#common plot devices

[noodlenoises]

Personality Quiz: Which Common Plot Device Are You?

Have you ever wondered which common plot device you happen to be? Of course you have. My latest personality quiz is out, weeeeee! Clicky here to take it, and find out which plot device fits you best.

See below to find out which common plot device you are! If the quiz is not loading or you only see a blank page, click here. Plot Device Results: Plot Device: Deus ex Machina Traits: helpful, skillful, benevolent The Deux ex Machina is a sudden plot convenience that saves the protagonists when all hope seems lost. There’s usually nothing established that would imply something like this would…

[olessan]

🖤🕊️

Time to speculate on this completely innocuous emoji combination that is absolutely not a hint towards his character

99% chance his emoji choice means nothing, but given he knows his character, and a quote in the Deadline article pictured about not wanting to play villains, hmmm...

The only heraldry that fully fits a black heart and a dove is Telcontar, which is obviously not applying here because that's Aragorn's Reunited Kingdoms house. lol

The House of the Wing, Tuor's, has a wing but is on blue, and also Jamie's character is implied to be a main cast regular, so he cannot be a flashback character. That also rules out Eärendil and Thingol whose devices are also superficially similar, with a lot of black and then pointy bright elements

The house of Anarion's device is the classic Gondor white tree on black, no feathers, but the dove also has a branch, but the only other white winged bird is a swan.

If this IS an intentional hint, and he's hinting at Anarion, a swan may have been way too obvious and the dove is a more incognito choice

HOWEVER... Celeborn is of Doriath's royal house, so even though Thingol is his grand-uncle it could theoretically still be a hint to Thingol's device (white winged moon on a black field) that way, suggesting Celeborn?

[s0undsinmyhead]

I decided to reread The Hunger Games trilogy and I gotta say this trend of absolutely hating Gale and calling him a war criminal and selfish is such a miss.

Gale is by no means a perfect person. But none of the characters are. They all do bad or questionable things. They’re literally in the middle of a war. Even before it’s officially a war.

Yes Gale was jealous of Peeta and Katniss. Yes, there were significantly more important things going on. Gale knew that, he acknowledged that. But end of the day he’s still a teenager with emotions. Just like Peeta and Katniss who both also describe being jealous of Gale - Madge - Joanna. They also know it’s dumb given all the danger and death surrounding them. But surprisingly people still have emotions like love and jealousy during wartime - including teenagers.

As for the war criminal comments that’s a whole long discussion but let’s remember this is a world in which the government has been slaughtering children for entertainment and forcing all the districts that send their kids to watch them be murdered for the entirety of the main trios lives and long before them - it is all they have ever known.

Additionally, year round the capital treats the citizens like slaves and makes them produce whatever is necessary for the capital and then let’s them live in squalor starving to death. This is how Gale grew up. He was the oldest of 4 kids. His dad died when he was a kid and he was responsible for taking care of his mom and all his siblings. He had his name in the bowl for the reaping probably more than almost any boy in 12.

He watched his district and the men women and children he knew his whole life be burned alive while he had to lead as many to safety as he could. He watched his best friend be shoved into the hunger games twice knowing not only that he might lose her forever but that he would have 2 more people to care for and soon he would be forced into the mines full time with little opportunity to hunt.

So when a war breaks out to finally stop the abuses and murders by the capital of course Gale jumps in. Of course he plans to kill. It’s a war. And it’s nice to try and be a pacifist and say give peace a chance but how can you say that to your oppressors and expect anything to change. There had to be a war and there had to be death. Gale fought in the front lines and was willing to die to save his family and free the districts. It’s curious we never hear anyone call Beetee a war criminal when he made more weapons than anyone. Almost like it’s not the fact the Gale made weapons during a war, but that it was Gale.

[desertdragon]

This shit is so ass I just want it to be over

[cosmermaid]

This has been on my mind for probably two days now so I'm going to make this post. I took the Knights Radiant order quiz for three Mewtwos, or in other words every Mewtwo in the Pokemon franchise that has enough characterization to pull from and make the test work. I also did it for Mew, because even though we don't have a lot to go off of for Mew's character, it's personality seems to be pretty consistent every time it appears.

If you're a Pokemon fan wondering what I'm talking about, the Knights Radiant are ten orders of magic heroes from the book series the Stormlight Archives, which is probably my favorite fantasy series of all time. Bond a spren, swear the oaths, get superpowers. Fun times. (And yes, non-human characters can and do bond Spren.)

Alright, on with my post then. Pokemon Adventures Mewtwo

Okay, so the first one I did is probably the least known Mewtwo which is the one from the Pokemon Adventures Manga.

The one with the spoon. This Mewtwo does take inspiration from events from Pokemon the First Movie, but as a character they are a pretty different individual. Also they have a big spoon. Good for them. :)

The Stormlight Archives as a series doesn't have any Stoneward characters that the story explicitly focuses on, with only three appearing as minor/background characters. However, the defining oath of this order fits Adventures!Mewtwo incredibly well. One of the biggest differences between this character and other Mewtwos that have made appearances is their relationship with humans. This Mewtwo has a trainer, (the Gym Leader Blane, who also created them) as well as a few humans it is fiercely loyal to. (Such as Red, and absolute pure bean forest fairy Yellow). This Mewtwo has willingly stepped up to help these characters out in difficult situations, and they have also taken an active role in protecting a Pokemon village. This Mewtwo has also pulled out of battle to look out for the well-being of their human friends, putting them above their own goals. Now I'm not entirely sure if this Mewtwo would get much benefit out of the powers gained from the order of the Stonewards, which according to the Coppermind wiki are

Cohesion Cohesion allows them to manipulate or alter objects at a molecular level.[9] Their exact Powers are so far unknown, but they are able to reshape stone to some extent.[6] This ability lets them reshape things other than stone, but not flesh or anything even slightly Invested.[10] Tension Tension allows them to alter the stiffness of an object.[11][12] Stonewards are able to control the hardness of an object, allowing them to harden clothing into weapons, and have the ability to shape stone at their will.[13] Much like Cohesion, Tension is highly resisted by Investiture.[10]

I don't know how precise this particular Mewtwo's psyonic abilities are, but this Mewtwo was shown to be smart enough to find flaws in traps/technology and outsmart an AI. They would probably find practical applications for the surges of cohesion and tension that they weren't able to do as easily with their pre-existing powers.

Also this Mewtwo would probably be delighted to summon a magical shard-spoon.

M16 Mewtwo (or Newtwo, I guess.)

This is one of those ones that I didn't expect but SHOULD have seen coming. It also made me realize that despite the fact that we don't get a whole lot of this Mewtwo's story, from what we do get, she is an incredibly similar character to Kaladin Stormblessed.

While this Mewtwo isn't explicitly hostile towards humans, she doesn't particularly like them either. And yet, without question she will go out of her way to protect them from harm.

"I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right." -Kaladin Stormblessed.

Both Kaladin and this Mewtwo have been enslaved and tormented in the past, both characters find freedom and comfort in flight, and both will fight viciously to protect the innocent from harm. Both have been hunted for their power and their reputation.

In the stormlight setting, people are divided into a caste system of light-eyes and dark eyes, and Kaladin has dark eyes, so he's of the lower class. He has been betrayed, branded, enslaved, and his younger brother killed at the whims of light-eyed nobility, and as a result he understandably very cold towards light eyed people for their privilege and lack of understanding of the injustices he and his fellow dark-eyed people have faced.

This Mewtwo has a similar outlook on humans. She doesn't like them, but she will prioritize what is right over her own feelings, stepping in to prevent a city from being terrorized by Pokemon (who she was also trying to help.)

The powers gained by windrunners are

Adhesion Adhesion creates an extremely powerful temporary bond between two objects.[27] Full Lashing Using the Full Lashing, a Surgebinder can pool Stormlight into an area. All objects that subsequently touch this area will be bonded to the object, sticking them there and hindering their movement. The bond ends when the Stormlight runs out.[28] Gravitation Gravitation allows the Windrunner to change the direction and strength of an object's gravitational attraction.[27] Basic Lashing The Basic Lashing allows a Surgebinder to bind people or objects to different surfaces or in different directions, effectively changing the direction that gravity pulls them.[27] Reverse Lashing By using the Reverse Lashing, a Surgebinder can increase the gravitational pull of an object, allowing the infused object to pull nearby objects toward it. The Surgebinder must maintain contact with the object to Reverse Lash it.[28] Items that are airborne are pulled more strongly towards the infused object.

M16 Mewtwo can already fly and throw things around with telekinesis, though she would probably find some practical use in using adhesion and lashings to manipulate an object without having to focus on it. She'd probably get more fulfillment out of simply being bonded with an honorspren, though I can't imagine she'd seek out much use for a shardblade or shardplate.

M01 Mewtwo

Everyone already knows who this character is so I'm going to take a moment to highlight an absolutely iconic moment from the only known elsecaller in the Stormlight archives.

"I refuse this," he said, tossing his sword aside. "I will not face a woman in combat. It is demeaning." And so, Jasnah stabbed him straight through the throat.

Okay, M01 Mewtwo is a character most frequently viewed through the lens of nostalgia. People remember him for the drama and a few key quotes, but I don't think his actual character gets looked at enough. So let's review.

Mewtwo can and has killed people for objectifying him. Mewtwo's entire motivation from birth has been about reaching his potential. How he is supposed to be the strongest, else he has no business existing. Mewtwo is an absolute genius, able to teach himself engineering across multiple fields on the fly. Mewtwo is very focused on philosophy, driving himself to the brink of madness for the sake of finding a place in the world.

Jasnah is a bit ahead of the curve when it comes to a similar character arc, by nature of simply being older and more experienced. But she is every bit as ruthless and driven by cold logic as Mewtwo is. She is a world-renowned scholar, but when she took on a student, she took her student into an alleyway to lure out some robbers, then killed the men robbing them as a lesson in philosophy.

She also dedicated quite a bit of thought of what it means to have a place in the world, although through a feminist lens rather than a artificial/naturally born one. In an empire ruled by men, Jasnah became the queen.

So how does the oaths of elsecaller fit Mewtwo? Every time we see him, he is self-reflecting, trying to find where he fits, and pushing the extent of what he can do. Despite his rocky start, he is brilliant, able to solve problems as he comes across them. He was the only surviving clone made by humans, but he recreated a few that died and brought them into the world fully evolved. He built an isolated sanctuary in the middle of an island to make a safe haven for Pokemon that had been abused by humans.

I do want to take a moment to talk about Inkspren, the spren associated with the order of elsecallers. See, the reason that Jasnah is the only known elsecaller is because Inkspren do not trust humans. They are willing to go as far as to get human elsecallers killed to free their fellow inkspren from the bond, even if said spren bonded willingly.

Though Mewtwo mostly moved past a similar attitude, he would still be largely sympathetic to it. I could even see an inkspren trying to bond him in a bid to convince him to kill Jasnah. (Though I don't think Mewtwo would go that far.)

So the powers that Elsecallers gain are

Transformation Transformation can be manipulated to change an object into one of the ten essences.[9] Soulcasting transforms one material into another, though Soulcasting into one of the Ten Essences is easiest.[10] To Soulcast, the Elsecaller shifts their perception to see into the Cognitive Realm, and communicates with the Cognitive aspect of the object they want to transform.[11] This is normally done through direct contact with an object, however, can be performed from a distance. Elsecallers are more skilled at doing this than Lightweavers.[12] Elsecallers tend to view Soulcasting differently from Lightweavers.[13] Transportation Transportation allows the transfer of one's physical body into and out of the Cognitive Realm.[14] It works by creating a miniature perpendicularity that the Elsecaller can go through.[15] It is significantly easier to enter the Cognitive Realm using Elsecalling than it is to leave it.[16] It is possible for Elsecallers to leave the Cognitive Realm without seeking a perpendicularity however this is a more advanced skill than entering.[17][18] Elsecallers are able to use this ability to worldhop.[19][20] It is implied that the more Investiture one uses in the Surge of Transportation, the more people they are able to bring into the Cognitive Realm.[20]

So effectively transmutation and plane shifting. These are not abilities that Mewtwo inherently has, and I can absolutely see him figuring out some insane practical uses for it, very quickly. I can also imagine him seeing his psychic powers as being as much a part of himself as his body is, and using that to summon a shardblade into somebody's heart hundreds of meters away.

It's also worth noting that this Mewtwo has some experience wearing armor and would get comfortable using shardplate probably almost immediately.

Mew. (All of them.)

What the hell else was I expecting for the Hoid of the Pokemon universe?

Lightweavers are the orders of absolute enigmas who either can't or won't tell you who they truly are, hide behind illusions, vanish into thin air, make a professional sport out of insulting you, and showing up because they think the plot got juicy.

Mew would be a lightweaver solely because it would get a massive kick at out of using transform on other people, and because it would gain a spirit-starfish that is an absolute math nerd and goes "mmmmm" whenever somebody lies.

I'm going on a tangent because every criticism I have of Mew can easily be applied to Hoid and vice versa. Mew makes a game of being chased by everyone and caught by nobody. Mew is the roadrunner and the entire world is Wile-E Coyote.

Do you want to know who Hoid is? In the beginning he was given the opportunity to become god and turned it down. Now he's a professional clown. He is frustratingly immortal and has likely gotten other people killed by his own choices.

Just like Mew did with Lucario. You can try to claim that wasn't Mew's fault but nobody would have been getting eaten by the white blood cells of a massive tree if Mew didn't kidnap Pikachu without thinking about it.

By the way, if you've only seen the English version of the first movie, you don't know Mew's character. When Mewtwo was basically in the middle of a psychological breakdown over clones deserving some basic respect, Mew told him "Real is real. Fight me and find out."

Now Hoid can't actually fight, he's restrained from doing so. But if he needs some teeth conveniently knocked out so he can disguise himself as a beggar, he'd walk up to Mewtwo and say the exact same thing.

Mew can do the right thing. Occasionally. It saved a baby pokemon from falling into a river once. Good for you, Mew.

What powers do Lightweavers get?

Illumination Illumination is used to craft illusions by weaving light, sound and various waveforms.[10] This can be used to change their appearance for disguises or other purposes, create illusions of walls and rocks to hide behind and in, and to create illusions to confuse or distract. Each Lightweaver needs some kind of focus to make Lightweaving function, such as drawings or paintings.[11] It is also implied that they may be able to create a solid illusion by combining their Illumination surge and their Soulcasting.[12][13] There are some differences in how they use the Surge compared to Truthwatchers.[14] Transformation Transformation can be manipulated to change an object into one of the ten essences.[10] To Soulcast, the Lightweaver shifts their perception to see into the Cognitive Realm, and communicates with the Cognitive aspect of the object they want to transform.[15] This is normally done through direct contact with an object, however, can be performed from a distance. Elsecallers are more skilled at doing this, though it is not impossible for a Lightweaver to be able to Soulcast from afar.[16] Lightweavers tend to view Soulcasting differently from Elsecallers.[14] Using this Surge, Lightweavers are able to enter the Cogntive Realm, but are unable to bring others with them, or return on their own.[17]

Mew already does both, but mainly to itself. I can't really imagine Mew using a shardweapon with those tiny arms, either. Though Mew would probably summon it, leave it on the ground, watch people fight over it then dismiss it.

[broodygaming]

idk if that poll means viv betrays you or like. solas. he kinda betrays you by wanting to end the world ig

Yes! Yes sorry i tried to say that later in my tags haha, I just mean the whole betrayal thing reminds me of this very intense first impression of Viv, that's all. Whenever I think about the whole "mage betrayal" thing, I think of that just because I knew that my hurt feelings over Anders "betrayal" REALLY colored my choices in that (fairly early) character quest, ya know? And I feel bad haha, like it sucks and I wish she'd just given me more context T_T

[llycaons]

I understand why aristocracy and royalty is an exciting setting for fiction/fantasy but if the narrative isn't a serious political commentary or a legitimate critique of the setting (comedic or otherwise), I'd almost prefer if they just ignored all the social and political issues around the hierarchy they live in. that sounds bad, but it would at least be more honest to its identity as a fantasy than legitimately pretending like it's the epitome of progressivess to not beat your servants for making a minor mistake. like if you care about your people so much prove it. redistribute your wealth and power. abandon your privileged life and status to protect abandoned political prisoners from being murdered in prison camps like wei wuxian did. bitch.

[chenfordswopez]

This is probably unpopular but Nate/Leia give me more Hyde/Donna than Eric/Jackie.

[sweet-beezus]

Tobias

A young mage with a hobby in glassmaking, and adventure in their heart. Recently, they started dreaming of lives they never lived, which gives them a suspicion that it may be foreshadowing future endeavors.

[writing-with-sophia]

Poison list

While it's important to approach writing with creativity and imagination, it's crucial to prioritize responsible and ethical storytelling. That being said, if you're looking for information on poisons for the purpose of writing fiction, it's essential to handle the subject matter with care and accuracy. Here is a list of some common poisons that you can use in your stories:

Hemlock: Hemlock is a highly poisonous plant that has been used as a poison in various works of literature. It can cause paralysis and respiratory failure.

Arsenic: Arsenic is a toxic element that has been historically used as a poison. It can be lethal in high doses and can cause symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, and organ failure.

Cyanide: Cyanide is a fast-acting poison that affects the body's ability to use oxygen. It can cause rapid loss of consciousness and cardiac arrest.

Nightshade: Nightshade plants, such as Belladonna or Deadly Nightshade, contain toxic compounds that can cause hallucinations, respiratory distress, blurred vision, dizziness, an increased heart rate, and even death when ingested.

Ricin: Ricin is a potent poison derived from the castor bean plant. It can cause organ failure and has been used as a plot device in various fictional works.

Strychnine: Strychnine is a highly toxic alkaloid that affects the nervous system, leading to muscle spasms, convulsions, and respiratory failure.

Snake Venom: Various snake venoms can be used in fiction as deadly poisons. Different snake species have different types of venom, each with its own effects on the body.

Digitalis: Digitalis, derived from the foxglove plant, contains cardiac glycosides. It has been historically used to treat heart conditions, but in high doses, it can be toxic. Overdosing on digitalis can cause irregular heart rhythms, nausea, vomiting, and visual disturbances.

Lead: Lead poisoning, often resulting from the ingestion or inhalation of lead-based substances, has been a concern throughout history. Lead is a heavy metal that can affect the nervous system, leading to symptoms such as abdominal pain, cognitive impairment, anemia, and developmental issues, particularly in children.

Mercury: Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that has been used in various forms throughout history. Ingesting or inhaling mercury vapors can lead to mercury poisoning, causing symptoms like neurological impairment, kidney damage, respiratory issues, and gastrointestinal problems.

Aconite: Also known as Wolfsbane or Monkshood, aconite is a highly toxic plant. Its roots and leaves contain aconitine alkaloids, which can affect the heart and nervous system. Ingesting aconite can lead to symptoms like numbness, tingling, paralysis, cardiac arrhythmias, and respiratory failure.

Thallium: Thallium is a toxic heavy metal that can cause severe poisoning. It has been used as a poison due to its tastelessness and ability to mimic other substances. Thallium poisoning can lead to symptoms like hair loss, neurological issues, gastrointestinal disturbances, and damage to the kidneys and liver.

When incorporating poisons into your writing, it is essential to research and accurately portray the effects and symptoms associated with them. Additionally, be mindful of the potential impact your writing may have on readers and the importance of providing appropriate context and warnings if necessary.

If you want to read more posts about writing, please click here and give me a follow!

[tanadrin]

@grimogretricks

For people saying that airport security is wholly theatre and that it doesn't do any good- certainly it seems they've gone overboard on certain things, but what is your explanation as to why hijackings and terrorist attacks involving planes are MUCH less common than they used to be?

Sorry that this is mostly off the dome, and has less references than I would like. We argued this stuff to death in the aughts, though ultimately the political incentives in favor of security theater were just too great. Everyone is terrified of the potential backlash of not being seen to do enough in advance of the next big terrorist attack, I guess. And to be clear, we are talking mostly about post-9/11 airport security measures as being security theater. Some degree of airport security has been necessary since people started getting on airplanes with guns and informing the pilot that, hey, guess what, we're going to Cuba instead of Miami today.

But the big reduction in airplane hijackings came with the institution of metal detectors to keep guns off airplanes after a couple high-profile hijackings in the 1970s. But remember that these incidents were of a very different character than what we now think of as the risk to airplanes: they were certainly a problem, but the modus operandi of hijackers in this era was to force the plane to fly to a non-extradition country and land safely. 9/11-style hijackings, that used the plane as a bomb and killed everyone aboard, were on nobody's radar--when the goal was blowing up the plane and killing passengers, bombers generally used bombs planted in checked baggage, which requires different security measures from passenger screening.

Two security changes occurred after 9/11 that made future such hijackings basically impossible: one, probably most importantly, was that passengers understood they no longer could count on hijackers having an interest in surviving the hijacking. This change in passenger behavior was immediate: later that same year when a guy tried to bomb an airplane (using a really ineffective device hidden in his shoe) passengers immediately acted to restrain him. The second important change was reinforcing cockpit doors and keeping them locked: this makes hijacking airplanes with knives (the only major modality left to most would-be hijackers) functionally impossible.

All the other intense passenger screening and security measures implemented after 9/11 has been repeatedly shown by security researchers to be pretty ineffective, not even very reliable at stuff like keeping knives off airplanes. For years after 9/11 there were endless news stories about law enforcement running drills at airports and weapons making their way through security. A lot of later security measures, like liquid limits in carry-on baggage, came from terrorist plots that didn't even make it off the drawing board (and are unlikely to have ever worked anyway), and seem mostly to be overzealous ass-covering by transportation security officials.

And, finally, we should note that the real security threats to airplanes in the post-9/11 era seem to have come come from two sources that are basically impossible to protect against using traditional security methods, and for which passenger-based security screening is useless: anti-aircraft missiles and suicidal pilots (plus an honorable mention to aircraft companies trying to skirt certain regulatory requirements).

Despite what decades of American media would have you believe, elaborate plots targeting transportation infrastructure and involving like a dozen people are actually not at the top of the list of terrorist methodologies--why time and money training members of your organization to fly planes into buildings, when you can just use social media to convince a guy to drive a car into a crowd of bystanders, or stab somebody on the street? It's much cheaper, and much, much harder to guard against. Random lone-wolf terrorism is, unlike the kind of elaborate plots portrayed on TV, and one-off real-life examples like 9/11, basically impossible for security services to guard against in advance. But in order to justify the war on terror, and large budgets for security services on anti-terrorism grounds, it was necessary to play up the threat of such plots, even if by its very nature 9/11 was impossible to repeat. For similar reasons, the post-9/11 era also played up the threat of Islamic extremism and large overseas terrorist networks, even though far-right extremists acting in small groups also have managed to kill huge numbers of people in spectacular ways.

So for all these reasons, and those noted at the top, the political incentives around transportation security means that passenger screening measures in airports are almost guaranteed to be a one-way ratchet, even if they don't work. It's a bit like the fabled anti-tiger amulet--it's easy to say the lack of tigers is proof it's working! Even if the real reason there are no tigers about is that you live in Ohio. The media environment post-War on Terror helped create a public appetite for and approval of such anti-tiger amulets, too, of course. This was not by any means a purely top-down phenomenon.

[azzandra]

I'm convinced that if Shang Qinghua decided to start writing and publishing after transmigrating, he would be like an invasive species. Like that cat that killed all the birds on that one island.

Airplane was a maniac who banged out 10k chapters while competing with millions of other writers on the attention market. This is a guy who had to know how to game the algo for attention if he wanted to have enough money for food.

And PIDW's world has what, maybe a few hundred people both literate and willing to write fiction? Airplane would eat these people for lunch. While they were poetically crafting new metaphors and delicately staging each scene, SQH would be creating the most id-stroking lowest common denominator trash imaginable.

He would not only smoke the competition, but introduce to this world every terrible, cheap trick of the hack writer. Everything ends in cliffhangers. Stakes constantly rising. Bullshit plot devices to contrive as much masturbatory emotional catharsis as possible. And he'd be selling like gangbusters.

[cloudbattrolls]

@raitrolling

Ironically while it is canonical Arty is going to develop a love for various shows that (thankfully) isn’t one of them

[fierce-little-miana]

Spoilers for 28 years later

Something I really was not expecting from 28 years later was the commentary on zombies and how we have come to perceive them (culturally speaking) as completely deshumanized bodies that we can kill gleefully.

28 years later is constantly reminding you that its zombies are infected people, not mythical creatures completly removed from us. That doesn't make them less dangerous, or killing them in self defense (or even mercy-killing them) wrong. But it does give a sinister spin on the "zombies killer" warrior figure that a lot of zombie media come to present as a given.

The movie does that through two main narative devices. Humanizing the infected and deconstructing the ideology behind the zombies killer figure.

It humanizes the infected notably by:

Introducing the Alphas. They are an extra threats sure, but they are also capable of reasons.

The entire plot with the pregnant infected woman.

The fact the everyone in Great-Britain is treated the same by the outisde world, infected or not.

Isla's disease. Isla is sick from a mystery illness that impairs her mental capacities. Isla is not infected, but she is often confused and sometimes even physically lashes out in way that are violent (when she wakes up and break everything on her nightstand, in the same scene she also turns against Jamie). I don't think it is a coincidence that Isla is the only character in the entire movie that kills an infected with her bare hands, and then has trouble remembering it. It is also not a coincidence that she is the first one showing compassion on screen to an infected.

The fact that Dr Kelson treats infected and non-infected in the exact same way in death and does not immediately turns to killing the infected to defend himself from them.

It deconstructs the figure of the zombie killer by:

Having Jamie being a troubling figure and an even more troubling father figure. He insists on taking his son on his first killing trip three years before it is common to do so (something the movie points out explicitly twice). He says he likes the smell of rotting carcasses. He lies to make his son appear more heroic (I am not saying that Spike was cowardly or anything, but still Jamie does embelish how this first hunt went).

The community that sanctions this kind of attitude is very much coded as conservative in an uncomfortable way. It is for example, routinely visually compared with English history (through the display of medieval battles and images of the boers war). However everytime it is compared to the medieval era (the mythical chivalric) the images shown are very clearly extracted from movies and artistic depictions rather than rigourous reconstruction. The only real images shown are from most recent colonial wars in which England commited war crimes.

It is nice to see a zombie film not taking the zombies as acceptable killable meatsack as a given.

[rosenclaws]

Cute || Logan Howlett x Reader

summary: Sometimes dating Logan comes with its difficulties. Especially when you feel like you just can't compare.

warnings: fem!reader, insecurity, jean slander im sorry bby but ur a plot device for this fic.

wc: 2.4k

a/n: I'm gonna be so honest I had this idea last night and I thought it would be fun to write but I finished it and I really hate my writing for some reason this week so I'm not happy with it but I wanted to get something out so here it is ig 😭

You never should have eavesdropped. You didn't mean to. But you heard Logan and Jean talking and you just...you couldn't resist.

Logan. Well he was everything to you. You never dreamed of being the one to wake up next to him. To be the one who gets to kiss him, to call him yours. You pined after man for a long time. Ever since you stumbled your way to the mansion Logan had invaded your heart. Powers that felt like nothing compared to the omega level mutants just down the hall.

Super senses and magnetic sensitivity that could barely movie a fridge magnet. People could shapeshift, teleport, and turn to metal. Compared to them you were no one, just another mutant living at the mansion.

For years you watched him from afar, falling deeper in love with him every day. Despite being so private Logan was gossiped about fairly often. The kids were drawn to him and his protective nature. The stories spread until he was something of an urban legend walking among commoners.

He’s over 150 years old who knows what he’s done in all that time. Stories of his heroics, his dark moments, his triumphs and his devastating losses. You tried not to pay any mind to them but you just couldn’t help yourself. He is the Wolverine. He may not lead the X-Men or enjoy the spotlight but he is undeniably a legend.

Whether he wants to be or not.

He didn’t even know your name, or at least that’s what you thought. It was something out of a fairytale the first time you two truly talked. The mansion was on lockdown because of a blizzard but you needed to get stuff for the lab. It was urgent and it couldn't wait. You were going to go alone but Logan had stopped you before you could even take one step out of the doors.

"Now where do you think you're going?" You yelped at the sound of his voice. Your ears folded back as you spun to see Logan standing behind you.

"Out." You said shyly. This is the longest conversation you think you've had with him. Your eyes glanced up to meet his but you could only look for a second. He just made you so nervous.

"Out? In 10ft of snow? You're going to freeze your damn ass off sweetheart." He raised an eyebrow as he gestured to the heavy snowfall outside. You felt your face heat up at the nickname.

"I'll be fine, promise." You bundled your coat and headed down the driveway, your ears perked up as you heard a second set of footsteps behind you.

"Logan, I said I was fine." You stopped and stared at the white snow in front of you. His heavy footsteps caught up to yours as he stood in front of you. Snow fell on top of his poufy hair, a cigar sat in his mouth.

"I'm sure you can take care of yourself, but I won't let you. So this better be worth it." Without another word he turned and continued down the driveway, leaving you stunned and rushing to catch up to him.

How he knew you were leaving was a mystery, you never asked. But you keep that moment close to your heart. By the time you returned to the mansion you were covered in snow and your face was freezing but you didn't care. Not when Logan had given you his jacket half way through the trip.

As you shake the snow off your hair you see Logan watching you, he's stripped down to just a t-shirt and your eyes dart to his arms. He walks up to you, a small smirk on his lips as your heart stops in your chest. You could smell his cologne and it was utterly overwhelming.

"Cute." He hummed. He walked away, whistling lowly as he headed back to his room. Oh it just wasn't fair how easily he could turn to you to a puddle of mush.

Logan continued to flirt and find ways to be around you, to talk to you. Until he actually asked you out on a date. Taking you to a diner just outside of town and buying you a milkshake. A little old fashioned to the point you asked if he had done this back in the 50's too. He just rolled his eyes at you but you saw that little smile he tried to hide.

You could barely believe that the Wolverine wanted you and honestly neither could some of the other mansions residents. You tried to block them out as best as you could but your super hearing made it hard. But Logan could hear them too and he always did his best to soothe your worries. But sometimes the words buried themselves under your skin, wrapping around your heart and they just won't let go.

There's...one thing that has always bothered you, maybe it's why you let those words get to you so much. Logan loves you, he's said it before and you know it's hard for him to be open and vulnerable. You kiss, you hold hands, you do...other things behind closed doors. But there's one word that just seems to haunt you.

Cute.

Logan calls you cute all the time and you like when he does but that's all he calls you. Not beautiful, pretty, gorgeous, stunning. Just cute. Your quiet nature and shitty powers already make it hard for people to take you seriously sometimes and for Logan to just see you as cute, it hurt.

You're not a literal goddess like Ororo or stunning like Jean or beautiful like Marie. It was slowly killing you inside every time he called you that. But you kept it to yourself, you couldn't lose him. You loved him and you just had to believe he loved you too.

Which brings you to this stupid conversation with Jean. She was never your biggest fan and you think it has something to do with the fact that Logan used to chase after her. It was no secret that Logan had a thing for Jean since the day he showed up at the mansion. But that was years ago and he promised he was over it, that he's moved on.

So why is it so hard to see them together?

You really didn't mean to intrude, you were just looking for Logan. Your ears perking up when you heard his voice coming from the kitchen. As you neared closer you heard that he wasn't alone.

"You seem happier." Jeans voice was light but you could sense a hint of hostility as she talks.

You peaked into the kitchen and saw them together, alone. Logan was leaning against the counter with a root beer and Jean was next to him, a little too close for your liking. You should leave, you shouldn't listen this is an invasion of privacy. But your feet stayed rooted to the ground. Unmoving.

"I am." Logan says as he takes a sip of his drink.

"Look Logan, we're old friends right? So you can be honest with me." Jean places her hand on his wrist and he doesn't move.

"Are you sure about her? I mean the two of you together, it's a bit odd isn't it."

"Odd? The hell is that supposed to mean?" Logan narrows his eyes as he tries to understand what Jean was saying. She laughs and you feel your heart clench.

"She's like your pet Logan, cute but not very serious. She's not what you need." There's that damn word again. Cute. Her voice cruel and uncaring. As if she was just stating the obvious. And maybe she was. There's the knife, stabbing right into your heart.

"Be honest Logan, is she really what you want?" She asks. You wait for his response. You wait and wait. The knife twisting with each passing second. Shredding your heart to pieces as he stays quiet.

"Stay out of my head Jean." He growls, slamming the now empty bottle onto the counter.

Is that all he has to say? Really? The knife falls to the ground a bloody mess, leaving your heart completely and utterly broken. Suddenly the once comforting smell of his cologne is suffocating.

So you just run.

Run far away from the mansion, from Logan and Jean. From everybody. You just run and run until you can't anymore. You bury your face in your hands and let the tears fall. Tears of anger and hurt and sadness stream down your face. Who were you kidding? Logan is the guy of your dreams and now you're waking up. A pet. Is that really how everyone sees you? Some cute little thing to entertain Logan until he moves on to someone else? You don't know how long you're out in the small forest behind the mansion.

You slowly walk back, needing to just lock yourself in your room for the foreseeable future. The sun is gone and you've definitely missed dinner. There's a few lights left on by the time you reach the open clearing. Your arms are wrapped around your self as you keep your head low. You just feel purely defeated. You slip in the back door and up the stairs to your room. As you place your hand on your doorknob you hear a very angry Logan.

"Where the fuck have you been?!"

"Nowhere." You snap as you open your door and try to close it in his face. He slams his hand on the door to stop you. He follows you inside and slams the door shut.

"Nowhere? I looked everywhere for you. No one knew were you went. Do you know how worried I was?" He growls, the veins on his neck are bulging. You roll your eyes and it ticks Logan off even more.

"What the fuck has gotten into you?"

"Sorry is your little pet misbehaving?" You snap, your fist balling in anger as you finally face him. Logan's eyes widen when he sees the tears in your eyes.

"What?"

"I heard you and Jean in the kitchen Logan." You wipe your eyes as you slowly step closer to him. "She's just a pet, be serious Logan." You mock in anger.

"Trust me that's not the first time I've heard that before, but you." You shove his chest but he doesn't move, he's watching you. Stunned by the outburst.

"You just sat there and didn't say anything. Nothing Logan!" You shout, not caring who heard you. He grabs your wrists and pulls you close to him. He's never looked so serious before.

"Jean is full of shit and you know it sweetheart."

"Do I?" You rest your head against his chest. The anger slowly draining as defeat takes its place.

"Logan when was the last time you called me anything other than cute?" You ask. He opens his mouth but nothing comes out.

"Do you understand what hearing cute and only cute feels like? Is that really the only compliment you can think to give me? Do you not love me?" He lets go of your hands and you push him away.

You fall onto your bed and cry. Logan feels sick to his stomach. He didn't know its all bothered you so much, he thought he was doing alright protecting you. But he's failed you. He drops to his knees and tries to pull your hands away from your face.

"Sweetheart, of course I love you." He mumbles.

"I just feel so small sometimes. Standing next to you, being with you. Logan we were never meant to be together."

"What are you talking about?" You finally lift your head up and Logan wastes no time in wiping away your tears. You are everything Logan wants. Meant to be together? He wants to be with you and that's good enough for him.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" "Yes, prettier than anyone else in the world." He says without missing a beat.

"So why have you never said anything?" Logan sighs as he rubs his thumb gently across your cheek.

You're everything to him. You were never a rebound or a pet, god he hates that word now. Logan...he's not the kind of man you'd ever look at and think cute or soft. He is definitely not the kind of man to be loved by you. You're so gentle and kind and so cute it makes his heart hurt. He's never experienced that before. He's not the guy who gets the pretty sweet girl. But then he was and shit, it feels good. So fuck the rumors and the gossip.

"Someone like you shouldn't be with someone like me, I'm not the hero people think I am. So when someone like you loves me, it's a little hard to believe sometimes." He tilts your head up to press a kiss to your lips.

"You're cute," He kisses your cheek softly.

"and pretty," Another kiss.

"and beautiful and gorgeous and so much more." You let out a small giggle as his bread scratches your face.

He nuzzles into you until you open yourself up. He wraps his arms around your waist and hoists you up off the bed. Spinning around until he's got you in his lap.

"Cute isn't an insult. Just seeing you smile makes me feel like a fucking teenager." Logan bumps his nose against yours.

"I didn't answer Jean because I didn't want to. It's no one else's damn business how I feel about you."

"You really think all that?" You say shyly, biting your lip as the doubt still creeps into your head. But Logan pushes it away with another searing kiss.

"Fuck yeah I do. You're everything I could ever want." He frowns as he notices the worry on your face. He would give anything to make it better.

"And more." He adds on. He sees the smile grow and he feels the weight lift off his chest.

"Come on, don't hide that pretty smile from me." He grabs your chin so he can get a better look at you.

He makes a silent promise to never let you feel like this again. Anger stirs inside but he keeps himself as calm as he can. If he had his way he'd rip into anyone who feels like spreading their stupid gossip. But for your sake he won't. But he makes no promises the next time he hears some punk kid open their damn mouth about HIS girl.

"I love you Logan." You hum as you duck your head to rest under his chin, wanting to be held by your boyfriend. His arms wrap around you, holding you close for as long as you need.

"I love you too sweetheart, my gorgeous girl."

[chow0w]

I’d honestly love to see your take on fashion for all of the tribes! I always love seeing world-building in the fork of fashion!

Thank you so much!! I'm trying to branch out and tie fashion in with lore/culture - I genuinely lost the plot with this one but you have to walk with me like WALK with me right now. come here.

Scarlet and the Skywings: A discussion on fashion, politics and culture

About this image: Queen Scarlet crawls out of her own self-portrait, looking down at Tourmaline and the Skywings in fury. She does not notice the Guillotine above her or the fire below her, focused only on her daughter who looks up in defiance. The words 'Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité' are repeated in the background, and Tourmaline's wings are drawn to look like rays of sun.

Setting the scene - Skywings and the French

I won't pretend to know the Skywing kingdom inside out, but tailwind's section in guide to the tribes gives good insight to the kingdom's situation during Scarlet/Firestorm's reign. the extract suggests that the Skywing kingdom was an economically thriving center for the arts, as well as a kingdom which followed some semblance of an aristocracy with noble families and an upper/lower class divide - similar to the situation of pre-revolution France.

We must also consider the scope of how bad things actually were before/during Queen Scarlet's reign. Social class is never directly mentioned in canon, but it could easily be reasoned (from her + Queen Firestorm's behavior) that Scarlet's rule created tons of problems for the kingdom's commoner. between fighting 20 years of sandwing succession war, uprooting major cultural practices and dumping heinous amounts of money into self-portraits, it's safe to say Scarlet and her mother were probably the two worst things that could ever happen to the average working Skywing. Like this is the Queen who threw Osprey (A public figure old enough to be long loved) into a ravine for... teaching Peril the law.

Starved of kingdom funding, ripped from their culture and sent off to die in a sandwing war, I really feel that the Skywings deserved to crash out French style on their high society.

(That's not to say that I dislike the canon plot of the kingdom: in fact, I think it's good - it completes its duty as a plot device and still manages to make sense and be cool. If I was Tui, I would absolutely call it a day there. Lucky for me, I'm a tumblr artist and not a bestselling author. I get to write about violent revolutions.)

The revised timeline

Given the context on why I think the Skywings needed a good revolution, here's how I personally would've structured the timeline after Scarlet's rule, including the events of Escaping Peril. If you haven't read that book, I suggest skipping down to the next image.

Scarlet comes into power. Bad things happen to everyone. Skywings are pissed for 20 years, but between the war, economic issue and the fire demon (Peril) nobody really has the energy to revolt. They stay quietly angry, and (perhaps) form something similar to the chrysalis.

One day, the dragonets of destiny arrive - something happens in the arena and the tyrant is gone. The kingdom sits in aftershock for a moment, before springing into gleeful celebration. The real bloodbath is never for Scarlet - presumed to be dead or missing, they turn to the Skywing nobles who supported her instead. The WoF wiki states Skywings enjoy entertainment and fighting alike, so I like to think their last gritty celebration of freedom was making the (oppressive) aristocracy their last arena victims. Dragons like Tailwind (born into nobility but low-lying or unsupportive) were probably spared.

Queen Ruby is elected to be the new skywing ruler by default - some Skywings may feel hesitant or reluctant to have Scarlet's daughter in power, but tradition + scares of another sandwing-type war keep them from kicking her out. She does a great job, so it doesn't matter anyways and they love her.

Scarlet comes back in Escaping Peril, and for a brief moment the kingdom is turned upside down. Stories spread like wildfire, and the Skywing population are ignited with a new sense of rage at their old Queen's return. At this point, I don't even think Peril's presence would be able to stop riots and uprise on the streets.

Ruby challenges Scarlet and the canon ending happens, or Peril (somehow) realizes Ruby is Tourmaline another way and the fight can be avoided altogether. Instead, the nature of Tourmaline's erasure (using animus magic, changing her identity) is so offensively un-Skywing that the population snaps and jump Scarlet together, right then and there. She dies like Scar from the lion king.

Back to the fashion - high society

Plot lost, plot recovered. I will talk about fashion now - starting with that of the aristocracy (specifically during Scarlet and Firestorm's reign.)

Extravagant garments crown the nature of upper-class fashion: big bows, long dresses, feathered headpieces and fur wigs are what make you well-dressed here. Curiously, upper-class Skywing attire is not very Skywing at all: imports are in, tradition is out! The dragons of the aristocracy order pearls from the sea, pelts from the north and the finest tailors to put it together. As the sandwing succession war starts, trade deals are interrupted and these garments become rarer: more valuable.

Function and Logistics

These garments are generally viewed as unisex, with the urge to be best dressed outcompeting the urge to have gendered clothing within society. Most of them have intricate mechanical makeup, which is a landmark to the Skywings and their long history of design. Copper wires braided together are bent to form skirt cages, and headdresses are fashioned in place using a complicated network of leather bands and iron clips. Putting these outfits on would undoubtedly require a team of assistants: maids clip the headdress in place while tailors edit the radius of the skirt cage, fixing it in place with a small plume of flame. The final result is a splendorous, inconvenient piece of clothing meant to show your wealth and absolutely nothing else. I imagine that flying is near impossible with these garments (or - one can fly, at the expense of their gown) so most dressing and undressing is done within palace walls.

Queen Scarlet and her mother, obsessed with beauty, would likely uphold these garments as a uniform standard within balls and celebrations. Skywings were expected to look as best as they could, with absolutely no exceptions and a very deadly consequence for disobedience. Fashion is always, in some aspect, political; seeing this type of needless extravagance as a working-class Skywing would've undoubtedly sparked anger, and I'm sure the French revolutionaries would agree.

Clothing for the Skywings: past and present

As it tends to, the fashion of the elites will bleed into the world around it - and with the removal of their culture and tradition, the Skywings of the kingdom would most likely follow suit in how they dressed themselves - abandoning traditional garb in fear of Queen Scarlet, and adopting new fashion trends.

These trends would include simplified, practical versions of High-class clothing: petticoats and puff sleeves replace pearl necklaces, fitting in with societal expectations while still being functional. These coats could be used to store day-to-day necessities like gold coins, trinkets or herbal medicines, with the sleeves made from thinly stretched fabric. Some Skywings may choose to embroider their coats and shirts, or even wear a hat - a slightly impractical item which could be used to flaunt one's financial security. While this fashion is nice, I'm sure lots of Skywings would be old enough to remember their traditional wear: some may even have it in their home, tucked away in the attic with other relics of home.

I imagine these garments were much more fluid in shape: made to be beautiful and flyable, they consisted of long fabrics trailing down from the base of one's neck, made from local materials found on the mountain - feathers, wool, flower dyes etc. The clothes themselves were beautifully detailed through pattern, not shape: beads, embroidery and stitching could be used to create a high-class garment, which would be used during weddings or balls. Some hats may have also been present, although these would still be largely difficult to fly with. These clothes probably returned as the Skywing kingdom began to heal, alongside the old traditions buried under tyranny.

When sketching these garments, I looked to traditional Kazakh clothing for inspiration, as both cultures share their mountainous location and use of local material. I understand that Kazakh and French clothing are different fashions from wildly different cultures, and the only reason this really works is because I'm writing in the context of fictional dragon world and not real human world. I considered keeping the fashion solely French, but honestly they're both so beautiful I had to include Kazakh clothing too!

Choosing which cultures to investigate is always the hardest part about making these posts, and so I'm trying to incorporate a lot of diversity as I plan - and maybe even explore one tribe in the lens of multiple cultures.

If you made it all the way down here, thank you so much for reading along! Writing about lore and culture is SO fun, and I really appreciate all of you who've inquired about fashion/culture within the other tribes! These posts take a little bit longer to make, so I'm aiming for one a week but we'll see. To anyone interested, my art contest is still going until the end of June! If you're a regular on this blog you will have heard this too often and want to jump me, but please have mercy.

You can find more info and enter here, in my discord server!

later ヾ(`ヘ´)ﾉﾞ