind her to get the miraculouses for him first, but that’s about it. Riposte essentially tries to murder Adrien and there’s next to no response from Hawk Moth.

Natalie even calls him in Style Queen to say that he took a risk with Adrien and Gabriel admits that he wishes he could tell Adrien because Adrien would understand, but we don’t get why he can’t. Narratively, we know it’s because Adrien is Chat Noir and him knowing Hawk Moth’s secret would throw a thorn into the show, but the story doesn’t give a different reason. Adrien would just be so much safer if he knew, and even then, Gabriel still doesn’t take countermeasures to keep Adrien safe except for Catalyst, the second to last episode in Season 2.

And wouldn’t that have been a nice hint to Gabriel being Hawk Moth in Season 1; him trying to sneak Adrien away whenever the akuma was harmful and close by? Sure, not many akuma are after Adrien directly, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be harmed by others or the destruction those others cause.

The show only decides to focus on the danger Adrien is in when it’s “plot time”; it’s handwaved otherwise. In fact, it was one of the reasons why people didn’t think Gabriel was Hawk Moth before The Collector aired; because he’d be putting his son in danger a lot if he was.

It’s not even as if Gabriel just doesn’t care about his son; then it wouldn’t be a problem. Yet, we’re shown multiple times that he must care, given how long they always hold on scenes where Gabriel hugs Adrien. He only cares when the show wants to have a touching moment. Any other time, the show just shrugs and hopes you don’t notice.

[Gabriel the Villain]

Gabriel and Hawk Moth being one also affects the villain side. In the show, we’re given more moments of Hawk Moth reacting to things, but it’s very infrequently that it relates back to him being Gabriel. Gorilla and Style Queen, for example, show his Gabriel side very clearly when he’s commenting about something concerning Adrien.

It’s not like they try to retcon him either. They still have him laughing maniacally and doing the typical Hawk Moth things that Hawk Moth does.

Otherwise though, we just see more of him, and “more of him” isn’t exactly what we needed. Because of the Hawk Moth reveal and a heavier focus on the Agrestes in general, Gabriel/Hawk Moth gets a lot of screentime, mostly just to increase the angst factor in the show.

And it’s not as if we get the bonus of seeing him really laying out his plans. On the contrary, in the Season 2 finale, quite a few people in the fandom were confused as to where his plan came from. We get a hint of it in Anansi, but with all the time they spend on him, you’d think we’d get more information.

Because, yeah, we still don’t know that much about him. Season 2 revealed his secret identity as Gabriel, but most people expected that already and we just got it confirmed. We already knew that Gabriel owned the grimoire and the peacock miraculous, and just by the fact that we saw “Hawk Moth” staring at Emilie’s picture in Origins, we could gather that his wish involved her even before Queen Wasp confirmed it.

Anything else is learning about his powers or who he can akumatize (ex: Robostus); not really about Hawk Moth as a character.

And heck, if you want to take it a step further, what’s his plan if something happens to Adrien yet he gets the miraculouses? Does he plan to don the Ladybug miraculous temporarily and do a big Miraculous Ladybug onto everything? Does he know if that’ll even work? Does he care? He shrugs Adrien’s “gold-ization” off in Style Queen and goes ahead with his plan anyway, so he either doesn’t care enough about Adrien as long as he gets his wife back, or has a plan but won’t tell us because mystery.

Also, speaking of Adrien, why does Gabriel keep him on such a short leash? It seems like a small thing, but the reason is very important for his character (and how we feel toward him by extension). The only excuse we get is that it’s “too dangerous”, which isn’t valid because Adrien still goes out for photoshoots and fencing.

It’s an especially huge problem when it comes to “sympathy”.

[Gabriel the “Sympathetic”]

Gabriel, in combination with his role as Hawk Moth, is not a sympathetic character. Yes, out of context, his “feel sad” scenes are very well shot, but when looking at him in the grand scheme of things, I just don’t see how this guy is sympathetic.

Without Hawk Moth, sure, I could see Gabriel being just a neglectful father who has the potential to be sympathetic. Yes, he has to keep learning that trapping his son inside is not good for him and we keep having these hug scenes that are supposed to show he’s improving even though he has statistically kept Adrien inside more in Season 2, but sure! I see a redeemable man here.

But, as Hawk Moth, Gabriel has done awful things. He takes advantage of people in distress, turns them into his minions, and doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process (unless it’s Adrien and only if the plot demands it).

And that would be one thing. I mean, the basic concept of “people are sad and are given the power to do something about it” is not inherently evil.

It’s the way it’s carried out.

Look at just about any episode and watch Hawk Moth’s emotions. He might have a “good” motive in bringing his wife back to him, but look at how much he enjoys what he does. Look at the wicked smirk he gives at the end of his transformation that just screams evil. Look at how much glee he takes in finding a new victim.

From a visual standpoint, he’s not just doing this because he “has” to; he loves doing it.

And talking about sympathy, he laughs like a pure evil villain. He has The Villain Laugh™. You know the one. They don’t even retcon it, because he does it again in episodes like Anansi.

It’s just really distracting to see Gabriel keeping his son at home, part of the time with NO EXPLAINED REASON IN-EPISODE, even loving being Hawk Moth so much that he laughs maniacally in a dark room over the potential defeat of two teenagers, but then turns around, hugs his son a few times, and laments the current state of his probably-pretty-darn-dead wife.

These things do not mix. There is such a thing as a “complex redeemable villain”, but Gabriel doesn’t feel like that, especially because his and Natalie’s relationship (something that plays into his sympathy, as some of his “softer” scenes are with her) is either a retcon or something we never got to see in Season 1 (so, basically, a retcon; Gabriel and Natalie’s relationship should’ve come up at least once, even if his reveal as Hawk Moth to the audience hadn’t happened yet).

[Gabriel the Mess]

This is why Gabriel/Hawk Moth is a mess of ideas. It’s like the writers threw as many ideas as they could at this guy and hoped that everyone would enjoy at least one of them. I’m fine with them going through any of the routes they’re trying to go on, but not when they try to go on all of them at once.

Not Hawk Moth Routes:

Sympathetic - Gabriel loves his son, but is distraught by his wife’s death. He keeps his son close by keeping him “trapped” in the house whenever possible, out of fear that Adrien will leave him now that Emilie’s not around anymore. He does hug Adrien, but only after Adrien has been in danger from an akuma attack, as Gabriel fears getting too attached only to lose Adrien anyway. Down the line, he’ll realize how harmful this is to both himself and Adrien, and thus will give Adrien more attention. His arc involves him letting go of Emilie and no longer letting past experiences interfere with giving his son what he deserves.

Complex - The death of his wife has sent Gabriel into a confused despair. He throws himself into work out of a desire to escape the reality of a world without Emilie, but it’s caused him to have a love-hate relationship with his son. He loves Adrien dearly, but seeing him just reminds Gabriel of Emilie and the fact that she’s not around anymore. He works with Hawk Moth out of a determination to get her back, willing to cause akumas as long as they’re not harmful, but insists that Adrien never be a target. Regardless of whether Emilie comes back or not, he’ll end up with weekly therapy sessions to help him cope with his issues.

Unsympathetic - He’s just a completely neglectful father, only keeping his son around because he reminds Gabriel of Emilie. He works with Hawk Moth as well, but even if Emilie did come back, she’d want nothing to do with him. He’d end up in jail for coordinating with Hawk Moth.

Hawk Moth Routes:

Sympathetic - Gabriel dislikes his role as Hawk Moth, but feels that it’s the only way of getting Emilie back. His inspiration has plummeted since Emilie left his life and he fears losing everything if he doesn’t get her back. He doesn’t see akumatizing as making supervillians; rather, he sees it as sympathizing with the problems of others and giving them a way to fight back. While he neglects Adrien (mostly out of having too much on his plate now, burying himself in work and also being Hawk Moth), he actively makes plans to ensure that Adrien stays out of danger, even calling Adrien to take care of an assorted task right after sending his butterfly off if he knows that Adrien is near the person he’s akumatizing. This will make it seem like he’s loading Adrien with things to do at first until his reveal at Hawk Moth. He has multiple plans when it comes to protecting Adrien (if Adrien DOES get affected, he will actively stop speaking to akuma and let Ladybug take care of it) and tries to keep damage to the city minimal. He even treats Nooroo with respect. Things like the fashion contest are actually future plans to find an heir to his brand as, if he IS aware that a sacrifice is needed to bring Emilie back, he plans to sacrifice himself as repentance for his actions.

Complex - A complex Gabriel is neutral to his role as Hawk Moth. He’s well aware that causing akuma is wrong, but sees it as a means to an end with getting his wife back. He neglects Adrien, but with a knowledge that it be best that Adrien have a poorer opinion of his father if he were ever to find out the truth about him causing supervillains. He still loves his son dearly though, so things like hugs tend to leak through his stoic facade from time to time. He makes plans when it comes to akuma or Adrien staying out of danger, but can make sporadic and illogical decisions if he feels that he’s close to getting the miraculouses. An end for him is therapy at best and jail at worst.

Unsympathetic - Losing his wife has driven Gabriel insane. He can maintain a serious outlook if needed, but takes immense joy in causing akuma and wreaking havoc, blaming the world for the loss of his wife. He doesn’t care for Adrien and keeps him only because Emilie liked him. A lifetime in jail or death is the only end to his story.

(the campy evil Hawk Moth we know from Season 1 would probably be the non-Gabriel Hawk Moths and also Unsympathetic Hawk Moth)

Regardless of any of these (though, if you’re curious, I’d pick a mixture of Sympathetic and Complex Hawk Moth, presuming that I have to stick to the show’s reveal of “Gabriel is Hawk Moth”), I’d make his relationship to Natalie consistent between Seasons 1 and 2. I’d also give more foreshadowing for his plans and further explain his EXACT wish in terms of Emilie. In addition, I would’ve elaborated on the precise terms of Emilie’s “disappearance” sooner. Unrelated to Gabriel himself (but crucial to making us feel more for him in his quest to get her back), I’d show flashbacks to Emilie’s character, because it’s been two seasons and I don’t know a single thing about this woman except for the fact that Gabriel and Adrien both cared about her very much.

Gabriel isn’t like my post about Chloe or Adrien, where I only had to change a few episodes/arcs or go back to a certain point and then run it from there. Keeping in mind that he was going to eventually be revealed as Hawk Moth, he was doomed from the second he denied Adrien a party and the moment that Hawk Moth laughed like your typical irredeemable bad guy. “Fixing him” means changing so many pieces about him that it’s essentially re-writing his character.

I’m weirdly interested in seeing what they’re going to do with him, but saying that I’m confused about exactly what that’ll be is an understatement. Without retcons, I honestly don’t know if this is a mess that can be cleaned up.

#((If anyone wants to ''steal'' any of those Gabriel ideas from me for fanfics then go ahead!))#((No credit required unless you want to!))#category: critique #category: long post #word count: over 2000 #MC's Adjustments #adjustment: characters #character: Gabriel Agreste #character: Hawk Moth #other: ask and answer

149 notes · View notes

the-nysh · 5 years

Note

I find myself unable to think of Bakugou in any way more positive than "dislike", because he reminds me too much of the people who made my life miserable when I was growing up. (Not that it makes him bad; it's just my emotions.) Do you've any advice on how to bend my mind around that? I don't need to LOVE him, just mentally separate "him" and "the people who make grade school suck for me" so I won't irrationally hate him, because I don't LIKE hating characters.

Hi there! I’m glad to see you come forward, especially tosomeone who’s a big fan of him, after happening to see how far you’veventured through my tags already (whoa dedication!) to seek possible answers or further clarity about this,especially if it’s something that’s still bothering you, oraffecting/preventing you from fully enjoying the series. Because of that, I cantell how serious and genuine you feel about this, so I will take this seriouslyas well.

(Below, 1800+ words)

Another thing is that it’s okay to feel this way, your personal experiences are still valid,and there’s no obligation to force your feelings otherwise, or subject yourselfto content that may be uncomfortable for you. Please continue to take all theprecautions needed (blocking/blacklisting) for an enjoyable and productivefandom experience. But understanding that even if the characters may havecoincidental similarities to our pasts, they are not direct projections of us, the people in our lives, or our realities.Their world is not ours. So this awareness is another good step to have, tobegin seeing the story (and characters) more openly, objectively and closer tohow Hori originally intended.

Since you’re willing to learn more, and as you may have already seenfrom my content here, Bakugou (Kacchan)became my definitive fav character of the series, but not for thoselingering resentments mentioned. The compelling character I see is so much morebeyond that first ch’s established baseline, which was narratively placed and designedto contrast against who he becomes later on. As a means to gauge and appreciatehis growth and the journey of how far he’s changed into becoming a proper,well-rounded, better person and inspirationalhero. The kind of emotional narrativefocus that always gains my interest and priority to see develop. Already, theperson he is now at 215+ chs is not the same as who he was at ch1 (neither ishe the flanderized, fanon stereotype many have been misled or indoctrinated tofirmly believe he is), and he will keepon developing as the story marches on. I am fully on board to witness thathappen.

The challenge now, is not letting his initial baseline impression(or the feelings from your own separate –but equally valid– experiences, oreven the vitriol from others) stain or cloud that entire slow-burn progressionof the story going forward. Otherwise the important milestones and insightsinto his character that Hori leaves along the way (which can sometimes bedifficult to see from Deku’s limited pov) end up getting obscured, ignored, oroutright rejected from an internalized feeling of ‘hatred’ that tends to blockout anything newly introduced that would challenge that preconceived perceptionof him. However, to mentally reject such change and prevent the valuedimprovement of a growing person (a learning child in his formative years, forinstance), to otherwise keep the status quo static and unmoving, to permanentlystay rooted exactly the same way as thestart…would in fact be a much more toxic/harmful mindset to have, and actuallydefeats the purpose of telling a proper story as well.

Setbacks to that challenge unfortunately include thewidespread availability of biased mistranslations (even from official sources),poor/oversimplified characterizations from non-canon content(movies/novels/merch, etc) that’s not written directly by Hori, because all thesethings just reinforce and exacerbate the problem of inflating fanon stereotypesand those preconceived notions that people have already solidified in theirminds as true (when they often aren’t). It gets even worse, and ironicallyhypocritical, when those same people start feeling justified they can go out oftheir way to attack others (includingthe author) for how to ‘properly’ enjoy and interpret the series (for beingdifferent or ‘incorrect’ from the perceptions they believe to be right). Butwhat’s happened is they’ve begun to blindly act on feelings multiple levels sofar removed from what actually is (whatexists as presented within canon, vs what they believe in fanon, vs what exists separately that may beplaguing these people’s real lives), that by then, that kind of maladjustedsocial behavior is inexcusable. Stepping back and realizing when things start crossinglines irrationally out of hand, to prevent that kind of behavior from happeningin the first place, (and again, by taking measures to block/blacklist stuff thataggravates or makes you feel uncomfortable), is the much wiser approach toparticipating and enjoying fandom. So that no matter what happens or what otherssay, they can’t impact or ruin what you love about the series.

Which in my case, includes Kacchan’s character. Basedon what Hori has consistently presented in canon, I can conclude and freely admithe’s the only character I can fully trust. Amazing, right? Because he hasabsolutely nothing to hide. Everything he does (not through his harshwords/temperament, but through his genuine actions),is extremely forthright and honest. He does not half-ass things or hide anyother ulterior motives or malicious intent beyond his dedication to become the best hero. And he takes that goal very seriously. Striving for and expectingexcellence from himself (and all themental pressure that self-imposed perfectionism brings) and others. Currently in the manga that includes Deku now too, whomhe willingly goads (showing support in his own way) and checks in on for hisprogress too.

Remember his fights in the sports tournament, how he takesall challengers with equal commitment/opportunity (gender does not matter),provided they give him their best inturn as well, because to do otherwise –to go easy on them or hold back– wouldbe disrespectful and underestimating an opponent. There’s a very just and admirablehonor in that. Remember how he can’tstand anyone looking down on him, which includes how he misinterpreted Deku’sfeelings of admiration for disdain(he could not accurately read Deku’s intentions, and became so perplexed by himthat he assumed the worst: that Deku looked down on him instead). Considering the level of seriousness and effort he alwaysputs forth, to be confronted with the opposite would be personally insulting.

Remember when the villains invited him to join their ranks(because they misread and shallowly judged his character), he stuck to his idealsand outright refused their offer.(Boldly exploding villains in the face~) Risking death over playing it safe andlying to pretend to follow along totheir whims. (How brave and badass is that?!) Kacchan does not lie, cheat theeasy way out, or do things he’s not feeling or doesn’t agree with. Again, honesty. Becoming a villain, a traitor,or betraying those who’ve earned his trust? Absolutely no chance. Afterlearning AM’s secret and finally understanding/rectifying everything that didn’tadd up about Deku, would he go behind their backs by breaking promises? No way.Again, most trustworthy character.

Rereading the story a second time over, but from his perspective, practically doubled myappreciation and enjoyment of the series. Thinking about how the foundations oftheir society impacted his world views at such a young age, to the very betrayal he must have felt thinking achildhood friend lied to him aboutsomething as important/vital as a quirk. (And if we already know how he feelsabout cheating liars…hmm, faithful loyaltynow feels like a valued trait.) Other factors include his relatable giftedchild syndrome, all the complexes born from that, and for how extremely intelligent,competent, and much more calmly calculating he is than his short temper may lead one to believe. How he was oncea ‘big fish in a small pond’, now thrust into the ocean to compete among evenother bigger fish, with the pressure to both succeed and prove himself…all whilehis previous world views are checked and challenged every step of the way.

For years he’d been valued and praised for only the promisingpotential and primary trait of his strong quirk. (The reinforcement for his badbehavior on the other hand? Not valued with the same proper attention.) Alreadythat’s an unfortunate consequence of their quirk-filled, hero-commodified society. Think of justhow shallow/fake groupies would be, or how annoying and hollow it would feel tohave people cling to him just for that (for talent and skills over his meritsas a person), and just how difficult forming genuine, natural bonds would be… (Becomingself-reliant now becomes another added pressure he has to juggle on his own.) Beforequirks had ever entered the picture and complicated things further, Deku was probablyconsidered the closest friend he had. Until…misunderstandings happened, andthen the only thing he wanted was for Deku to stay away from him. (A misconception is that Kacchan actively soughtDeku out, when it’s actually the opposite: Kacchan only reacted if Dekuencroached on him too closely.) Because he feared how Deku made him feel,forcing him to face his own shortcomings, and address perceptions of reality hedid not want to face. Because for someone he perceived as the weakest, to boldly goagainst that and do what Deku did (help him out of concern/kindness, but thatintent only read as pitying to him),made him feel even below that. And what’slower than the low of the weakest/most useless? Pretty ouch, so stop followingand stay back. Yet Deku just kept on coming back no matter what, for reasons hecouldn’t yet understand. (Deku felt genuine care and admiration for him, whichKacchan hadn’t realized, so gah, dramatic irony.) His changing feelings, correctinghis attitude, and clarifying his relationship to Deku, who continually challengesand defies his very worldview and perception of weakness, brings a whole otherfascinating draw to the series, which would take a whole other essay to fully analyze(but which many other fans have thoroughly done so already).

Further considerations include his struggles facing other relatablefeelings. How he confronts the pain and weight of experiencing loss, survivor’sguilt, and assessing powerlessness and the inability to save situations beyondhis control. Internalizing self-doubt, hatred, failure, and inferiority…because‘if only he were stronger.’ What Isee is a child overburdened by expectations and responsibilities beyond hisyears…who has to learn to process and overcome many of those same feelings I’vealready gone through and had to come to terms with growing up. (The very reasonhe’s often and endearingly referred to as a ‘son.’) The majority of adults inhis life assumed he was already ‘strong enough’ and ‘fine’ on his own, theyneglected to give him proper mental guidance going forward (AM even admitsthis). And we unfortunately see the tragic consequences of that. But fortunately,things are getting better, and Hori’s story for him still isn’t over yet.

Overall, what I see is the chance for an excellent,multi-layered, and well-written character to become even better. And that’s why his narrative is so particularly engaging. Doeshe remind me of the kids that once made certain social aspects of grade schoolinsufferable? No, because that’s not who he is; he’s so far removed and beyond them, that they’ve become extras whono longer matter anymore. Instead of lingering on such negatives, it’s insteadthe positive aspects about him that shine through even stronger. The fact heisn’t perfect, but deeply flawed and learning to address his shortcomings in nowmore productive ways. This progression and growth makes him interesting, and combinedwith the many other traits I’ve mentioned above, favored and loved bymany. Although ultimately I can’t change your opinion about him (that’s stillup to you to decide, and it’s ok to still dislike characters), hopefully I’veintroduced new ways of perceiving and appreciating his character for you. Tohelp see some of the positives that Deku always valued in him as a drivingsource of inspiration too: to strive hard despite life’s setbacks, and win. ‘He may be a jerk, but he’s amazing.’

#pomrania #replies #bnha #kacchan #meta #manga spoilers #long post #speaking from the perspective of him as my fav #hopefully this sheds some new light #(and i think i covered everything i wanted to say)#this is also why i mentioned before that the message of mp100’s mogami arc is important #and what i mean when i say minori’s ‘imcomparable levels of cruelty’#because kacchan is definitely not that #but the ability to change; grow; and forgive even the worst of who people used to be #is multitudes more valuable; stronger; and daresay heroic #than regressing into a hateful vestige of a non-functioning human like mogami #that kind of message still rings true here #the fact deku still cares despite seeing the worst from him is testament to how genuine his feelings are for him too #so instead of focusing on the worst...here i explain those cherished positives too

31 notes · View notes

gg-astrology · 6 years

Text

Seventeen: Boo Seungkwan - Overview

💕Hello! Switching it up today, after Josh’s post since I wanted to give a comparison to how Capricorns can be different from one another depending on their own personal aspects/placements. I really enjoy talking about the boys in relation to one another, and will do so for the rest of the members from now on! I’ll probably do a member dynamic and sub-unit? It’ll be so fun to mix-and-match svt, from the 95z line to leader-line to individual units to china-line and booseoksoon or the instagrammers. I hope I can get to do it later! 💕

Woozi Inner Planet Natal Reading (separate from his Overview) I’ll be constantly updating/adding more as I go. Check my Masterlist for other groups/idols if you’re interested. 💕

(a precious boy!💕)

💕disclaimer: i’m a novice on astrology but these are my interpretations of the signs and how they’re working based on my experiences with them. Everyone has different opinions and studies in astrology, all interpretation and experiences within the realm is valid. However feel free to make your own post or skip if you strongly disagree. There might be inaccuracy and difference in opinions. But the point of this post is to relate, entertain and have a fun time. I’m hoping to validate people with similar experiences and get people excited about the girls+ astrology. Also, since we don’t know most of their birth times, I’m using the standard 12.00pm💕

EDIT: Thank you for anon who corrected my foolish ways, I thought he was born in Jeju but now I Know Better. 💕 Just in case you wanted to know: it didn’t affect anything much but it’s nice to have correct information. Again, thank you anon! 💕

January 16 1998 (Busan, South Korea)

Capricorn Sun (3rd Decan ruled by Virgo/Mercury)

First of all, Seungkwan’s Capricorn is in 3rd decan, that mean it has the influence of Mercury all over his sense of self/ego. He has this kind of restless quality to him, upbeat and much more in-tune with the material world than Joshua sometimes.

Capricorn with Virgo decan tends to be more light-hearted than Capricorn in the 1st Decan.

Joshua is a Capricorn in 1st Decan, with Saturn is heavily influencing him (compared to Seungkwan who has the pull of Mercury making him abit more-- active and responsive?).

Joshua is a lot more quieter than Seungkwan. Although they do tend to joke/find humor similarly to each other -- Joshua can be more of the darker/drier kind, while Seungkwan is more of a responder to jokes (Virgo are responsive, but usually not instigators- Mutable)

That’s not to say Seungkwan doesn’t exude the sense of self that Joshua has, in fact they’re share similar ‘vibes’ with each other than they are different. Both Joshua and Seungkwan usually relies on others to make a response to them, puts up a ‘front’ somewhat or a persona and finds it hard to let other people in/hear their personal emotions.

It’s a good study on how earth-signs work, and the influences of each sign on a person’s chart. Since they share Capricorn Sun of different decan, and both have Earth Moons (Joshua is a Taurus Moon while Seungkwan is a Virgo Moon) -- you can see how Joshua is so self-assured, often subtle but equally sassy usually through his facial expressions. Whist Seungkwan is much more reactive, often a responsive and attentive to others (the way he looks at the person for reaction), asks others for their opinions and gets hurt more easily (or rather, shows it easier than Joshua does)

In fact, the difference here is more about speed and tone than anything else. They do things for exactly the same reason, but the way they go about it differs in the tempo that they’re individually at.

Joshua is much slower paced than Seungkwan, mostly due to his Taurus Moon making him much more complacent and tends to repress himself naturally (Capricorn 1st Decan as well) while Seungkwan is often much more wary, cautious and tends to be actively aware of his environment more so than Joshua is.

Seungkwan’s Virgo Decan makes him appear light-hearted, yet at the same time, much more anxious than Joshua. While Joshua’s Cap/Taurus Moon makes him serene, grounded and approachable. Seungkwan’s Cap/Virgo gives him more of an ‘air-sign’ energy to him.

Pro-active, often cautious but also much more talkative. Seungkwan’s prone to joking but at the same time can get a little tedious to be around due to how fast he’s working.

Capricorn with the influence of Virgo in their chart values activity, they want to feel like they’re actively participating in something or is productive in some way. Whether it be a personal achievement or a long-term goal, they can have a busy-body vibe to them.

Ok so focusing more on Seungkwan himself. Seungkwan’s energy is much more focused on mental strengths, often a natural whizz and disciplined in terms of being thoughtful and aware of his external surroundings-- he can easily tap into other people’s emotions and helps them intellectually.

Capricorn with Mercury decans are usually very quick-witted, whether they realized this or not. They often have a quip ready or some kind of one-liner to end all one-liner. They take alot of pride in surprising others that way, and garnering respect/reputation for it socially as well.

He’s often very playful, his soul needs a playmate. He easily finds that in Vernon who gets kind of lost in the in-between of dreams-reality sometimes.

For Seungkwan, it’s easy to tap into the mindscape and the reality. It’s all combined into one dimension for him, he can easily align and organize Vernon’s multi-dimensional perspective into one organized view, and participate from there. It’s very grounding to be around, because he usually takes a leading role in their dynamic as well (Cardinal)

They’re also much more needier at home, same can be said about Josh. But while Josh is content to just be in his domestic space regardless of people (just by being around them is enough) -- Seungkwan needs some kind of interactions with him. He often seeks out those who are welcoming, often makes domestic space safe and easy for him to be in.

Communication really is a big key to Seungkwan, so someone who doesn’t really say what they feel/think or those who says one thing and acts another really turns him away. He often feels like he can’t please them, and therefore can’t trust them. It destabilize his external environment, which is something his Capricorn is adamant on keeping at all times.

He also has his Sun-Conjunct-Venus, which means his soul (Sun) fuels directly from social relationships around him (Venus). He’s extremely adept at being diplomatic, exploitive of opportunity but honest and humble about it. He’s serious and mature when he’s working, and often explains himself very clearly. If he does something wrong, he’s the type to reach out and apologize sincerely before the situation gets out of hand (Virgo decan).

It’s extremely important that he’s always surrounded by people, whether its the boys or staff members, he’s the type to seek out others and make sure to establish clear lines of communication-- otherwise, he can doubt himself, doubt that anyone really likes him, and gets stuck trying to isolate himself (Joshua does it too). He gets really anxious and paranoid that he’s being misunderstood.

It probably does him really well to move into big cities like Seoul, because on one hand he’ll have limitless opportunity to be surrounded by people and reach a wider audience. At the same time, it also spikes his Capricorn’s fear of being used. The anxiety correlates to how big he’s become, of how his team’s popularity grows.

On one hand, he’s grateful for it because he works damn hard for it (quietly ambitious, for himself and others around him) at the same time, he’s afraid of spiraling out of control.

Being surrounded by the boys who can support him, really helps. It would help him even more if he learns how to open up sometimes, even when he’s trying his best-- sometimes he relies so much on other’s intuition to pick up on his moods and psychological health that he represses himself too much and isolate himself that way.

Sun-Conjunct-Venus can also makes him extremely attached to vanity, or the idea of perfection/beauty because he’s closely tied it to being ‘necessary’ for his soul.

In order to be well-liked, he has to have a good perception of himself. And that can be extremely hard to do, considering the Capricorn can have a very harsh, often self-decrepitating view of themselves (also: Virgo Moon). If he manages to reach some sort of idealized version of himself, Capricorn tends to be very posy and acts like ‘calm, cool city guy’. That’s their idealized image of themselves. And their vanity runs deep.

It’s part of why he admires Vernon so much, because Vernon is-- ideally speaking, Seungkwan’s projected image of ‘perfection’. You can have anything, if you’re that good looking. He tends to compare himself to others because of his own insecurities, but also because his sense of self/ego (Sun) is tied into beauty (Venus) and therefore-- social relations that comes with it (Venus as well).

To him, the ability to charm others just by looks alone is correlated directly to his ego (Sun), since Capricorns aren’t one to be so forward or externalize alot of aegyo charm to bring people to them.

Seungkwan also has his Sun-Conjunct-Neptune explains how sensitive he is. Besides being much more reactive and restless than Joshua, having his sense of self (ego) tied to his subconscious (Neptune) he’s extremely sympathetic to plights of others, and with Neptune (Pisces) influence he does tend to cry a lot. Usually it has to do with others, whether it’s a movie or a sad song.

Most likely it has to do with family, or close friends plight. If a member is experiencing trouble, Seungkwan often feels deeply compassionate for them. He wants to take care of them, and often through physical touches or just by being around their presence.

The reason he became a singer at all, might have something to do with supporting his family as well. He doesn’t want to see his family suffer, and being filial is the utmost important thing to him. If he ever sees his mum or sisters cry because they miss him, he’d probably cry too (right after nagging them/whining about it.)

Virgo Moon

A shy and sensitive bub, often times he hides this part of himself very well but you can see it in the way he over-worries/stress himself out about how other people perceives him.

I’ve referenced briefly on his Virgo Moon in the earlier section, but I’ll go into details about it now.

Virgo Moons are extremely hard on themselves, particularly when it comes to the world around them.

Unlike Aquarius Moon or Sagittarius Moon who has an outlet or escape from their suffering (Aquarius Moon resorts to 3rd person perspective/analyzing things objectively, Sagittarius Moon sees thing as sensory/naturally bound) -- Virgo Moon is strictly regulated to the material world and it’s suffering sometimes.

They’re always trying to help others around them, because in turn they want that help to be directed back at themselves. Whether or not they can help others, you can be sure they’ll try their best -- and often has the best intention at heart.

They’re deeply misunderstood mostly because the way they show that they care can become intrusive, they’re a bit of a worrier, overly-stress sometimes and tends to go overboard for the people around them. Which-- in a Moon, can make other people feel like they’re invading their personal space.

They really don’t mean to be, in fact when they give constructive criticism it’s usually due to their worrying. If it’s something that cannot be fixed, they won’t say a peep (developed Virgo Moon). They can be highly attuned to their environment and people around them, and often very perceptive/sharp.

Even if you don’t want them to say something, most of the time they’ll offer some sort of advice anyways. The best way that they can show how they care, is to just be a stable presence in other people’s life. Even if that means-- well, hovering.

He’s particularly harsh on how he perceives himself, arguably this is one of his most....used placement. I wouldn’t say it’s developed but he uses it fairly often. Notice that if you do have a Virgo Moon you’re not stressing yourself out carelessly.

Virgo Moon means that their emotional ties are linked directly to their health and overall being, their external environment, the state of affair as of that moment. Most of the time, it’s things they can’t change immediately (such as weight or body-image, fame or other people’s worries) it can tend to weigh down on them for a period of time, until they find that they can reach a ‘growth’ or progress in how they see themselves.

So really, it’s kind of a hard place to be when you’re so transfixed on things you can’t change immediately and has to see through a duration for it, y know.

Their emotional response to thing is usually to structure, organize life of people around them or themselves. Their external environment helps with --- not breaking down. But when they do breakdown it’s usually resulted in thrashing the entire structure they’ve organized in order to fix it back together again.

They’re a Chaotic Mess but often very very endearing and lovable, just wants the best but because they’re so fixed in their image inside their head/emotions-- they can’t seem to listen to anyone else sometimes (when it comes to their personal life or ideas they might want to change).

They’re often one of the first to offer anyone else help (close friends only), Seungkwan’s the type to really go up to someone and ask ‘I can help with anything?’ -- because they feel best when they’re being productive, they like activity and most of all they like to feel like they’re progressing.

Again, it all ties back to what they can do immediately and their long-term goals/frustration. Note that this isn’t the same for ALL Virgo Moon but it’s an interpretation of Capricorn Sun in the Virgo Moon in the context of Seungkwan (who has a Capricorn Mercury and Venus as well).

Virgo Moon also has to watch out not to place too much pressure or stress on themselves, since it tends to cause physical weariness on them as well. Either physical pain or their endurance suffers, being aware of their emotional place and relieving the stress would help them alleviate any physical burden as well.

Seungkwan is possibly the happiest to overwork himself for his team, he can often even do so with a smile even if it worries everyone else around him. Usually he’ll go ‘it’s ok, I can do it’ -- a real trooper because he wants to be dependable and he cares about them so much, it’s his way of serving them and repaying them back (Virgo Moon affection comes in small dedications/actions).

Same goes with his dieting plans, even if people say it’s absolutely not necessary and he’s ‘fine the way he is’ -- his Capricorn Sun/Virgo Moon would stubbornly refuse to listen. This is because he likes the activity, he likes goals and he stubbornly sticks to the image he’s already set out for himself (Sun-conjunct-Venus).

His Moon-opposition-Jupiter also points to him feeling like he constantly has to fight for approval/validation from the public. This can lead his Virgo Moon to self-destructive tendency, like being unaware he’s overworked himself to the point of ‘burnt out’ or ‘extremely exhausted’. He doesn’t like worrying others, relies on his ‘persona’ to be uplifting and grounded, and he generally keeps an image of reliability to others (same with Joshua-- it’s a Capricorn Sun thing possibly).

In the end, Seungkwan gives so much of himself away in his effort to appease others that’s all that’s left is to rest. He thinks this ‘rest’ is finally what his Virgo would find fulfillment in (emotional fulfillment) but it’s often void. He just feels empty.

That’s not to say there’s no such emotional fulfilment for Virgo Moons. When there’s a hobby or task they can focus in on-- coach, pull others away from their thoughts and help them in any way (in this case, it’s teaching vocals and MC-ing) -- any type of space where he’s expected to analyze and micromanage, he can do so very well.

He can be a really clear and deep observer, not just because his Capricorn holds multiple ‘facade’ or ‘persona’ for him to use-- but his Virgo moon makes him naturally acute to other people’s impressions and perceptions. He can pick up cues pretty fast, and deduct whether or not they’re trustworthy or not.

Most of the time, it’s extremely hard to get to know Seungkwan personally. Not only is he a bit more reserved and traditional than we realized, but he’s also a very cynical and suspicious of other’s intentions towards him and his close friends.

Be prepared for 100 questions from him, and even then, maybe even occasional side-eyes and squints in your direction.

Now, Seungkwan also has his Moon-trine-Mercury (0 degrees) -- making him a very animated talker and often a very passionate one as well. He hardly leaves room for others in a conversation, especially when it’s about work or productivity.

Being completely influenced by Virgo/Mercury all over, sometimes the activity/productiveness can overshadow what he’s actually saying at all. Unlike Hoshi who similarly has Gemini all over his chart (Sun down to his Mars) -- Seungkwan speaks for the sake of productivity, while Hoshi speaks for the sake of getting his thoughts out. Sometimes, Seungkwan can lack forethought with how fast he’s going.

Capricorn Mercury

God, Seungkwan is such a good example of just how funny and entertaining Capricorn can be. With the archetype that they’re often somber and depressing to be around -- it can be hard to remember that Capricorn enjoys humor and surprising others with their unusual speech for comedic purpose intentionally sometimes.

If you think Capricorns are over-dramatic, they really are. For someone who’s aiming to be a goth vampire all the time (aura-wise if not fashion-wise) they are literally the most uncool people to be around (in the best way, mind you)

They would really make a fool of themselves for you, but don’t ever mention it in the public or they’ll be really upset about it. To them, their sense of humor has to be in their own term, and usually a token of trust/intimacy.

I know it’s kind of hard to understand, but Capricorn aren’t really the type to sacrifice themselves that much for others outrightly. They give what they can give, but usually it’s a show of trust and dedication. It’s the hardest part of a Capricorn that they have the worst time accepting, so when you make fun of them in public-- they feel like you’re betraying their trust.

It’s kind of a weird place to be in, but you can see how/why Seungkwan gets really sensitive and moody about it. He often instigates his own jokes first, and therefore leaves no room for narratives or derive narration to make fun of himself for others.

What he says is what he says, you can’t take it as any other way other than just as a joke. If someone made a joke about him, that’s a different thing entirely and it will upset him.

In a way, making his own joke and putting it out there way before anyone can make fun of him (because he makes fun of himself) is a self-defense mechanic. Capricorn Mercury seeks to structure their external environment/social structure, they don’t like their narrative being misinterpreted, so they take matters into their own hands sometimes.

The way he speaks is so sincere, he thinks of others and often for others all the time. Sometimes he can come across as overly sarcastic or cynical (prone to side eyes) but he’s ultimately very caring about what others thinks, particularly what others thinks about him.

Personally it probably scares him, and he’s often too afraid to ask what they really think of him. Because he doesn’t really have a good self-image reflection of himself (Virgo Moon remember?) He keeps thinking ‘if I can do this, if I can achieve the idealized perfection-- then, I can ask what everyone else thinks about me’ -- because it’s predicted that they will like him (at least from his own self-image, not necessarily reality) -- which makes it harder for him to open up, because he can never truly be satisfied that way.

Capricorn Venus (R) (3rd Decan rules by Virgo/Mercury)

The way Seungkwan himself looks at the members? It’s full of love and affection when they’re speaking. He’s very attentive, and he shows he cares in the little details.

It can have a kind of simple, yet very Virgo impact (Virgo Decan). They show their love and affection in the form of small devotions and dedications, paying attention to the smallest detail. You can be sure Seungkwan is obsess with the small details sometimes (to the point where he over-worries himself- makes him a perfectionist at the expense of his emotional health)

Having his Capricorn Venus in retrograde he can overcompensate with his Virgo too much (since he has an overabundance it often feels like... he’s flowing through that tap too much?) he has to learn how to recognize and build up his Capricorn and not confuse it for his Virgo sometimes.

Seungkwan is an adept and very caring individual. You know how Vernon adores and relies on Seungkwan? He has that kind of dopey look on his face sometimes? And Vernon himself can get kind of sloppy with himself? Seungkwan has no problems picking up the slack at all. In fact, that’s exactly how his Capricorn/Virgo manifest. He likes taking care of people, organizing their life, structuring them.

Him asking Vernon to kiss his head/cheek? A very Good Capricorn Venus trait. Although it can make him stiff/nervous usually, physical affection is Good for the Capricorn to destress/bond with others with.

Seungkwan is more of a feet on the ground watching where he walks kind of person, whilst Vernon always has his face up in the space exploring space. They meet at a sweet intersection in their life where they’re grounded enough (Aquarius placements in Sun-Mercury and Seungkwan’s Mars/Capricorn Venus) to truly understand each other.

If you line it up, they’re pretty compatible (non-romantic) Vernon’s Aquarius Sun/Scorpio Moon and Seungkwan’s Capricorn Sun/Virgo Moon. Vernon’s Aquarius Sun gets a kick out of Seungkwan’s sharp wits and highly sarcastic Virgo Moon. While Seungkwan’s Capricorn Sun feels comforted and soothed being around Vernon’s Scorpio Moon’s because of external stability he posses (Scorpio: seeks to stabilize themselves internally, therefore externally they are grounded. Opposite applies for a Capricorn). They sooth each other and keeps each other entertained. Not too crass and not too smooth, it keeps them going. (I’ll make a post about this later)

Venus-Conjunct- Neptune makes him possess great singing ability and ability to bring reality to dreams. He enjoys romance, and often artistic pursuit. It heightens his emotions, particularly able to tap into other people’s emotions and use it for his craft.

His Capricorn Venus in retrograde makes him lose a bit of control over his life. As much as Seungkwan needs constant responses and affirmations from others, he’s also too afraid to ask for it back.

Ultimately, emotional depth kind of scares him. He enjoys superficial conversations, or work-related production, but when it comes to actually opening himself up to someone-- he can have a hard time approaching the subject all together.

Often times he’s abit-- confused about where it’s all coming from, because he’s not used to this emotional depth. He knows he has sensitivity for sure, but when it comes to -- recognizing his own emotions and separating them from simply being compassionate for others, he usually doesn’t know how to go about it well.

This is because he’s so prone and stuck in the material world that he tends to repress, all the tiny little discomfort and other emotions into the background. He’s often too busy organizing and doing ‘work’ for the world at large/his own goals that he doesn’t spend enough time-- self-reflecting emotionally or thinking too deeply about it.

He thinks ‘What’s the point?’ because he thinks he’s honestly only going to cry about it. Tends to think everything they’re repressing are ‘sad’ emotions and lump them together such as that. The only consequence of ever letting those emotions go are obviously going to end up in them crying.

They don’t really take the time to analyze, learn or grow from their emotions. Categorizing or recognizing that there’s value and distinctions between them. Maybe it’s melancholy, maybe it’s retrospection. Not everything is going to end up in tears and they have to recognize that.

It can be kind of a black-or-white situation with them, and it tends to-- exasperate partners who are looking for some kind of emotional support or validation that doesn’t involve analysis of their feelings y know?

He can completely block himself off from his own emotions, that means he won’t be much help when it comes to others (atleast to the extent that will help them more).

Aquarius Mars (3rd Decan rules by Venus/Libra)

Perhaps the best way to handle Seungkwan when he’s in his quieter mood is to leave him alone until he’s ready to talk. It can be pretty unpredictable with him, since you don’t really know when it’s just his Capricorn Venus needing you to cuddle up to him or his Aquarius Mars need for independence at the moment.

But he’ll Let You Know immediately if you cross the line, so don’t worry.

Despite how unpredictable he can be, Seungkwan is really a progressive and imaginative thinker.

He engages in others intellectually, and likes learning from his team mates and professionals around him. He likes acquiring new skills, particularly when it has to do with artistry, business or unspoken rules in the industry.

Maybe his Aquarius Mars is even working as a stand-in for his Capricorn Venus sometimes, with it’s decan being in Libra/Venus. He can tend to attract or show attraction to those who can keep up with how communicative he is, and have their own individualism as well.

Imaginative and progressive thinker draws him in, yet at the same time they have to have responsibilities, and sensibilities to them. Particularly, in the context of being respectful and not too ‘forward’ as well.

He values those who can often speak and own their ideas eloquently, Woozi comes to mind. The Aquarius Mars in Seungkwan feels like it could connect and understand Woozi’s Sagittarius Mercury to a certain extent, and is much more complacent/willing to listen to him more than others.

He feels like he has substance, people who are stable yet out-going intellectually appeals to him. They have to be cautious somewhat, or shows some kind of-- comprehensive, critical reading of the situation as well. This stems from so much Capricorn/Virgo influences in his chart.

There’s not a lot that actually gets to him, but don’t ever let him feel boxed in or restricted. Progress and productivity is such a big thing for him, since it regulates his anxiety to a certain extent. If he feels like the team isn’t making quick enough progression/success, he feels even more trapped and hurries to over-working himself-- in order to succeed in the field, for their team.

The type to caution others from making stupid decision, yet at the same time hesitant to speak up. You can clearly see it on his face when he’s frustrated though.

He has such an open-mind that he can easily accept others with differing opinion, despite how he might feel emotionally about it (sensitive to criticism about himself/emotionally) he’s really not the type to lash out in an aggressive way.

In fact, if he does lash out he tends to be verbally aggressive and at the same time, very soft. Likes to approach others and make his argument in a way that’s ‘not personal’ (emotional distanced), likes to make a point that seems ‘objective’, even though it’s completely subjective.

Like, ‘hypothetical situations’ : ‘if you think about it like this...what if you do this then it’s going to be like that....but it doesn’t really matter, if it makes you happy you should do it anyways...’

It can be kind of passive aggressive but he really isn’t the kind? He has a hard time hiding his emotions already, he’s easily frustrated and prefers the direct method. So most of the time, he just keeps it to himself.

Makes it seems like it’s not really hurting him, even though others can just transparently see that he’s actually really hurt about it.

The type to stare at you long and hard and go ‘do you seriously think that’s a good idea?’ -- gets easily riled up when it comes to other people being affected through other’s actions/words.

Doesn’t like disruptive environments or dynamic, arguably hates change (Moon-Square Pluto as well, his emotions are linked to change and can make him aggravated but in a more Virgo way--- naggy.)

His Aquarius Mars is probably one of his stronger placement besides his Moon. Seungkwan possesses a great love for keeping peace and keeping structure at all cost, can lead him to being a little bit more frantic and sensitive.

Conclusion

Seungkwan tries to be a lot of things, but he really can’t help how endearing he really is.

In fact he’s such a great example of seeing-- a transparent Capricorn for once. For all the posing and image creating, he has so much sensitivity and compassion inside of himself that it’s easily spilled out of him somewhat.

In a way, Capricorn might just be his least developed placement. Instances of this you can see when he loses his composure in public, although he saves his face -- if he had it his way, it wouldn’t even happen in the first place.

He’s a strong Virgo Moon (maybe not developed, but Strong) and arguably, a pretty developed Aquarius Mars.

This gives him a legs-up in admiring and supporting Aquarius in general, DK and Vernon are easily one of his favourite people. And you can easily see why, with Aquarius being his most developed placement he would probably feel more instantly connected to them than say--other Capricorns in his team.

Doesn’t mean he isn’t close to them, it just means he feels like he’s doing something right when he’s around Aquarius. He still needs to try to work some of that Capricorn Venus out.

💕That’s it for Seungkwan! I hope you enjoy this admittedly kind of short and more comparative study on Capricorns. Next I’ll probably take a bit of break from SVT (but I have Wonwoo lined up, so 96-line afterwards) I think I’m going to finally finish the Im Jaebum Inner Planet Reading and then finally finish Rose so I can get to that Black Pink Member Dynamic (finally!) Hope you enjoyed this! 💕

188 notes · View notes

lordsicheng · 6 years

Text

My guesses on Wanna One’s rising signs (1/3)

*disclaimer at the bottom.

What is the Ascendant / Rising sign?

“Your rising sign is the sign that shows how "others" see you, which is reflected in your first house. Once someone gets to know you, then they'll see more of your sun sign characteristics, but until that happens they'll form an opinion about you based on your rising sign. This means you take on the personality of the sign that rules your first house.

For this reason, the ascendant is also concerned with how a person has learned to present him or herself to the world, especially in public and in impersonal situations. In some circumstances, it can therefore function as a shield or mask to guard a person's real nature - in other words the 'defense mechanism' every person has to cope with unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations. The ascendant also has a strong bearing on a person's physical appearance and overall health.”

Let’s Start!

Yoon Jisung – Gemini Rising

Personality Traits: fun, chatty, considerate, inquisitive, curious, quick-witted, friendly, sociable

Appearance Traits: slender, average to very tall heights as Gemini risings are also known as one of the tallest rising signs, plump lips, tends to have a longer face or nose, complexion can vary with somewhat pink to red undertones, fast movements (walking, talking, etc.)

Why I think he is a Gemini rising

Gemini Rising individuals are very witty, sociable and have a quirky sense of humor. Gemini is known to be the most sociable and talkative of all signs within astrology, which we can tell just by the very friendly vibe he gives when we see him. They are born with curious nature, often seeking knowledge just to feed their interest. However, these individuals are not the most emotional and seem more detached from others’ feelings. But thanks to the water in his chart, he is actually a little bit more sympathetic and receptive compared to others with Gemini risings that are fire or air dominant.

These people are also very adaptable and love to learn new things. Communication is their primal source of being able to learn new things from other people, even becoming popular in a sense at one point. They may even talk to themselves very often! However these learnings can come with a price; they will tend to get very bored easily and move from one talent to another, able to learn many things and yet unfortunately not master any of them. That’s the tricky thing, because unless they are abundant with earth placements in their chart, they may not be able to choose which path they would want for themselves in the future.

Again, this all depends on other aspects he has especially his houses (if we had his birth time, we would easily look at his 6th and 10th house for proper understanding of his future endeavors and what path he may be able to find himself comfortable in.)

Sungwoon – Cancer Rising

Personality traits: sensitive, motherly, nurturing, family-oriented, has strong desire to be in the spotlight, intuitive

Appearance Traits: short to average height, plump lips, weight can fluctuate but are usually on the lighter side, expressive eyes, face can be round to having prominent chins/jawlines, small hands and feet, youthful appearance, nose is usually short with a prominent tip

Why I think he is a Cancer rising

People born under the rising sign of Cancer are gentle, kind-natured and nurturing. They have strong intuitive thoughts, often sensitive to those surrounding them. There is a sense of childlike quality in them that can be mirrored through their eyes, as they are ruled by the moon, they can be the most expressive asset they have physically. They are attracted to change, especially for the betterment, and are good speakers especially with very prominent aspects with their Mercury to other planets. However, a trait that is commonly unseen within Cancer risings are that they tend to be energetic and lively, especially if paired with an air or fire sun sign.

Emotions can run through waters for Cancer risings. Their intuitive minds are able to remember things quite easily, even if it reaches the negative. May it be a past home, a past lover, or a past experience. They are also very detail-oriented and make very good homemakers. Being at home themselves, they can find much comfort and are able to grab energy just by being able to grow and have a nurturing environment. However, these natives may tend to be quite overemotional and tend to overthink, maybe even tend to care too much of others without thinking of themselves first. They also need lots of attention, may be quite sulky if not given proper attention too.

It is natural for Cancer placements to be very selfless, especially if it’s their Sun, Moon, Venus or rising sign. However, they feel the fulfillment when their emotions are validated. They are also into traveling, especially when around waters or even means of agriculture. May tend to fear harsh criticism but also accepting of it on their part, they see this as something they can always use themselves to improve, thanks to their acceptance of change.

Minhyun – Capricorn / Libra Rising

One of the few members I had a hard time trying to figure out on their rising sign. I ended up choosing two different signs.

Personality traits (Capricorn rising): respectful, patient, confident, strong work ethic, loyal, responsible, disciplined, cooperative

Appearance Traits (Capricorn rising): average height, prominent nose and chin, skin leans slightly on the paler side, hair is usually quite dark, pleasant smiles

Personality traits (Libra rising): easygoing, charming, very friendly, peaceful, idealistic, artistic, tidy

Appearance Traits (Libra rising): slender / well-formed body, above average heights, graceful movements, dimples are also common for Libra risings, charming eyes, symmetrical faces

Why I think he is either rising signs

The typical Capricorn rising is deemed as serious, work-oriented and even-minded. However these individuals are also materialistic in a way, even though Taurus is told as the most materialistic when Capricorns are actually a step ahead. That’s the thing—Capricorn risings want to be a step ahead out of everyone. Their headstrong attitude and strong mind makes them very well-respected.

However behind all those seriousness, Capricorn risings are very thoughtful and considerate. If paired with a fire or air sun, they can even be less serious than most people who share the same risings. They’re usually quiet and ambitious, commonly deemed as the rising sign that has a very visible appearance of having the “resting bitch face” (RBF). They always mean well, however they are not the most gullible—they know what they exactly want, how they want it, when they want it. They could even reach the stars if they could! Because of their appearance as being cold and unemotional, they may tend to look very “restricted”, hence Capricorn is ruled by the planet of Saturn-- the planet of restriction. They do try to keep a very kind-natured aura as they are at home with the environment they are in.

Now, for Libra rising, are much known for wanting to bring everything into “balance”, even if they have to work for it to happen. They naturally have a kind appearance and also because it is an air sign, they are one of the more sociable signs. This is more evident if paired with a fire sun sign. They have a pleasant and agreeable aura which gains them natural attraction by those around them. Libra risings are also one of the most attractive signs because of their natural magnetism. A love of beauty, these individuals also tend to take care of themselves a lot, especially with their appearance.

Steadfast and courageous, they also are generous and giving just like Capricorn risings. However Libra risings may tend to be a bit susceptible and hate disorganization. They’re also very romantic and passionate, attracted to beauty in all forms whether it’s art or even music. They even value cleanliness as much as Virgo risings, maybe even more! Their expressions vary from kind to serious when in the spotlight, and like fire risings, they crave the spotlight and grab it with any chance they get. However they despise people who are boastful. If they come across people who show off themselves too much, their affection and even attention won’t even by given by the Libra rising natives.

Seongwoo – Libra rising

Personality traits (Libra rising): easygoing, charming, very friendly, peaceful, idealistic, artistic, tidy

Appearance Traits (Libra rising): slender / well-formed body, above average heights, graceful movements, dimples are also common for Libra risings, charming eyes, symmetrical faces

Why I think he is a Libra rising

I have explained a lot on Minhyun’s bit, but I will add a bit more since there are some characteristics I have noticed from Seongwoo as well.

We can see that he is one of the more comedic and friendly members, always looking out for other people. Also from what we have noticed, he is very naturally attractive! However when we see him, he shows a rather gentle and kind aura that makes him magnetic, his facial features even show this more. His chart is full of earth, where we usually see someone who is on the “earthy” side very serious. However our rising signs show how we present ourselves to the world and how others see us, even more than our sun sign.

Seongwoo is very known to be sociable and has had an active lifestyle, active as in very committing to the industry type of active. Unfortunately, Libra risings are also known to have middle leveled to weak stamina, which we’ve already heard from the other members. But with comes to his weakness, he’s also quite the charmer and he knows how to show off his talents. I, at first, guessed he had a fire rising. However, I’ve noticed he’s calmer than fire risings (not saying fire risings are wild or anything, just that he seems more… idk calm? At least in public LOL) because I’ve seen that thanks to his earth placements.

He also has a Leo moon, which shows he may seem to love to be on the spotlight more than we know—and if paired with a rising like Libra, he’s definitely a very magnetic persona in the public and on stage. Our eyes always seem to fall to him even at one point during performances.

Disclaimer: PLEASE note that all members don’t have their birth times. This is, like said on the title, are my initial guesses with explanations on the members’ rising signs. They may or may not be accurate, however you may interpret them. Please take my explanations with a grain of salt. Also please consider lifestyles when it comes to personalities and genetics on their appearances, they also play a huge part rather than focusing on astrological characteristics itself.

#wanna one #wanna one imagines #wanna one scenarios #wanna one astrology #kpop astrology #yoon jisung #ha sungwoon #hwang minhyun #ong seongwoo #ong seongwu #astro post

42 notes · View notes

sol1056 · 6 years

Text

character arcs as questions, followup

I’m going to quote only some of the responses (and break a few up to separate out the topics), since a lot of them overlap.

a note about Yuuri on Ice

truth and lies character arcs

the difference in the midpoint

learning lessons: Yuri, Hunk, Lance

the need for agency

Behind the cut.

a note about Yuuri on Ice

@jeannettegray @cristak and the anon who sent me the two-parter about Yuuri all had various observations: Yuuri didn’t need the gold, his story isn’t over yet, his anxiety was secondary to his romance. For a more thorough meta on Yuuri’s arc, I’ll send you to @caramelcheese. Her meta goes deep, and maps pretty close to how I see that story.

I used YoI as an example because structurally, Yuuri’s story is not a change arc. He’s not all that much different at the end from who he was at the start; he began as one of the top six in the world, and ended there (unreliable narrator issues aside). As someone raised in a loving and supportive family, he's new to romance but love itself is not a wholly unfamiliar experience.

You can debate the exact nature of his question, if you like. Structurally, his story still isn’t a change arc, and that was my point.

truth and lies in character arcs

another anon:

...you gotta think of your characters stories from a want vs. need perspective as well. Maybe. Our character wants to win something, but importantly, needs to learn something and the external validation/reward is less important than self-validation/growth...

If you’re writing a change arc, then yes. That type centers on the conflict between the lie the character believes (influencing what they want), and the truth they must learn (what they need to do or be).

That lie is really just a coping mechanism. It’s something they learned would keep them safe, and it did --- until the instigating event pushes them into new world. Now, what once helped becomes their greatest harm.

The longer they cling to those lies, the greater the narrative punishes them (the try/fail cycle). Their dark night of the soul is when they must let go of their lies and face their truth. Doing so will change them, often radically, as they become their authentic selves.

But that’s not the only kind of arc you can write.

I’ve talked about the different kinds of character arcs before. I didn’t go that much into flat arcs, but I did call out two:

In a maturity arc, external factors force the character to overcome doubts or disadvantages, which in turn are the key to victory. Wonder Woman being temporarily overwhelmed at the magnitude of the fight she’s taken on is a midpoint of a flat arc. She fights her demons, reaffirms her truth, and gets back in the fight.

In an alteration arc, the character has a change of perspective. A corporate successful attorney sees the damage they helped cause, and their midpoint is a re-evaluation. The second half of their story, they’ll fight using the same tools, but now in a different direction. Other than that shift in their view, they’re still mostly the same.

Any arc can be posed as a question, of course. A maturity arc is just the easiest, because it really is a yes/no question: can the character do X? With their truth already in hand, the try/fail cycle doesn’t punish the character for clinging to a lie. It punishes the character for refusing to let go of that truth.

Yoon-Hee has to get through the civil exams undiscovered, survive dorm life among boys, and evade a professor who knew her father. Yuuri has to run a gauntlet of competitions to re-establish himself, effectively starting from scratch all over again. Shiro is tortured, tormented, forcibly ejected from his lion, brutally wounded, and loses potential allies too soon; even his own lion seems to be working against him.

None of these three ever really question whether their goal is good; instead, they doubt their ability or worthiness to achieve the goal. They ask: how much longer can I keep this up? What if I’m not up to this? Can I really do this?

Kim Weiland describes it as: “In short, they have a Doubt—and it keeps them seeking throughout the story, even as the undeniable power of their conviction in the Truth transforms other characters around them.”

The character holds their truth in defiance of the world’s lies, and in the end, the character doesn’t change all that much. Instead, they change the world.

Unless, of course, the answer is no.

the difference in the midpoint

If the dark night is resolved with the realization they’ve been going about this all wrong-headed and need to try something new, it’s a change arc. If the dark night pivots on self-doubt over whether they’re able or enough, it’s a flat arc.

If Yoon-Hee had hit the midpoint and realized she’d been believing a lie that said education is the only measure of worth, and then threw herself into finding a husband, that’d signal a change arc. When she picks herself up, determined to work harder towards her goal, that confirms she’s got a flat arc.

If we say Yuuri’s midpoint is his breakdown in the parking garage, a change arc would dictate he must realize he’s been believing a lie. That doesn’t happen; his midpoint revolves around believing in his own ability, and his need for Victor to be there when Yuuri falters. It’s a high-stakes and intense moment, not a brooding midpoint like Captain America often gets. But it’s still a clear flat-arc style of midpoint.

Shiro’s midpoint is more complex than the other two examples, as he arguably goes through it twice. One dark night begins at the end of S1 and continues to the middle of S2; the other covers S3 to the end of S6. In at least the first case, Shiro’s choice is to double down, fight Zarkon, and end up bonded stronger with Black. In S2, Shiro regains his certainty, confident that his answer will be yes, as long as he stays true to himself.

learning lessons: Yuri, Hunk, Lance

from another anon:

let’s say ... the main character is very self-centered but needs to learn to become part of a team ... what’s more satisfying, getting the gold medal in the end or getting a strong team/friends and seeing that external rewards don’t matter as much as personal/interpersonal ones?

Any arc can create a satisfying story, so long as the arc is brought to its natural conclusion. It really depends on the character, and what kind of story the writer wants that character to experience.

In YoI, the younger Yuri has a classic change arc. He believes a lie in which a gold medal would validate his self-worth. The best instigating events are ones that appear to satisfy the lie so thoroughly that the character simply cannot refuse, but at the same time, sets the character on a path towards that midpoint realization.

A chance to use Victor’s routine is exactly that, wrapped up in one gold-medal package. But like every good instigating event, there’s a stinger in the tale: the routine assigned requires Yuri be true to himself --- expressing selfless agape --- rather than cling to the persona he desperately wishes were true. In that, Yuri’s arc is also a failure: he doesn’t change. He clings to the lie he believes, and the story hands him a gold for the effort.

on the previous question-arc post, @speakswords commented:

Lance and Hunk have questions, they've just been abandoned by the storyline. Hunk’s was something like 'can he step up to plate to do a job that must be done even if he doesn't want to?' Lance's was something like 'can he prove his worth.' ... Lance's question has answered with a resounding no, despite the narrative setting up and providing all the necessary pieces to give Lance's arc a yes answer.

Hmm. I think what muddies those examples is that fear (Hunk) and insecurity (Lance) can also be expressions of self-doubt. After pondering it, I can’t actually tell. If either ever got a clear outline for their development, that outline got tossed or watered down. I won’t say bad writing so much as... well, an ensemble’s tough to write well. Sometimes characters get handed shortcuts instead of actual arcs.

What I’m thinking happened to their arcs is they got switched mid-stream from a change arc to a flat arc. That would take as many words to explain as I’ve already written, so if you want me to keep going on that, send an ask. I’ll put it on the list and tackle it as its own post.

the need for agency

on my post about Shiro’s arc, @gundamgirl17 commented:

While I disagree that withholding agency for Shiro is inherently wrong ... [I want] him to grow and complete his arc and have a happy ending as much as the next person, I don't see anything inherently wrong with the writers making him a tragic character instead.

I respectfully disagree in the strongest possible terms: withholding agency is absolutely wrong by every storytelling measure.

Chuck Wendig (as usual) puts it best:

Character agency is, to me, a demonstration of the character’s ability to make decisions and affect the story. This character has motivations all her own. She is active more than she is reactive. She pushes on the plot more than the plot pushes on her. Even better, the plot exists as a direct result of the character’s actions.

A story that negates a character's choice, or blocks the character from acting on that choice, is a bad story. I don’t mean bad/good in the sense of message or morals. I mean bad writing, plain and simple.

We never saw the crucial decision points onscreen: when and why did Keith accept his role after so long being reluctant? When and why did Shiro stop being a paladin? When and why did Allura decide she returns Lance’s feelings? When and why did Lance set aside his easy-going perspective and turn so grim? The one time we saw a character grapple with anything --- when Hunk decided to rescue his family --- the story never let him follow through. If he had anything to do with his family’s rescue, we never saw it.

I am totally sympathetic with those fans who seek the silver lining, who say Shiro’s pride in Atlas is a sign he’s moved on, has a new place, and will do well there. But I never saw him choose that.

Shiro’s arc began as a question. At the end of S2, the story answered, and said no. Shiro had fought and struggled and tried, and in the end, he paid for his convictions with his life.

Whatever he’d learned in the time since, the story didn’t let him act upon it. Whatever he might’ve seen as his options, the story didn’t give him a chance to consider or decide. Whatever he might’ve felt in regret or hope, the story refused to show. The story required he fill a specific space, the plot required that he be happy about it, and the writing hollowed him out to make it so.

The most common complaint I’ve gotten post-S7 --- beyond representation, plot logic, or shipping --- has been about S7′s lack of heart. Some of S7′s lingering hurt comes from a sense of those broken arcs, and the way that brokenness turns every win into a loss from another angle.

What broke those arcs, though, was the story reducing the characters to puppets, pushed around by the story. It turned a complicated narrative into a recitation of events, play-acted by empty characters. I have my theories on what sent everything in this direction, but I’ll leave that for another post.

#vld #voltron #character arcs #writing #analysis #yuuri on ice #sungkyunkwan scandal #sol thinks about stuff

72 notes · View notes