#i know her choice is largely about her worldview but she's also a person with feelings | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cursedcomics · 1 year

Text

Dream Job Writing Legion of Super Heroes Pt. 5

What is the high concept of the Legion of Super Heroes?

With apologies to all of the fantastic talents who have written the Legion over the years, I don’t think that question has been one they have cared to ponder.

Which is another reason I am the only sensible choice to write the Legion.

That question matters to me and is the reason screaming in the minds of Legion fans of why the Legion is different from other comic teams.

The high concept of the Legion is that it is an examination of personal expressions of heroism.

Everyone has a different concept of being a hero and how they can live their life in service to an heroic worldview.

The Legion is just that. A huge group of heroes. Far more than just about any other book has entertained (with the possible exception of the All-Star Squadron). Having such a large lineup loudly begs the question, “Why?”

We could easily only have a single Superman-type on the team. We could do it just like the JLA, but we don’t. “Why?”

Because having huge number forces you to look at their differences as a means to justify their inclusion, and that to me is where the Legion gets really interesting.

In the real world, SOME people join the military because they want to be heroes. (That certainly isn’t the only reason people sign up, but it is one.)

Now for that subsection, it means a lot of different things. Some of those people could see the level of respect awarded to soldiers and desperately crave that. Some could feel that joining the military gives them an opportunity to earn that respect. Others might feel if they join that society would be obligated to give them that respect --- and screw anyone who doesn’t.

Some might see it as an opportunity to become a better person and the whole respect thing will sort itself out.

And that is just scratching the surface on one tiny aspect of why someone might become a soldier. There are thousand of variations to the question why people put their lives at risk for others.

The Legion is an opportunity to explore the motivations of each member.

Is it ok to have a member who is power hungry like Zoe Saugin? It’s certainly non-standard, but is there anything INHERENTLY unheroic about it? I would argue no.

Does it suggest Kinetix may end up being a power mad supervillian? Yeah, maybe....but I would strongly argue she makes a far more interesting character --- and a far, far, far, more interesting hero if she doesn’t take that very well trod path.

How does she interact with the power hungry despots of the 31st century? I would guess on a case to case basis, very differently than her colleagues.

Drake Burroughs is the truest conception of a “future” hero. Wildfire is literally a man transformed into a futuristic science concept. He walks around in a futuristic version of a space suit, complete with space helmet. Nothing says “future” and “alien” more than that. He is the Legion is a lot of ways.

He is now a mass of energy in a bag. He is a human consciousness desperately trying to engage society in a pretense of still be a human being because if he tries hard enough he can recapture the kinds of relationships he had when he had a body.

He doesn’t want to think about what a unique lifeform he is. Being unique in that is utterly terrifying. Is he immortal? Will everyone he knows die? How long will his sanity last? When will he start to be alone? What will he become?

He wants to sit down with Ultra Boy and have a beer. He wants to walk with Dawnstar and feel her hand holding his. He wants all of this --- not what he has.

But his life isn’t totally ruined.

He also gets to be the swashbuckling hero of his dreams --- and he is actually quite good at it; Like amazingly good at it! He is one of the Legion’s heavy hitters --- right up there with Superman, Mon-El, Element Lad, and Dawnstar....

But... If he ever sat down and talked to a counsellor a question would come barreling up from his subconsciousness, “Is he one of the Legion’s most beloved native born ‘heroes of earth’ because he wants to help people, or does he do it because being a superhero opens him up to being part of a peer group with other humanoids?”

Wildfire needs the Legion and will fight to the death for his teammates.

If it is all an act for social acceptance on a deep level --- one that he certainly doesn’t realize --- is that still OK?

If you start unwrapping that onion, you’d reach the conclusion that Wildfire probably realizes it deep down and would tend to avoid people like Brainiac 5, Saturn Girl, and maybe even Matter Eater Lad --- Legionnaires who are very insightful and may push his thoughts down a path he actively doesn’t want to consider.

This would keep him from seeking improvements on his suit from Brainy and other self destructive thought processes. There is a tiny bit of Cliff Steele there, but unlike the Doom Patrol’s “Robotman”, Wildfire sees being the best hero he can be as a cure/distraction from slipping into depression. When he gets depressed, he “heroes” harder...

He wants superficial interactions with everyone except Dawnstar, who sees him for what he is and loves him anyway.

Wildfire was initially written as a natural hero with off the chart instincts and absolutely fearless. He is the man of action. That’s the wildfire I fell in love with as a fan. The guy who emerged on the scene and was quickly elevated to Legion leader. The guy who, when no one else had a clue about it, figured out the Legion’s smartest member had quietly gone insane.

Then he was written by Paul Levitz as a lovelorn being full of self doubt.

In my mind, he is ideally both of those things.

All of his presented behavior would be about being “the dude” on the Legion.

Wildfire, to me, is like a what if story. He is the Swamp Thing if Alec Holland had refused to acknowledge the existence of the Parliament of Trees. (And no I definitely don’t want to revisit a Parliament of Fire with DC fire entities. The Parliament of Trees was a useful plot device in a swamp thing story. No reason to drag wildfire with his weird futuristic anti-energy powers into a non-related, super derivative thing like that. That would be giving in to a non-productive desire to see everything fit together seamlessly. PLENTY of other paths to take.)

I think Wildfire is a personal horror story bubbling under the surface of Legion super hero stories.

Gim Allon is another wildly unique story. His mother becomes UP president. How does that just randomly happen?

He is one of the only (?) members of the Science Police to join the Legion. Does he leak information to the SP? They would certainly want that access, but there are probably people in the SP (Police Chief Zendak?) who would absolutely put a stop to Allon being compromised in that way. Do the Legion put restrictions in place to specifically limit him confiding information to the SP?

Like all Legionnaires, Colossal Boy is sworn to pursue being the best hero he can be. Does his history make it harder for him than any other Legionnaire?

There are stories untold buried in the previous timelines’ histories that will make these issues absolutely compelling to new and old readers alike.

0 notes

kingofrandomthoughts · 1 year

Text

In Defense of Our Elders

Well, I very clearly stated that this blog was about random thoughts, and this certainly is one. This week I worked with a group of younger people who inadvertently disclosed some inner thoughts about older people that not only smacked of narcissism but also ignorance and naivete of a world very different than this one. It’s not personal but it felt very personal to me.

This generation dreams big and I’m so glad they do. The world is their oyster and they live in the greatest time and the greatest place in history to make dreams come true. People of every race, culture, creed, gender, religion, age, and economic class have lived an American dream that kings and queens of the past couldn’t even imagine.

When I told my elderly mother about my big dreams, she was cautious and concerned. After all, she picked cotton (and watermelon and beans) before and after school started,

when she was ten, which was different from my paper route at the same age. When she got a job, she expected to be there for 50 years, working her way up in responsibility and income.

When I was 31, my worldview changed and so did hers. A 23-year-old became a self-made billionaire. This was not possible in the world she grew up in but instantly made everything possible in mine.

This generation gets frustrated that their elders can’t work a cell phone or surf the internet. It's not because they're incapable.

Every time I entertain a large group in my home, I remember the massive meals prepared by my mother, where every egg was perfect and impeccably timed, and fresh bread was made from scratch every day, putting even this great cook to shame.

As I shoveled sidewalks and driveways of snow for a few bucks in college, I remembered that my dad did too. He went from chopping firewood every morning to heat his parent’s home before high school, to become a smoke jumper in northern California.

These people were tough as nails and never quit anything.

In their day, they made their own clothes, grew their own food and canned some for the winter, butchered their own livestock, rebuilt their own engines and sharpened their own knives, built their own radios, repaired their own plumbing, wired their own lighting, and built their own homes. Most did it with barely a high school diploma, if that, and nothing but their hands, backs, and work ethic. They were so tough. They built more than the buildings and bridges we see. They paved the roads we travel and lives we lead with blood, sweat, and tears I’ll never know.

We’re standing on the foundations laid by others who didn’t have the conveniences or luxuries we enjoy, the sheer choices available to purchase or experience, the gadgets to ease our work and hobbies, the specialty tools to lighten our workload or technology that brings entertainment and information at the speed of light.

I’m not that different from these young folks but I definitely disagree.

To quote Isaac Newton, "If I saw further than others,

it was because I stood on the shoulders of giants. "

0 notes

umblebumble · 3 years

Text

Pirates of the Carribean daemons

I don’t know what possessed me to make this but here it is. As a note, I use The Daemon Page (link) as a good reference when looking for daemons, but I mostly use it as a starting point for animals I’m unfamiliar with. Largely my selections are overall general vibes plus some things I think would be great plot/story wise. I also tried my best to avoid the ‘typical’ wolves, Big cats, and birds of prey because I find they’re often overused for main characters to add impact.

Captain Jack Sparrow - Ring-billed Gull. This one I feel pretty good about. Initially I thought a sparrow would be funny, but sparrows and gulls are similar personality wise and gulls just have the wandering-adventurer vibes I wanted. Gulls are wandering, freedom loving creatures, like Jack. He goes where the wind takes him. Gulls are also bold and brash and clever. They’ll march right up to someone and take their food while staring them dead in the eye. They’ll definitely flee from fights whenever possible, but they’re crafty and adaptable and clever and resilient.

Captain Barbossa - White-headed Capuchin (aka the monkey Jack). I thought about looking for something other than the obvious, but it just really worked. Capuchin’s are clever, mischievous, and also very aggressive. Monkeys usually have social hierarchies, and when a monkey is at the top it will do everything it can to stay there. I also just feel like the energy with the two of them is too perfect, I couldn’t imagine anything else that works as well.

Elizabeth Swann - Siamese cat. This one was harder, but it just felt right. Siamese are regal and elegant looking, and can be a little snooty and stuck up at times. But these cats are smart as a whip, get bored super easily and always seem to be on the look out for something exciting or new to learn. I like the thought of a pampered pretty cat at the beginning of the series growing and becoming less polished as Elizabeth roves off at the open sea. I also think it would be a funny bit of foreshadowing for the third movie bit with Singapore. Also, Siamese are loud and bold and dramatic. I mean this in the best way but Elizabeth is also loud and dramatic and will throw herself around to make her point which feels exactly like a Siamese who is trying to get something.

Will Turner - Magpie. Will was the hardest for me to pick. I wanted a bird for him because despite his humble blacksmith beginning he is a pirate in his soul, an adventurer and that to me says wings, flight, and freedom. Magpies are very smart and clever, and Will is a strategist, though sometimes socially obtuse but that’s his charm. Magpies are protective of what is theirs and will throw down to defend their territory. Also, I kept being drawn back to that line in the first film “... and you’re completely obsessed with treasure” and I just think a magpie is a very good thematic representation of that pirate-soul Jack is talking about. This one was mostly vibes and plot/thematic devices but I like it.

Norrington - Dalmatian. So for Norrington I always knew a dog would be for him; he’s loyal, determined, and hardworking. Plus I like the thought of dog daemons being a common thing for people in military/navy/etc type positions along the same vein as ‘servants have dogs’. Dalmatian was my choice of specific breed but I could definitely see other working dogs as his daemon as well. I chose Dalmatian because they are working dogs, they’re loyal and obedient but have a more independent streak in them as well which could translate to his leadership position. Norrington sees the world in very black and white terms, and while I chose Dalmatian half for the joke, they do have selective hearing where they sometimes just don’t hear commands they don’t want to listen to. So I’m taking that as a closed-mindedness that Norrington expresses in his worldview.

Gibbs - Old English Sheepdog. This one was half analysis and half pure vibes. Sheepdogs are friendly and a little rolly-polly, but they’re also guardian dogs which makes them fiercely protective of those under their charge and they will fight when pressed. This suits Gibbs so well, he is so loyal and will take care of Jack or Elizabeth or whoever he decides is under his care. I also think it would be an interesting plot thing that a lot of ‘official’ sailors would have dogs because of their loyalty and willingness to follow others/orders.

Tia Dalma - Saltwater Crocodile. This one I came upon accidentally but fell in love with it immediately. Crocodiles are enigmatic and powerful creatures. They have an ancient powerful energy to them that matches Tia well. They wait for their prey to come to them because they know the deer have to cross the river eventually - Tia knows they will come to her, eventually everyone will want her help and then she will have them. Deceptively serene but able to attack in a moments notice, a crocodile will not enjoy being contained or confined and while it may look content, it will not be satisfied until it has no restrictions. Plus, a crocodile when Tia Dalma lives in a river/swamp is thematically amazing to me.

#pirates of the carribean #daemons #daemon headcanons #hdm daemons #daemon au

104 notes · View notes

the-ghost-king · 3 years

Note

the term malewife isn’t a very nice term to use...

A man who acts as a wife and is inferior to his #girlboss girlfriend.

Person A: I just got myself a malewife. He's gonna clean my kitchen and watch me download custom content for the sims.

Person B: Sweet! You must be such a girlboss

^^urban dictionary. It’s just confirming to the sexist stereotypes that perceive and expectation of what a wife should act like. It’s quite harmful

It's a parallel to girlboss which is conformity to the sexism within corporate America:

"it becomes inescapably clear that when women center their worldview around their own office hustle, it just re-creates the power structures built by men, but with women conveniently on top. In the void left after the end of the corporate feminist vision of the future, this reckoning opens space to imagine success that doesn’t involve acing performance reviews or getting the most out of your interns." (here)

The word girlboss comes from a book quite literally called #girlboss, in parallel to the negative aspects of this book people eventually rebranded the term "malewife" to parallel it (malewife was originally an nsfw type thing)

In the malewife/girlboss "system" it's essentially the swapping of the problematic aspects, expectations, and socialization of men and women within a relationship

"Girlboss, gaslight, gatekeep" was a meme started to pick on the idea that women should become men and enforce the sexism within corporate society, and I'm sure it was a jab at the book the word came from as well.... "Manipulate, mansplain, malewife" was created to parallel the original meme

So yeah, the whole concept is mocking sexism within corporations and and modern relationships and showing how ridiculous it is. Girlboss mocks the idea of 2014 (largely) white feminism within America.

In example the original meme (created on Twitter) is intended to make mockery of Karen-types:

On January 12th, 2021, Tumblr user missnumber1111 posted, "today’s agenda: gaslight gatekeep and most importantly girlboss," garnering over 43,500 notes in a month (shown below). On that day, Twitter user @CUPlDL0VE posted, "my agenda is gaslight gatekeep and #girlboss," the first instance of the phrase on Twitter.

And a day later on January 13, 2021 Tumblr user a-m-e-t-h-y-s-t-r-o-s-e reblogged the post along with a photoshopped image of "Live, Laugh, Love" wall art instead reading, "Gaslight every moment, Gatekeep every day, Girlboss beyond words" (shown below). On January 18th, the image was reposted to Twitter for the first time.

Malewife doesn't hold those same implications however... The term malewife which is now being used to parallel girlboss achieves it's origins from p*rn, now I'm not an nsfw blog or someone who blatantly discusses nsfw concepts on my blog so I'm not getting super into it but there's a few places it comes from: femdom, bdsm, and feminization kinks... All of which have a connection to queerness in their own right but I don't feel comfortable going into the complexities of that with so many younger people following me.

On February 15th, Tumblr user @relelvance posted, "Manipulate, mansplain, malewife" as a male-themed opposite to "gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss," garnering over 27,000 notes in four days. The post was screenshotted and reuploaded by Twitter user @nortoncampbell on the same day, garnering over 14,200 likes and 2,800 retweets in the same span of time (shown below).

Urban dictionary's explaination of "malewife" is not only harsher than what malewife was intended to mean, but also removes the context of origin from the word- making it something new, different, and erasing the history of who originally used this word.

Because of Malewifes origins vs Girlboss origins, malewife is a less problematic term than girlboss and is more "affectionate" because the term malewife and it's use (up until recently) involved the man acknowledging that he wanted to be the "wife" in his relationship. There's a variety of reasons someone might do this, but it can generally be summed up as a mixture of personality and also personal wants.

I do think it's important to also note that although these words are being "glamorized slightly" they're still intended and being used in a memeing manner, but they're also used to quickly denote arbitrary traits in an individual and categorize those traits...

Although there's lots of conversations to be had for a variety of reasons about the origin and use of the word "girlboss" in relation to sexism, up until recently the world "malewife" was something claimed by men, something men wanted to be called, and something that men who used the term wanted to reference them.

Malewife is about "stepping-up" to "take on" "female" social roles, and it's something that at least some women would be happy to see in society:

"...We have been told that we can have it all, but so far we have noticed that it is extremely hard work having it all, because you still have to do everything that your mother did but now you have to do everything your father did as well. Except that your father had your mother waiting at home with a gin and tonic and his slippers when he came home from work, and you have the washing up and the shopping and a few screaming brats as well as a bloke with his feet up on the sofa watching the football... " (via. Victoria Mary Clarke)

And I don't think that she's wrong at all. Women are still expected to do so much more than men in society without equal reward.

Malewife exists as a a sort of fantasy removed from the truth of society. It's an idea that a husband can be waiting at home to care for his wife, and in this instance it benefits the woman- unlike Clarke's situation above, the woman comes home from a long day and is able to relax without the pressures of society and her life.

Where housewife is a word that holds its origins in forced subservience, malewife is a term that is showcasing men "picking up the torch" in regards to housework- where housewife is socially forced, and girlboss is reversed social compliance, malewife is the rejection of social expectations.

Malewife is about men finding a place in their life's and relationships to make themselves more than a paycheck. To say "I can be emotionally there for my spouse, I can clean a toilet, and drive kids to school, and I don't treat my spouses wants as something expendable". In a society in which men are often demeaned, mocked, and scorned for picking up socially female roles (say hello to misogyny and gendered contamination!)

The Urban dictionary definition, is not only too harsh- but not the way in which the word is intending to be used, because that's ignoring the origins of this word, and the fact that men had a choice in becoming malewifes where women didn't have that choice. It should read more like:

Person A: Ah yeah, I have a malewife waiting for me, he's going to clean my kitchen because I've had a hard day at work and need a break, and then he's going to watch me download custom content for the Sims because I enjoy the game so much and it helps me take a break from life!

Women's wants were often ignored in favor of men's wants, so by the malewife saying he's going to watch his spouse play the Sims, he's really saying "I care about her interests" and by him picking up the kitchen cleaning after she's had a stressful day he's saying "I have a lower stress job so I can handle that for her and make her life a little easier" (because malewife doesn't mean he doesn't have a job).

In a society in which a man's worth is tied to his ability to bring home money and be emotionally distant, malewife is the rejection of this norm. Malewifes are going to be there for their spouse, they're going to step up and take on traditionally women's roles and they're doing it because they want to, because they like it, and because dividing chores into pink vs blue is wrong.

I also want to say, you can't flip a word around and say it does "this" because that's not how it works... Men and women are forcibly socialized in very different ways, the two binaries have very different treatment, and expectations within societies social constructs. If you could flip the forms of oppression that men vs women face (because yes, the patriarchy oppresses men) then you could also flip the forms of violence faced by trans masculine people vs trans feminine people- but that doesn't work either, because women will always be oppressed in the most public way to "make an example of them" while the patriarchy expects anyone who is male to "keep his mouth shut and fall in line". (I know that's worded poorly, but I've just written at least a couple hundred words and my brain is a bit fried already from various other things today- basically anyone perceived female or male will be treated in a certain way as a result of others perception of them)

Anyhow, all this isn't to say that the term "malewife" is inherently free of any form of flaw ever... Malewife is a newly mainstream word, it wasn't popularized until February 15 of 2021... So?? 5 days ago?? The origins of malewife and the social implications of malewife combined with the history of the word, don't make the word bad or impressive and it's not "upholding the ideals of a housewife" but instead a word which provides men freedom from male social expectations.

Can the word malewife come to be a word which enforces expected female social behavior? Yeah it absolutely can become a word to mean that, erase the history from the word, and give it to someone who doesn't know the history of the word, and someone who doesn't have an intimate understanding of gender theory, and you've got a recipe for hundreds more asks like the one you've sent me...

I can't find a single positive reason to use the word girlboss in an empowering way, but I can find more reasons to use the word malewife in an empowering way than not to do so.

So at the very least if all you come away from this with is that I don't personally use the word malewife to uphold female social expectations in a relationship but instead I use this word to provide space for guys to be allowed to be feminine, soft, caring, emotionally present, and worth more than their monetary value, then I guess that's okay.

#long post #asks #Anon #malewife #sorry for clogging your feed #i don't have a desktop rn

180 notes · View notes

aiyexayen · 3 years

Note

re: that "I'll live for you post" - WHERE'S THE ESSAY

this post? [innocent face]

alright, alright, JUST TWIST MY ARM WHY DON'T YOU, just force me to talk more about my boys!

4.9k word essay under the cut

Wei Wuxian

Let us take a look at Wei Wuxian first. Wei Wuxian has no problems throwing himself in-between the people he loves and danger, or even certain death. Hell, sometimes he just throws himself into it for fun and profit!

To some extent, putting yourself in danger to help others and being willing to die is something of a cultivator thing in general, a hero thing in general, right? And Wei Wuxian is a prodigy, exceptionally strong and clever, so he has more reason than most to be a little cavalier. But most of the point of training so hard as a cultivator and getting strong and aligning yourself with a sect is kind of so you can be in real danger of dying as little as possible, one would presume.

So we're going to set aside the danger-as-a-profession thing for now, because I think it's only tangentially related.

The real point is, Wei Wuxian is sacrificial to a fault. If there is a problem, he decides he's the one who needs to fix it. And his first go-to solution is to throw himself at it, to give up anything of himself if it's viable. As clever as he is, if he finds a workable solution that involves his own sacrifice, he doesn't stop to look for anything else.

Some of it is pride--not wanting to admit he needs help from anyone else, and the shame of being seen as weak.

Some of it is arrogance--a very natural kind given his competence, the presumption that he knows best in a given situation (neurodivergent arrogance walking hand-in-hand with self-esteem issues is always a fun time).

Some of it is appropriate--ranging from his own moral imperative to protect the weak and do what's right to his understanding of his place in culture and in his own sect and relationships.

Some of it is a natural bent toward caretaking, "fixing," and heroics--someone has to do it, so it's going to be Wei Wuxian. He won't hesitate to take initiative in any other area of life, and this is no exception.

And some of it, yes, is a lack of value placed in his own life--between a more youthful, dramatic perspective on 'I would die for you/for this cause' taking priority in his worldview, and some genuine self-esteem issues. Issues largely stemming from his uncertain place in the world growing up and his uncertain relationship with parental/guardian/master and other familial figures, all stewing under the surface and brought to light sharply when the world went to shit and choices were made and he lost or seemed to have lost everything from his reputation to his home to his extant support structures. The paranoia and voices in his head (the ptsd and resentful-energy-as-ptsd-metaphor both) only drove that home.

Basically, Wei Wuxian was already trending in some unfortunate directions but his circumstances and the people surrounding him kept him grounded, and the events of the story as it unfolded really pushed him all in. No one thing or one person--even Wei Wuxian himself--is really to blame for that, which is the beauty of the story really.

I also think Wei Wuxian started to buy into some of his own stories at his lowest points--the things he said or came up with, lies he told publicly, justifications he made for his choices once the heat of the moment and the panic was over. Justifications he made to himself and to others. He purposefully led people to believe much that was incorrect about him and his character and his status, to which the response was distaste and horror, and even though he planned it that way in order to push everyone away I really think he started to believe it himself. Depression and trauma are just really fun times.

I'm getting a bit off-topic.

The point remains, Wei Wuxian is extremely sacrificial. He comes by much of it naturally, and not nearly all of it is bad or melodrama or angst or even unhealthy or problematic. It's one of his good qualities, too, and it's one of the ways he knows how to love.

All of the threads weaving together to make Wei Wuxian and the situations he finds himself sacrificing things in are all true, but it also really comes down to love. He loved Jiang Cheng enough to sacrifice his everything and risk his life doing so. He loved his sect enough he was willing to sacrifice his right hand. He loved his sect enough to sacrifice his very ties to it. He loved Lan Zhan enough to sacrifice their friendship. He loved Jin Ling enough to sacrifice himself to the curse he got in the Nie tombs. (And more!)

Wei Wuxian loved, and so he sacrificed. Thus, the initial post.

Jiang Cheng

Let's switch gears for a moment and talk about my darling Jiang Wanyin.

Ah, Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng. Taking the initiative and sacrificing at the drop of a hat and so forth are not really characteristics of Jiang Cheng's the same way they are for Wei Wuxian.

And yet, is he not also a disciple of Yunmeng Jiang; is he not also a young hero? Has he not pride, and the incentive to do good?

Does he not also see love as sacrifice?

Zi Zhizhu was his mother. The woman who sacrificed to get Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian to safety. The woman who killed herself and crawled across the ground to hold her husband's hand in death.

You think she wasn't Like That the whole time? You think Jiang Cheng picked up nothing of such behaviours from her, even before that day?

Hah.

Besides which, there's absolutely an underlying theme of Jiang Cheng trying to be like Wei Wuxian for much of their lives.

Partially just...Wei Wuxian, strong and clever and popular shige, always manages to get credit and glory and good stories and good favour, exemplary of the Jiang motto--the one Jiang Cheng's own name is tied to. They were supposed to be shuangjie, besides. How could he not want to be like him at least a bit? If nothing else, it's a little brother's curse.

And partially this is also due to Jiang Cheng's parents and that whole Situation.

It was complicated for so many reasons, and absolutely left Jiang Cheng feeling inferior to Wei Wuxian. As though he needed to be more like Wei Wuxian, to emulate him, in order to be worthy of his title and station and inheritance, something that turned out to be categorically untrue in the end. There are many kinds of leaders, and many kinds of strengths.

As an aside, I personally think that's something Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan knew, themselves, as adults and leaders and political figures in their own rights. Adults often don't realise or think about how the things they say can influence children's entire worldviews and senses of self (why, no, I don't speak from experience, why would you ask such a thing ahaha).

Jiang-zongzhu and Zi Zhizhu got a lot of their own relationship difficulties and misunderstandings and conflicts and conflicting attempts to want the best for their children (and ward) tangled up in everything. I think if they'd ever been able to speak plainly, if they could manifest into the Ancestral Hall and speak to Jiang Cheng, they would say so.

Just as Jiang Cheng would have cause to be horrified by much of what Wei Wuxian believed about himself, I think Jiang Cheng's parents would have cause to be horrified by much of what Jiang Cheng believed. (I mean, and Wei Wuxian, probably.)

Anyway.

Jiang Cheng has plenty of reasons to aspire to those same ideals of sacrifice. And it's not just aspirations, either--we see him follow through.

He walked outside from that inn, saw Wei Wuxian in danger, and made a decision in the space of a single breath--a decision with full understanding, too. He knew he was giving up his entire life for Wei Wuxian's. He said goodbye in his head.

I would argue (and I'm sure I've said this before somewhere too) that his sacrifice was the purest example of this in the entire story.

Perhaps some of it is that many of Wei Wuxian's sacrifices are premeditated and just about all of them have alternative solutions that don't involve him just diving in and giving pieces of himself up.

That isn't to say that Wei Wuxian wouldn't see a sword aimed at Jiang Cheng and take the blow himself. But we never see him do that, exactly. As much as Jiang Cheng has internalised this ideal of Wei Wuxian's, he both encounters fewer of these situations and has other problem-solving tactics in his repertoire.

The way Jiang Cheng hates himself doesn't lead him to think of himself as disposable. I could get into a (very amateur) discussion of negative schemas formed in childhood and their various similarities and differences, and the different ways Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian's brains appear to work (Jiang Cheng sees himself as inferior, while Wei Wuxian willfully dehumanises himself in other ways), but basically, it's simply a different set of psychological issues.

But! When he is faced with the choice, Jiang Cheng absolutely dies for the ones he loves.

He loves his sect and his family, and he internalises love as sacrifice, and when it comes down to an extreme moment he chooses to die for them.

And then he doesn't die.

And then the war happens.

Jiang Cheng's Growth

There are a lot of reasons for Jiang Cheng to grow in this area, and I think it starts with inheriting the sect.

(This leads to excellent thoughts about What If Wei Wuxian Had Somehow Become Sect Leader but that's an au for another day.)

If sect heir was a position full of responsibility and reputation management, how much more so is zongzhu? Jiang Cheng is suddenly responsible for all these people. Whether he's good enough or not doesn't even matter. The job is there and it's inescapable and he's the only one there to do it.

I'm absolutely sure he still has all kinds of inferiority shit he's dealing with by post-timeskip and he only just gets to touch on some pieces of resolution by the end of the story, with the one person still in the world who would even know anything about the life that gave it to him.

Jiang Cheng has been responsible for people before, in small ways--night hunts and such, I'm sure, and he was certainly in charge of the Yunmeng Jiang disciples who went to Cloud Recesses. But being at the top of that hierarchy entirely is such a different matter, and he did so at a very young age and in a very fraught time.

The fact that he had to deal with all this new responsibility and duty to people more than his family and to causes greater than the first people in need he encounters is a huge perspective shift. Especially as a sect with nothing to give and no wiggle room where it comes not only to basic resources post-war, but to things like reputation and political standing. This is, of course, a huge facet to the conflict between him and Wei Wuxian (and the Wen remnants) at that point in the story.

But on a personal level it also speaks to the sacrifice thing. If Jiang Cheng sacrifices his life, he is not just sacrificing his own life anymore.

When he gave up his life for Wei Wuxian, he had not yet inherited. His parents were only barely gone. There was nothing to inherit. There was no surety of there ever being something to inherit ever again. Everything else was already gone. It was only the three of them, barely surviving, running for their lives. It was only him and Wei Wuxian in a street, and one of them had to die.

But once he inherits? He's a commander. He's a leader. He has all the knowledge and all the networking connections. He has the reputation. He has the social standing. He might still have a long way to go in developing his skills, but he has a natural leadership ability and he does have training appropriate to his station.

What happens if he personally sacrifices his life? What happens to all of that? What happens to everyone depending on him?

That's not very satisfying, very epic-worthy. That's not very dramatic or romantic. It's gradual, and messy, that kind of change and realisation. Becoming that kind of person. Making choices based in that reality. Deciding that you do not belong to yourself.

And I think it really comes to a head when his siblings die.

I think it comes to a head personally. Not just in his role as Jiang-zongzhu. We don't see Jiang Cheng choose not to die, in as many words. But we certainly see him choose to live.

Or, perhaps, we see the evidence of that choice.

Jiang Cheng could have faded away. He could have started delegating all his responsibilities, gotten help from other sects, trained up a replacement. He could have made such things necessary by getting more and more reclusive. He could have pulled a Qingheng-Jun.

Hell, with a-jie gone already, he could have just said fuck this and followed Wei Wuxian off that cliff, and if you don't think he wonders about that sometimes--at least at first--then we have very different interpretations of Jiang Cheng as a person.

And no, none of those are sacrifice. But at some point, he still chose to do the opposite.

He chose every day to live for his sect, to keep growing it into something powerful and secure. He took that vow that he made and he fucking stuck to it.

And he chose to live for Jin Ling.

I don't half wonder if that was a bigger driving force at first than anything else.

Jiang Cheng could absolutely have left Jin Ling to be raised by his Jin family in the absence of his parents and fucked off to hide away in Yunmeng and had nothing to do with him. He could have done a lot of things, let himself develop in a lot of ways, unhealthy ways.

But he so very clearly did not.

Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng have a close relationship. Jin Ling defers to Jiang Cheng, is answerable to him on night hunts and beyond them. It's never questioned why he's basically just in the Yunmeng Jiang party by himself. Yunmeng Jiang disciples answer to Jin Ling in turn, follow his orders without question in the absence of their zongzhu. It's a Yunmeng Jiang disciple who hands Xianzi off to Jin Ling outside the Guanyin Temple in Yunping, and Jiang Cheng is intimately familiar with Xianzi's commands and is apparently a trusted person to give them (which, we find out, Jin Guangyao is not.)

As much as Jiang Cheng is not good at saying what he means, and especially after everything he's been through his softer bits have grown harder and harder carapace around them, Jin Ling never seems to misunderstand what Jiang Cheng means. They snipe at each other and snark and bitch and roll their eyes and so clearly love each other.

Jiang Cheng's love for Jin Ling shines brightly the second you know how to interpret Jiang Cheng, and Jin Ling absolutely does. Jin Ling's trust in Jiang Cheng is incredible.

Jin Ling is practically Yunmeng Jiang's heir, and practically Jiang Cheng's son.

That sort of thing doesn't just happen, because you're related or whatever. In fact, the story goes out of its way to present blood relations not being close, especially father figures.

Which means from a young age, Jin Ling knew Jiang Cheng's love. Jiang Cheng, struggling young zongzhu of a struggling newly-rebuilt sect, who just lost everything, barely more than a kid himself, figured out he needed to not only stay alive, but needed to live for Jin Ling.

He needed to teach him everything, needed to figure out how to be the best of his own father and mother, and the best of Jin Ling's father and mother, and live up to every lost bit of love Jin Ling should have had, and try, and try, no matter how unworthy or unfit or inferior he felt. No matter how much he fucked up and didn't know. No matter how much grief he was dealing with. No matter how many people hated him and how few friends he had. No matter how much there was to do. No matter how overwhelming the endless tide of days, of forever in front of him felt, horrible and empty of everyone that had come before. Jiang Cheng still chose to live.

He carved out that new life because of love. He didn't die for anyone, and he didn't die for anyone's memory. He lived.

"I never thought I'd be worth the work it would take to piece myself together," but he did, for his sect, his disciples, his family's legacy, his siblings' memories, and Jin Ling.

And, as a bonus knife, the things we see him chide Jin Ling the most for? Are specifically things Wei Wuxian would have done, and even things he would have done in following him. Grandstanding, not asking for help when needed, wandering off alone, making unnecessary sacrifices.

Wei Wuxian's Growth

That brings us to Wei Wuxian coming back. And, well, the boy still has a long way to go. He goes through a lot of kinds of growth post-timeskip. And I think this is one of them.

For one, he's already fucking died once.

Honestly, almost ironically, that death wasn't even fully a sacrifice. Perhaps in some ways it was, in some ways he internalised that it was. But regardless, after all his sacrificing, he finally died. And, much like Jiang Cheng's sacrifice, it didn't stick. He woke back up. Albeit 16 years later.

Now, he wasn't keen on dying, or he maybe would have just gone back. But that doesn't mean he'd suddenly decided to live for anyone rather than die for them.

And, indeed, we still see that side of him come back with him in full force. He starts off by deciding he will just live this new life without Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan altogether.

I think, for Wei Wuxian, this matter of sacrifice ends up being tied into a lot of other pieces of his growth--none of it happens independently of each other.

First, he is shown and told that he is wanted. That's the first thing. He cannot simply go on without inconveniencing/endangering/roping anyone else into his shit because his ties to other people don't work in only one direction. He is wanted.

Lan Zhan wants to be at his side, has not forgotten him, and loves him unwaveringly. That is a huge first step, right there at the beginning, when Lan Zhan grabs his hand, and they make eye contact, and by the time Lan Zhan turns to look away Wei Wuxian is grabbing his hand back desperately and that pretty much says everything it needs to right there.

The idea that Wei Wuxian can act at all without having any negative affect on anyone tied to him is something we see even outside the concept of sacrifice--how many times before his death, even before his defection, do we see him say things like "you can insult me, but don't involve the Yunmeng Jiang sect" like. Like. Wei Wuxian please. That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works.

So I think him realising that other people will willingly be tied to him and there's nothing he can do about it, that his actions affect the people who care about him all the time, is something he still has to learn/relearn even after everything that happened leading up to his death. I think, in particular, Wei Wuxian realising that it's not just his mistakes and fuckups that affect people, but his intentional actions, too. Like sacrifices. Even if they're at his own expense. Because people care and that's okay and good.

Lan Zhan drives that home with things like noticing that Wei Wuxian has transferred Jin Ling's curse to his own leg, and then insisting on carrying him.

Lan Zhan notices. Lan Zhan cares. This act of sacrifice does not end with Wei Wuxian suffering. It has cascading effects, even something this small. It is, perhaps, more effective a lesson on a small scale with fewer complexities woven in, than it would be on the larger scale issues he dealt with before his death.

This idea that his sacrifices affect people beyond him is carried through the rest of the story, too, from the way everyone seems to fret about him after the Burial Mounds and Lan Sizhui runs to hold him, down to the fact that he has to answer for how his sacrifice of his golden core to Jiang Cheng affects Jiang Cheng. Both the absence of his own golden core being a catalyst for a lot of other shit, and finding out about the core transfer actually fucking Jiang Cheng up. Which, it turns out, Wei Wuxian kind of knew would happen, he just thought he could get away with not dealing with it if he kept the secret better.

Wei Wuxian can't escape his sacrifices and his actions having an effect on those around him, the ones who care and the ones he cares about, or even the object of his sacrifice, and he really does have to have that hammered home.

He also deals with growth related to his pride and arrogance. He learns how to be weak, he learns how to have alternate forms of strength, he learns how to let others in, and let others stand with him.

Most of this is related to Lan Zhan, and I've already covered it at least somewhat in another meta, but it relates back to this, because those are two driving forces behind his sacrificial nature.

If Wei Wuxian is allowed to be weak, is allowed to hesitate, is allowed to go to others for help, is allowed to look for alternative solutions, that sets a better precedent for cutting down on the habitual self-sacrifice tendencies.

Additionally, he learns that others can and will stand with him in his sacrifices, when they are necessary.

Look at the way he pushes Lan Zhan away on the steps of Jinlintai, but Lan Zhan steps back toward him, and draws his sword, and declares his love before heaven and earth, saying in as many words that Wei Wuxian need not walk his path alone, and they fight together.

And the next time Wei Wuxian goes to sacrifice? In the Burial Mounds? He doesn't even think twice before volunteering Lan Zhan to stand with him. His entire plan revolves around the idea that Lan Zhan will stand with him--without even consulting Lan Zhan--and in doing so, they may be able to prevent Wei Wuxian from actually sacrificing his life.

Already we see him internalising a lot of that growth. He doesn't need to grandstand or prove himself; he doesn't care what everyone there thinks of him, and for the ones he does care about he is secure in their regard for him. He doesn't first attempt to sacrifice himself and be bait to draw the fierce corpses away while everyone including Lan Zhan runs off. He doesn't have to be convinced to accept Lan Zhan as part of his plan. He doesn't have to have Lan Zhan simply stay behind and then deal with the addition of him later.

Compare, if you will, the Xuanwu cave. Wei Wuxian absolutely expected everyone else to leave while he drew its attention, and Lan Zhan staying was not part of his original plan. Yes, later on they attacked the Xuanwu together, but that was different entirely. At first, he was just being bait to get everyone else to safety.

In the Burial Mounds? He's already worked Lan Zhan having his back into his plans.

It's still a sacrifice, but he's come a really long way about it.

So now that we've mitigated some of the sacrificial tendencies, modulated their effects on his choices, we come down to the "live for you instead of die for you" issue.

My positing that Wei Wuxian has reached this point by the end of the story has a lot more to do with having seen the patterns of his growth, watching the way he interacted with Jiang Cheng regarding the issue of the golden core transfer being revealed, watching the way he interacted with Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan in general evolve, and watching him allow himself to have more and more attachments by the end of the story. And getting the overall vibe that living is now important, and there are things to live for in this world now that he's back in it.

However, if I had to narrow it down to one moment to exemplify this, I would point to the moment where he's caught around the neck by Jin Guangyao.

Wei Wuxian absolutely knows that if Lan Zhan sheathes Bichen, they're all fucked. Lan Zhan could easily take everyone here who would fight him, but not if he sheathes his sword and seals his spiritual power. And at this point it's increasingly likely that if they let themselves be captured they're simply not going to make it out alive. None of them. No matter what Jin Guangyao says.

Lan Zhan's best chance for survival and Jin Guangyao's best chance at being brought to justice/captured are one and the same in this moment--Lan Zhan keeping his sword, and either taking Jin Guangyao down himself or escaping to go fetch the assembled sect leaders and such at Lotus Pier.

Wei Wuxian knows this. It's why he begs Lan Zhan to be okay with his death and to do this Right Thing anyway.

Lan Zhan is not, and does not.

I don't think Wei Wuxian is surprised by this, to be fair.

But he could have ensured it would happen. He could have ensured that Jin Guangyao would go down. He could have ensured, more importantly, that Lan Zhan lived. He could have prevented Lan Zhan from sheathing Bichen to begin with.

He could have sacrificed himself.

It would have been incredibly easy at that point. All he had to do was fight back instead of hold still. Jin Guangyao was not bluffing, probably, though he just as surely knew if Wei Wuxian died then he was next, he counted on everyone wanting Wei Wuxian alive more than they wanted him dead. So if Wei Wuxian had tried to fight back or escape, he would have died.

Jin Guangyao would have been shocked, very very briefly. The resulting chaos would have seen everyone in custody who needed to be. Perfect.

And, you know, Lan Zhan would have been once more Wei-Ying-less.

Wei Wuxian very notably does not make this sacrifice. Even if it means they get captured. Even if it means they likely die together instead of only one of them dying. Even if that math is terrible on the surface of it.

He doesn't make Lan Zhan watch him die again. He doesn't presume that his loss means nothing. He doesn't presume that his life is not worth it, that his sacrifice is worth it.

Wei Wuxian actively chooses to live. He chooses to live for Lan Zhan. For the chance that they will both find a way out, and if they don't, then they are together in this and that matters more.

And he keeps making that choice. At no point in the confrontation with Jin Guangyao, for all those hours and hours and hours of back and forth and monologuing in that damned temple, does Wei Wuxian try to grandstand or throw himself sacrificially into the mix in any way. He is always working with everyone there to whatever extent possible, to the ends that everyone (including people he cedes the political superiority to) decides upon. He releases ownership of the situation, of needing to fix the situation, of needing to fix the situation by giving himself up.

I've been writing this so long I'm starting to lose the threads of my own thoughts, but yeah.

By the end, I think Wei Wuxian learns a lot and grows a lot and finally hits the point that Jiang Cheng hit years and years prior.

"I never thought I'd be worth the work it would take to piece myself together," but he was confronted with the idea of it again and again until it had to stick, and so he did. For Lan Zhan, for Lan Sizhui, for Jin Ling, for the other juniors.

I do think there will always be some element of self-sacrifice to Wei Wuxian's character that remain unchanged. He is a caretaker and a fixer at the heart of him. He is a big brother and I think maturity has only expanded that trait. He's also notably not a leader, and to some extent he does belong to himself both more and less than he ever could before his death.

But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. And it doesn't negate him embracing the idea of living for the ones he loves, getting better for the ones he loves, and letting them keep him in their lives.

I'd like to think that this piece of character growth is another significant thing in favour of Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng being able to forge not just a healthy relationship but a healthier relationship post-canon than they may have ever had before, or at least in a very long time.

#you would not believe how long this took to write out #why am i like this #my meta #unedited #the untamed #the untamed meta #jiang cheng #jiang wanyin #wei ying #wei wuxian #sacrifice #i may or may not be accepting constructive criticism at this time #this whole thing was probably terribly redundant but i'm too lazy to reread it and edit

81 notes · View notes

watery-melon-baller · 3 years

Text

I think that, overall, only four good things came out of Danny Phantom season three:

1) Frostbite. I like that he can serve as another ghostly mentor figure to Danny, even if he is coming pretty late in the game, and he adds some decent worldbuilding.

2) Danny’s ice powers and ice core. There area lot of fun things to be done with these, especially in fanon, but even in the show they can make fights more interesting and dynamic. It’s a new element to play around with without it being too overly obtrusive. It does come a little out of nowhere, and just adds to Danny being absolutely OP, but I can look past that and see it as a net positive.

3) The episode Forever Phantom. This and the episode I’m going to discuss in point four are the only two episodes I feel truly hold up and are genuinely good in this season. There are some others that can be fun to watch, but they’re overall pretty mediocre. That’s not to mention the fair share of flops that just completely missed the mark. Forever Phantom works because it pulls its focus back in to grounded problems. A lot of season three has the issue of being all action, no breaks; the writers try to up the stakes, but it doesn’t work because there’s nothing to tie it back, and therefore it has little meaning. It’s just spectacle. What Forever Phantom does is give us a conflict with stakes that are much lower, but at the same time have a very pointed effect on Danny’s life. That’s able to keep viewers invested. The tone, also, just works a bit better for me than a lot of other season three episodes; some of the humor really works. Finally, we get Amorpho. He’s a very interesting antagonist; his morally gray motivations and general presence make him interesting to watch, and his direct goal to screw with people (and Danny specifically) brings up some good situations.

4) The episode D-Stabilized. This one holds up, and even excels, in a different way than Forever Phantom. Forever Phantom was an excellent example of how this show does a low-stakes, humor-driven episode. D-Stabilized shows off the potential for more plot-driven dramatic storytelling. One thing of the episode’s major strengths is its use of the characters. It was a good decision to take Valerie, Danny, and Danielle as a focus. They in particular did a good job with Danielle; while she definitely didn’t get enough screen time in the overall series to be fully realized as a character, this episode was a good step in the right direction, making use of the limited time they had. Through the focus the episode puts on her, the writers do a good job of fleshing her out into more of her own character (seperate from Danny), but keeping her familiar as well. As for Valerie, she was criminally underutilized in season 3. Nevertheless, her inclusion in the episode definitely improved it. She’s one of Danny Phantom’s strongest characters. To be perfectly honest, she’s probably a more developed and realized character than Tucker or Sam, despite the fact that the latter two are part of the core cast. She has a level of depth those two simply don’t have, with more thought-out motivations and traits that make her more belivable and three-dimensional. As such, D-Stablized took advantage of her strong character and arc to further it, staying true to her motivations and personality. And, critically, the characters are in character. This was an issue that season three had a lot more than the previous seasons of the show. D-Stabilized being able to succeed in this was critical to making it a good episode. Another thing D-Stablized handles well is its narrative. As I mentioned earlier, it gives us a strong and continuity-driven plot which helps to push many of the series’ ongoing points. It continues the thread begun by Kindred Spirits, bringing back Danielle and Vlad’s cloning plan. This is a compelling choice, as for much of season three Vlad has been exaggerated and his motivations twisted out of proportion. His previous motivations, to get rid of Jack and take his family, and more than that his critical trait of wanting love above all but not realizing that one needs to give back to get it, has been largely dropped in favor of a more generic set. His main goals are now shown to be world domination, power, and wealth, which makes little sense for his character. But that is beside the point; to bring us back on topic, the choice to bring back Vlad’s cloning plot demonstrates that he still does hold the desires he was shown to have previously: he wants a ‘perfect son’. It brings his character more in line with earlier seasons, bringing back that more compelling scenario. Another thread it continues is Valerie’s arc. I touched on this briefly earlier when I discussed characters, but to go into more depth, this episode gives us excellent insight into her life and motivations, wholly building off of what we already know about her. It fits in with what we’ve learned, but the events of the episode’s narrative also push Valerie into growing. It makes excellent use of her established anti-hero tendancies, showing how despite her prejudices she still has morals, and it trying to good even if it is somewhat misguided with regards to Danny and her unwavering hatred of ghosts. Especially considering how we’ve seen virtually nothing of her over season 3, the inclusion of Valerie and ties to her storyline certainly helped this episode exceed the rest. The action was dramatic, the development was logical and satisfying, and the characters and interactions are well handled and compelling. This is not even to mention the episode’s ending, where Valerie figures out about Vlad. This was clearly setting up more, but the arc got cut off before it could reach its completion. It is a real shame that we didn’t get a conclusion to this storyline, as it would have been really interesting to see how Valerie would handle the shift to her worldview, and how that could affect Danny and Amity Park.

#whoops this got really long #Danny Phantom #Writing #Season 3 #Analysis #(maybe?)#Let's be honest this mostly just turned out to be a critical analysis of D-Stabilized because that's the episode I rewatched before writing

94 notes · View notes

charlotte-headcanons · 3 years

Note

If it's not too much, may I ask for anemone, chrisanthemum and daisy for Perospero and Amande? Only if you don't mind of course! I love these two so much and I really wanna know what you think 😭

Yes of course friend!! 💕 (Psst I love them too so it's much appreciated -Jo) Hope you like what we came up with! Thanks for asking ✨

CW: violence, death, trauma

Anemone: How does your muse view the world; as a cruel & unforgiving place, a land full of wonders, or something in-between? Where does that worldview come from (what experiences, life lessons, etc.)?

In Perospero's eyes, the world outside of Totto is harsh, gritty, and grey. He fully believes that Totto Land is a land of dreams, though, and excuses everything questionable about the country and Big Mom's policies as the only right way, as necessary, or as still better than the rest of the world. He loves color, sweetness, family, and doesn't mind the underlying morbid tones they all have in Mama's territory. Thus, to him, his life is a blessing, and he believes that it's a blessing for the rest of his family too. Fuck everyone else.

His view on life could be summarized in two sentences: "the main purpose in life is to have fun" and "don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive". He might take on many responsibilities within Mama's pirate crew and wish for even more, considering that he wants to be the captain, but in all honesty, that's all just for fame, flair, and for life to get exciting.

Where does his worldview come from? Well, out of all the siblings, he's probably one of the most indoctrinated. Having always been a mama's boy, he took Linlin's words for granted, tried to justify even the worst of her deeds, and thus came to fully believe in the outside world being wrong. Even as he grew up and came to travel on missions, even as he visited different countries, he was already way too deep in the confirmation bias of Totto Land and the Charlotte family being the best of all; few things could now really shake this worldview of his up.

Amande thinks that she has a very neutral view on the world. She believes in balance, in good and bad energies completing each other, and in the world around you being an effect of your actions, not a constraint. However, she has a very dark view on the ways life and death work in the world. If she was to summarize what life is like, she'd probably say something along the lines of "it's kill or be killed, reign supreme or become a stepping stone for the more powerful. I made my choice. What about you?"

Her outlook on life is partially a result of how much she internalized her time spent among the Rocks Pirates. Having observed these powerful people constantly fighting, jumping at each other throats, she convinced herself that she must kill all vulnerability and emotion in herself to not be used or slayed. It didn't help that her family is full of bloodthirsty pirates and that Linlin encouraged her psychopathic behaviors, too.

Chrysanthemum: How does your muse express romantic love? How do they feel about love as a concept?

Perospero both wants romantic love and doesn't fully trust it. He hates commitment, yes, but he also kind of wants someone to fall back onto, someone to admire him, and give him all the attention he craves. Most of all, though, he wants to feel secure. Because of that, he doesn't let people into his heart easily, being scared of getting too dependent or too open and vulnerable. As he sees it, even if he has feelings for someone, at the end of the day it's still a stranger he's getting to know - not like family who was with him from the beginning and who he believes will always be there for him. So yes, he can jump around into various relationships, but getting truly serious about dating anyone would be special, and it's not something that happened yet. He tends to claim that love is actually very rare and he's not planning to start lying to himself that some random person truly loves him; despite being very expressive and extroverted, feelings-wise he's actually a really tough shell to crack.

If he falls for someone, though, Perospero turns into a total old sap in private. He gets very touchy, seeking constant physical contact, and might actually (gasp) talk about his emotions for once! He definitely requires a fuck ton of attention and affection back, and might have some yandere tendencies: not so much jealousy driven (he's polyamorous) but quite obsessive for sure.

Amande has a cynical view on love, seeing it as either 'chemicals in your brain that force you to mate' or as weak people seeking someone to feel a bit stronger. Effectively, she's a cold woman who doesn't seek out love, whether romantic or platonic. She much prefers to remain independent and unconstrained, and might even judge those who care for their significant others too much or those who gush about their relationships.

Daisy: Did your muse ever feel as though their innocence had been lost? What moment in their life could be described as the end of their innocence?

Few Charlottes even remember the time of their innocence. Due to how they were raised, they were taught to kill very quickly, they had to grow up and learn to provide for themselves way too fast, and thus, few of them actually got to have an innocent childhood. Amande and Perospero are definitely not among those few.

If Amande was ever innocent, it goes so far back that she wouldn't recall it. As far as she remembers, even as a child she was fascinated with the morbid, she preferred murder than playing with other children, and she didn't understand when people talked about their emotions. Again, this is largely due to how much she internalized her time with the Rocks Pirates, and what she learned there never really left her.

There is a moment in Perospero's early life which he doesn't like to think about and he likes to erase from his memory. He's never been innocent in conventional ways, but he used to at least be a very positive child, believing in Mama 100%. Everything changed though when he first witnessed Big Mom kill one of her own babies in a craving rage. As much of a family secret as it is, there were more than 85 Charlotte children, but many of them perished before they could grow up or learn to walk, being defenseless and just too close to Linlin when she got hungry. As the eldest and someone who hanged around Mama a lot, Perospero probably witnessed it happen, and if anything, that was when his innocence broke and when he became who he is today. Thinking back to this moment makes his absolute faith in Mama take a heavy blow, as it's really hard to excuse it, but he usually refuses to remember it happened. Life's simpler this way, really.

#one piece #charlotte perospero #charlotte amande #ask

22 notes · View notes

heliads · 3 years

Text

Daughter of the Storm (Part Two)

Based on this request: “The reader is Wanda daughter but separated from Wanda because of hydra. reader gets called by sword to rescue Monica because she has similar power to Wanda. in the hex she is Agnes daughter and Wanda realizes that is her daughter and tries to get her back but Agatha does want to leave reader because the reader reminds Agatha of her dead daughter who her mother killed.”

part one / masterlist

For the first few seconds, all you can see is scarlet. It swims before your eyes, dancing tantalizingly within arm’s reach. Think of all the power you could have, it says, all the power that is right here in front of you. A lesser man would have caved and tried to take it all in, but you hold fast. You have seen what power does- it corrupts, it tears away youth and family until you are all alone. Running towards power is like running towards a raging thunderstorm, and so you continue walking forward and the voices eventually melt away into the background once more.

After what could either be ten seconds or ten minutes, you make your way through the barrier. Your feet are deposited onto lush, crisp stalks of grass, and you look around you in apprehension. You glance behind you once, as if to check that your exit route is still there. When you twist around, you see the looming wall of glitching red sparks still present as always. Good- you don’t much fancy the idea of being stuck here.

As you step further into the controlled Westview, you reach out with your mind. Almost immediately, you’re swamped with words and thoughts. Your eyes widen as you take in the streets- although you can see everything in vivid color as usual, every second step the air seems to ripple into shades of gray, as if a filter is hovering over the town. You suppose that makes sense- according to Darcy’s research, Wanda is still moving her way through the 60s, so the town would seem to be in black and white to keep up with the cameras.

Also, if you try hard enough you can read the script to the show with your mind. You close your eyes for a second, allowing the storm of thoughts to race over you. There are directions for neighbours to head to different corners of the town, for a Mr. Hart to speak to Vision at the office, for Wanda herself to head downstairs and speak with a Geraldine. That name piques your interest- Darcy told you earlier that Wanda seems to have cast Monica as Geraldine, and she’ll likely not remember you at all. Well, that puts a damper on your plans- you were hoping to swoop by Monica and take her with you. You don’t dare approach Monica while Wanda’s there, so you’ll just have to wait.

However, just standing in this field on the outskirts of town isn’t a good option either. For every second that you remain here, not catering to the whims of the show, it’s like you can feel a thousand eyes turning your way. If you stay for much longer, Wanda will notice that someone in her gilded little suburbia is acting strangely and come deal with you herself. If you’re forced to come in contact with your mother, you don’t intend for it to happen this way.

Honestly, you’re not sure what you want to happen with Wanda at all. Do you approach her, or ‘accidentally’ let your paths cross? Would you take the chance that she would recognize you, perhaps swallow the pang of agony if she didn’t? Or will you do your best to avoid her, giving up the one chance to meet your mother outside of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s meticulous control? You’re not likely to have another chance like this, when Fury can’t reschedule you and the Avengers won’t be steering you away. Are you willing to take that leap and finally speak to your mother for the first time since you were small?

Even the thought of Wanda is enough to send you spiraling back to that dark night in Sokovia, the last time you had seen her in person. You can still feel the scream raw on your throat, the sensation of your arms being torn from her embrace. It was this one moment of utter anguish that had caused your powers to spark into being, so what would it be like to meet her again?

There’s a drone in your head as the persistent whisperings magnify, and you frown in irritation. Even when she’s speaking to a neighbour, Wanda is unconsciously able to detect someone with powers like her, and the farthest reaches of her abilities are already taking steps to cajole you back into the script of the show. Fine- you might as well play along. It won’t do you any good to be caught right now, not when you need to be helping Monica.

You reach out along the threads of Wanda’s control, tapping and testing for something to relate to you. You had seen how quickly Monica was enveloped into Wanda’s spells, so your mother has likely already cooked up a role for you without even thinking about it. Sure enough- after a few moments of careful searching, you find the stream of consciousness devoted to you. Your name is the same, unlike Geraldine, but you’re meant to be on the opposite side of town, living with your ‘mother’ by herself. You frown to yourself- is this some instinctive knowledge of Wanda’s? Why would she send you to live with a mother, especially one who lives right next door to Wanda herself?

You shrug to yourself. If you’re meant to be living this close to Wanda, you’ll likely find out yourself. You recognize the name of your pretend mother- it’s Wanda’s best friend, Agnes. Wanda would probably be dropping by to visit at some point, and you’ll have to decide whether to flee or to feign bewilderment upon meeting her for the first time. You snap your fingers as an afterthought, changing your modern S.H.I.E.L.D. military uniform to a classic afternoon dress of the 60s. Hey, if you’re trying not to stand out you might as well look the part, right?

After a while, you find yourself standing outside of Agnes’ home. You pause by the door, feeling suddenly self-conscious. What are you supposed to do? You’re not under any mind control, as your powers are too similar to Wanda’s for the spell to have any great impact, and for once, you’re wishing your abilities would just go away and allow you to seamlessly blend into the script of the show. You don’t know how to playact with the other characters of Westview, pretending you’re just a gal from the 60s. After another moment’s hesitation, you reach out and knock on the door. Two sharp taps, and then it swings open.

You’re face to face with a dark-haired woman. She wears a cardigan over a plaid dress, and a large brooch lies obvious at her throat. You stand there for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. “It’s me, Y/N. Your, uh, daughter.” The woman’s eyes flash with surprise as she sees you, then fade quickly into a knowing smile. Were it not for your training as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, you might not have seen the sudden glint in her gaze, of pain and acceptance and a fierce knowledge that shines too brightly for a thrall in Wanda’s spell. You feel a ripple of unease wash over you. “That’s right, dear. Absolutely. I’m so glad you’re back again! I’ve missed you so.” Agnes extends her hand, and after a moment, you take it and allow her to lead you inside.

Agnes gestures for you to take a seat on an overstuffed sofa. You sit down gingerly. Agnes bustles around in the kitchen next door, preparing something that looks vaguely like iced tea. “So, sweetie, what brings you back to town? I haven’t seen you in so long. Mother’s missed you.” You freeze for a second, reaching back out to wind your fingers around the threads of information hovering in the air. According to Wanda’s plan, you were gone on a vacation with a group of school friends, and so you tell your ‘mother’.

Agnes beams at that, chattering on and on about how she’s so glad you’re expanding your worldview, and wouldn’t you please have some tea, it’s getting so hot out there! She hands you a cup of iced tea and stands there expectantly. You’ve been in a lot of dicey negotiations before, and you know better than to accept beverages from strangers, especially strangers who seem to know a lot more than they’re letting on. Yet with every moment that you hesitate, Wanda’s spell seems to press down on you, and Agnes’ gaze burns into you. You have no choice but to drink, no matter how iffy you feel about it.

The second you down your first swallow of tea, Agnes visibly brightens. “That’s a good girl. You have to stay hydrated, you know?” The strangest thing is happening to you. You’re not sure why you felt so worried before, so stressed, and over what, a cup of iced tea? Everything is perfectly fine. You frown slightly to yourself. You would never be this relaxed in a stranger’s house. What’s gotten into you? But this isn’t a stranger’s house, you remind yourself, this is your mother’s house. Your mother, Agnes, who has been separated from you for so long. You smile enchantingly at your mother. “I’ve missed you for so long.” When Agnes returns your gaze, her smile is not as cloying or honeyed as yours. Instead, it seems to curve with a twisted glee, as vindictive and victorious as a wolf.

After a while, there is a knock at the door. You’re not sure how long you’ve been back at home with your mother, and you’re not sure that it matters. Why would it matter, anyway? The only important thing is that you stay with Agnes and you never leave. It would hurt her so if you left. You stand to answer the door, but Agnes beats you to it. “Don’t worry about that, hon. I’ll get it.” Agnes flings open the door to reveal a redheaded woman, whose smile grows as she greets her friend. “Agnes! It’s so good to see you. I figured you’re always dropping by, so I might as well return the favor.”

Then the woman’s gaze travels past Agnes to rest on you, and her face instantly drops. She stares at you, all pretense of politeness gone. She does not speak for the longest time, and when she finally opens her mouth, her voice is a crack of sorrow and yearning hope. “Y/N?” You walk over to her, holding out your hand. “Absolutely right! I’m staying here with my mother, Agnes. What’s your name?” You’ve followed all the rules of social etiquette, yet the woman still seems taken aback at your words. You can feel your smile hardening on your lips. What should you do now?

After a moment, the woman straightens again, forcing a smile. “I’m Wanda, nice to meet you. Agnes is your- your mother?” You nod, looking back at Agnes with a grin. “Yes, isn’t she the best? I’ve never met somebody who makes me feel so safe. It’s like I don’t even have to think about anything at all. Why would I?” You laugh heartily, but Wanda doesn’t return your smile. She stares at you intently, and you get this odd rush in your head, as if there’s a new mind beginning to roost in the attic of your thoughts.

Wanda’s hand reaches out to wrap around your wrist. “You know what, Y/N, I’d really like to get to know you. What do you say we go on a nice stroll around the neighbourhood?” You look to Agnes for approval, but your mother seems displeased. “I don’t think so, Wanda. I’d rather her stay with me. I just got her back, you know? I don’t want to give her up so soon.” Agnes walks forward to guide you away, but Wanda’s hand remains locked around yours. “Did she come to you, or are you forcing her to stay?”

Wanda’s voice is cold and cruel. Agnes’ gaze returns the same ice. “I’m sure you don’t know what you’re talking about. How about you go home to Vision instead? I’m sure you’ll forget about this whole thing.” As the two women speak, you have the strangest feeling that they’re not just talking about a walk, but something bigger. They’re naming threats without speaking them aloud, trading hidden warnings without going to the trouble of actually promising harm. One thing’s for sure, which is that you don’t like the idea of being in the middle of it.

You open your mouth, ready to defend your mother, yet a new belief echoes through your lips. “Actually, I think I would like to go with Wanda.” Your hand flies to your mouth. That wasn’t what you meant at all, yet it seems so true. Why are you here with Agnes, anyway? Weren’t you supposed to be here for someone else? Wanda sees the sudden confusion in your eyes. “Look, she knows something is wrong. Let her go, or I swear I will destroy this entire town with you in it.” Agnes scoffs. “And ruin your little daydream? We both know you wouldn’t dare.”

Wanda speaks in a low hiss. “She has been taken from me once before. I would trade my life before I let it happen again.” Agnes returns her gaze. “And so would I.” Her arms close around you, yanking you back away from Wanda. There’s a split second where you’re broken away from Wanda, where your hands are outstretched towards her even as you’re pulled away. Your eyes widen. This is familiar, this is too familiar. You have seen this before, but it hurt a lot more. You were smaller then, because you were young and you didn’t want to be taken away from-

You were being taken away from your mother. Wanda, your mother. Your head tilts back in shock as your memories crash over you in a wave, the dam of Agnes’ spell finally breaking. You were sent here by S.H.I.E.L.D. to rescue Monica, and you had been turned aside by Agnes. You yank your arm away from Agnes. “You aren’t my mother. You tried to control my mind?” You laugh bitterly. “I am too much like my mother. You cannot tame me forever.”

You turn back to Wanda. All of your anger seems to drain away from you and you stand still, mouth silent. This is the moment you’ve been looking forward to for years, yet now you don’t know what to say. Wanda, too, remains quiet, but she seems to have an answer. She steps forward, wrapping her arms around you and drawing her close. Your eyes flicker closed. It has been so long since you’ve seen her last, yet she’s just as vivid as you remember. Then Agnes makes a sound behind you, and you feel Wanda’s grip tighten around you, as if she can protect you by keeping you close to her.

You gently break away from Wanda’s embrace, whirling around to face Agnes once more. It’s strange- she looks at Wanda with such vitriol, yet that hate dissipates when she looks at you. You speak to her quietly. “Why did you do this? Why would you keep me here?” Agnes remains silent, gaze shifting between shades of anguish and betrayal. You reach out a hand, stopping just before your fingers brush Agnes’ forehead. Then you stretch out with your powers, forging a connection between your fingertips and Agnes herself. With a cry, you’re plunged into Agnes’ memories.

She is not Agnes now, she is Agatha. She is a witch, standing before her coven, begging and pleading. No matter how many times she calls and cries, they will not answer her pleas. There is a young girl before her, strapped to a stake. Agatha is being forcibly held back, although with every passing second she lunges forward, trying in vain to reach the girl. It is her daughter, of course, that is tied to the wooden stake. It is her daughter that will be punished, for Agatha is too powerful and the coven does not dare kill her themselves.

The leader of the coven steps forward, the hems of her dark robe brushing against the packed earth. Agatha turns to her desperately, her voice in turn cajoling, begging, threatening. “Please, mother. She is my child, your own blood. Do not take her from me.” Agatha’s mother does not stray from her course. “You knew the rules and you broke them. You knew the punishment and you continued with the forbidden studies. If you have anyone to hate, it is yourself.”

Agatha’s mother raises her arms and power begins to flow through them. Across the clearing, the other members of the coven do the same. Blue energy slices into the young girl, who cries out in agony. Tears roll down Agatha’s cheeks, and she does not stop fighting her restraints even after the girl’s head slumps against her cheek, a faint trail of blood leaking from her eyes, mouth, and nose. She is dead, Agatha knows that, yet she still keeps hoping that if she would just be able to break loose, the girl would stand up again and her heart would begin beating once more.

The girl does not, and the last of her blood is emptied from her veins. Dimly, Agatha is aware that more warnings and chastisements are being directed her way, but they do not matter. All that matters is the dead girl before her, the girl that had once been her living, breathing, wholly perfect daughter. She is unbroken no more.

Y/N’s head snaps up and she removes her hand. Wanda glances at her, curious. “What did you see?” Y/N considers Agnes for a moment, then shakes her head. “Do not be too harsh on her. We should all just forget this and move on.” Wanda furrows her brow, but Y/N steps to the door. “Being alone is enough punishment for her. We can be happy by ourselves.”

Wanda follows Y/N back onto the street, where mother and daughter finally face each other one last time. Y/N looks down, unable to meet her mother’s gaze. “You know I have to leave. I was not sent here to stay.” Wanda’s voice is quiet. “I know. You can have Monica back, she will leave with you.” Y/N’s eyes raise, meet her mother’s. “I wish we could have had more time.” Wanda’s smile is bittersweet. “We will. I know this won’t last forever. I’ll see you on the other side.”

Y/N nods. “I’ll be waiting for you. Don’t take too long.” Wanda touches her hand to Y/N’s cheek one last time. “I’m proud of you, I hope you know that.” Y/N leans in to her mother’s touch. “I do. Goodbye, Wanda.” Wanda smiles. “Goodbye, Y/N.” The agent takes one last look at her mother, then turns and walks away. A woman joins her from the street, and they both walk back to the outskirts of town, to the awaiting barrier. They step through without another word.

Once Y/N and Monica arrive on the S.W.O.R.D. side of the boundary, the mind reader is swarmed with questions from the surrounding agents. She brushes them all away. Her job here is done, yet she will stay a while longer. She intends to catch up with her mother after this, and she must be here when the daydream collapses. Even storms must stick together, after all.

Marvel / Wanda Maximoff / Daughter of the Storm tag list: @mmarinog, @coollemonsaresour, @mionemymind, @xxxtwilightaxelxxx, @mycosmicparadise

#wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff imagines #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff oneshot #scarlet witch #scarlet witch imagines #scarlet witch x reader #scarlet witch oneshot #wandavision #wandavision imagines #wandavision x reader #wandavision oneshot #avengers #avengers imagines #avengers x reader #avengers oneshot

64 notes · View notes

fandomwriterstuff · 3 years

Text

“Okay, crew,” Chief of Operations Annabeth Chase, a proud Minervan, held the attention of her group as she searched all of their eyes with her own piercing silver ones. “Our new First Officer, you’ve all met him. Peseus Jackson. I know at least two of you are friends with him, and Chief Science Officer DiAngelo is in an involved romantic relationship with him. I need the three of you to give us a run down on humanology so we can welcome our first and only human crew member appropriately and treat him well. My knowledge of humans is limited, but he’s not from the colonies in the Milky Way Galaxy, he’s from actual Terra,” she squeezed her face up in a common Minervan expression of distaste. “My knowledge of Terra is limited to this, which I will share with you now: Terra is a Class 2 Death Planet, humans are apex predators and the dominant species. They are reigned by the chemical imbalances in their brains and can be erratic in behavior because of it. However, despite these things, I have been advised to get a human on our team. So, Valdez, Underwood, DiAngelo: speak.” She leaned back, metallix skin glinting in the energy efficient lighting.

“First off, uh, humans are about a 2.2 on a food chain that goes to a level 5, so I wouldn’t call Percy an apex predator,” Grover Underwood, a satyr from outside the Milky Way Galaxy shuffled his hooved feet. “He’s actually a vegetarian-”

“What’s a vegetarian,” Annabeth cut in, narrowing her eyes.

“Um, well, most humans are omnivores and can eat both plant matter and animal flesh. But, because of personal choices, Percy only eats plant matter,” Grover explained.

“Humans can eat plant and animal matter?” Clarisse grunted.

“Their teeth and digestive systems have adapted to both, yes. But, again, Percy only eats plant matter, so not a scary apex predator. Plus, most humans don’t hunt anymore.”

“We’re getting off track,” Annabeth groaned. “But good to know about plant matter. Valdez, go.”

“Percy is awesome. We lived together in the academy. He is from New York City, where there are no true predators and also no real natural places, so he will adjust just fine to being on a ship for an extended period of time, but he does love his plants and having and caring for houseplants is statistically good for humans. Percy gives his names. So, we should make sure he has a leafy plant or a flower or something,” Leo added, and when DiAngelo nodded in agreement, Annabeth noted down to bring some Terran plants on board. “Also some humans have physical needs,” Leo tilted his head in confusion as he tried to explain it. “Percy uses exercise as a way to exorcise his mental demons, if you will.”

“Mental demons, is he ill? Possessed?” Annabeth cut in.

“No, but it’s how you said. They’re ruled by emotion. If we don’t have a therapist on board, he’ll need to exercise and train and use physical activity as an outlet. I suggest a training regimen with the tactical team,” Grover nodded to Clarisse, their Chief Tactical Officer.

“That can be arranged,” the Martian nodded in agreement.

“DiAngelo, anything to add?” Annabeth turned to their resident Plutonian, who shrugged his shoulders, his large black wings moving in sync with his gesture.

“If anything comes up, I’ll let you know. But if any of you make him feel uncomfortable I’ll make you regret it,” he raised a single eyebrow. His boyfriend was a big tough guy, but he was also a big softy who would pack-bond with a Roomba if he came across it.

“That’s not helpful. But thanks,” Annabeth clenched her hands.

“Oh, one thing,” Nico raised a finger. “Don’t mention that he’s from a Death Planet. Terrans don’t know they’re on a Death Planet. And it will freak him out. Don’t let him know.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Will Solace, their Chief Medical Officer squawked. “He doesn’t know he’s from a Class 2 Death Planet?”

“You don’t know you’re adaptable until you meet people who aren’t. And you don’t know you’re on a death planet until you leave it. He’ll figure it out, but don’t bring it up right away. Humans get flooded with negative hormones when their worldview is altered until they come to terms with it, and it would negatively affect his physiology and performance to be shocked like that,” Nico elaborated.

“Okay…” Annabeth sighed. “We’ll meet him tomorrow. I will see you all then and you better be on your most professional behavior.”

Nico smirked. It would surely be interesting. Everyone had preconceived notions and prejudices about humans and while Percy was a big and tough human who could kick your ass with one hand tied behind his back, he would also do anything for those he cared about and was a huge dork. And he definitely knew he was on a death planet.

So, when Percy arrived, and Nico had decorated his room with houseplants and blue blankets and decor, he was overjoyed. He would miss his Golden Pothos (lovingly named Billingsly), and his Snake Plant (William Snakespeare), and he was glad to still have plants in his life. Nico had even gotten him a plant light so they would stay alive!

He was glad to see Leo again, and Grover was his best bud so that was cool. He also got to meet Grover’s long time girlfriend Juniper, who was also a herbivore and lived solely on plant matter. The pilot, Jason Grace, was a Jovian who Percy had already formed a bro bond with, and he had taught Jason all about handshakes and high fives. He’d met Will Solace, the only person other than Nico who actually knew about human physiology. He did have to explain to Will that he had ADHD and dyslexia, so the CMO had decided to get some more Terran books on those to more adequately treat his patients. It was nice. Clarisse was a hard ass but Percy loved training with her. She taught him about more weapons than they even had at the Academy, and taught him hand to hand in various different styles.

Annabeth was confusing. Percy was convinced she didn’t like him, but he could also tell she was trying very hard not to offend him.

Probably because everyone was terrified of humans. Earth was the Australia of space after all. So, he knew that him smiling all the time was taken as a sign of aggression, like animals baring their teeth. He knew the laughter he so often emitted freaked others out because it was a non-translatable noise that nobody understood.

Percy knew they were trying, but they just didn’t know or care to know enough about Earth to understand him.

So, that’s how he ended up using plain water as a contact solution because he ran out of saline eight days ago. It’s not like he could ask Will if he could use medical grade saline for something so silly. So Percy sat in his commander chair and rubbed roughly at his eyes as they itched and fluttered.

“Commander Jackson, are you well?” Annabeth called from her position nearby, though it was loud enough for others to turn. He pulled his fists away from his reddened eyes and irritated skin.

“Oh, yeah. But my contacts have been bothering me. I ran out of solution and have been using plain old water to clean and store them in,” Percy sighed and rubbed his fingers under his eyes to readjust them.

“Contacts?” Annabeth asked, confused.

“Yeah, hold on,” Percy pulled his contacts case out of his satchel and, in an agonizingly amusing moment, he pulled his lower lid down and used his fingers to pull the contacts out and put them into the case. He heard the gasps around him and retching noises, but couldn’t see the horrified faces until he put his glasses on.

“Holy Father Pelor,” Nyssa, another Vulcan like Leo, gulped. “Did he just… remove a piece of his eyes?”

Percy pretended to be surprised, because this was just another thing to add to the “Death Planet” list: Humans can remove pieces of their visual organs when they become irritated. He loved messing with them.

“Percy, I thought I told you not to remove those in front of anyone,” Nico joined in, rolling his eyes in a very Terran gesture.

“They were bothering me, you know when they get itchy and dry it’s just easier to take them out.”

“So what are the glass and metal contraptions you wear now?” Nyssa asked against her better judgement.

“When I remove the contacts, I lose my ability to see clearly and I need glass lenses to alter my vision enough to function,” Percy explained.

“So, you removed an imperative part of your eye, and then you couldn’t see, so you made a prism that reflects light in such a way that it imitates the top layer of your eye?” Annabeth questioned.

“Essentially, yes.” He was hesitant to tell them that contacts were not a part of him, and were in fact, a foreign object. How would they react to the fact that he was actually terribly nearsighted and had to physically put pieces of flexible plastic in his eye orifices to see?

“Fascinating,” she nodded, as if agreeing with the new information. “Disgusting, but fascinating.”

#percy jackson #nico di angelo #will solace #nicercy #percico #humans are space orcs #earth is space australia #annabeth chase

22 notes · View notes

fiftysevenacademics · 3 years

Text

Over the summer I read a novel I just learned about, called “Whose Names are Unknown,” by Sanora Babb. The novel is based on some of Babb’s early childhood experiences and extensive work she did helping people in California’s migrant labor camps during the Dust Bowl and Depression of the 1930s for the government’s Farm Security Administration (FSA).

In 1939 she completed “Whose Names are Unknown” but her publisher, who had initially been enthusiastic and given her an advance, declined to publish it. George Steinbeck, already a successful author, had just published “The Grapes of Wrath,” and it jumped immediately to the top of the bestseller list. The publisher felt another book on the same topic would be, in his words, “anticlimatic.” Babb’s novel wasn’t published until 2004, when she was 97 years old.

But Steinbeck’s novel owes a debt to Sanora Babb. Steinbeck began research in 1936 for articles that would eventually prompt him to write “The Grapes of Wrath,” visiting migrant labor camps that housed Midwestern Dust Bowl refugees. One of these camps was Weedpatch, near Bakersfield, California. Steinbeck befriended the camp’s administrator, Tom Collins. Collins helped Steinbeck’s research by giving him copies of detailed reports he and other FSA workers compiled about the people and conditions in the camp for the FSA.

One of the people who helped write these reports was Sanora Babb, who worked at Weedpatch, and was also friends with Tom Collins. Babb even briefly met Steinbeck twice.

The amount and type of Babb’s notes that Collins gave Steinbeck seems unclear. Did Babb give Collins personal, private notes she might have kept as part of her writing process? Or did Collins only have access to the notes she took for the official FSA reports? Regardless, Steinbeck had access to at least some of Babb’s observations to inform development of his novel.

Some have accused Steinbeck of stealing her work and publishing it as his own and of not doing his own research. This idea appears to be based largely on a blog post that makes some assertions without offering any evidence.

The executor of Babb’s literary estate said, “We have no proof that Steinbeck used her notes. We know her notes were given to him, but we don't know whether it was in the form of a FSA report of not. If that's the case, he wouldn't have known they came from her specifically. So we can't know to what degree he used her notes, or didn't, but at the end of the day, she was in the fields working with the migrants. She was the one doing that."

Writing in The Steinbeck Review, Michael J. Meyer noted numerous "obvious similarities" between the two novels "that even a cursory reading will reveal", such as Babb's account of two still-born babies, mirrored in Steinbeck's description of Rosasharn's baby. Among other scenes and themes repeated in both books: the villainy of banks, corporations, and company stores that charge exorbitant prices; the rejection of religion and the embrace of music as a means of preserving hope; descriptions of the fecundity of nature and agriculture, and the contrast with the impoverishment of the migrants; and the disparity between those willing to extend assistance to the migrants and others who view "Okies" as subhuman. Meyer, a Steinbeck bibliographer, stops short of labeling these parallels as plagiarism but concludes that "Steinbeck scholars would do well to read Babb — if only to see for themselves the echoes of Grapes that abound in her prose." (Source: Wikipedia)

I would say, however, that these similarities probably have more to do with the leftist, even socialist politics both writers espoused. Both were members of communist organizations at one point and both were strong supporters of labor activism and unions. Moreover, villainous banks, corporations, and company stores were, in fact, the cause of so many people’s poverty during the Depression and during the Dust Bowl. Clear-eyed, left-leaning writers like Babb and Steinbeck would certainly have elevated this fact in their fiction. Contrasting fecund nature/impoverished humanity, and disdain/kindness toward “Okies” seem to me like pretty obvious choices when writing about a human-made natural disaster (the Dust Bowl) and with a desire to humanize and generate sympathy toward both the victims of the disaster and toward the union movement. There is also a stillborn baby in both books, described in similar ways. That could, indeed have been something Steinbeck took from the FSA notes, as it is something he is unlikely to have witnessed himself. However, stillborn babies must have been pretty common in the FSA camps. Even this detail can’t be pinned directly to Babb’s notes, though it is suspicious.

In spite of these similarities, “Whose Names are Unknown” is very different from “The Grapes of Wrath.” Babb’s book explores the lives of her characters in ethnographic detail and portrays their lives and struggles with profound empathy and realism. It is clearly the work of someone intimately acquainted with the people and their moral universe, as well as the exacting minutiae of everyday life. Babb writes like an anthropologist, which is something I love about the book.

In “The Grapes of Wrath,” I think (and I am no Steinbeck scholar, heck haven’t even read the book since high school) Steinbeck was more concerned with creating a myth or grand narrative that encapsulated all of the good and bad aspects of America than he was with ethnographic truth. It has drama, good and evil, memorably flawed characters, and, importantly, an epic road trip that probably helped spawn the “road trip” genre of writing. It’s a book with many layers of meaning and emotional resonance. You don’t learn as much about the characters’ world and worldview as in Babb’s book, but you feel so much more and are moved to do something about it.

Babb felt she was a better writer than Steinbeck because her book was more realistic. If realism is the goal, I would agree with her. Her book is vastly superior to “Grapes” in that regard. But Steinbeck’s book is art. It’s a reflection of reality distorted and expanded into the level of myth or dream. Both books are really good, and really important.

I highly recommend reading “Whose Names are Unknown,” especially if you enjoyed “The Grapes of Wrath” or are particularly interested in Depression-era culture and politics. I don’t know if her book would have been successful if it had been published in 1939, though I suspect her publisher was wrong and it would have sold well enough. It’s also pretty clear that sexism played a big role here. I feel like the subtext of the publisher’s decision was another book about the Dust Bowl (BY A WOMAN) can’t compete with The Great White American Male Author.

#sanora babb #whose names are unknown #american literature #the great depression #California #my stuff

15 notes · View notes

livlepretre · 3 years

Note

This is prob a weird question, but do you wonder what a ‘typical vampire’s’ relationship to religion would be like in the tvd universe if it had been explored (&I get why it wasn’t), at least upon being turned, considering that most vampires would have been brought up in eras where religion (generally) played a comparatively more serious role in everybody’s lives? I mean, how would one BEGIN to grapple or fit in this critical aspect of one’s (prior??) worldview, with rising from the dead as what’s essentially a demon, w supernatural powers & preying on humans — what would be t implications of your existence? Were the Salvatores never believers? Plus, do u have any hc on the Originals’ faiths as humans?? Were they Pagans? Christians? Or… I guess not the latter/they would have believed in the spirits as their mother was a witch..? Thoughts? (Srry if I’m bothering you with this question btw, I appreciate that you’re probably busy)

No, not bothering me, I'm very interested in the intersection between religion and vampirism.

We have to assume that religion played a huge role in the lives of MOST vampires-- secularism is relatively recent, and even then all that's happened is that older gods have been replaced with newer gods. And I can't think of any religion where rising as a vampire would be anything other than, as you say, rising as essentially a demon, a night hag, an abomination. And also, to make a blanket statement here, many religions focus a lot on the progression from life into death-- on making sense and peace of the natural order of birth, life, death (and rebirth). Vampirism breaks a person from this cycle, forever divorcing them from the natural world, the natural order. The combination of becoming that demon, of fearing themselves, and of becoming trapped in the netherspace between life and death is a horror unto itself-- one of the main reasons I find tvd vampires in particular so fascinating is because it is not just that they are truly monstrous and frightening, but that the show delves into the way the vampires horrify themselves with their own monstrosity (at least, it used to). They can only be horrified by that monstrosity if they retain some sense of what it is to be human-- and therein is the key. TVD vampires don't lose their human souls, as the vampires in BTVS do-- they simply... transmute. They're cursed with that never ending bloodlust that turns them inevitably into monsters, and they go further and further down that road until they just give in. It's a very dark curse. I'm sure there are plenty of vampires who lose faith... but there are probably even more who don't lose their faith, but instead come to accept their role as the dark mirror in opposition to life. There are a lot of really profound psychological implications to all of this.

As for the specifics of the religions of the vampires-- Damon and Stefan would have almost certainly been raised Catholics-- and I've never thought they weren't still Catholic, although, being Catholic doesn't necessarily make one devout, as with any other sect of any religion. Damon obviously crossed a lot of lines as a human. Also, the show would never have gotten into the thick of us, but how much of Stefan's guilt and shame is tied up in an understanding of the world and morality based on his religious upbringing? We can talk about Humanist ideals all we want, but I think it would be stretching credulity that someone turned as a 17 year old in the 1800s would be feeling so much shame from pure philosophical ethics and not from a sense of morality built into the religion he was brought up in. (And how do we know that Damon isn't so furious with Stefan for forcing him to turn because Stefan has essentially damned him?)

The other vampires are interesting because they're medieval people, so their worldviews would have been even more strongly intwined with religion than the Salvatores.

Katerina I've always assumed would have been Bulgarian Orthodox (you could make an argument for other religious takes based on the Travelers-- but that came later and I tend to just blot that all out of my memory because frankly I think making Katherine exceptional at all other than as the doppelganger is stupid and actually robs her story of tragedy-- it's tragic for her to just be living her normal life and losing her baby the way she did and then to discover that no, she has this dark fate she had no idea about-- it's somehow less tragic if she also is from a family with superpowers and her daughter just gets vamped to track her down) -- nothing much to this other than that is a likely choice. Although I have ALWAYS wondered about Katerina's life in Bulgaria, since it was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time and of course, the show has no interest in history so there's nothing that even touches on this potentially fascinating detail.

Okay the Originals. I have a special place of loathing in my heart for the Viking!backstory and have basically decided to whole heartedly reject it. I think Elijah's "my father was a landowner in Eastern Europe" story was much more convincing and likely. I prefer the idea of Russian!Originals, for various reasons I've documented here on this blog, so I think they would also be Orthodox Christians. (But: potentially before the schism between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches? so perhaps they wouldn't really think of themselves as "orthodox," or perhaps they later started to think of themselves this way.) The Orthodox Christian thing also ties into Tatia Petrova, whose descendants I headcanon as Orthodox. (I'm also fond of the idea that the Originals were Jewish, or the idea that Esther was Jewish.) There are a lot of mystic arts buried in religious arcana, so I don't see there being a conflict between Esther's witchcraft and simultaneously practicing a religion. I think in a medieval context, framing the world in terms of religion would have been just so inevitable, so tied in to every other element of life. It's actually fascinating to consider what hold overs of this thinking medieval vampires would have. (And I think of the Originals as deeply medieval in outlook, in ways in which they are largely unaware)

At any rate, the Originals are by far the most monstrous of the vampires, and the ones that have slipped the furthest from their humanity. I wonder in what ways they developed such horrific tastes as a means of spitting in the eye of their faith? If some of their differences could pertain to who held on to faith (Finn) vs. who felt most abandoned by it (Klaus)? Food for thought!

#anonymous

9 notes · View notes

esotericakit · 3 years

Note

Fancy ranting about why you love kit snicket?👀 tbh I never found her character that compelling but I’m extreme open to changes of opinion hhh? pls feel free to ignore this hhgkkgkg

oh my god i’m so sorry i’ve been super busy I only just saw this but ahhh I love this question ((also sorry if some of thisk doesn’t make sense, i just got off a 7 hour bus ride and I am sleep deprived)). also a tw here for some discussions of painful stuff like death, loss, grief, implications of suicidal thoughts (nothing graphic)

okay so that’s valid bc she doesn’t get a lot to work with in tpp BUUUUUT what you do get is very rich. so basically it’s all tied in with vfd and what they’ve done to the sugarbowl gen. every member of the sugarbowl gen has been ripped from their family extremely young and recruited into this organisation, forced into life threatening situations, kept from loved ones for long periods of time (like kit and lemony in atwq) and have sort of convinced themselves, to varying degrees, that it’s important because the organisation is important. with lemony, he’s disillusioned and disappears after heartbreak. with beatrice and bertrand, they decide to pull away and leave. with jacques, he buries himself so deeply into his work with vfd so that he doesn’t have to reckon with what they did to him. and then you have kit.

with kit, I think she isn’t as sold to vfd as jacques and can still be somewhat critical of it, but also recognises that she’s trapped and always will be at their beck and call, and it’s not easy to break out from this illusion of the mighty organisation she’s a part of. she’s a quick thinker, she’s a mechanic, she’s resilient, she’s quick-witted, she’s as good a volunteer as they come, and so they exploit that and use her gifts (like building the queequeg and having her make the poison darts). for the most part, she buys into vfd’s bullshit, but i think it’s a sort of defence mechanism where she knows that resistance is going to be harder than compliance, so she puts her head down and does the work.

and this leads her to do things that she maybe wouldn’t have done of her own free will, like aiding in the murder of olaf’s parents. we don’t know exactly what kit and olaf’s relationship was like, but from what’s given in their interaction in te, i think they were young sweethearts, i think kit did genuinely care for him, and i think that it was vfd that ordered the murder, and not beatrice and bertrand, as many people have implied. so, by giving beatrice and bertrand the darts, she chooses the organisation over her relationship, and it can’t have been an easy choice. this then re-ignites the schism, olaf becomes a firestarter and kit has to watch as her brother is framed by olaf for crimes he didn’t commit.

and then lemony dies, or so she thinks. i’m of the mind that kit never learns that her brother is actually alive, and dies thinking she lost him. and we know that family is one of the most important things to the snickets; “we snickets look out for their own”, and I imagine kit going beside herself trying to find ways to protect lemony from all the attacks, the frame jobs, the rumours, only to have it be too late, and she’s lost her brother forever.

and so she’s left there, mourning lemony, and all she has left of her family is jacques. and she loves jacques but his first priority is vfd, it’ll always be vfd. she has beatrice and bertrand, but they’ll leave to the island soon, and they’ll leave vfd after that, and be largely out of her life for good.

she starts building the queequeg and at last, her vfd work seems to be doing some good. she meets ink, monty’s latest discovery, and at last, it seems that other members of vfd are doing some good. and then she hears about the medusoid mycelium, and the illusion of vfd cracks a little bit more. she desperately tries to stop gregor from creating the mycelium, only for that to fail. another loss.

then, we don’t know the nature of kit and dewey’s relationship so again, going off what we have with the fact that she is pregnant when we meet her and that dewey’s last word is “kit”, not to mention the way that she explicitly asked about dewey’s wellbeing when she meets the baudelaires on the island, the implication is heavily that she and dewey are romantically involved. and I think she found a lot of solace in dewey. dewey, in his own way, had lost a lot, from his parents to his brother (joining the firestartera), to his own identity, all to vfd, and he understood where she was coming from in terms of being disillusioned but also being trapped.

and then the baudelaire fire happens, and it’s very clear to everyone that olaf was involved (whether he actually was or not is a different debate). so this is now 3 people who kit has loved that olaf has had a hand in their deaths. someone she loved killing other people she loved, and it’s the most painful thing.

we don’t know where kit is for the events of asoue, but regardless, she has to hear how other associates and friends have died or been killed at the hands of olaf, and each one hurts more than the last, because she can’t stop or slow down how many people she’s losing, and I think there’s an element of not being able to help but blame herself for his actions, because if she hadn’t helped kill his parents, maybe he wouldn’t be doing this.

and then jacques dies, and it’s the biggest blow yet. she just lost the last member of her family she had left, and she can’t cope, she stays in bed and decides that, despite dewey, despite her child, she’ll never leave her bed again.

what does make her leave, however, is vfd business; the message from quigley. she knows that she can’t even take the time to mourn her brother, she has to keep moving, and the pressure to carry the whole “good” side of vfd, to continue what her brother started, is on her shoulders, and that’s immense.

and so that’s when we meet her in tpp, and she is a broken person. she has lost so many people, been put through so much, had her entire worldview and foundation turned upside down, and she’s still doing all of this work, putting her life on the line over and over again, for an organisation that has done nothing but take things from her and hurt her, but there’s absolutely nothing else she can do. she’s pregnant and she can’t allow herself to be happy or excited about that because she just doesn’t have it in her. all she knows is that she has to get through this as quickly as she can, losing as few people as she can. her conversation with the baudelaires is interesting too, and is so exemplary of how she’s mourning; she remembers little details about beatrice and bertrand (like the feathers on bea’s shawl) and reminisces about how much the children look like them, and you can tell that it’s extremely painful to go through

she then leaves the baudelaires and risks her life again trying to rescue the quagmires, and it’s unclear whether it was a success or not but regardless, when she finally pulls herself up onto that stupid book raft she insists on making, she’s so so so so tired. she’s in labour, she doesn’t know what’s happened at the hotel denouement, she doesn’t know whether she’ll return to the city and find more destruction or not. i think the only thing stopping her from giving up while on that raft is the thought of her child and dewey, so she holds on.

she washes up on the island and the baudelaires are there, which means they’re alive, so that’s something. but then she hears that dewey’s dead. that the hotel went up in flames. that all that’s waiting for her in the city is more pain and more loss. and that’s the final blow, that’s the moment that she knows that there is nothing can happen that can repair the damage created by what’s been taken from her. she refuses the apple, citing fear that it would harm the baby, but I think the truth is that she couldn’t bear to consider continuing her life after all that’s happened, even if it means sacrificing a life with her child.

and then olaf shows up and he rescues her from the raft and she’s suddenly face to face with the reason for so much of the loss she’s faced. it was him who killed so many of her associates, her friends, her brothers. and she doesn’t forgive him, because she knows she isn’t big enough to do that. we can also hypothesise about whether or not olaf could be the baby’s father (i like to headcanon that she doesn’t know either way but it’s either dewey’s or olaf’s, and the stress of that makes this moment even harder). but she also doesn’t have the energy to be angry at him. she knows these are her last moments, and she knows that olaf was a victim of vfd, just like she was. so she touches his tattoo and chooses instead to recite poetry, because it’s easier than being angry, it’s easier than hating him. he recites poetry back, and then dies. and despite the fact that he’s hurt her so much, she did care for him once, it’s one more person she’s lost, when she didn’t think she had anyone else to lose.

and then she gives birth to her daughter, using the last ounces of strength she has left. it’s a horrendously sad thing, because i think she could have had the capacity to love her daughter, to be a good mother, but the pain won out and she stopped being able to want to help herself, if that makes sense. so she gives her daughter life, the only thing she has left to give her, and then dies.

I think it’s so staggering to think about this person, who could have lived a life full of colour and fire, and see her completely beaten down to what she ended up as in tpp. she’s a prime example of what vfd does, she’s the last one standing of her generation, and the toll that takes on her is immense. i think the juxtaposition of her recklessness and her grief against the fact that she’s pregnant and about to become a mother is even more heartbreaking. she’s such a compelling character and so gorgeously written, even though what we see of her is so brief. she’s a person who so desperately wants autonomy and control over her situation, things she’ll never truly have, so she does reckless things that endanger her life, to get that control back and because she truly stops caring about her well-being.

and it’s a little comforting i guess? i tend to project onto kit a lot because of some of my own life experiences and losses and i understand where she comes from a lot of time time and it’s such a difficult place and my heart just hurts for her a lot

i’m sorry that this was so long, i got carried away lol thanks for the question though!!

#kit snicket #asoue #a series of unfortunate events #fran rants about kit snicket again

50 notes · View notes