#<- for the people that spell it like that (for some reason)

[cy-cyborg]

It's been confirmed that there are 3 amputees in the main cast of Dragon Age: the veilguard - Neve (leg amputee), Bellara (arm amputee) and your inquisitor (arm amputee). So as an amputee myself, here are some things I'd like to see.

Note: these aren't predictions, just things I'd really like to be included.

The inquisitor doesn't use a prosthetic (I already talked about this in its own post but with 3 amputees, and 2 of them already being shown to use prosthetics that, lets be honest, do look like "perfect replacement" prosthetics, it would be nice to see at least one who doesn't)

We will get to customise our inquisitor in chatacter creation, so I would love, if they do use a prosthetic, for there to be some customisability to it (im not holding my breath there but still).

Neve and Bellara's prosthetics aren't perfect prosthetics, and they are actually acknowledged as being disabled while still being active members of your party.

There's some kind of party banter between Neve and Bellara about some of the downsides/problems with their prosthetics, not necessarily in a "poor them" way, but in a "ugh, don't you just hate it when you can't get the stupid thing on in the morning" kind of way.

I get a kind of jokey/adventurous vibe from Bellara, I hope they aren't affraid to let her use her prosthetic for pranks or jokes. I don't think neve would, but I can see bellara having a blast with it.

I hope the prosthetics come off during down time. No amputee wears their prosthetics 24/7, it's uncomfortable, and they get heavy and sore after using them all day.

I hope we see Neve express some frustration or see her alter her walk animation on rough terrain. It's hard to get a clear look because the trailers she's been shown in are so dark, but her foot doesn't look articulated, which is going to change how she walks, even just a little bit.

I hope the prosthetics don't break - this is a trope I'm starting to notice more and more, where someone has a perfect prosthetic that is only not a perfect replacement when it breaks, usually for plot reasons, at which point the character in question is forced out of the action until its fixed. DA has forced companions out of your party for story reasons before (e.g. solas after you free his spirit friend and he needs to cool off) so I can see this being used for plot, and I really hope it's not.

The inquisitor, Neve and Bellara compair prosthetists (the maker of the prosthetic) and maker techniques.

I really doubt they'll do this but I'd love it if random NPC's approach you if you have any of the amputees in your party to ask what happened and/or make weird comments at them ("but cy, that would be so annoying and inconvenient!" That's the point. So many people do that to irl amputees, and it's never at a convenient or even safe time, and I've never seen it happen in media. A game is arguably the best place to have it happen, in, say, a random event similar to the ones that could happen in origins)

In that same vein, I'd love to see a scene where someone approaches the inquisitor to call them an inspiration- you and the inquisitor assume it's for, you know, beating corripheus (I know I spelled it wrong lol) and saving the world, but it's revealed the chatacter has no idea who the hell the inquisitor is and just means it's inspiring that they're out in public "like that" - referring to their arm. This also happens to me all the time, and you can't tell me some snooty orlesean or tevinter noble wouldn't make those back-handed compliments, lol. You also can't convince me that any version of the inquisitor would just accept that

I hope none of the chatacters are used as inspiration porn ("don't you worry Rook! I can still pull my own weight on the team despite being an amputee, you just have to give me a chance to prove myself!")

At least one of the chatacter's stories of how they lost their limb is left untold in game (we don't always need to know how it happened if it's not relevent to the plot).

Like I said, these aren't predictions, just my hopes. I wouldn't hold my breath for any of these to be honest (bioware has not been the best in term of disability rep in the past) but A lot of them wouldn't be hard to implement and could take the representation from hardly even acknowledging their disability to something actually pretty decent disability rep-wise. It's also pretty rare to have so many characters with the same kind of disability in the cast of such a mainstream piece of media, and I really, really hope they do something with that because you can have a lot of fun with that.

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: Of Ghosts & Griffins

What do they worship? The Winged Lion, whom they mistake for a god?

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It's so interesting how Izutsumi's cat is dominant in this place. I don't understand enough about soul magic or the spell that maintains this to know why. It FEELS right - this is a place for monsters, and that's the part of her that's a monster? But I bet there's worldbuilding that explains it...

WAIT, OR: that couple pages I reblogged with hte werewolf clearly implied that Izursumi isn't a human with a cat spirit put in her, she's a cat with a human spirit put in her. So maybe whatever enchantments shield and maintain the Golden Country bring the cat spirit to the fore as part of their preservative properties, doing their best to remove this curse upon the poor cat? Izutsumi doesn't change shape, just mind, because the souls are so mixed and/or the human soul is so much stronger than hte cat.

Who the fuck took a human soul and put it in a cat. Why would you do that I wonder if we'll ever know.

(The question of the comic is thus, of course: did Falin's soul get put inside a dragon's, in which case she'll be stuck with a dragonoid body at best, or did the dragon's get put inside Falin's, in which she should be able to shift back and forth at will once the Mage isn't forcibly holding the dragon's soul dominant?)

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This is the most hobbitly we've seen Chilchuck. I keep expecting him to start talking about how his old gaffer used to drink down at the pub.

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shadkjsh Chilchuck get your mind out of the gutter!

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These would unironically do numbers at the right Met Gala. I unironically really like the middle, floral one. And specificially the crossed-antlers brassiere on the third.

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They're dead! They're under a spell (a curse) of immortality so they can't change and they can't leave and nobody knows they exist and they can't make an impression on the world and nobody even really knows they did exist, not as individuals beyond a vague collective legend; and most of all they don't hunger, they don't want for anything in their bucolic life (except freedom or death) and they don't hunger for food, they don't eat and even if they do eat it they can't enjoy it, because they're immortal but in every single way that matters they are d e a d !

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Alright my current theory is: this kingdom always venerated a winged lion deity, for whatever reason. Myths happen. Then one day, a demon slipped in from wherever demons slip in and disguised itself as the winged lion in order to be easily trusted by the populace. It started offering the fulfillment of desires in exchange for the consumption of other desires.

It tricked the Mage somehow, so that by their powers combined they turned the populace of this city into a feeding pen for the demon - safe and happy forever! being slowly drained of all their desires.

But as the people's desires started to run truly dry, until they were functionally dead, the demon grew hungry - and maybe greedy. So it sent the villagers this "prophetic dream" about one who would save them, motivating Delgal to get to the surface - probably with the demon's help, covert so the Mage wouldn't know; still pretending to be a god if Delgal himself knew. It let the dungeon be opened, drawing all sort of greedy and desperate people down into its feasting range.

...whatever trick/bargain it made with hte Mage, it's probably going to try to do much the same with Marcille, with her terror of loss.

:D

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P.S. I love how Yaad keeps calling him "Sir Laios" like he's a knight, instead of just some guy with good intentions who thinks monsters are neat. Also, Chilchuck literally just shaking his head at Laios.

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Needless to say, the contrast between Laios's blind panic at being told he's a prophecied hero and king and Kabru's "If I had the ability to take over this dungeon and kingdom, I'd fix absolutely everything and no one would have any problems ever again" is hilarious and wonderful.

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Laios basically just told that orc chieftain that he'd think about what he'd do as king, right? ...Well, I guess it's time for him to think about it.

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THEIR HANDS ARE COLD BECAUSE THEY ARE D E A D.

Btw in a just world, Yaad would be a woman. Princess in a Tower vibes off the charts. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

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I'M FINALLY PAST WHERE I GOT IN THE SHOW!!

I see this translation is calling the Mad Mage "Sissel." Just as its decision to call her the "lunatic magician", I deem this to be a stupid-ass decision and have elected to ignore it in favor of "Thistle", which is a much better name for a weird elf orphan turned mad mage.

Ah, damn, they corrected to he/him pronouns. So much for women's wrongs... I STAND BY it making perfect sense in-universe for our protagonists to get it wrong from their first, confusing meeting, though!

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Takin' a moment to appreciate Thistle's fucked up pupils, which I'm given to understand indicate the demon's influence. I'm having so much fun! Are you having fun? I'm having fun.

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...does the famous dwarvish sense of direction derive in part from secret dwarvish trail markers that they put in all dungeons and mines and never tell other species about? That's great. That's so good. They clearly do ALSO have sensitive inner ears, and secret cultural practices.

Btw I adore every time someone calls Chilchuck "Chil." NICKNAMES ARE A SIGN OF LOVE.

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SEEING SENSHI IN DISTRESS MAKES ME IN DISTRESS, AND THEN YOU DROP HIM LIKE THE FOOTBALL ON A CHAPTER CLIFFHANGER?! JAIL! JAIL FOR AUTHOR! JAIL FOR 1000 YEARS!!!

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This map is 10/10 desired detail. I want to know the difference between dwarf-style, gnome-style, compound and I bet elf-style dungeons so bad.

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Marcille just cut off one of her braids for Senshi! She didn't hesitate at all! Her hair!!!

And they're risking basically all their food on this! (Man I love how all life, including revivification and creating familiars, literally requires heavy caloric input. I love love love how this comic starts with the simple premise "food is essential to life" and says it over and over in infinite ways.)

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This is just very cool art to represent what's happening. I don't like looking at it, it makes my eye hurt.

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This visual is just so good.

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Brotp: In-Laws on a Mission

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unironically this panel fucks so hard. I need to name something after this. I also need to watch this episode just for the intense energy of this whole sequence.

(I Love how they're just squeezing and re-shaping these things like playdoh. Good familiars best friends just to tolerate this shit.)

Btw I also really like that, while Marcille has started teaching Laios some simple healing spells, that's kept clearly distinct from this sort of advanced magic. Multiclassing takes levels just like the rest!

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TWO-SHOT KO ON A GRIFFIN! Have I mentioned how fun it is that these guys are fucking good at their jobs? We love a little competence porn on the side.

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CHILCHUCK WAS THE FIRST TO START TALKING ABOUT HIS PAST! Yes, of course, he had to be. He's the one who's most aggressively closed-off about it, as opposed to passively closed off like the rest. Mulitple good panels here fo Chilchuck being the emotionally intelligent one, too.

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oh my god Senshi's story.

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I'm so glad she keeps putting them in full-body animal suits.

(And I feel Hiromu Arakawa's cowsona in the Chili's tonight...)

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P.S. OH, LAST MINUTE EDITION as I open the next chapter: They all changed species before they stepped in hte circle of change-your-species mushrooms!! Oh man I can't wait to see a) shenanigans and b) how this gets woven into the ongoing subplot of interspecies conflict, and any other greater themes. Fuck me uuupp Ryoko Kui! (...tomorrow, bc I have to go to bed now :( )

[anne-chloe]

“So Annoying”

Lando Norris x F!Reader

Summary : Lando irritates you a lot, but what if you realise those are the things that attract you the most?

Word Count : 2413

I am by no means an F1 fan, I only know of Lando because a good friend of mine is head over heels for him. She asked me to write this, and I originally wasn’t planning on publicly sharing it, but if she enjoyed it then I guess other people will too. I’m deeply sorry for any spelling or grammar errors, this wasn’t proof read at all. If Lando seems OOC in anyway, I apologise, I wrote this in roughly 1 hour and only did a quick research about him.

Enjoy!

You always dreaded race weekends.

Not for any particular reason other than the racer himself: Lando. He was charming enough as a person, always smiling and always cheerful, but he was the bane of your very existence.

“Mornin’,” Lando greeted, his waltz into the room making your eye twitch. He reached the mini fridge and picked himself a drink, and it was only once his back was turned that you stuck your tongue out.

Childish, sure, but could anyone blame you when he was so obnoxious?

Lando turned to face you, a slurping noise filling the room. You tried not to growl at the sound, and instead focused your mind on the social media post you had been re-reading for the past 5 minutes.

Your role was simple. While Lando was truly the star of the show, you worked behind the scenes as a PR despite your disdain for the racer. You ensured his publicity remained sparkly clean; you created social media posts to promote him as much as possible, and you helped, sometimes, to secure him for brand deals when possible.

Many people had questioned why you disliked Lando so much, and truthfully it was difficult to answer sometimes. He treated you and the rest of his PR team with respect, but there was only one thing that got on your nerves, and that was—

“Hey, personal assistant Y/N, are you listening to me?”

That.

You forced a smile and slowly lowered your phone. “Haven’t I asked you to not call me that?” You asked, a slight strain to your voice.

Lando had, at some point, sat on the sofa across from you. One leg was crossed over the other, and he looked to be comfy. His shoulders bounced as he shrugged, impartial to your request. “Probably,” he said, his lopsided, boyish smile returning, as usual whenever he pissed you off.

You unconsciously squeezed the sides of your phone to the point you thought it would shatter.

“What do you want?” You asked through gritted teeth, your smile feeling tight on your cheeks. You wondered if it was possible to tear muscles from faking a smile so much.

Lando recapped his drink and lifted the bottle so he could watch the liquid swirl around. For a brief moment, you felt like launching your phone at him and storming out, because he was obviously wasting your time on purpose. Then, he placed the bottle on the table and leaned back, his smile ever-so-bright.

“Nothing. Never mind.”

You groaned out loud. Lando’s eyes widened as you suddenly stood up.

“Huh? Where are you going?” Lando asked, watching as you stalked across the room and towards the door.

“To find my sanity,” you snapped, more harshly than you had intended. You reached out for the door, but paused with your blood boiling hot as Lando’s angelic laugh filled the room. You spun around on your heel, steam practically rising from your ears. “Why are you laughing?”

Lando tilted his head to the side, making him appear all the more innocent.

But he was far from innocent in annoying you.

“Because you’re so easy to wind up,” he teased, his smile reaching his eyes. “I’ve been told that you get annoyed by me, and I never noticed it before. So I guess it’s true, huh?”

You felt your face burn hot. Not only did Lando know how much he irritated you, but someone had openly told him as much. You tried to think back to who it could possibly be, but there were far too many culprits possible for doing something like that. Nothing could ever be kept a secret, not even secrets you’d never said aloud.

Though, you wondered if your irritation for Lando was even a secret. You weren’t the best at containing your emotions, and you had been told before that you were very much an open book.

You blinked yourself into a frown, your arms coming up to cross defensively over your chest. “Think what you want,” you muttered, “but don’t forget that I am the person in charge of your media representation.”

Lando’s smile fell from his face in an instant, and it was the first time you had ever witnessed him become so serious. “What do you mean by that?”

He seemed uncharacteristically nervous in that moment, and a spark of triumph warmed your chest. You slowly turned and pushed the door open, deciding that simple silence was the best answer for him.

Let him stew in his confusion.

Over the next few weeks, the hours went by in a blur. Interviews came and went, training flew by in the blink of an eye… and it all led up to the race that everyone had been anticipating.

Lando hadn’t spoken a word to you since you basically threatened to ruin his reputation. As much as you disliked Lando, you didn’t hate him enough to do something so cruel. Not only would you be tarnishing his golden reputation, but you’d also damage your own career permanently. And for the sake of what? Him annoying you? It wasn’t worth it.

You sat amongst the rest of Lando’s team, listening absentmindedly as the crew communicated with one another through headsets. The tension in the paddock was a mix of relaxation, excitement and nerves. While you disliked Lando, you were nervous for his performance.

As much as you never wanted to boost his already inflated ego, he was a brilliant racer. You were almost always present during his practice sessions, sometimes taking sneaky pictures or low quality videos for the PR page (of course, for the intentions of promoting Lando, and certainly not for your own personal benefit), and it always served as a reminder as to why you had chosen to represent Lando and the rest of the team.

You were present when Lando was offered, accepted and signed to McLaren. It was a huge moment for him, and certainly exciting. Like the rest of the team, you understood the high expectations for Lando and his future in racing. And his face when he signed contracts, his smile … he was ecstatic the entire time, humble, like he was caught up in a dream.

You could recall how his eyes twinkled when he met your reassuring gaze. His smooth, gentle voice as he greeted everybody with kindness, and when you introduced yourself as the PR for the first time, you could remember looking between his eyes and his lips, wondering how soft they would feel against your own—

—Your phone clattered to the floor.

The buzzing chatter in the paddock came to a halt as heads turned in your direction. You froze, words caught up in your throat before you snapped into reality and snatched your phone from the floor. You hastily checked for damage to the screen, and when you confirmed there was none, you smiled rather sheepishly to the rest of the crew.

“Sorry,” you quickly said, coughing to clear your throat. There was that familiar burning in your cheeks, and you coughed again before turning away. “I need a drink. And some fresh air. Excuse me.”

You didn’t wait for a response. You practically rushed out the door and away from the curious eyes of your colleagues.

Because what the fuck is wrong with you?

You stomped off in a random direction, unsure of where you should even go. Yes, you needed some fresh air, maybe some quiet from all the noise and buzzing excitement, but could you seriously trust yourself not to let your mind wander to something like that again?

You didn’t even know where that thought had come from. When you first met Lando, your first impression was certainly not about whether his lips were soft or not. They were not focused on his smooth, sultry voice that plagued your thoughts as often as they did. It was a civil first impression and nothing else.

But that was the catalyst.

The race ended with Lando coming in second. You weren’t present emotionally for the finish, you were too caught up in your mind to comprehend whatever was happening.

You couldn’t think straight. Not anymore. Your thoughts were a jumbled mess. Every memory you had of Lando suddenly changed, each of them focusing on small details that you shouldn’t have ever remembered. Rather than reminiscing his obnoxious, boisterous behaviour, you could only focus on his hands and slender fingers; his hair that he so often ran his fingers through, making it unintentionally messy; his eyes that sparkled whenever he was happy; the dimples in his cheeks when he smiled…

“You’re awfully quiet. Aren’t you going to join us and celebrate?”

You flinched violently as the man of your complicated thoughts appeared.

You nervously licked your lips and deliberately stared down at his shoes, not risking the chance of getting lost in his eyes. You didn’t want to find out what your thoughts were capable of anymore. They were too dangerous. “No… no, I’m not. I think I’m going to go home early, actually,” you muttered, hoping it would be enough to shoo Lando away.

But it wasn’t enough.

Lando’s hand appeared, and his fingers very gently grasped your chin. You gasped as he guided your head up, so you were now looking at him.

His head was tilted to the side, and for once he wasn’t smiling and seeming pleased with himself. If anything, he looked worried. His frown was deep, and his eyes were soft and caring as he stared, searching into yours for answers that you wouldn’t provide verbally.

Lando lifted his other hand and pressed the back of it to your forehead. He hummed and slowly nodded his head. “You do feel really warm, and your cheeks are super red.”

Fuck. You felt like turning and smacking your face against the nearest wall. Hopefully it would knock you out and send you to a life where none of this was happening.

“You must be sick. Let me walk you back to the hotel.” Lando let go of your chin and placed a hand on your shoulder, his fingers giving a firm squeeze that you guessed was meant as reassuring.

“That’s…” you stammered, your upper body jolting while your lower body felt like jelly. “That’s fine!” You gasped out, suddenly finding it impossible to speak coherently. “I can walk myself. You should—you should go and celebrate, uh, with everyone else—“

Lando snorted out a laugh. “And chance you dropping dead on your way back? I don’t think so. You might not like me very much, Y/N, but I actually enjoy having you as my personal assistant.”

You bit down on your lip. Hard.

Perhaps it was to stop you from screaming in frustration to the awful title he had given you, or maybe it was because you were so incredibly flustered by his hand still touching your shoulder. Either way, you couldn’t tell. The only thing you were certain of was the strange, godawful metallic taste filling your mouth.

You paused against Lando’s guiding push, your own hand reaching up to gently press against your mouth. You looked down at your skin, which was now smeared red with blood.

“Ouch?” Lando said, now staring wide eyed at the small trickle of blood trailing from your mouth. “What happened?”

“It’s fine,” you said quickly, taking this chance to step away from him. You needed to create some distance or else you feared your next move would be to faint. Though, in second thoughts, that actually sounded like the best escape route away from Lando and his intoxicating smell of Dior Suavage, the signature waft of vanilla notes entangling the last of your senses and—

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” You spun away from Lando and covered your mouth with your hand again, applying pressure to the tear on your lips.

As if you were seriously drowning in his cologne…

“Let me look,” Lando said, stepping into your line of sight again. “The medic bay is still set up, we can go and—“

“I said it’s fine!” You hissed, swatting his hand away from your face. “Stop fussing!”

Lando rolled his eyes. “Stop being stubborn,” he argued, his hands grasping your shoulders and giving you a small shake. “It’s obviously not fine. Why won’t you let me help you?”

“Because I—“ you froze, now noticing the genuine softness in his eyes. You opened your mouth to continue arguing again, but no sound came out, leaving you to look incredibly daft with your lips parted so wide. “I don’t— I just—“

Perhaps he wasn’t even aware that he was doing it, or I’m maybe he knew exactly what he was doing to you, but his hands slowly trailed down from your shoulders until they reached your hands. His fingers, calloused and not at all smooth, tangled with yours. You blinked rapidly, his eyes boring deep into yours in search of something.

And the feeling was magnetic. His hands fit so perfectly with yours, to the point you knew you would be devastated if he let go.

“You just what?” Lando asked, his voice dropping into a low, husky whisper.

There was no intelligible answer. You couldn’t conjure a single thought that would be suitable enough for the moment.

Slowly, Lando leaned in closer, as if he was blind and couldn’t see deep enough into your eyes. His nose was touching yours, and you held your breath in anticipation for what was to come next.

This was the closest he had ever been before. It was a situation you had never considered happening, because it shouldn’t have been happening. You found Lando annoying and unbearable; he was loud and always on the move, and yet…

Those were the qualities that kept you entertained, no matter how irksome they could get at times.

And before you could register what was happening, his lips pressed to yours. His hands let go of your hands and planted against your hips, holding you firmly in place. You were grateful for the anchor, because if he wasn’t holding you up then you feared you’d simply drop to the ground without the support.

You forgot everything else in that moment.

You forgot about the cut on your lip.

You forgot about the intention to return to the hotel room.

You forgot about every annoying thing about Lando.

But there was something you could only focus on.

And it was the softness of his lips against yours.

[cripplecharacters]

In an urban fantasy world with a rather soft magic system, how could a character with a spinal cord injury (still deciding on how high up/how complete the injury is but since he got it in a high speed broomstick crash it's going to be pretty bad) accommodate for their paralysis without erasing or curing it entirely? What are some things that would need to be considered?

Hello. Here are a few ideas for how he could use magic to do what he wants to do;

Consider summoning spells. He can see something out of his reach or even too far out of his way and just summon it to him

He could use levitation like how Charles Xavier did in the X-Men comics, to move his wheelchair over barriers such as stairs when he wanted to. Or even just for the drama of it all.

He can use magic to push something out of the way of his chair or push something between him and another person he doesn't want near him for whatever reason. It can be a form of self-defence to give him time to manoeuvre his chair and leave.

Basically, telekinesis spells would be extremely useful. These can help him open and close doors, adapt to obstacles, and otherwise make it easier for him to do small things.

Accessibility features, too. If he has magical constructs, he might be able to make a ramp. Maybe, if he was particularly motivated, he could uproot part of the sidewalk and turn it into a wheelchair lift. There are probably ways for him to recreate, at least partially, the accessibility features we use to get around in the real world

I'll only stick to the basics there because I don't know what they can do, but these can help you figure out ways to turn magic into his accessibility feature. Consider how tall he is in the wheelchair- he's sitting down, yes?- and look around your house. What would he not be able to reach or use, and what would create an obstacle? Then, how could he use magic to work around that?

As for how they could still do witch stuff, that doesn't need a magic fix. He can reach the cauldron by moving it from a high table to somewhere lower, or use safety belts to secure himself to his broom. The things he needs can definitely be modified so that he can use them without help or, if he needs help with things like transferring, a bit more ease than previously. He would probably also have people who help him, doing stuff like helping him transfer out of his chair, or back onto his chair.

There are some things he definitely shouldn't do, the biggest one being using magic to give himself the ability to control his legs (if you would like an excuse to keep from doing that, moving his legs with magic would take a lot of precision and effort so he might not be capable of it or might not bother with the effort. Just think of the chair as basically his legs. If he moves, he moves with the chair. It would be weird for a character to use telekinesis to halve themselves when they could just do the same thing but remain intact. I would also avoid completely erasing any other conditions his injuries may cause him, such as chronic pain. He can use magic to mitigate them, sure, cast an ibuprofen spell, but those shouldn't be permanent solutions for him because they aren't for actual people.

And finally, if you want to be very safe, you could point out things that he does with magic that have nothing to do with his disability. He was already a witch, which is great because magic was already something he at least had knowledge of. On occasion, maybe just have him use that magic to cut up an apple because he didn't feel like getting a knife. Maybe add in things that just make it clear that his magic isn't inherently connected to his disability, it's just another thing he can do. Have fun with the magic, use it for fun. That's not a requirement, but it's something you can consider if you really want to be cautious.

I don't see anything you need to be concerned about. I think you've got a solid foundation here to make a great character.

Mod Aaron

[bubbipond]

Character-Driven Stories - We Are and Their "lack of plot"

From a literary and film perspective...It's a long one if you wanna read...(:

I keep seeing people say We Are and stories essentially like it have no plot and as someone who went to school for this, I have realized some people don't know the word's definition. The hate-on-slice-of-life type shows always perplexe me because there is this idea in media that if a show does not have high emotions or high stakes all of a sudden it lacks plot. A plot is just a matter of cause and effect. Something happens in a story that affects how the story is told. Whatever that plot is, affects the characters and provides substance for them to keep the story going.

What I think people mean when they say that a story lacks a plot is that it is more character-driven than plot-driven. Using We Are as an example, the characters drive the plot instead of the plot driving the characters. Take Game of Thrones as an example; the goal in the story is to see who will get to the Iron Throne (yes I know that there is far more to it but that's the general goal). So no matter what the characters do, that will always be where the series ends. The villains and protagonist will eventually rule and then the series is over. It's not character-driven because whether or not a character changes their mind or dies, the central plot is going to stay intact.

Then in media like We Are, the central focus is the characters and their decision making. If Phum decides he does not want to pursue Peem then their storyline ceases to exist because the plot can only move forward with his decision to keep exploring it. This is because there is no central goal for the character once they make a decision to stop. If We Are were to be plot-driven then there would be a conflict that needed to be resolved that drove the characters. Let's take Never Let Me Go as a plot-driven story PondPhuwin have done. In NLMG the plot that drives the characters are murder, attempted murder, and imprisonment. Nuengdiao's father dies then his mother is nearly killed, leading him to need to run away because now he is being hunted. Those things make or break the plot because there is nothing Nuengdiao or Palm can do while that is happening. Nuengdiao cannot live a normal life without finding out who is after him, ie, the major plot point.

In We Are the plot is centered around friends and the lives of their friend group. The plot moves when they do and when they make decisions. Stories like highly character-driven ones do not have a basic goal or obstacle as one in a plot-driven story would. Think of it as the action of a story being where the plot lies. The reason many slice-of-life-type stories get the, "it has no plot" comment is that they do not have specific actions, consequences, or occurrences that fall back onto a central theme. Many love stories that focus mainly on love tend to be character-driven, not all, but many do. The only action in these stories that moves the plot is the relationships progressing. When the relationships stay stagnant we tend to get the time in romcoms and romances where stories get boring because the only thing moving the story along is their evolving relationship.

It is essentially impossible to have a story without a plot unless your characters are in a room looking at a wall. Even then, I am sure someone could find a way to drive a plot in that scenario.

But anyway, just food for thought. Also, disregard any grammar or spelling mistakes, my phone's autocorrect only wants to correct me when I don't need it to, never when I do... Anyway, that is all I wanted to say about it! No hate to anyone that doesn't like this show or any other one I just hate seeing people say that's stuff.

[dunmeshichilchuck]

For That One Guy on Tumblr part 5

Chilchuck x !fem !halffoot reader

Your first thought on waking up was to wonder what the hell you'd drunk last night to give you such a nasty hangover. 

Your second thought was "is something...breathing on me?"

You opened your eyes and stared straight into the worried gaze of an uncomfortably close and extremely blond elf.  

She sighed with apparent relief. "Oh thank goodness! You've been sleeping for hours! I thought maybe something had gone wrong with the resurrection spell and you might not wake up, it's just such an unknown area of resurrection magic as to how long someone can be dead before they're resurrected!"

You squinted, brain churning a long for a few minutes before you caught up with the fact that you had, in fact, died and been turned into a Popsicle. "Hrghhh....yeah...yeah 'm fine. Got one hell of a headache though. Why didn't you just wake me up if it's so late?"

Marcille fidgeted with her staff. "I wanted to but -" she shot a glare at the other party members. "They wouldn't let me!"

"It's not like it would make much sense to wake someone up just to make sure they still can wake up." Chilchuck grumbled. "do you want them fully recovered or not? They'll need to rest without you poking them awake every 10 minutes." 

Laois nodded. "Yeah and if something WAS going wrong you'd be able to see it right? Falin told me if resurrection magic went wrong you'd just kinda melt!" 

"You wouldn't- it's not melting! Why would you say it like that?"

You interjected before they could get going again. "Who's Falin?" 

Chilchuck glanced over at you. "Falin's his sister." He gestured at Laois. "She's the main reason we're here. We were trying to rescue and ressurect her but something...." He glanced at Marcille briefly, an odd, almost warning look on his face. "went wrong. And now the mad mage has transformed her into something else and is controlling her." He shrugged. "If we want to get Falin back we're going to need to defeat the mad mage."

Huh, that was. Interesting. 

"What...what exactly went wrong?" You asked, unsure if you actually wanted to know the answer. 

Laois opened his mouth to say something, but Chilchuck shot him a glare and jumped in. "We don't know, she'd been dead for a long time and we had to reassemble her body." He shrugged again. "Who knows with resurrection magic? Shit just goes south sometimes." 

Well that was even more interesting. With that and what you'd heard before they realized you were conscious....there was definitely some shady magical shit going down. 

You looked at Marcille dubiously. Normally you'd think some kind of black magic, but was this prim and proper cream puff of a barely adult child really capable of crimes against god? For heavens sakes she'd been so embarrassed about the bra thing even. You couldn't picture her in combat, let alone casting some kind of banned black magic. She'd probably get too anxious and not be able to go through with it, and why would she even study that? It seemed like her field was relatively narrow if she didn't know the leaving spell.

Definitely very interesting, and potentially very dangerous. If they knew what you'd heard and what you suspected this could get very dicey for you. The best course of action would be to play dumb as a rock. 

You nodded. "Oh yeah no I know, I don't know much about magic but I know ressurrection magic is one of those things that we don't know much about, right? Cause it's so new and everything. I've heard of some weeeiiiirrrddd stuff happening in other groups. People not fully resurrecting or even getting body swapped. And who knows how the mad mage is involved in that? Hell maybe he could control ANYONE resurrected in his dungeon, but he just went after your sister for some reason." 

Lies. Blatant lies too. You weren't dumb and you'd asked as many questions as you could of the mage in your old group. You could even cast some basic healing magic if it came down to it. You'd only had one mage in the party, and you were the only one not directly involved in combat every time, so it made sense for him to teach you some quick and dirty spells in case he was incapacitated. Not that you'd ever reveal that, you knew what happened to halffoots who learned magic. Resurrection magic wasn't complicated at all. No way they weren't doing shady shit. 

Laois and Marcille chimed in with agreements that sounded just a bit too relieved, but Chilchuck just shot you an indecipherable look and then turned back and said. "alright now that that's settled we need to get packed up and head out. We've wasted too much time waiting for y/n to wake up as it is." 

You clenched your jaw and firmly reminded yourself that you were already in a precarious position, and that seemed to just be the way Chilchuck talked. 

You could put up with it. You could put up with anything if it meant getting to take down the bastard that had built this dungeon. 

Tag list, ask to tag:

@night-shadowblood-writes2

@thoughtfulbelieverstrawberry

@dunmeshimeshi

@leguink 

@gh0st-spider

@reh-llik

@sy1v30n

@qardasngan

[angelsdean]

the way that nick spell in 14x17 makes it canonically SO easy to open a portal to the empty. it drives me insane. dean literally HAD cas's blood. on his jacket. it was all right there. it was set up perfectly. why show us nick opening a portal to the empty and specifically showing that the main ingredient was BLOOD then. not using that. dean was meant to rescue cas!!!!! full circle moment. i'm the one who gripped you tight a raised you from perdition. what's the matter, cas? you don't think you deserve to be saved? i love you, too. of course i love you. SMOOCH. anyways.

[linterteatime]

Some more human au thingys for y'all, rejoice, do a silly little dance idk

[slimey-wallz]

(Updated) About me!

If you have any questions, please ask away!

(Also forgot to add that I'm the creator of the slime AU, Depressed AU and Robo AU!)

I'll add more stuff to this soon 💕

[arthrobug]

Quick WIP before bed >:3

[leupagus]

Say what you will about Martin's writing style (and I've said plenty) but I do think he's got the White Walkers' mythos worked out for a future book and IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO NICE IF THE SHOWRUNNERS HAD DONE 1/100TH OF THAT WORK SETTING THEM UP

Gus: I am mad all over again that there was absolutely zero explanation given as to why/how the Night King operates or how his powers work or why he chose now to attack or ANYTHING ELSE

Gus: on the plus side it means I get to make up a whole subplot that, not to brag, I'm comfortable saying is at least as good as anything D&D could've made up IF THEY HAD EVER EVEN BOTHERED

Gus: but like - okay so craster's infant sons get sacrificed to the Night King, who them magics them into White Walkers as babies

Mardia: Yep yep

Gus: so does that mean there's a white walker nursery

Mardia: Omg

Gus: do they have to change diapers

Mardia: LOOOOOOOL

Gus: is there a white walker daycare center

Gus: how does the night king TEACH his lil adopted monster babies

Gus: is there like storytime around the - well not fire

Gus: does the Night King remember what it was like to sit around a fire?

Gus: does he miss being a human and all his rage at the spell the Children of the Forest put on him to kill the First Men has curdled his brain?

Gus: what was he DOING for like 8 millennia, just hanging out?

Gus: did he get really good at ice fishing?

Gus: DO THEY EAT?

Gus: where the fuck do they get their snazzy outfits from

Gus: are there white walker tailors

Gus: what's the currency situation

Mardia: Lololololololol

Gus: I'M JUST SAYING

[shima-draws]

How many times can people butcher my name challenge

[hollowtones]

lot of people have desires and wants, thouhgts?

I think most people who are alive experience those three things, yeah. Maybe all people who are alive, but I can't say that with confidence.

[dazais-guardian-angel]

kinda wild to me that one of the most compelling aspects of both Chuuya and Kunikida's characters to me, that I never really see talked about, is how they're heavily set on a doomed crash course towards complete and utter destruction, and how I am so, so worried for them both.....

[stardoopy]

Worms

(Happy Hughdebeste Day!)

[sonknuxadow]

little psa since the update is about to drop in a few hours: ive noticed a LOT of people are using the typo "sonic froniters spoilers" as their only spoiler tag on sonic frontiers posts. so maybe double check youre spelling things right when tagging spoilers because a typo like that is definitely going to slip through a lot of peoples blacklists and lead to people being spoiled even if youre actively trying to avoid doing that