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bumblebeerror · 4 months

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Hey buddy!!! I have a few embroidery hoops, needles and thread, but aside from YouTube, nobody I know nearby does it often enough to give firsthand experience. I embroidered a thatch of lavender and a little bee on one of my battlejacket pockets, but it was with regular thread and a regular needle. Can you offer any insight when it comes to the actual hoops themselves, what material works best, any insider tips?

So I’m not a regular embroiderer because it hurts my hands really easy, but I AM a moron who does everything the hard way first so I do have some tips:

If you’re using regular thread, it will help the design if you a) use an embroidery needle [I think you can get them separate from other sewing supplies for like a buck or two, and I recommend getting some kind of needle polisher as well bc then it will last 538463936472 years] and double up the thread 2-3 times to bulk it up and 2) use a smaaaalll bit of glue mixed with water [or spit, I’ve done that too] to twist together the threads along their length. It just helps them go through smoother and lay flatter with less overall fiddling, and if you use School glue or spit it will wash out 👍

If you’re using bulk dollar store quality embroidery thread, you have to be *gentle as fuck* with it while youre working the design. So, work patiently in small sections and try not to yank it too much, just generally be aware that its not gonna stand much abuse until it’s actually stitched in. Also, it’s totally possible to take a pulled end, tie more on, and keep on a-truckin - just make sure you pull a few previous stitches to get to a more sturdy bit, and tie it real close so you’re not trying to pull the knot thru. It’s strength when pulled on leaves something to be desired, but it IS infinitely cheaper than buying every color ever individually for a few bucks each, so pick your poison on that one. If you wanna use good thread basically you need to have planning skills and the patience to wait till stores are open to drive out and go get shit, neither of which I have :D

As for hoops, they are So, So helpful oh my god. You can use them for darning, you can use them for embroidery, you can use them for cross-stitch, you can use scrap fabric to make patches, you can even use them to hold fabric taut to hand-stitch on patches if you need to.

Basically, If you need fabric to stay where the fuck you put it while you work, an embroidery hoop is a godsend. Most are also pretty adjustable - though you may have trouble using them with really really thick or stiff fabrics like fur or denim seams. in those cases you can always use scrap fabric to embroider your design, and then iron on or sew on your new patch.

In order to use one, you just need a bit of fabric that can reach to every curve of the hoop. you place your inner hoop under the fabric, plop your untightened outer hoop over it, and then tighten it up. in order to make the fabric taut, you can leave the hoop a liiiitle loose, and then pull at the fabric till it feels kind of like a drum. then tighten the outer hoop as far as it'll go :D Once youve done that, youre good to go.

I'd advise sketching your design in chalk/charcoal/pencil/washable marker before starting, and if you feel like it you can also mark out a grid pattern of dots using a ruler to keep your stitches the same length, but thats not super necessary.

As for fabrics that work best for embroidery, tight-woven felt is a nice backing for patches but you will struggle to get a clear sketch of your design. Cotton is gonna be easiest to use for a sketch, but its gonna be flimsier. If you can layer both inside the hoop, that would probably work out pretty well, tbh. I wouldnt use stretchy fabrics if you can help it- the resulting patch will likely shrink and the fabric itself is going to be difficult to work with especially if you arent using more expensive thread or a sharp, polished needle.

TLDR: Bulk up your normal thread and smooth it with watery glue, use an embroidery needle and make sure it stays polished, embroidery hoops are lovely, make any threadwork easier, and work best on non-stretchy fabric like denim, cotton, non-spandex poly blend, plastic leather, and probably natural leather if its thin enough.

#:Disclaimer: i am by no means an expert and get all my supplies from the dollar store and walmart bc i have no money #i dont know what a serger is and at this point im too scared to ask #i dont have a cutting table that is called my kitchen floor #pfff gl king honestly. sewing is like 60% fuck around and find out and 40% if you can get a sewing machine do that and make it an old one #bc they are BEASTS that WILL OUTLIVE YOU and also hate you but its okay if you give them blood sacrifice now and then #OH! and i havent gotten around to using mine yet but they DO sell teeny tiny sewing machines that look like staplers #they work like staplers too #i found mine for like 5 buckos off the bezos site #but you can probably find them elsehwere its jsut that bezos actually gets stuff to me and most other marketplaces dont

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13iamlucky13 · 3 years

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Rating Bandori Ships - Moca Edition:

Alright so as is probably obvious for anyone whose talked to me, I have a lot of opinions and I like to talk about my opinions. And one thing my poor multishipper heart has a lot of opinions on is Bandori ships because this fandom is either multiship heaven or hell depending on how you look at it.

So I decided 'hey why not pop off about them' so that's what I'm going to do startig with a certain Moca Aoba who I am totally not at all biased towards.

Obligatory reminder that these are just my opinions and this isn't meant as an attack on any ship. Not that I feel particularly negative towards any Moca ship I've seen yet but still.

Ratings:

MocaRan- 10/10

Yes I like the main arguably somewhat overrated Moca ship. What can I say? They have so much canon interaction between the two of them and their dynamic is really what got me started towards getting severely hooked on Bandori as I am now. They both are shown to care deeply for each other and seem to get the other on a really deep level. For Moca, Ran seems to bring out the most genuine shows of emotion out of her while also being a good support for her, if in a very Ran way. For Ran, Moca seems to help her take things a little less seriously, and when necessary acts as a shoulder to cry on. Sasquana broke me.

LisaMoca- 7/10

I enjoy this ship. As much as it seems to be just kind of a toss on to the people who ship YukiRan (which don't get me wrong is also a very great ship I have a thing for rivalries with tension) Lisa and Moca have a great dynamic. I tend to see it as a brOTP more often which is why I didn't give it a 9 or 10 but they definitely have potential and them kissing on company time would definitely catch my interest. They also seem like they'd be a really supportive relationship. Moca can help Lisa chill out and not be so hard on herself and Lisa can motivate Moca to do things.

MocaHima- 6/10

This is another situation where I have a harder time seeing it as anything but some very good platonic love. They have a dynamic together that is extremely fun don't get me wrong, but by that token I don't feel the same tension between them. Moca's teasing of Himari tends to feel like less flirting in disguise and more like the way she'd tease a sibling. Besides Himari clearly has a type and Idk how much Moca fits that. They are shown to care for each other quite a lot though and in a situation where they are plopped together romantically I can see them having a wholesome dynamic since they have such a good platonic base

SayoMoca- 9/10

I've seen this all of once that didn't involve the two of them in an OT3 with Tsugu, and honestly? I'm kinda there for both, but this is just about Sayo and Moca. Now this is mainly because grumpy x clown is my jam, I really don't know how much canon there actually is to go on here. I really like the idea of them both bonding over how ridiculous Yukina and Ran's posturing can be, Moca narrating every encounter like a sports commentator for fun with Sayo acting like she's ignoring it but quietly adding in her own remarks and Moca catching them. There's also potential in Lisa sorta shoving them together either to try to help motivate Moca or maybe to help Sayo with Hina in a way by giving her 'practice' with the other eccentric genius of Bandori. Either way there's a lot of ways to kickstart it but once it gets going I also think they would have a really good dynamic for somewhat similar reasons to LisaMoca with a side of it seeming similarly balanced to MocaRan.

HinaMoca- 8/10

I'm honestly not too sure why I jam with these guys together as much as I do but that doesn't stop me. One of them is enough to cause chaos so what happens when you put the both of them together? Also they would be the types to blast an extra bassboosted version of Megalovina or even just play it on guitar at their wedding if they even bothered to do something as traditional as that and I'd be there for it

ChisaMoca- 7/10

This is a ship I've been slowly warming up to so this rating is kinda subject to change. Initially I didn't understand it as they barely interact in canon and I didn't see much potential in their dynamic but the more I think on it the more there seems to be. This is mainly because, in one case a literal sense, both are actresses. Chisato literally but Moca definitely puts on her own acts and clown show. So the idea of the two being able to peek under the other's mask is kind of interesting to me. Also serious x clown will never not vibe

MisaMoca- 8/10

I don't ship this in a serious sense so I can't give it full marks but in comedy or crack, even crack taken seriously they are god tier. They're the types who would behave like an old married couple but somehow in a really chill low-energy way. There's a great fic that has them having an ironic candle-lit dinner date that sums up why pretty well I can link it if anyone sees this and wants it

TomoMoca- 6/10

Pretty much the same as HimaMoca except instead of Moca not being Tomoe's type it's more about how even if they did both have mutual feelings I have a hard time figuring out how they'd get together in the first place. Tomoe probably wouldn't realize her feelings even if she had them and Moca would do her best to bury them under humor and good ol emotional suppression. If they did manage to get together though I can see them being cute.

SaayaMoca- 5/10

I don't really feel much when it comes to this as a romantic ship. It's there I guess? I like these guys a lot platonically and don't have a reason to dislike it romantically but it doesn't really make me feel anything. There's potential but I just feel like on most fronts LisaMoca is superior.

MocaTsugu- 11/10

Probably my OTP for the fandom if I'm being honest and the fact that it's chronically underrated hurts. Don't get me wrong I adore MocaRan and SayoTsugu is also very good I've got nothing against the chocomints, but come on. The obvious name play is right there! In all seriousness though I love these guys both as a platonic and romantic pairing so much. It might just be me, but I swear it feels like every time Moca's ever actively suggested something Tsugu was the first to jump on the support train. Moca doesn't seem to really punch down with her teasing of Tsugu the same way she does with Himari and Ran either, and if I remember right there's been at least a few times it's seemed to border on flirting territory even when considering it's Moca. The two also have several of the things the other Moca ships have going for them but I think these two do it better. Tsugu being a gentle but consistent motivator who deeply cares for Moca gives me life. And Moca herself has potential to be a calming presence with her chill demeanor who could get Tsugu to take a break for once in her life like she deserves. I'm also absolute trash for the headcanon that Afterglow all took turns having crushes on Tsugu in middle school. I just like the idea that Moca never really got over that crush and it comes back in full force once they're in highschool. Pair that with some good Tsugu lacking self-worth angst and believing her feelings towards Moca aren't reciprocated because Moca clearly has a thing for Ran and even if she doesn't there's still no way she has feelings for her no matter how many times she calls her 'Tsugurific'.

And there ya go. This ended up way longer than I expected it to and tbh for most of them I have a lot more thoughts but I didn't want to turn this into a novel. Tldr MocaTsugu underrated and I have no life :')

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glacecakes · 3 years

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The Life and Times of a Tiny Alchemist (1/?)

A series of oneshots set in the universe of Alchemy Lullaby (or, Dadgene and baby Varian). Eugene, Rapunzel, and Varian's life as a family, and the people who helped make it happen.

Current: Set post AL. Quirin adopts a young boy of his own, and bonds with the parents of his son's best friends.

I return! With more baby! There's never enough, all praise be unto him I have no idea how long this series is gonna be, tbh, the 5 is just a placeholder. I may post 20, I may only do 3. Who knows! Not me! I do have a lot of ideas though, lol. Reading AL (link in rb) is highly recommended, but you don't have to if you don't want to. TLDR Eugene adopts Varian, Ulla was a jerk and she's dead now. Hooray! Some of these will be cowritten by the lovely Finnoky who I love very much uwu

Ben is owned by @finnoky and @aj-illustrated :) he's Quirin's adopted son and he is a mini menace. I love him.

Quirin fidgeted awkwardly from where he stood across from to Eugene. It was weird to be back in the palace after… everything. Varian was still afraid of him, and he didn’t blame him at all. Neither did he blame Eugene giving him a distrusting look. But he wasn’t the main focus here. No. The focus was on a small figure currently staring Varian down.

If Varian was small for his age, Ben was even smaller. Though to be fair, Ben was younger; Varian had just turned five, if he remembered correctly, while Ben was still four. His curly black hair and cool brown skin stood out against the others of Dark Kingdom descent, but to Quirin, he was going to fit right in just fine. After all, both he and Varian had a common background.

Following the… incident in Old Corona, Quirin had taken permanent residence. It felt weird to live in what remained of Ulla’s old house, but the farm life suited him better than he’d thought. Almost as if it was what he should’ve done. Well, no use thinking of the past, he told himself. Only looking forward from here on out. Perhaps that’s what drew him to the Corona orphanage.

Varian wasn’t his son, not anymore, he’d accepted that. But now that he had the idea of fatherhood in his mind, he couldn’t let it go. He wanted to raise a child, wanted to be a father. So he’d trekked down and found Ben, with his button nose and roguish charm. The fact that he was Varian’s age was merely a coincidence, but perhaps the first step to repairing relations could be for the two to meet.

“So…” Eugene drawled, smacking his lips together. An awkward silence ensued. Honestly, what are you supposed to do in this situation? It felt a bit like Quirin had just grabbed a kid in an attempt to win Varian’s trust, but that’s not right… right? Quirin’s not that kind of guy, after all.

Then again… Eugene didn’t see him as the type to hurt Varian, but here we are.

“So.” Quirin hummed. Varian clung a bit closer to his dad when he spoke, fear clouding his baby blue eyes. To be fair, Ben was nervous too, his hands shaking where they were bunched into Quirin’s pants.

“Are you going to introduce us?” Eugene raised a brow, and Quirin startled.

“Oh! Yes. This is Ben, he’s four years old, and he’s going to be staying with me for a while.” He smiled down at the little boy. “Ben, this is Eugene and his son, Varian. Varian’s your age!”

Ben pouted, eyes narrowing in on Varian. Who was this kid? What made him so special that New Dad wanted them to meet? “Hi,” He mumbled, and Varian waved back shyly.

“Why don’t you two go play, hm?” Quirin’s eyes are warm, perhaps a bit overeager. “I’m sure you’ll get along.”

“I mean maybe,” Eugene muttered, but nonetheless pushed Varian forward gently. “Why not show Ben around the castle, hm? I need to talk to Quirin.”

Varian whimpered, squeezing his dad’s leg briefly. It was a small sign, a plea for him not to go. But he still let go, toddling over to Ben. The two shared eye contact, before he grabbed Ben’s hand and pulled him into the pristine halls he called home, away from the man who they both might have called dad.

“You wanna meet Ruddiger?” Varian asked, leading Ben down the hall towards his room. The kid was a few inches shorter than him, but his poofy hair was tall enough to compensate.

“What’s Ruddiger?” Ben said.

“My best friend!” Varian chimed, more chipper now that he was talking about something he enjoyed. “Well, outside of Hugo. But he’s different.” The younger opened his mouth to ask, but then shut it. Whatever, he didn’t really care all that much.

The castle was massive, nearly overwhelming in stature. How it dwarfed them, nearly swallowed them! Ben’s eyes kept wandering around, from the shadows cast by windows to the ironed carpet floor. How could anyone live like this? He loved his current home, its small farm feel. But Varian seemed right at home. Of course he would be, with his neat hair, and fancy outfit, stupid nice smile and friendly demeanor-

He’s cut out of his thoughts when a striped blur bounces into Varian’s arms. It wraps around Varian’s neck, purring, and suddenly all Ben’s concerns melt away. A raccoon! He loved raccoons!

“Can I pet him?” He whispers, starstruck. At Varian’s nod, he runs a hand through soft fur and squeals in delight.

He changed his mind, Varian rocks.

“So…” Varian says shyly, feet rocking back and forth. “Why did Quirin bring you here?”

“I dunno!” Ben chimed, giving Ruddiger a tummy rub. “New Dad said he wanted to show me off. Or something like that.” He shrugged. He didn’t actually pay attention to what New Dad said (he’d actually wanted Ben to make a friend). I mean, he was pretty great, in his opinion. So it was a logical assumption!

Varian frowned. “New dad…?”

“Yea! Cuz I had a dad before, but this one is new! And the best!”

“Really? Me too!”

“REALLY!?”

Varian nodded. “My dad is new, too! Quirin was my old dad.” Well, Eugene was his first dad, then Quirin, then Eugene again, but that wasn’t important.

Ben frowned. Quirin was Varian’s old dad? Did that mean he gave Varian up? Would he give Ben up, too? He didn’t want that! He liked New Dad! There had to be another explanation…

“Maybe he just didn’t like you.”

Varian gasped. “He liked me a lot! He took me from daddy because he liked me so much!”

“Oh yeah? Then why’d he give you up?”

“Why’d he adopt you? To replace me?”

Oh he did not just go there! Ben grit his teeth and glared up at the older kid, who was pouting down at him.

Ben stood up.

And lunged.

“To clarify, you didn’t adopt Ben to replace Varian?”

Quirin narrowed his eyes in anger. “I’m offended you would think that at all.”

Eugene raised his hands in defense. “I’m just making sure! I’ve seen it happen! Don’t want Ben to get left behind, you know?” It had only happened a few times, but it always stuck with the kids at the orphanage. Someone would come and scoop up a kid, trying to fill a hole in their heart, only to drop them back off when they were too much work or not enough like the kid they lost. It sucked. Why not just get a dog in that situation?

“Of course not. Varian opened my eyes to being a father, sure, but Ben is… special,” he smiled at the thought of him. “Such a silly boy.”

Eugene opened his mouth to respond when a shriek cut him off. It sounded like a young boy! Both fathers completely forgot what they were talking about and raced off in the direction it came from.

“That’s Varian!” Eugene cried, skidding to a stop in front of Varian’s room. He threw open the door, and both men gawked.

Ben had pinned Varian to the ground, hollering and hooting out war cries as he tugged on Varian’s hair. Varian screamed bloody murder and slammed his fists into Ben, grabbing at whatever skin he could find.

“Not again, Ben,” Quirin moaned.

You’d think that after that debacle, they wouldn’t put Ben and Varian together again.

You’d be wrong.

Because about a week later, Varian had tugged on his dad’s pants and asked, “Can we go see Benny?”

Eugene had raised an eyebrow. “You mean Ben and Quirin? I thought you hated him?”

“No!” Varian whined. “He’s fun. He makes me cry.” Eugene didn’t understand it at all, but he supposed if Varian wanted a relationship with his birth dad and his son, he couldn’t really deny him. So they’d started weekly playdates, alternating who travelled where.

The knight (or, well, former knight) was still getting used to his new routine. At dawn he’d get up to help the people of Old Corona, then start on his own farmwork. He started small, just tending to the crops Ulla had. Around midmorning Ben would join him, playing with the wooden sword he’d gifted the lad. It was around then, on a crisp spring morning with sweat lacing his brow and the earth warm at his feet, that he heard his son squeal in delight.

“Varian!” Ben cried, running over, lugging his sword behind him. “Look! New Dad got me a sword!” With a heave he brandished it, holding it high above his head. Unfortunately, he was top heavy, and both boy and sword fell to the ground. Varian laughed, standing over his new friend. Ben pouted up at him, tears budding in his eyes. He whined, and Quirin dropped his farm tools at the sound. His feet carried him over to where he feared Ben was about to burst into tears.

The whines abruptly stopped and Ben started to laugh, joining Varian. He reached up and pulled Varian down into the dirt alongside him, prompting more giggles.

Eugene stood nearby and shrugged.

“Is this normal?” Quirin asked, flabbergasted.

“Don’t ask me, man! I’m just as lost as you.”

“I… Maybe they’re just like this?”

“Yea that’s the working theory.” Eugene let out a breathless laugh. The boys had taken to wrestling, rolling around in the earth like a tumbleweed.

“Boys!” Quirin called, and they stopped to look up. He smiled fondly. It warmed his heart to see. Varian wasn’t his, he knew that. But that didn’t mean he didn’t care deeply. And to see both of the children getting along so well? It filled him with more joy than he’d had in years.

He motioned for them to wait a second, running inside before grabbing his prize. Good thing he’d thought to buy a second for himself. Varian’s face lit up when he reemerged with an identical wooden sword.

The knight leaned down, digging the sword point into the ground. “Can I trust you two not to hurt each other?” He asked. Varia nodded violently. “Alright,” He almost said son out of instinct, though he doubted that would go over well. He held the toy out as if he was a knight suiting up his king. In a funny way, he was.

Varian snatched it up, running over to where Ben waited. He let out a shrill scream before jumping at him with the sword, completely ignoring what Quirin had just said.

Ben shrieked, dodging just out of the way in time. He raised the sword high, this time leaning forward in order to fall towards Varian. Their wooden swords collided with a donk .

“Surrender!” Ben yelled, a feral grin on his face.

Varian’s face was just as unhinged with glee. “Never! I will avenge… uh…” He looked over to Eugene, who had walked over to join Quirin in the peanut gallery. “Dad! Can I avenge you?”

“Sure,” Eugene responded.

“I will avenge my daddy!” The little prince cheered. It wasn’t a graceful fight, considering how young they were. It was mostly just two wooden blocks smacking together over and over, with the occasional changing of positions. But the boys seemed to have a blast, and that was enough.

“So,” Eugene hummed. Maybe it was the castle staff rubbing off on him, maybe it was that “parent” drive for gossip. Honestly it could be either one. “How is Ben settling in?”

“See for yourself,” Quirin smiled, gesturing to where Ben was chasing Varian through the orchard. “He’s got a warrior’s spirit, that’s for sure. Lots of energy,” his face fell slightly. “He only uses it when he doesn’t think I’m looking, or when he’s outside. It’s like he’s afraid of messing up and upsetting me.”

“Yea, orphanages are pretty strict, he’s probably just getting a feel for the new rules,” Eugene stuck his hands in his pockets. “Varian was the same.”

“Really?”

“Yea, for a few weeks he was terrified of anyone that wasn’t me or Rapunzel.” His smile turned wistful. “Or you, actually.”

Quirin sighed, a bittersweet sound. “I’m just… glad he’s happy,” he managed. Neither of them had really talked yet, about Ulla, or the moonstone, or really… anything about their situation. Perhaps someday they’d be ready. But for now, this was enough.

Quirin wasn’t the only single parent in Corona. Hell, he wasn’t even the only foreigner who knew Ulla and then adopted.

Hugo and Ben probably wouldn’t have gotten along on their own. Hugo was a know-it-all, mischievous, and used his cuteness to his advantage. Ben was stubborn, a stickler for rules, and brutally honest. If they had been left alone, someone probably would’ve gotten hurt. Whether it be one of the boys, or a bystander, that was up for debate.

But they both adored Varian, and Varian adored them. So it was pretty easy for them to form an inseparable trio.

Both Quirin and Donella walked their boys to the castle, watching with amusement as Hugo tried to show Ben what he was reading for the week. It was cute how Hugo adored school, though he wondered how long that would last. Ben was in turn telling Hugo all about the frog he saw in the fields last night.

“It was huuuuge!” He insisted, racing a bit ahead. “Like the size of Ruddiger!”

“Nuh uh!” Hugo pouted. His little ponytail whipped around as he shook his head. “Frogs aren’t that big!”

“Are too!”

“Are not!”

“Are too!”

“How big do you think a raccoon is?” Donella butt in, amused.

Ben shrugged. “Big. Maybe like…” he holds his hands out so wide that he almost strains his shoulders. “This big?”

“But if he was that big, we couldn’t pick him up?” Hugo argued. That causes Ben to falter. For a moment his father feared a real argument, but instead Ben lights up and laughs.

“Hugo, you’re stupid! We can’t pick him up!”

“You mean you can’t, cuz you’re a baby.”

Ben shrieks in offense, but still retains a smile. The conversation quiets significantly after that.

“So,” Donella said, turning to Quirin. “It appears we have a lot in common.”

Quirin groaned. If it were up to him, no one would have ever learned about his past; about Varian’s parentage, the woman who tricked him, and her inevitable downfall. But the royal family wasn’t one for secrets (well, except for Frederick). They didn’t tell the entire story, that would be ridiculous, but rather simply said that Ulla had kidnapped Varian and Quirin assisted them in stopping her. The only ones who knew the full story were those directly involved… and those who knew Ulla firsthand. “Is this about our boys, or our ex?”

She smirked. “It was fairly easy to put two and two together. Ulla is… was… something else.” Donella scratched at her scar, an unfortunate habit she picked up. “When we parted ways, I thought my stay in Corona would just be temporary. I’d lay low in the one place she’d never go, and then head back to the Iron Kingdom. Clearly, that didn’t happen.” Her face fell to a frown, squinting at the too bright sun and unpolluted streets. Some shopkeeper waved at them, and Donella simply rolled her eyes. The blinding palace sparkled in the sun as they approached, and part of her lamented not bringing her work goggles, as they might have provided some protection. Over half a decade later and she still wasn’t used to this place.

“What changed?” the farmer asked.

Her eyes fell to their sons.

“Oh.”

“Varian!” Both boys cried in unison. Varian stood in the courtyard, bouncing up and down where he stood. With a fond smile, Eugene let go of his hand, and all three slammed into one another, mouths moving a mile an hour.

“Varian I saw a frog!”

“Well I brought a book! And Mr. Finn says I’m at a 3rd grade level! Whatever that means!”

“And I saw a frog!”

“Well I saw a duck!”

“REALLY?”

“It was a goose,” Eugene corrected. “Hi Don, hi Quirin,” he waved.

Varian giggled, dragging his best friends inside while they continued to talk. His cheeks were a bright red, Hugo was smiling so hard it had to hurt, and Ben eagerly ran circles around the older kids.

He and Donella left to run errands in the capital, leaving their boys in good hands. When he came back, groceries and supplies for his new home in hand, he was directed to a small living room.

The room looked like it had been torn apart, with toys and books and games strewn about. Some were still open, others not even out of their packaging. A fire dimly flickered in the fireplace, illuminating a quiet scene in the center of the wreckage. All three boys slept on the floor, oldest to youngest. Hugo and Varian were holding hands, with the older facing the younger as he snoozed. Varian was smiling in his sleep, his ebony hair reflecting the flames. To his left Ben was passed out, one arm on top of Varian’s stomach, and one of Varian’s legs atop Ben’s. A soft burgundy blanket covered them all.

“It’s cute, right?” Eugene whispered as he approached. “I half expected them to set the place on fire.” Quirin snorted.

“You’re just in time, the first meeting about childcare reform starts soon.” The prince consort continued, motioning for him to leave the boys be.

He beamed. He may no longer be Quirin, knight of the Dark Kingdom, protector of the moonstone. Now he was Quirin, farmer, father, advisor to the royal family and newly-formed Child Protective Services.

He liked this Quirin better.

“So,” he said. “Lead the way.”

#varian #tangled the series #tts #tangled #tts varian #eugene fitzherbert #tts eugene #team awesome #varian and the seven kingdoms

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reachfolk · 3 years

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1-5 for the character development questions for Alexandria!

💛 from @korvanjund

this took forever to write cause of course i had waY too much to say omfl, but it was super fun!! tysm for the ask darlin <3

what (or who) would your character die for? live for?

family, family, family!! literally everything for alexi goes back to family. she may be on bad terms with her father's side (understatement of the century, but that's for question 3 lmao), but she would do literally anything for her siblings. protecting them is the main reason she's willing to overcome every fear in her fight against alduin. of course, she's also just as close with her aunt ursula. and she may have... a complicated relationship with her mother and father, she loves them and would do anything to keep them safe.

as for what she'd die for, she's just as dedicated to the cause of freeing the reach from nord control as most reachfolk. it's largely because she sees the reachfolk as an extension of her family. the reach is her home and she's so unabashedly proud of that. granted, she isn't as extreme in her views as the forsworn, but we're not gonna get into the highkey racism in the way bethesda wrote that whole faction lmao.

who (or what) does your character love most in the world? why?

this is such a hard question to answer cause like *slaps roof of alexi* this sweet girl can fit so much love in her. if she like, absolutely HAD to pick a handful of people, it would be her siblings (no, she couldn't pick between them even with a gun to her head, and tbh neither could they). i could literally go on for HOURS about her siblings and why they're all so close, but the tldr is that they're really the only people in the world that Get her. their social standing has always been in a really precarious place given how drastically different their mother and father's backgrounds are, and so they never particularly fit in with most kids from their social class. but they also didn't get very much of a chance to connect with their reachfolk heritage. i won't go so far as to call them outcasts, but they were definitely seen as... different, and there weren't many opportunities for them to feel like normal kids except for when they were with each other. but the other people alexandria is closest to are her aunt ursula, bothela (vanilla npc, the lady who runs the hag's cure), and ophelia from her coven.

that covers it for people, but the thing she loves most in the world is easily alchemy! it literally shows in every part of her mannerisms and shapes the whole way she looks at the world. a huge part of why she's so connected to namira is because she's so drawn to even the most grotesque things in the world, because there's opportunity in all of them to create something new and helpful. it's why she got so close to bothela, bc she's the one that trained alexi in alchemy since she was a kid.

who (or what) does your character hate most in the world? why?

this is ironic considering the first question but literally it's her uncles, thonar and thongvor silver-blood lol. i'm sure anyone who's been in markarth knows that they aren't exactly stand up dudes, but after the whole issue with the forsworn conspiracy came out, she probably had to be physically restrained by her companions to keep her from killing them then and there. she spent a huge part of her childhood knowing there was a target on her back and the backs of her parents and siblings, because there's nothing thonar and thongvor want more than to get rid of them entirely. despite the fact that she had such a fancy upbringing, her uncles were the reason none of them were ever given a real chance to rest. and then there's sooo much to say about how that exacerbated isobel's anxiety issues, which all of her kids including alexi later inherited. alexi literally carries that pain in her genes and she's never been able to get away from it no matter how hard she's tried.

again, this is one of those things i could talk about for ages, so if u wanna hear about one of the many times her uncles actively made an attempt on the lives of her parents and siblings, feel free to send me an ask abt it i'll happily tell u everything. there's like a 30k fic idea there but i have the gist of it all written in my drafts lol.

on top of all of that, she definitely has a LOT of issues with everything they do in the reach. like, ulfric stormcloak gets an honorary mention for this question, and the fact that they support him sure as fuck doesn't help. and considering the fact that she's been sent to cidhna mine and often helped out in the warrens, she's seen the worst of what the silver-bloods did to her people.

what is your character's main goal? does this goal change, or does it remain consistent throughout the story?

tbh this one is also hard to answer bc the game devs of bethesda are COWARDS and they didn't give us this option in the game even though all the pieces were there, but i feel like alexi would almost inevitably join the rebellion to liberate the reach. when she left home, she was still trying to make sense of things, and she just needed to put some distance between herself and all the things tearing her in different directions. she'd spent so much of her life trying to placate everyone that she couldn't figure out what her goal is until she was in a place where she didn't have to think about everyone else.

but no matter what, i think all roads lead to home for her. she may have had a strained relationship with the forsworn (esp when madanach was in prison and working for her uncles in secret), but she'd join when madanach is given free reign to control the rebellion as he sees fit rather than have to bend backwards to satisfy thonar. i personally hc that after that, the forsworn's actions are more controlled and they start to operate less like a disjointed faction of bandits and more like, yknow, people fighting for an actual cause. once she rebuilds her faith in the rebellion, she'd definitely join up.

does your character achieve their main goal? if so, does achieving this goal satisfy them?

again, hard to say since there's no in-game way for this to happen bc the devs were weak, BUT in my heart of hearts i like to pretend that there was a proper questline where u join up with madanach and retake the reach. after everything they've been through, i really hope it'll be canon that they finally are able to liberate themselves. i do think alexandria and her siblings would all do their part to help the rebellion, and their auntie was probably a proponent of the forsworn's rule during the great war, so they're in the clear. i'd imagine the situation is more complicated with their parents.

regardless of whether or not the forsworn are ever able to retake the reach, alexi definitely spends most of her life running around skyrim with the hope of fighting against people's prejudices against the reachfolk. (in the verse where she's the ldb) she kind of understands her role as an essential figurehead to the movement and how she's key to earning the nord's respect. i mean, it'd be hard to argue that they're evil savages when one of their own literally saved every single mortal soul on nirn. so, yeah, i think she feels pretty satisfied with that lol

#tes #tesblr #cozy answers #oc: alexandria silver blood #can u tell i get overly excited to talk about lexi??#skyrim oc #reachfolk

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sillyfudgemonkeys · 5 years

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Im curious as to why you hate Makoto for ripping of p3pfemc's looks but consent to Royal-chan for the same thing? ( I know you hate Makoto for a lot of other reasons, like her personality and such, but it seemed like you disliked her since prereveal/release?) If Royal chan ended up being a completely unrelated character to femc, will your opinion of her change ? (no hate really, i jst wanna know. \V/m )

It's no prob! In all honesty I didn't even think about this kind of question, but the answer came right away, so I guess time for a not so deep reflection.

So like full stop, if Poniko isn't connected to the FeMC and it's just Atlus messing with me, yeah I'mma be PISSED. Will I rip on her looks like no tomorrow? Maybe, depends on how it’s handled (like how bad they burn me, and even then I might wait for a spinoff cause they might go into the connection there rather than Royal). I think it's obvious I went harder on Makoto because I don't like her for other reasons, and so any small thing about her annoys me (tbh Yusuke's design annoys me too, but not as bad cause....I kinda just don’t care about him and who he’s copying as much, but I'll get to that in a bit)

Anyway I think we need some historical context, because I think it’s important. When Makoto (and Yusuke) where first shown......FeMC had been ignored for A LONG time. We had a non-canon play (which no one really talked about), and that was it. No game related stuff, not even featured in the game where people were getting ripped out of timelines. FeMC were BURNED. I’ll be honest, when Yusuke appeared......While the parallels between P2 were obvious (not just with him) he reminded me of Minato as well. It annoyed me we had to have the token blue hair character since the rule had been made since the P3 era (kinda enforced with some black haired characters from P1/2, combining P2 games together that is, if you want to include them), Atlus said they’d be trying new things..... but like....whateves. But my association with him as Minato increased....when Makoto came along.

Ngl I wasn’t pleased with the reveal of the last three girls (even didn’t like Haru, for ironically now what I love as an alt rewrite for her as, as I thought she’d be a mean and person full of herself due to calling herself ‘beauty thief’....Yeah all types of crazy here, I do love sweet Haru tho. And the reason for my opinion changing on the alt non-canon personality rewrite is just I.....see the appeal in it for the group dynamic now, while at the time I was afraid of disliking any of the characters or having them be disliked by the fandom.....which big laugh now haha :’D .....I want my happy P5 self back ;w;). Anyway back to the three girls, ngl one of the reasons I wasn’t happy was how they just dumped 3 more characters on us (too big a cast so can they handle it?, silly has to do more VA videos, I want the smaller cast back oh god don’t screw this up, and so on and so on). As for the characters, while Haru’s appearance in the trailer mislead me on her personality (for whatever reason)..... I just.....there was something about Futaba and Makoto I didn’t like. Futaba just rubs me all the wrong ways for reasons I can’t describe for back then (maybe the fact she looked like she’d be a troll and she kinda is), but Makoto it was clear...... She was ripping off FeMC’s look. The brown hair and red eyes.....the fact that Yusuke looked like Minato.....it felt like they were trying to draw them as expies of the P3MCs. And it pissed me off. I didn’t want an unrelated character look and remind me of the FeMC, I wanted FeMC herself! Why are you stealing her look????? And while some FeMC saw this and rolled with it as a joke (Hamu/Minty/Shin dressing up as Makoto/Yusuke/Goro to get into P5), other’s didn’t know who the FeMC was and thus.....didn’t see the blatant expy/rip off design. Seeing people be like “her character design is so original and cute and blah blah blah”.....it annoyed me....obviously (it didn’t help she grew in popularity doing absolutely nothing too, so initially it was all about her looks, and then I’ve been told a lot of her fans, at least male, has been mostly them saying the like her design and her hair and her eyes, and no everyone who likes Makoto is an FeMC fan so....yeah.....I mostly hear how it’s just about her design so I’m very focused on that in regards to her specifically BECAUSE of the fans). And yeah I know it was a bit petty/shallow reason, but I didn’t outright hate her atm, she was stepping on my toes badly but I was holding out till the game (where it finally cemented my hate for her, and now I legit hate her for petty, shallow, deep, and complex reasons). And lordy lord lord, it did not help Makoto’s name was Makoto, because that was a name some FeMC fans gave Hamuko (cause Makoto Yuki was the closest ‘canon’ name we’d get to P3MCs, and some people adopted it for both MCs cause it was gender neutral, so Niijima coming along and taking THAT away sucked ass, and I know different kanji, it still sucked tho). It just....felt like Atlus was spitting in FeMC fan’s face..... But anyway, I kept it in....for about....2ish years. Even when I was trying to stay positive.......and even when I was slowly starting to come out with negative opinions. I tried to keep it in.

Finally I decided to make it framed as a joke, because I started to see Makoto ripping off more characters than just FeMC (FeMC, Aika, and Naoto in the detective novel to be precise, but what got the ball rolling was realizing that it was Aika who Makoto ripped the hair and motor vehicle from with the FeMC’s color scheme). That’s where my brain started going other places than just being restricted to FeMC, and I started being more critical of Makoto’s design outside the FeMC (tho that still burned me). Because, imo, it’s not original, it annoyed me people would say she was original when she was really just a Frankenstein rip off of other characters (other loved characters, FeMC and Aika were pretty popular in their own right). It only continued to cement in my mind that....anything ‘original’ about Makoto was a farce, she just copies while the original gets left behind.

Tldr; FeMC had been snubbed for years, along comes two design expies that remind you of P3MCs (3 if you wanna include Goro/Ken but Goro looks different enough imo), Makoto is named Makoto (a name some used for FeMC), and Makoto is praised for her design for being original and blah blah blah when it’s not (for multiple reasons besides the FeMC, kinda more the fans reactions fault but I was already having design issues so it just bugged me more when they’d say these things). So yeah it felt like Makoto stole aspects of the FeMC, and it’s not like FeMC has a lot for herself, which really just stepped on my toes. Combined that with legit hating the character when I finally get to see her in action (and it’s because of her actions and writing that I hate-hate the character, but prior to that it was just her stepping on my toes while trying to keep an open mind into liking her), the stuff said before gets amplified more than before.

But months later, after the first post of me ripping on Makoto for taking FeMC and Aika’s design (tho my later posts were in drafts I just didn’t post them till later), something amazing happened on Aug 4th. FeMC finally came back to us. And holy shit obviously I was happy, but it doesn’t dismiss the fact I was aware of how much of design rip off/expy Makoto was, and it wasn’t just FeMC anymore. But gdi if the fact that the FeMC wasn’t being ignored anymore didn’t change the outlook for me as an FeMC fan. FeMC was back, she’s loved, care was put into her character in PQ2, just.....skdfalf;a so happy ;w; But also so hopeful, she was acknowledged again, she had been cut from the 20th anniversary event in official art, and that hurt us, but now she’s back back. And she was a main character in PQ2.....which leads to you questioning, what next?

Which brings us to Poniko, the one post hopeful outlook. Obviously she’s not starting in the same place as Makoto. Poniko has been revealed post-PQ2 FeMC....which means Atlus isn’t ignoring Hamuko (in fact a lot of the creators were stating they WANTED her back), we know the creators do love Hamuko. There’s also the fact.....Poniko looks less like an expy like Makoto (who imo looks like Soejima trying to emulate Kaneko’s art style, esp the eye shape, same with Yusuke too). Poniko? It goes beyond ripping off a design, she looks like she’s almost fully lifted from Hamuko, it just looks like Hamuko wearing a different outfit. Just straight up copy and paste. And would I have been pissed if she was revealed alongside Makoto? Maybe, or I might be theorizing that she is Hamuko herself like now (tho I think it’d get more push back due to Hamu being in Atlus’ basement for so long so it just being claimed as delusional and unlikely), or both (and then pissed when it’s revealed it’s not Hamuko). It’s just....she looks SO MUCH like Hamuko it can’t be a coincidence, and after PQ2 it feels less like one as well. Just.....the posture, the cinematic parallels, the hair color, the eye color, the eye shape, the eyelashes, the face structure, the way she stands.....Poniko just screams “I AM Hamuko” not “I just look like her because.” And it helps that other people in the fandom also see this too, some are hoping she’s a new person, but it seems people at least acknowledge that very obvious similarities between Hamuko and Poniko (while that didn’t really happen with P5 with Hamuko/Makoto).

And....tbh I feel like I might sound like I’m splitting hairs (at least with the words I’m using). And it might sound weird that I think Makoto ripped off enough Hamuko it pissed me off, but Poniko just.....is a copy and paste of Hamuko, just straight up Hamuko in a different outfit and hairstyle but it doesn’t. But it’s the historical context I think that sheds that light. And the fact Poniko might just BE Hamuko, and so it’d make sense if that was the case for them to look like each other (while it doesn’t make sense for Makoto to look like Poniko).

I guess it also helps that I personally had the headcanon Hamuko and Minato weren’t related (just strangers on the bridge in two separate cars), and they both survived the bridge accident but one became the leader of SEES and the other went on to live and do their own thing (until maybe a spinoff game pulls them back in). And while I.....well recalling it now I considered a reincarnation once in a hc scenario (opted for time travel forward cause that makes sense 8U I won’t go into it I had my reasons 8U), but looking at the 1st year symbol on Poniko (and reincarnation in other MegaTen works, I mean c’mon reincarnation is in the title) it feels plausible. And it works for Poniko because of the time the incident and the time to be reincarnated takes place (1999 being the accident and April 1 2000-April 2 2001 being the time frame she was born), which wouldn’t ever work for Makoto because she was born in 1998 (so even if I HAD considered Makoto it wouldn’t have worked, esp since they never tell us she jumped grades, it’s not possible....and while I’m all for hc and grey areas, this is something that WOULD be explicitly told because it’s not common in Japan and Atlus has been explicit about characters not in the ‘right’ grades before, just an fyi there 8U).

I dunno I feel like there’s distinct clear reasons that I can fit them into separate categories. And yeah if Poniko isn’t Hamuko I’mma be burned too, BUT I’mma wait till a spinoff post-Royal before I get pissy.....cause I don’t expect clear answers to other past games in another game’s mainline entry (I only expect shallow shoutouts tbh). So yeah, just so you know where the deadline for my expectations are.

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ssaalexblake · 7 years

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What's your opinion on Karen Page? AJAKSKKSKS

I have some random half formed opinions on Karen, and the Daredevil narrative for her in general. And maybe how the defenders writing didn’t really mesh with how she’d been portrayed before, and if it did, then it showed her in a vaguely hypocritical light.

Also, she’s a legit straight up murderer and it’s kind of vaguely hilarious in an ironic way that she now works for a living digging up other peoples dirt, because she honestly wants to see justice done. She’s not somebody who wakes up in the morning thinking something malevolent, she’s by all accounts, somebody who has aspirations of goodness. Her moral grayness her so much more interesting in that light, tbh.

(but, like, honestly, I neither like nor dislike Karen, she doesn’t particularly grab me but i don’t you know, hate her or anything, i’m just personally not captivated).

Anyway, I’ve been listening to a podcast lately hosted by 2 bona fide behavioural analysts (jim clemente and Laura Richards) and honestly, hearing them talk about it, while simultaneously watching S2 of Daredevil, was thought provoking.

We know that Karen murdered a man, afterwards she was traumatized by his actions (the kidnapping and threats against her) and that she was even more traumatized by her own actions, she just gunned him down, The End. The show could have painted this in a number of ways, but imo it clearly painted this as a murder, to be honest. I mean, he was victimising her at the time, but this shock killing was not narratively described as a valiant bid for freedom where a woman shoots herself out of a hostage situation. It’s painted as Karen shooting him, and her being left alone in a room with a gun and a blood soaked body.

She’s terrified she’d get found out. I haven’t seen that season for a long time now, but also, i think it’s relevant that a chunk of her fear after this was fear about what Fisk would do if he found out she did it, and for her own safety thereafter, rather than the action of killing a man.

In that light, fashforward to season 2 and the intro of Frank Castle. Karen is the character in the entire show who is the most okay with Frank. She sees Frank’s honour code and understands it, she isn’t afraid of him harming her despite him being genuinely terrifying. She also isn’t nearly as bothered by his methodology as the others. Frank believes killing the wrongdoers is the apt solution to Hell’s Kitchen’s problems (and anywhere, really).

It’s interesting, because, throughout the whole time Nelson and murdock are defending Castle, she is trying to convince Matt and Foggy of the merits to his actions. She’s trying to justify it. This is why I mentioned the podcast, because in it, they explain that people who have thoughts and feelings that are generally considered by society to be abhorrent or wrong (and i mean, actual fucked up things, not shitty bigotry) they will attempt to find the same behaviour in others they trust and respect, to prove to themselves that they’re not Bad™.

Karen, with both Foggy and Matt, the two she is closest to in Hell’s Kitchen (in the world really), BOTH get this line of questioning from her, where she tries to get them to admit that hey! maybe killing bad people is okay and fine. This, to me, seems that Karen is looking for some kind of absolution. Not the kind where she denounces what she did, or what Frank did, but the kind where others prove her ‘correct’ and absolve her of her sins by justifying them. The kind where she doesn’t have to feel bad or be in trouble for her actions.

In the end, Matt and Foggy, having no clue all the while that this is personal to her, brush off every justification she gives, both of them basically going ‘what the hell! no! bad!’. Because while matt is a vigilante, he’s also one who does not approve of being judge jury and executioner. Foggy was even less likely than Matt to play part to that line of thinking, because he thinks Matt goes too far, let alone Castle. Them doing this, rejecting her without even knowing it, leads Karen smack into the figurative arms of Frank Castli, who is obviously intimidating to her, and goes too far in her eyes, and freaks her out, but he’s the one she’s most in tune with. Her philosophy is far closer to his than it is to Matt and Foggy. Frank even says it himself, he knows she’d have taken the shot, she means business, even if it’s lethal.

I have no idea what to say about Karen and Matt. Narratively it’s never made sense to me, and i honestly thought that her reaction in the defenders to him needed a hell of a lot of background filling out between daredevil s2 & this show to make sense. It needed background we weren’t given, but Karen’s /always/ been pro daredevil, we needed a filler to tell us what happened in that gap of time to cause her to treat matt’s vigilantism as an addiction. Foggy, Foggy it made perfect sense because there was background, with Karen who had always been pro devil, it needed explaining. As it is, it kind of came across as Karen being pro vigilante as long as it’s not her friend, which is kind of harsh? It can ruin somebody else’s life but not somebody who i like? Which they could have done, but i’ve also never really thought of karen as selfish in that type of sense, either.

But, honestly, i feel like the main facet of Karen’s character, her absolute defining trait, is curiosity.

Karen’s curiosity knows no bounds, and i mean that. No bounds. Karen got into trouble in the first place in episode one because she saw something and didn’t let it go (she continues to not let it go the whole season, even when she’s warned, even when it’s dangerous, through everything). It’s interesting, because Karen’s curiosity doesn’t appear to have much more ground than wanting to know things, she’s a Ravenclaw type, you know? Her curiosity isn’t really tied to morality, or special interest, he is just curious.

Unfortunately, her curiosity isn’t necessarily tempered by a hell of a lot of forethought. She drags Ben to a nursing home because she dug something up, and when i say drag, i mean lies and tricks!!! Ben there with her, being pretty damn underhand tbh, i mean, it was low. And then Ben’s name ends up in the log book and then because of that, Ben is murdered.

That was an example of Karen being driven by her curiosity, bullheaded, and not thinking it though. In S2, the person she gets in trouble at the end of the season is herself. She does it again. Curiosity with no heed to consequence. She is merely lucky Frank saved her.

I mean, narratively, Karen ending up a reporter is perfect for her as a person, i’m not surprised we ended up there. She is bullheadedly curious, she is tough as nails (hello that kidnapping by the hand), and will legit do any dangerous thing to get her story. She also is curious for curiosity’s sake, so her boss doesn’t really run the risk of her only researching one thing or causing a moral shitstorm.

I’ve never really seen the show as portraying Karen as a moral goodness or whatever cliches come with the blonde noncombatant tropes in these types of stories, to me, Karen’s never really been the goodness personified in the show. To me, that is Foggy. I like it, to be honest, because lets be real, the blonde haired blue eyed ~angelic looking woman, not being the epitome of goodness???

I wouldn’t call Karen moral, i would call Karen curious, with aspirations of goodness. She wants to be a good person, but she’s thoughtless and chaotic and sometimes just kind of… amoral. No other real way to put it. I’ve also never really seen the show as portraying her as the goodness centre, i mean, i can see how the other characters would think it about her, but the audience? We know more about her than them.

Foggy and Matt don’t know she killed somebody. Her boss doesn’t know that. The stuff with Ben? that’s for us to know, too. We’re the keepers of Karen’s secrets, not the other characters. As such, the way they treat her as special and good in the show doesn’t bug me too much, from their pov, it probably looks that way, it’d annoy me if she got a good job and the show tried to tell me it’s because she’s a ~good~ person and deserved it, but imo, the show has not done that.

Her ~aspirations of goodness are all the more interesting, imo, because she does not appear to have them as some kind of attempt at penance. That would make it redemption, or an attempt at it. She’s not trying to redeem herself.

tldr, , i think Karen is curious, chaotic, wants so hard to be good, but finds herself coming up short and is scared of it. I also think the only person in the universe who accurately has her number is Frank. And also, that even if Matt’s vigilantism hadn’t destroyed their personal relationship, that in the end, the total polar opposite creeds they both have would have done the same thing in the end.

#defenders spoilers #idk how to tag this lol #reids-curls #idek if u meant to send me this but it was fun t b h #i like talking about other things #i do have karen opinions #i just don't really like her as a person much?? but yes as a character #anyway #karen page #for my own tagging #also notably claire is a bastion of goodness #but her goodness like... overpowers her shady #with karen it's the other way

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