#I'm trying to think of silly traits for each character

[thousandyearphantombunker]

Fruits Basket AU where everyone under the Sohma Curse has the weirdest or most annoying trait associated with their animal in their animal form. Not much else to this au.

Momiji doing a bunny flop in his rabbit form or Yuki doing that brux and boggling tooth and eye thing rays do when they are really happy in his rat form- kyo doing that annoying shit cats do at doors where they are weird and indecisive. These would only be traits they have in their cursed form unless it would be really funny otherwise

[darkshrimpemotions]

The thing is, Guillermo being too kind and pure of heart to eat humans was always a fucking lie. Like??? Obviously, I think. And the Cannon Capital arc isn't really a departure for his character, it's us seeing all his worst traits highlighted in an environment that makes them MUCH less fun and sympathetic.

Guillermo has always been an intensely stubborn, self-serving character prone to tunnel vision who was willing to turn over pretty much every corner of his soul if it served his goals. Even if he did sometimes feel bad about it or force himself not to think about it so he wouldn't feel bad, he still did it.

He's still the guy who befriended people with the express purpose of luring them in to be killed. For years. He's still the guy who offered one of his oldest friends up to be murdered at an orgy, and only changed his mind at the very last second. He's still the guy whose version of trying to have a normal human life for once involved lying to pretty much every human in his life--his bio family and his boyfriend--about every aspect of his life but his name. He's still the guy who dismembered the corpses of his victims--yes they're still his victims even if he didn't strike the killing blows himself--in the front yard each morning with a dreamy smile on his face as he talked about the heart wanting what it wants.

Sacrificing Nandor to serve his goals at Cannon Capital is really not that different than sacrificing Jeremy to serve his goals as Nandor's familiar, except that in this case he had a lot more time to think about it and still did it, not via silence or omission but via a direct act of betrayal to Nandor's face. Perhaps it's because he never had to suffer any real consequences for his betrayal of Jeremy that no lessons were learned?

It's also really telling that when you reset Guillermo to his base state via sleep hypnosis, it's the sweetest, most wide-eyed and innocent version of him and STILL the first thing he does is offer himself up to be a vampire's familiar, all in a bid to have enough power that he can't ever be bullied again.

It's understandable. It's reprehensible. It's really ugly in a way that's harder to laugh off when you attach that to an extremely timely, familiar (heh) real-world scenario such as a venture capital firm that makes their money through shady real-estate deals that absolutely gut local livelihoods. But the Guillermo we're seeing right now is just as tunnel-visioned and stubborn and selfish as the Guillermo we've always known. We just very understandably like him less for it when it's real-world monsters we've all seen ruin real lives instead of fantasy monsters that are silly and fun to watch.

But this isn't out of character or off course or a step back. Guillermo is deep in denial and clinging to the Cannon Capital job because he can't face what he's lost as of the end of season 5. He's replaced Nandor with a master that's worse in every way, he's still clinging to the house while pretending he's separating himself, he's still sleeping on the remains of the makeshift coffin Nandor bought for him. He tells himself he is facing it and moving on, but I hope this time we all know that's a lie.

And I'm here for it when it all falls down around his ears, and he finally has to face himself. I'm really excited for it, actually!

[lunarcrown]

Hi! I wanted to say I love this fic so much. I've read it several times over and I love seeing all your art for it as well. Thank you and aquaquadrant for bringing us this beautiful work! Tango is one of my fav Lifers and I adore Bravo and Atlas too. The characterizations are so fun. The angst is right up my alley and the soft moments balance it out beautifully. I loved reading the Hels bits and trying to figure out who each character was connected to on the overworld and the way you decided their differing traits was so interesting. The designs are also very cool. I adore Grian's jacket and glasses, Lizzie and Joel are gorgeous, Pearl is terrifyingly beautiful with all the bug traits, and Ren being a massive wolf is so fun! Tango being a blaze hybrid imprinted on my brain so hard I forgot it wasn't actually canon to his YT character's lore. It's true in my heart now. And Dbubs and Patho? Delicious. Good soup. I can't wait to see all the incredible stuff you guys put out in the future! I'm sure it'll all be great and I'll love every bit of it All that being said, I've had a bit of a day (/silly), so here's me projecting my period cramps onto Bravo <3 Have a lovely day/night!

Thank you SO MUCH FOR ALL THE KIND WORDS!!! I loooove that you’ve read it over and over, Aqua’s writing is SO CHOICE so I’m always happy when people read it more than once~~

And yesss she’s also the mastermind for all the heavy thinking about traits and details, her world building is BONKERS!! It honestly does the same thing to me where I sometimes can’t remember what was our au and what’s like actually happened in the VODs HAHA

And thanks for all the love of the designs!! It takes me a while to design anyone because I have to have the right spark and inspiration or it’ll feel too much like a chore?? So even though it took me a while (and there’s still more designs to do!!), it means a lot that you enjoy them so much!!

THE PERIOD CRAMP BEAM IS SO GOOD I looooove ittt YES GIVE BRAVO SOME AGONY!!!!!

Here’s a doodle back of him doing his favorite thing: placing blame on Tango!!!

[somerandomdudelmao]

sitting on my hands, silently screaming because I can't stop thinking about the connection between Casey and Raph and about Casey discovering said connection and So, to temper my hype, I decided to try and find as many Casey-Raph parallels and possible Raph-sourced influences on Casey: (forgive my formatting I am not used to Tumblr) 1. Casey being able to easily mimic Raph's growls, despite having no memory of learning (note: more obvious b/c it happened so recent. though, based on the fact that the other turtles were surprised by Casey making the noise... did Raph teach him?)

2. Honestly, just Casey's protective nature in general? Casey works so hard to protect his family (learning how to carry his much-bigger-uncles, caring to their needs when their vulnerable without question (i.e. tot Leo and Donnie), literally any time he's concerned with the turtle's health))

3. (Slightly-iffy BUT:) Being very conscious of his strength/fragility of others - - which might be a tad silly to say when all his family is bigger and stronger than him, and there is already another connection in that to Leo, but I cannot get Raph ever admitting "I'm the strong one, the big brother, so I need to protect and take care of you guys!!" so I'm calling it a mix of both Raph and Leo

4. The way they hold/cradel the tinies is very similar (note: there might be more reflections of this category but I honestly can't tell b/c most characters are bigger then Casey)

5. Another different, fun pose where they mirror each other pt.3 (except its very obvious)

6. Krang-ified Casey looks a lot like Krang-ified Raph; from the right eye (our left) to the tentacle right arm (our left) to the clawed left arm (our right) to the spikes. too many similarities for me not to at least point it out.

7. Casey and Raph being attacked by (proportionally the same size to them) Tiny Donnies and getting absolutely bodied.

8. This specific expression - - a possible common trait in just adoring cute things? (note: need more data to find this out, cus I did find a similar expression on Donnie, and we can't really see sparkles in Robot!Raph's eyes, but there was one from the show that's rather close.)

... did I over look into some traits that can maybe be explained other ways? probably. did I miss some parallels? definitely, this series is littered with them. but this AU has me by the throat and we are getting backstory on MY favorite of the turtles, so I need to cope somehow. (This is also my first ask. Idk if I'm did it right. I hope it goes through, and at least someone sees it.) (Message to anyone who sees this: HYDRATE OR DIEDRATE, BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T HAVE A DONATELLO WHO WILL REVIVE YOU.)

What a wonderful research

[ceratedfish24]

Your takes on c!Scott and flower husbands have honestly been so refreshing that its reignited my old Hot Takes on c!Jimmy bc I detest the way people characterize him.

I feel like so many people portray Jimmy as this dejected downtrodden victim of bullying, which feeds into a narrative that Scott was cruel and abusive and awful or whatever, and tends to act like Jimmy doesn't have any agency ever. But IN REALITY??? Jimmy is not downtrodden and dejected and sad!!!!! In my opinion, Jimmy's defining character trait is his unshakable TENACITY! Ppl never want to admit that Jimmy is a little shit! That he acts out of spite, that his friends' teasing only tends to motivate him!! He *thrives* in environments that challenge him! AND to be so for real, he is a grown man with agency and decision-making skills and I'm tired of people acting like he isn't.

In general I feel like people just have the wrong outlook on him as a character. Maybe they've just collectively misunderstood him, or a Helpless Miserable Victim is easier to write about in fic, or they just want to project their own bullying-related trauma onto him or whatever. (People do similar things to Scar when talking about desert duo, which I understand even less). IDK. These are just my thoughtssssss sorry for rambling :P

No because you’re literally so real for this. Jimmy is SUCH a little shit. His response to Joel being mad at Jimmy for trying to kill him was to SHAKE HIS ASS AT JOEL. He taunted Joel because Jimmy successfully used Lizzie to bait Joel out. He tried to guilt trip Scott into giving him time. These aren’t negative qualities. This is a guy being silly with his friends. Embrace them when writing c!Jimmy. These are wonderful and realistic qualities.

Jimmy’s tenacity is so remarkable. He gets knocked down and all of his friends tease him about it, and he stands right back up with pep in his step. A lot of people treat Pearl the same way. Like, guys, these people are adults who make their own choices, and, often times, people who are given free will are not going to make the responsible choice most of the time when there are no real world consequences to their actions other than maybe “I might not get to be in the finale of this Minecraft series”.

There is SO much favoritism in the Life Series. Jimmy and Pearl are always reduced to their greatest tragedies, while Scott and Cleo are reduced to their most selfish moments, even though everyone else is equally selfish because IT IS A DEATH GAME. IT IS A COMPETITION. THAT IS THE POINT.

A lot of Jimmy’s deaths tend to be his own doing. Whether he unnecessarily made an enemy or just wasn’t being careful, a lot of Jimmy’s deaths are his fault, and that’s fine. He likes to play into bits. He’s not that serious about winning as opposed to making fun content. Pearl has made her fair share of mistakes and enemies, and that adds plot and drama to her content. That’s how she plays it, and it’s fine! Don’t infantilize them for dealing with the consequences of their actions just like everybody else!

Scott was widowed, and he had to watch his allies die before he did for seasons. Nobody ever comforts him about it. Nobody says “oh this man is so sad he’s just doing his best but he can’t keep his friends alive and it’s eating him up and everyone should baby him”.

Nobody even calls Joel toxic for constantly targeting Scott, but somehow Scott is toxic for teasing Jimmy now and then? (Which is not to say that Joel is toxic. He just finds it fun to target his good friend and knows where Scott’s limits are. It’s actually a sign of how close they are in real life). Nobody calls Etho and Bdubs toxic for being so mean to each other. Nobody calls Impulse manipulative when his whole thing in Third Life was betraying people. Nobody says Ren is controlling for taking the lead in Dogwarts or calling the Renwood Mound the Ren Mound. Scar is a liar and a scammer and no one thinks less of him for it.

Do you wanna know why? Because they’re friends having fun. Scott and Scott’s character should be treated with that same respect given to everyone else. Also, people need to keep in mind that Scott is not actively playing a character. Scott is just playing the game the way that cc!Scott wants to play the game, so any in depth analysis of Scott’s “character”? That’s an over analysis of cc!Scott in a competitive environment, and that man is literally on this site, people. He knows about Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss, Girldad. I’ve seen him reply to analysis posts on why Scott is manipulative. He’s literally just a guy playing a game for fun.

Imagine if someone accused you of playing an evil and selfish character because you asked your friend to give you the monopoly money they owe you. Or, worse imagine if someone accused you of playing a manipulative character because you let your friend land on your monopoly property without paying you????? Because you love your friend??????? Like, excuse me????????

Thank you for the ask!!!!!! 🩵🩵🩵 It’s always flattering when someone calls my posts “refreshing”💕💕💕(also I see you all the time and I love seeing your additions to my posts💖)

[catras-breakup-song]

yeah sure, i'll tell you something that repeatedly pisses me off to no end:

images shamelessly stolen from here

when catra haters say this type of dialogue is a good example of her "abuse"

it's lighthearted affection, playful bantering! many friends bully each other this way all the time for the laughs; i know i always have and nobody minded!

some people may not like it, and that's fine, you don't have to! but your opinion does not change how the characters canonically feel about it. if adora happily takes it without strife and understands the intention in the moment, then there is no issue. you could argue that she calls herself an idiot the episode after she rescues catra from prime's ship, but i genuinely believe that's just a result of her being too harsh toward herself all the time anyway without any influence from catra. even when she didn't have to worry about her as an enemy throughout her average days in bright moon, she still kept that weight burdened on her shoulders regardless.

such an example of the criticism i'm referring to is someone complaining in this reddit post, albeit not necessarily from an anti since they seem to simply not understand and therefore disapprove based on their own personal feelings about the situation among the replies. there's also this comment, which adds some objective truth to catra's partial-insult.

as another individual pointed out, throughout the first seasons it came from more of a "duh! how do you not get it?" condescending attitude (think of adora's final revelation in 01x02 that the horde was evil while catra had known her whole life, and later on in 03x03 when catra points out how silly it sounds to admit you'd listen blindly to anything an old hologram has to say ─ even if it did happen to be correct), but i also added that when it comes to season five it originates more from a place of concern, hence upholding her half of the promise for the two of them to look out for each other at all times. if adora lacks so much awareness, she'll constantly end up in dangerous situations, and that's exactly what eventually ended up happening when she followed shadow weaver's manipulated guidance to accept the failsafe.

it drains so much energy from me to give this bad-faith argument any attention so hopefully i'll only have to do it this once. it's not worth getting frustrated over so don't waste your time trying to convince reactionaries that this trait of all things is what makes her such a terrible person.

[shepherds-of-haven]

Hey! I have been a longtime fan of SHOH and I have recently begun writing my own fantasy story. How do you make your vast and rich cast of characters interact with each other in such a natural and consistent manner? I am really inspired by the way you fleshed out relationship dynamics for so many characters and would love to get some insight into that process.

Ah, thanks for the question, and thank you so much for your long support of ShoH, I really appreciate it! 💖

And hmm, this is a great question! I'm a bit chagrined to say that, at this point, I don't really think about it in the moment or apply a particular conscious methodology when it comes to writing the characters' interactions with each other: most of their dialogue and dynamics spring up naturally and seem to be dictated by the characters themselves, as well as my own long experience and familiarity with them. So in a way, it's sort of a "practice + patience = natural results" process! I start with their individual core personalities and then see how such characteristics might naturally react to each other: someone who's a bit more prickly and fiercely independent and assertive like Ayla might have friction with an authority figure as disciplined and military-minded as Blade, or would have more conflict with other members of her team due to her own natural wariness and past, but it also makes sense that she'd be softer around kind, non-threatening people like Shery or someone as naturally disarming and full of easy camaraderie like Trouble. Sometimes they do surprise me, though! But basically I carve out their most distinct personality traits, or what would be most apparent about them to strangers at a glance--(Chase: loose, playful, enigmatic, chaotic, mischievous, informal. Riel: rigid, highly intelligent, ruthless, orderly, neurotic, sophisticated)--and then I throw them together into different scenarios and observe how they might react to each other. Natural compatibilities or dynamics will start to form from there!

In my earliest days as a writer, one thing that I found really useful was switching up the format when writing and fleshing out the characters. Sometimes it's too much work to try and think of a Plot Reason why they're on a mission together or what other things are happening, like a whole short story about a mystery they're solving or whatever, and organically try to dig into their dynamic that way. If I really wanted to focus on exploring their relationship to each other, I would literally write either short screenplay vignettes as they came to me, devoid of any actual plot (like the two characters in a garden, eating lunch together), or interview/Q&A transcripts, LOL. This was a really good way of developing fast, off-the-cuff dialogue between the characters in a way that can deepen your understanding of their relationship. Like imagine they're just trapped in a room and some journalist or invisible speaker is plying them with questions. Sort of like how I imagine the Shepherds' Corner, where a panel of the characters are being polled for different questions!

(This is stirring up ancient memories for me, actually. In the LiveJournal days of like 2005, there would be tons of those OC number replacement questionnaires floating around, where there'd be 3-5 slots at the top; you'd assign each of your characters a number, and then the questionnaire would proceed to ask them questions, like so:

Blade

Briony

Trouble

Character #3, how much do you weigh?

Trouble: "Oh, uh... I actually have no idea. Nobody ever weighs me except the Healers during my annual exams, and I'm usually in a rush to get out of there as soon as I can, so I never asked..."

Blade: [disbelieving snort] "It's sure to be a lot. You eat for three."

Trouble: "Hey, fuck you?"

Briony: "You do eat a lot, Trouble..."

Maybe it seems a bit silly, but you can see how doing enough of these could allow certain character dynamics to emerge and become clearer: Blade and Trouble have a relationship where they take the piss out of each other, Briony is a more moderating influence but is still honest in a group setting (whereas she might be more diplomatic one-on-one LOL), and etc...)

Making character webs like this might also prove helpful!

Finally, one last thing to note is the form and medium that you're writing in. A rule that was often pushed in creative writing classes is that readers of short stories tend to be extremely economical with their time; the medium is already so pared down that readers will immediately notice fluff or filler, which is great for character and relationship-building but not so great for things like short stories, where every word and sentence has to count (or readers will wonder what's the point of including them). (<- Obviously, fanfiction adheres to different principles.) Conventional novels have much more leeway, but there are certainly still some constrictions; scenes often serve to either further the main plot, provide plot exposition or worldbuilding to a reader, progress a character's individual development, or provide momentum to some aspect of their relationship to others. So you don't often see stuff like Halek's witch's bane incident crop up in novels, unless it's something that comes back around in some way later. (Obviously this also varies with the novel and the genre.)

Part of the reason why I chose interactive fiction is because its conventions inherently allow more freedom with this kind of thing; you can eavesdrop on your companions drinking together, or play a card game with them, or have input as they argue about Caine's education or the state of current politics or what have you, because games are immersive and players are already primed to expect that kind of immersion, and so it's very easy to showcase the characters' interactions with each other. You don't have to worry about justifying the purpose of an interaction or a scene in relation to the overall story, especially because readers can often skip and ignore these interactions altogether. This isn't me trying to steer anyone towards a specific medium, btw: I'm just saying I have an inherently easier time showcasing these character dynamics and relationships because I'm making a game with them, whereas it might be harder to have an organic reason for Briony, Ayla, and Tallys to get drunk and start beating the shit out of some farmers in a tavern and then have a sleepover where they talk about their feelings in a typical novel? Hopefully that makes sense! The short of it is, it's absolutely possible to have the same kind of character beats and relationship-building in a novel, but if mine seem particularly rich and immersive, it's also because the genre I'm working in lends itself to that and provides a lot of opportunities!

Anyway, hopefully something in there was helpful! Thanks again for the question, and good luck with your own writing, that's so exciting! 🌟

[thetrashthatsmilesback]

So building off the "Sora is now fictional" idea, Roxas is more of a person than Sora is.

Lower your pitchforks and hear me out. This isn't a "Roxas is just Sora but actually interesting" post. I find those fucking annoying as well, and I prefer Roxas to Sora (though you wouldn't be able to tell based on my posts - sue me, the concept of hearts living inside each other and how that would effect the og person is too fascinating to ignore... which actually leads me into the main point of this post)

Roxas fought tooth and nail to be seen as an individual. He carved his identity out of rock while everyone around him acted like a demolition team trying to destroy it at every moment.

Sora willingly gives up his identity. While Roxas is firm in who he is, even in the moments where he doubts his humanity, Sora is a chameleon. From the obvious things such as hiding his darkness to the more subtle way his actual design changes across even individual games. Im going to actually split this up into two parts - Sora loaing his identity to those he interacts with and Sora losing his identity to those within his own heart.

- Sora when it comes to those outside of Sora's heart, Sora is whatever the person at that moment needs. He's the light for Riku, he's a confidante for various Disney characters, he's the unchanging (stable, steady) knight in armor for Kairi, he's the joyful companion to Goofy and Donald, but simultaneously the avenging angel of the side of light towards the nobodies. Sora is what he needs to be at any given moment because his driving force is his loyalty to his friends. Sora doesn't have an identity he clings to outside of his loyalty. It's his strongest unchanging trait. "Sora is light!" Except for when he admits to Riku he struggles with darkness and agrees to be the darkness. Except for when overuse of his drive forms (overuse of reliance on his friends) turns him into a pseudoheartless. Except for when rage over takes him and he transforms infront of everybody into a dark form to attack Xehanort after Kairi dies. Sora is a light for those who need him to be, but Sora himself is not pure light. Which actually brings me to my next section.

People have talked at length about Sora being less intelligent in later games than he was in kh1 and kh2, with the worst being in 3D, but I think to an extent this is also Sora molding himself (on top of flanderization by the writers). Sora is goofy and silly to those who need it. Think about who he acts "dumb" around. Its the newly reformed scientists, or those who need a confidence boost (he allows people to overexplain to him). We see in re:mind that kh3 Sora never once lost his intelligence from the previous games, but he allows others to call him forgetful/silly/behind (which he literally is, his memories are objectively fucked why are they mocking him for memories they never worked to help him restore agh *rips hair out). Sora knows they need someone to lighten things, or to explain to in order to think things through, and so there he is. "I don't computer, so you do that," he says while piloting a ship. He's talking to the newly reformed scientists, he knows that this is their chance to solidify themselves on the side of light, and so he sends them off to do their work without his help.

- for those inside his heart, there's a ton to talk about but I'm going to begin with the bridge I used from the first part. Every light has a balancing darkness. The closer you are to the light, the greater your darkness grows. Darkness is a shadow (which is why Sora losing his shadow when in anti form is not only a cool as fuck animation detail but important in terms of lore) so what does that mean for Sora who housed Ventus's heart of pure light within his own? People have commented that sora's darkness has grown since the first game, and others have pointed out that the hollow in the space of the heart in the Darkseid is obviously related to Sora's capacity to hide others within his own heart, and the fact that Sora's name doesn't only translate to "sky" but can be translated as "void"... thats all relevant but im at work so I'm not going to get too much into that at this moment. instead I'm going to point out that if his heart was holding a heart of pure light (two at one point with kairi), and all hearts except for those which either belong to princesses of light OR which are artificially split from their darkness must have darkness inside of their hearts. Riku shows that this darkness is about balance for light (I'm not getting into the "Riku actually has more light in his heart than Sora" meta arguments, though I do agree that the text is open to that interpretation and I enjoy the theory). If Sora had a heart of pure light within him, then he would have to artificially darken his own heart to keep balance.

It's also further than taking on the pain of Roxas and Xion. We see the way he gives himself up for those in his heart with his actual actions and looks. Sora (and Roxas, God i wish they'd explore more what it means to be the nobody of two hearts rather than one or if roxas is actually Ven's nobody instead of Sora's but Roxas's arc is over sadly) walks with his arms behind his head the way Ventus does. Many people have pointed out that Sora's hair is decidedly a lighter color after the KH2 prologue than at any other point in series (including in official art and posters), leading many to theorize that he actually changed appearance in response to Roxas's blond hair.

Even at the times when Roxas gives into the idea that he himself is not an individual, or implies that he and sora truly are one ("I know he'll do it, because he's me,") there's still the fight within him that he *is* a person with a distinct personality and way of being.

Sora doesnt have a distinct way of existing. Sora is what others require at that moment. This almost ties into the whole "Sora went to the realm of fiction" thing. "Sora the Concept" has become an ideal of whatever those around him invision him being at that moment while "Sora the Person" has slowly dissipated behind layers of acting.

So yeah, Roxas is more of a person than Sora is. Sora has become a concept, the idealized version of himself that others came up with, and which he molded himself to fit, losing his personhood in the process.

Sorry if this is incomprehensible. I'm at work and didn't take my meds 🤙

[smalltownrobin]

I'm actually so tired of these surface level readings and interpretations of Vickie.

I'm not about to argue Vickie has been developed well so far, okay? We barely saw her, and we still haven't been told much explicitly about her, and I hate that, I wish they payed more attention to her since she's their only canonically bi character (so far) and she's going to be partnered with one of the main cast, not to mention she's half of their only sapphic relationship. It SUCKS.

HOWEVER.

Calling her just a carbon copy and saying Robin "deserves" a better romantic plot is ridiculous??

How can she deserve a better romantic storyline when we haven't even seen all of it yet? We are at the beginning of their plot, we know there's more to come and we can be pretty certain they're going to progress into a proper relationship, or at least admit feelings for each other. I wish we saw more of them in s4, but we can mostly gather where they're going with the next season based on circumstance and how the characters have interacted with each other so far. That kind of Joyce/Bob dynamic of one of them not knowing anything about the upside down I think is such a sweet concept for Robin? It could bring out new sides of her if she's the one guiding Vickie through all of it, or even trying to keep her away from it. Obviously if you don't like that you don't have to, but saying she should have something "better" really sounds like you've not even thought about it.

Then saying she deserves better because Vickie is just a carbon copy of her is actually so silly to me, she deserves better than someone who understands the way her brain works and can relate to her? Robin's friends love her and care about her, but ultimately they don't know how to handle her sometimes. Vickie sharing one trait with her that will make both of them feel seen and understood is not lazy or boring, it's normal and even beneficial for partners to share traits like that.

The "carbon copy" thing really needs to stop because you sound five years old I'm sorry. They both ramble and they're both in band. Yet they dress totally differently, have different taste in movies (or are we all forgetting Robin likes classic black and white movies while Vickie watches raunchy movies about teenage sex), even speak and act differently despite sharing the rambling thing.

Most of Vickie's character is in the subtext (which I hope will be expanded on s5), but from what we've seen of her she does have some traits that don't seem to be in Robin's character (some things Robin does or the way she acts being a direct result of upside down monster hunting capers, whereas Vickie just does it on her own). To me they're pretty distinct from each other while sharing some essential traits they can connect on.

If that's just not what you like, that's okay! Ship what you want to ship, like who you want to like, but just put a bit more thought into it if you're going to tell people why you hate rovickie for the millionth time. It's okay to have a preference, but don't speak as if you're making a profound point about sapphic representation when you yourself aren't looking that much into it.

[yousaydisco]

THIS GOT SUPER LONG WHOOPS

I can't stop thinking about this post (TL;DR it is about how Kim's life is almost as sad as Harry's due to how he has lived his entire life as horribly repressed, not allowing himself the freedom of his own silliness which is why he is such a good pairing for Harry, since they are both silly) and I started thinking about thoughts

specifically how this knowledge would fit into a swap AU

like a lot of other people here, I really like a swap AU and I think it allows for a fun way to flip each character on its head and examine a Harry who is more cleaned up vs a Kim who is more of a disaster, and how Harry would fit taking a more patient role to a Kim that lost his memory. But! A problem I have with a lot of swap AU's is that Kim just. . . would never be allowed to be a disaster like Harry is.

If Kim was like Harry, who was brilliant and highly capable and basically the perfect detective except for substance abuse problems, explosive personality, narcissistic traits (looking at you, Superstar), and overall impossible to control, he would get fired. He wouldn't be given 500 chances like Harry (presumably) has. So in his swap AU, Kim is still his highly controlled self and Harry is slightly less of a disaster. Enough so that he doesn't drink himself to amnesia at the start of the case, but he is still a mess dealing with all his stuff.

So how did Kim lose his memory? Probably a car accident. Had to get dragged out of his precious Kineema and its completely totaled, he was hold up at the Whirling-In-Rags as he healed and woke up with just. No memory.

And no reason to repress anything anymore.

Some scenes:

Harry arrived at the crime scene days late because he was avoiding work to get drunk, which is also why Jean Vic isn't with him either because he's sick of babysitting him so when he gets to the Whirling and hears that the other officer hasn't been picking up the slack and instead is horribly injured he's like. Fuck!

Kim doesn't remember shit. Not about him, not about the world, but after some time wandering behind Harry all dazed and confused he finally sees Harry's car and GASPS and rushes over. He examines this thing top to bottom and spouts off trivia facts a mile a minute at Harry, who is just standing there like 'I thought this guy had brain damage' but he listens. So patiently.

He eventually does have to stop him though. He says its for the case, but it's really when Kim starts looking at the interior and he doesn't want him to see the mess in there. Or how badly he's taking care of the car.

Harry isn't sure why he's suddenly so insecure about being seen as messy in front of his guy. Whatever.

During the field autopsy Harry, who is horribly hungover, still throws up. Kim still comforts him by rubbing his back, probably went ahead and pull his hair away from Harry's face, and then pats around his pockets for the handkerchief.

Kim gets an inkling of a feeling that he's missing something (his notebook, though he doesn't know that yet) but Harry doesn't notice what is going on in Kim's head yet, when he probably normally would, because his highly highly repressed bi-sexuality is rearing his head because there is this guy just casually touching him lovingly and he can't think.

(Kim probably also lost his gun and badge, it fell out of his jacket when he was being dragged from the car, but Harry told him that in their first conversation. He wouldn't know that Kim is also missing a notebook)

Kim is also putting in all his effort into the field autopsy. He's like, I'm a cop? Okay, let's solve this!

When Harry suggests that Kim get on his shoulders to get the hanged man down he's like, hmm you look strong enough to carry me alright let's try that, and Harry barely has time to register that this guy called him STRONG LOOKING before Kim is climbing on him and he has to try and appear COMPLETLY 100% STRAIGHT.

He succeeds, but mostly because Kim is too focused on getting the corpse down. If he looked at Harry's face it would be very obvious.

But the actual autopsy = Kim probably approaches it mostly fearless. And he's trying to be really observant to make up for his eyesight not being all that great, and he's probably talking out loud about everything since he can't write it down. But it would still be Harry who noticed the bullet. Kim probably compliments Harry on his ability to see it and, again, Harry loses it a little bit.

Kim's interactions with Cuno and Cunoesse helps him unpack a few sense memories of going undercover with juvenile delinquents and he thinks the best way to talk to them is to relate to them. Somehow. All he can remember his trivia facts about Pinball and the best strategies to get a high school, and in between his lecture on it he sometimes breaks into rants about how Pinball sucks actually, and he hates it, and it makes him feel bad for reasons he doesn't know.

Harry tries to make Kim seem less weird by throwing in facts about Contact Mike.

More than anything it just baffles Cuno and Cunoesse.

When Kim hears that "Welcome to Revachol" for the first time he doesn't remember that its racist, but he does know how it makes him feel, so he's instantly pissed off. Harry, who is overall a good guy but has absolutely said racist stuff while drunk and probably the day before, goes off as well and stands up to the racist so Kim doesn't do something WORSE and get in trouble. It's not that Harry is socially aware enough that has a white guy he can get away with more stuff, he wants Kim to like him.

You know how at the end of day briefing in the game has Harry calling Kim so cool, and it feels like that is the moment where Kim is really endured to Harry? In this AU, Kim will say something like hey. We should hang out once the case is over. And Harry, who has a whole thing about feeling like he's terrible and horribly unlikeable and just wants someone to see him as a mess worthy of their time rather than just a fucked up person, finally admits to himself that he cannot repress this anymore and he might have a crush on this super cool weirdo.

(that doesn't mean Harry feels any better about himself, really. He's now just convinced that he has to Fix Himself Completely overnight so that he can actually help this guy regain his memories.)

(OH ACTUALLY! No, Harry doesn't want to help Kim regain his memories. He's not going to actively try and stop it if it happens, but he will secretly hope that he never remembers the world in case they met while Harry was blackout drunk and Kim won't like him anymore.)

A scene where Kim fiddles with Harry's radio and it starts playing disco. He can't help but let out an audible "ew." before switching it to Speedfreaks. Harry is offended to his CORE and they have a playful but still loud/heated argument about music.

THE BOARD GAME SCENE! Harry still gets Suzerainty and when he starts popping out the cardboard pieces Kim just SNATCHES it out of his hands. No apology. And he's having such an obvious blast just poking out the pieces and then taking out every part of the board game so he can see all the components (classic autism moment) that Harry impulsively (classic ADHD moment) buys multiple more board games just to give Kim more fun little pieces to poke out. And Kim loves it, and Harry thinks "I'm winning at making friends. I'm going to win a prize at making friends and the prize will be a friend :)"

They do eventually find Kim's badge and gun and Harry is very happy at that, but Kim is still like. Hmm. Something is missing.

When he finds his notebook he's just. SO HAPPY! He thinks its like being reunited with a friend. Probably hugs it/clutches it tight to his chest. But when he opens it he's like "god damn my handwriting is awful."

Harry asks to read it, mostly joking around, fully ready to steal it when Kim isn't looking, except Kim just. Hands it over. And doesn't stop Harry from reading it. And of course Harry does.

Kim doesn't really KNOW about homophobia so he probably just. Says gay shit all the time. And Harry can't deal with it. The scene with the smoker on the balcony is still really funny but it's less of Harry having a bi-panic moment (he still has elements of it though) but when Kim starts flirting back in earnest Harry is just. Jealous out of his mind. Puts a stop to it ASAP he's like "OKAY WE WILL TALK TO YOU LATER. ACTUALLY ONLY I WILL TALK TO YOU LATER. KIM LET'S GO!"

When Jean comes into the picture and starts arguing with/berating Harry, he's about ready to turn it into an all out brawl right there in the cafeteria, but Kim is like "HEY! You ass! He's been very helpful this whole time! Just because he's a drunk and he smells bad doesn't mean shit!"

Harry has heart eyes.

The tribunal has the injuries reversed, Kim gets shot and Harry gets the concussion and needs to keep Kim alive. Harry, who has been trying to sober up during the case for Kim's sake, takes speed to allow him to stay up to monitor Kim's health and as soon as Kim wakes up he's like "great! fantastic!" and passes the fuck out.

The whole thing with the Phasmid is the first time where Harry nerds out over something and not Kim. And Kim listens. And Harry probably cries because like, it's something he's allowed to like that isn't related to WORK and someone actually cares about what he is like when he isn't DETECTING and it helps him feel like a person rather than the Superstar Cop.

(Right after his rant on cryptids, Kim goes on a tangent about his cool camera and tells Harry every little thing about it and they just. Nerd out together).

[daughterofevil158]

Hihihi! I like your soulmate au and would like to offer some ideas for the last couple characters because I live for soulmate aus and have a list of them

There’s the classics red string and soulmates having their names somewhere on each others bodies, but a fun idea could be if one loses something, it appears for their soulmate

- The last thing you were thinking about before meeting them gets written on their soulmate

- Soulmates share dreams/nightmares

- You can’t lie to your soulmate, this one sounds really interesting in a kg

Sorry if this is annoying. I just really liked your au and saw you couldn’t figure out the last couple characters so I wanted to help a bit 😊

No, it's not a bother at all! If I didn't want others to enjoy my ideas I would've just kept it in drafts haha. Thank you for the ideas cuz I've been thinking about this again recently

(I did use "can't lie to your soulmate" for Wolfgang, but i talked about him in Eva's section so it's understandable if anyone missed it)

◊ I think Desmond being the "things you lose" soulmate would be funny specifically because of his calm and collected demeanor. The idea of him losing stuff at a high enough rate to be a soulmate trait is very amusing imo. Also because I headcanon him as a big trinket collector, so whenever he loses some, he goes "Well, this just means I can get some more to replace them." Meanwhile, Damon is finding seashells and little shark keychains every time he opens his desk drawer. I don't think Damon's the type to lose things often, but both of them are very respectful with the things their soulmate sends their way. (this does bring up the question, if you "lost" your soulmate's things, would they go back to their original owner?)

◊ Admittedly, I kinda wanted to avoid the "soulmate's name on your body" because it's just...here, this is your soulmate because I'm a fan of "we fell for each other before realizing we were soulmates" (if that makes sense). However, after rethinking it, I do like it for Kai or Cassidy because of their big online presence. I feel like everyone with this trait would try searching their soulmate's name at least once, so it would be easy for Damon to find them. While the Kaimon-pilled seciton of my brain enjoys the idea of "Damon finds Kai's influencer account, knows it's likely photoshopped, and thus still has low/no expectations upon meeting him irl," the main appeal of the ship for me is that Kai can afford to be more genuine with Damon because he doesn't know about his online persona.

Therefore, I'm giving this one to Cassidy, who I feel would definitely be happy that "Even my soulmate is impressed with what I do!" (He's not, he swears. Damon only watches her streams while studying because searching her up put them in his recommendations and he needs background noise to focus. "Damon that's not how that works." Shut up.) Also, since we recently learned that Damon spent his childhood (and was presumably born) in Japan, I'm imagining that his name would be written in katakana on Cassidy for that extra challenge.

◊ This just leaves Kai. I do really like "shared dreams" soulmate AUs (i considered that for Ulysses before deciding on the writing one lol). However, the 3rd idea you gave (about your last thoughts b4 meeting your soulmate being written on them) is really intriguing to me because I've never heard of that one before. Now I'm imagining Kai having some *insert pretentious Damon monologue* on him while Damon has something silly like "I hope EGA's breakfast options are good"

[poirott]

You make the coolest gif sets fr. I saw your Miss Marple/Poirot one forever ago so I'm glad I finally found you again so I could give you a follow. ❤️

Aww, thank you very much for the sweet words and the follow! And I'm glad you've found your way back. :)

More Poirot/Marple (Marplot) crossovers are on the way, also featuring other detectives! I'm happy you've enjoyed them, they're some of my fave gif sets to make, especially the whole process of matching different scenes from the Poirot and Marple tv shows to make it look like they came from the same scene. :) Like with my other more time-consuming gif sets, I put all the ideas and matching screencaps in a special folder and eventually there are enough sweet little scenes/moments to fit a gif set! And I add context to the filenames themselves so I don't forget months later what the idea was, like "Poirot looks at Marple who is sitting down.jpg", which is especially important if you want their eyelines to match (they're both looking in the right direction and/or into each other's eyes, depending on the scene).

They're a great detective duo! I adore the idea of Poirot trying to make Miss Marple laugh (she is very giggly on the show <3) or listening with rapt attention to her "something like this has happened years ago in St Mary Mead" parallels that tie back to their current case and are always on point. Poirot LOVES the way she thinks, she is a treasure of knowledge, a great judge of character and fellow observer of people; all traits she shares with Poirot.

The most recent one I've made was with Geraldine McEwan's version of Marple, after several past crossovers with Julia McKenzie's here and here, and this even older one from 2019, and an ancient one with them on the beach from 2016.

Is the first one linked (from 2022) the one you saw? :) It's my Pinned post and tumblr flagged it with the 'Content Label' for no reason and even though I've put it under review weeks ago, it's still flagged, I doubt tumblr has had the chance to look at it and unflag it. The same thing is happening to countless gif makers and creators, on perfectly innocent gif sets, but tumblr doesn't have enough staff to take care of the problem. In my case it's literally THE gif set that best represents my tumblr and the algorithm wants to hide it. It took me years to come up with all the moments for the particular crossover. Hopefully the Content Label matter will be resolved soon as I'm planning more crossovers and don't want them hidden after months or years of trying to manifest them!

Luckily, tumblr didn't flag my newest fanmade detective crossover with Columbo and Murder, She Wrote! It was such a delight to make! Columbo and Jessica Fletcher being badass crime-solving besties is right up my alley and it goes hand in hand with the concept of Marplot. I don't know what the portmanteau would be for them, though. Any ideas? :) Name-meshing can be tricky, I came up with "Marplot" years ago because I needed a name for tagging purposes and the nickname rolled off the tongue nicely. ColumboSheWrote? Columbofletcher? Columfletcher? Fletchumbo? I like Fletchumbo coz it's kind of silly yet FUN. :D

Thank you again for your lovely ask! I've followed you back! <3

[cry-ptidd]

This might seem a little silly but as a woman starting to get hairier because of PCOS, it feels really good to see you depict Laura's hairiness in a neutral (dare I say positive?) way. Like, even if it's technically completely unrelated it still helps when thinking about my future appearance and how it'll be perceived by others

Im so sorry for taking so long to reply to ur ask anon, but you have no idea how much this makes me happy!!

Bodily quirks and details unique to each person add so much to someone's appearance (in the best way), and I really like to add that! I physically can't resist giving my characters at least a bit of body hair. Even if it's just armpit hair or a happy trail (it's not called a happy trail for nothing!!)

I struggled so much to accept my own body hair as a teenager, now I embrace it as part of my body, like my chub and robust build. I fully believe that such things are to be appreciated instead of being mocked or used as a debate subject. It is a thing as natural as anything, and to be fair someone whining won't make it go away. I try to treat traits like body hair on a character as both neutral and celebrated, as in it's a part of their body and character so it's natural for it to be there but I also like that it's there.

While I imagine not that many women/people are as hairy as Laura (she's a literal werewolf) I'm still really happy at least someone takes comfort in her design.

Same goes for you anon, your body is something to be appreciated and respected. You're not here to entertain or pleasure anyone, embrace yourself.

[xaeyrnofnbe]

HOW ID REWRITE ANGEL: THE SERIES

(bc i liked the show but i feel like things should have played out VERY differently) (i'm very biased towards certain characters also)

changes start around when cordy ascends to be a higher being and connor throws angel in the ocean

her boredom as a higher being leads to her coming back to earth (on her own accord!!) and giving up her godhood to do so, but retaining outward, physical demonic traits (themed around her brief appearance as a god bc i think the imagery there was very pretty) and this acts as a full circle moment for her character, mirroring doyle in season 1. whereas once she was disgusted by a half-demon, now she is one herself and couldn't be happier. she still has visions and some minor abilities but now she doesn't pass for human and doesn't get to be space-demon-god

connor and cordelia DOESNT HAPPEN. GIRL THAT IS YOUR SON. BOY THAT IS YOUR MOM. PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER

more lorne. idc what happens with him i just want him to be more of a main character

cordelia and angel have some brief awkward flirtations(?) which are super weird and uncomfortable and they conclude that they love each other dearly, but aren't into each other Like That (they only thought so to begin with bc all their friends kept saying it) (but they're buddies :]]])

connor seriously struggles with holt's death, and has to grapple with the emotional confusion of trying to live with and cooperate with the very man he was raised for the sole purpose of killing. but angel investigations really want him to be ok so they take good care of him throughout, even if he is hesitant to accept

uhhhh eventually wesley does get apologetic about betraying his friends. it takes him a while but he does recognize and regret his wrongdoings

i don't know what the big bad should be in season 4 since i'd fully retcon everything needed to make that plot happen. i like to imagine it would be better though

they DO end up running wolfram & hart. since i think it's funny. and spike's arc remains the same with him returning as a ghost, coming back to life, etc etc. he'd be a smidge different though, a TAD less antagonistic. not because i think he wouldn't but because i'd like to see more of the spike we saw at the end of btvs (it'd be hard to justify with buffy not being present, but i still think it's doable)

harmony gets to be more of a character also!!! she and cordy hang out :)) she also takes her job as angel's assistant VERY seriously, but in that way that only harmony could be, which is to say: not very serious at all actually, but she's very determined about whatever the hell it is she's doing

more hints that angel and spike banged when they were evil because 1. i think it's funny, 2. the implications for their characters and dynamic are EXCELLENT. i would also like a few more friend moments for them. and maybe they kiss idk whaaaat who said that. no but seriously the werewolf girl doesn't happen and instead that plot is taken over by spike. imagine. i mean whattt

more of angel acting silly bc he was adorable in the first season and i'd love more of that

fred doesn't die suddenly and horribly. preferably not at all

gunn gets to care about literally anything other than himself in s5. more emphasis on his resilience? his will to survive? and how that makes him more loyal to the people in his life? pretty please? and he hangs out with wes because they were friends once?

with cordelia not gone maybe they could somehow move dennis to wolfram & hart? or maybe cordy has a new apartment he could stay at? idk i just thought he was fun and SURELY there's a spell for that

basically there's road bumps for sure but at the core of the show is a band of friends. they LIKE each other, because i genuinely believe that's where the show is strongest. i never really cared for the dramatic plotlines, im really only in it for the characters i adore and their (ALMOST ENTIRELY PLATONIC UNLESS ITS FUNNY) relationships to one another. and it's at its weakest when everything's all gloomy and dramatic. so let it be lighthearted and let them be FRIENDS

[premamelody]

DELTARUNE is one of the most beautiful, fun, hilarious, difficult, complex and stunning games I've ever played.

Now I haven't played every game in the world, and sure I could just say this about new favorite media I come across. Though I mean it. I mean it when I say I love this game so much, I will never be the same once it's over.

This is the halfway mark and already I'm crying at the thought of this ending. Sure I cried about a lot of cartoons in particular ending, some prematurely due to bad higher up decisions.

But this. It feels different.

You have the laugh of fun jokes, silly moments. Jokes that are both chaotic yet also realistic. "Kris will sing a swear" will never leave me as much as "YOUR TOO SLOW IS TOO SLOW" or starwalker. It's sweet, the interactions between the characters and friendships feel real. I especially loved to see Ralsei and Susie rubbing off on one another. Susie having the passion and stubborness and Ralsei having the knowledge and hope, it would've happened eventually. Susie took on Ralsei's hope and learning about the prophecy gave her the knowledge. With her passion and headstrong she put it into something she really wants, to save everyone.

Ralsei on the other hand gained the stubbornness and passion. They traded each other's prominent traits. Though Ralsei drifted more towards seeing the ending as just that, THE ending. Not an ending. He didn't think and still in a way doesn't think things could change, but he sure hopes it does. He hopes that Susie is right.

Charming characters, interactions, friends. Helping Tenna out in the end despite everything. Gerson, how he influenced Susie to trust herself more, to accept herself and grow deeper into what she believes in, change. Cute growing relationship between Susie and Noelle and the little party between Toriel and Sans.

Though it isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Though the troubles are various and diverse. From the feeling that Susie could never match someone in a certain skill so she stops trying, Ralsei not wanting to see himself as a whole being but just an illusion, not real, never real. All the way to the world ending and possibly a new world rising from it. The growing tension between Kris and us as we begin to realize we may be the ones taken, forced into a body rather than taking one.

DELTARUNE is not just one thing. It's many things and somehow it manages to balance it all. It makes an experience that spans across all of your emotions, yet not overloading them too much. There are so many little bits and pieces as well as big things, stuff for everyone to enjoy.

Why am I pouring my heart out right now in a sappy cheesy manner? Because I want to say that this game is really worth the wait. We are 7 years into the game. A wait that many probably wouldn't take. A wait where a forgotten or obscure game would be remade. A wait that from most AAA and infamous studios and companies is seen as absolutely treacherous and way too long.

but is it really? I was a kid when this game came out. And now, I'm off to college :). but even after so much time, I still love this game. in waiting I loved it and I still do. like Undertale, Toby Fox has once again made a game that breaks through time. it cannot just end, it persists. it doesn't matter how long it will take, Deltarune will still be worldly loved. It is a game with a lot of love put into it, and like so it was gained that love back tenfold. So what does it matter if it continues to develop. If it won't be finished until 2030 or beyond. so? I might be graduated by then, working a job, but I'll still love the game. you can never make people forget a came like this.

you never will

anyways I'm currently at like 18 hours and I gotta go back in to find out this chapter 3 boss bc I got only an A on the first round soo...um not without the break first I WILL draw smth

[acourtofthought]

I don’t know if you have noticed but there is this need for certain parts of the fandom to emasculate Lucien, and it’s kind of annoys me .

Like recently when an elriel posted something about Azriel carrying Lucien and then in the comments another one was like I will never forget that Azriel carried Lucien like a princess. That was clearly rage baiting but I won’t speak on it, and it can be funny all good and fine.

But they often do it all the time where they emasculate Lucien just to make Azriel seem more manly or hotter. I see it all over TikTok And I hate it

The narrative sometimes also feeds into it because SJM often writes Luciens character in a way that almost feels like he is the punching bag or inferior to the bat boys. So sometimes I can’t blame them too. It’s easy to take some stuff, run with it and turn it into mocking Lucien’s character and his masculinity.

Like yes he has his moments of heroism but still it almost feels like there is this constant need to make it known that the bat boys are hotter and stronger and better than him.

Which to me is such a lie. But that’s a story for another day. I can legit write an essay on why I think Lucien, currently is more of a man than all the bat boys combined but that’s my opinion so. It also raises a lot of concerns about toxic masculinity in this fandom because Lucien has quite different traits as an MMC.

He is more on the less aggressive side, yes he can be angry and he will show it but it’s never outright on the nose like Azriel for instance. Not saying anyone pushes toxic masculinity ideologies or certain stereotypes that determine whether your a man or not, but sometimes you have to wonder why some people characterize Lucien as “weak”, why the author makes some offhand comments through characters like Ferye and Azriel that make people believe that narrative so easily as well.

What makes Azriel more manly than Lucien?

It's kind of silly that anyone emasculates Lucien for that considering Cassian needed Mor to winnow him to the human lands, how is that any different?

Considering Feyre needed Cassian to fly her back to Velaris. So they're saying it's ok for Feyre to be carried by a man and that doesn't lesson anyone's opinion of her as a badass warrior but if Lucien has someone give him a lift to Velaris, that somehow diminishes him as a man?

Why? Because he can't fly? And someone clearly has homophobic tendencies if they're trying to turn this into a "two guys makes it weird" argument.

Masculinity is a social construct but I'm pretty sure that masculinity, under no definitions involves "ones ability to fly with their own wings".

If we are looking at the social constructs which define the term then we're looking at:

Strength: He'd been trained, he once told me - at the Autumn Court and at this one. He knew how to handle a weapon. Knew how to kill if need be / He braced my waist in his broad hands and easily hefted me off the horse / Without further word, he slung me over his shoulder as if I were a sack of potatoes. Despite my wriggling and shouts of protest, despite my demands that he get my horse, he held firm, and when I looked up, I found that he was running - fast. Faster than anything should be able to move. /

Courage and Independence: "I'll go." Lucien was staring at Elain as he spoke. Lucien shifted his focus to Rhys, to me. "I'll go," he repeated, rising to his feet. "To find this sixth queen." "You will be going into the human territory," Rhys warned. "I can't spare a force to guard you- " "I don't need one. I travel faster on my own." HIs chin lifted. My friends glanced to each other. Mor said, "It will be - very dangerous." A half smile curved Lucien's mouth. "Good. It'd be boring otherwise."

Assertiveness: "I just want to know what you think you're doing." It was Lucien - "What are you doing?" Tamlin snapped. "Me?" Lucien put a hand on his chest. "By the Cauldron Tam - there isn't much time, and you're just sulking and glowering. You're not even trying to fake it anymore." / "Back off? Back off while you seal our fates and ruin everything? I stayed with you out of hope, not to watch you stumble. / Then, shattering the silence like a shooting star, a voice - Lucien's bellowed across the chamber. "TO YOUR LEFT!" / But now - now we need order, Feyre. We need rules, and rankings and order, if we're going to stand a chance of rebuilding / "Can I offer my unsolicited advice?" Lucien jerked his chin to Azriel. "That's the information you need to gather. What my father knows - if my brothers realized what she was doing. You need to start from there, and build your plan for this meeting accordingly." / "Tomorrow". I hadn't heard him sound so assertive in ... a long time.

Leadership: "As the youngest of seven sons, I wasn't particularly needed or wanted. Perhaps it was a good thing. I was able to study for longer than my father allowed my brothers before shoving them out the door to rule over some territory within our lands, and I could train for as long as I liked, since no one believed I'd be dumb enough to kill my way up the long list of heirs. And when I grew bored with studying and fighting .... I learned what I could of the land from it's people. Learned about the people, too." "I'd say that sounds more HIgh Lord - like than the life of an idle, unwanted son."

Protective: Again, the MULTIPLE times Lucien helped Feyre UTM, when he begged Tamlin to let her train, when he tried to soothe and comfort her after what he thought was her having a nightmare, how he covered her with his cloak when they were both freezing in the cave while heading to the NC, how he broke free of his shackles to go to Elain's side to cover her with his jacket, when he insisted Feyre tell him all the places Rhys could be hiding Elain, when he helped the humans after the war, etc.

Compassion and Empathy: Literally the only person who is still attempting to help Tamlin and the Spring Court after it's downfall, asking Feyre to think of the people of Spring (and not just herself) after the years of horror they dealt with UTM, showing nothing but respect for Elain and feeling her pain during her depression, what with Feyre noting the devastation of his face as he sees Elain's sorrow".

Emotional Control: I can again provide many examples but he's pretty much the only male character who does so in the entire series. It's clear he's having emotions but immediately gets a handle on himself. He's not out there wrecking the buildings of other courts, starting fights in meetings, lashing out at others.

People can prefer Feyre or the IC characters however it's clear that from a narrative perspective, they are 100% biased, thinking their inner circle is the best of the best. Which is fine, we'd all be so lucky to have people glorifying us to that degree. However just because a small group of friends feels that way about their friends, it doesn't mean their opinions are actually undeniable facts. There is a reason Sarah has been dropping hints since book 1 that Lucien was meant to take over as a High Lord someone (first it was Autumn, now it's either Day / Spring or as High King) and there is a reason she's gone on and on throughout the series about his good looks, his broad shoulders, his goodness, his intelligence, his preference for words over violence, etc., and it's definitely not because he's supposed to come across as less "masculine" than Az.