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antimony-medusa · 7 months

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Is that— bells ringing? Keyboards clacking? The sound of two thousand stressed writers pancing furiously about the floor? Ah yes, Yuletide.

Hello. MCYTblr. I am back again.

You are looking fine today as we move towards the end of the year. Is that a new cologne you're trying? New shirt? New glasses? It's working for you. How have I been? Well.

Well.

*I smack the wall, curtains spring aside, revealing my flip chart presentation that I've had lying in wait*

It is time for me to talk to you about Yuletide again. I was here earlier during tag nominations, but it's sign-up time, and I want to make sure everybody has a change to participate in this if they want to.

What's Yuletide?

Yuletide is an annual mega-exchange for small and rare fandoms. It runs in the close of the year, with a 1000 word minimum for gifts, with gifts revealed anonymously on the 25th of December and de-anoned on the 1st of January. It is easily the biggest exchange in multi-fandom-exchange-world, and last year more than 1,350 people signed up.

Why does everyone sign up?

Well, it's tradition, for one. There are a lot of people that only do Yuletide as their big exchange every year. It's a big holiday spectacle, it's really fun to see it operate and see pinch hits come out and get nabbed in minutes, and people kind of put on their holiday outfits and turn out for it.

For another thing, if you are in a small fandom, it's the one exchange where you can actually have a shot of getting a gift for an obscure manga fandom, or an out-of-print book, or a tv show from the eighties. If your fandom has five people in it, the odds are higher than average that two of them are signing up for this exchange, and hey presto, suddenly you're matchable in your fandom for an obscure podcast.

For another, and this is the biggie, the fact that this is an exchange for small and rare fandoms has led to a certain tradition and vibe for the fandoms that people nominate. People bring their most obscure and fun ideas, going, "hehehehe wouldn't it be fun if someone wrote a story about this", and into the tag set it goes. There is SUCH a spectrum of fandoms in the tag set.

This year there are 4,263 fandoms and 16,735 characters in the tag set. Let me just skim through and look at some of them.

There are commercials, web sketches, art pieces, songs, music videos, board games, podcasts, a dizzying assortment of anthropomorphising different places, items, and ideas, and RPF from a marvelous variety of historical periods (so, y'know, historical fiction if it was published professionally). There are people who nominated tik tok sketches. Twitter threads. A bridge. Book binding techniques. You ever wanted to write a romance between Knitting and Crochet? That's in the tag set, and someone wants to prompt you to do that. Happy Yuletide.

So if you are at all the sort of person who likes a prompt challenge, BOY is this one just a MARVELOUS one. I know I personally am going to be signing up for Humans are Space Orcs (tumblr post) and Fandom Exchanges (Anthropomorphic) amid my more traditional fandoms.

And as for my more traditional fandoms, and the reason why this post has the tags it does (I would get to it eventually)— there is a lot of MCYT in the tag set! I put out a post saying GUYS, the smaller fandoms might apply for this, and BOY did people show up for it. I scanned through it, and the MCYT (and adjacent) that made it in is:

Karmaland SMP

Legacy SMP

Lifesteal SMP

Moonlight SMP

New Life SMP

Outsiders SMP

Rats SMP

SMPEarth

SMPLive

Witchcraft SMP

Pirates SMP

Mianite

Slimecicle Cinematic Universe

SBI Rust

Generation Loss

You could make an entire sign up, 3 minimum requests and 4 minimum requests, and only select MCYT fandoms. The wild thing is that you can only select a max of 10 fandoms to offer, so you actually couldn't offer all of the MCYT. ZombieCleo Witchraft SMP is in. Tommyinnit SMPEarth. Clownpierce Lifesteal. Tubbo SBI Rust. Oli Rats SMP. A wealth of options for the block folks.

So come, join me! What's that? You say this sounds excellent, you're in? You want to know how to sign up? Well this post is already long enough so I'm putting the rest below a cut.

You sign up on the collection here, using fandoms listed in the tagset here. Before you do so though, I'd recommend you check out the blog, especially their "how to sign up" post here, because even if you're used to exchanges, the way Yuletide works is a little bit different. Let me do a quick breakdown here.

Requests

# of Fandoms

You have to select a minimum of 3 fandoms that you are Requesting (a gift that you want made for you), up to a maximum of 6 fandoms. Each fandom has to be unique. For each fandom, you can request between 0 to 4 characters in that fandom, and 0 means "literally you can hit me with anybody", and the up-to-4 characters are the people you definately want to show up in the fic.

AND MATCHING

This is one of the things that Yuletide does differently, because most fandom exchanges do "or" matching, where they match you on either characer A OR character B, (maybe you only offered character B) and you can pick among any of the selected characters on the person's request to write for. Because Yuletide does AND matching, you will only be matched if you offered every single one of the characters the person has selected, and then you get to write for every single one they have listed in their fandom, unless they say differently in their letter. If they requested character A and Character B, you get to deliver a gift that includes them both, according to the rules.

Bu like, in practice, a lot of people are a bit more like "you can pick only one of these guys if you'd like", because that is how everyone is used to things running in most other exchanges, plus people don't want to be too picky, so you can specify in your letter if you definately 100% want characters A, B, and C, or if you're fine with just A, or just A and C, or whatever constellation of characters you're chill with.

This year they have added optional freeform tags you will click on, that will specify either A) use every single one of these guys I selected. B) I have specified in my letter which guys I need for sure and which ones you can swap, C) Dealer's Choice Of Guys Go Crazy.

DNW and Optional Details

Yuletide is an "Optional Details Are Optional" (ODAO) exchange, so technically you could request (or receive) an offer that just has the characters and then you get to go absolutely buckwild for the two month writing period. Most people, however, do not want to do that, so that is where you'll put in Do Not Wants (anything that would ruin the gift for you, from major archive warnings to kinks that you don't vibe with to headcanons you loathe), and some prompts and/or likes for your person to jump off of.

DNWs absolutely must be abided by, and breaking a person's DNW is grounds for getting turfed from the exchange. Following a person's prompts or lists of likes is technically optional, but definately best practice, and y'know, part of the whole spirit of the exchange. Most people are doing their best to adhere to both the DNW and the Optional Details when they do their gift.

You can just format your DNW and Optional Details on the Ao3 signup page (easy, fast), or you can link them offsite in a letter (fancy, you can do formatting, people do them in google docs or dreamwidth pages (the traditional and more accessible option)). There's a tradition of people posting their letter links here, so that people can get an idea for what sort of prompts and signups people are offering, and make sure they're matchable to people with especially fun ideas. Note: you do have to duplicate the data if you're doing a letter, cause if you put your DNW in your letter but NOT in your Ao3, the mods won't enforce it.

And while we're here, that last link is to a community blog that includes a place where you can promo your fandoms to lure people into signing up for your guys, or participate in mini-challenges within yuletide for people who specificially want poly relationships (Three Doves Challenge), or characters of colour (Chromatic Yuletide), or horror/darkfic (Crueltide), or smut (Yuleporn), or art (Wrapping Paper), or even more. There's even a poetry challenge!

Offers

# of Fandoms

You have to sign up with a minimum of 4 fandoms, to a maximum of 10, for fandoms you are Offering (a gift you are willing to make). You must offer at least 2 characters for each fandom, to a maximum of 20— but there's also an "any" tick box if you want to go full "hit me, I like a challenge" and you'll write anything (in the tag set) within a fandom. Each of your fandoms must be unique.

Writing Period:

Signups are open through the 21st, with assignments out by the 23rd, and then you have until the 18th of December to deliver your gift.

Important Notes

You must be 18 or over to participate in Yuletide (because you might be matched with someone who requests smut), and signups close on 9pm UTC on Saturday, 21 October.

There's a known issue where the safari browser isn't letting people sign up properly, (when you get an exchange this big sometimes things break), so they say to either sign up on mobile or use a different browser. So that will be fun for me.

And that's it! Yuletide! Just under a week left to sign up, and 351 people have signed up as I write this letter at 1:30am. I just refreshed it and now it's 352. You can sign up on the Ao3 page here!

JOIN ME EXCHANGES SUCH FUN LETS GO.

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pluckyredhead · 2 months

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Can you please say more about the Lanterns' politics?

I am so glad you asked me about this because I've been thinking about it since I reblogged that post but also I'm definitely about to get yelled at lol. ANYWAY THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG.

Tl;dr: John is the only one with a coherent political position or an up-to-date voter registration.

Hal:

So something interesting about Hal is that his stories are often very political but his character is not. With one extremely obvious exception, he rarely talks about politics; rather, he serves as a means through which to tell political stories, usually unintentionally.

What do I mean by that? Well, for example, in the Silver Age, his love interest would occasionally be possessed by a misandrist space jewel that would force her to attack him, but always lose because women are inherently inferior to men and prefer to be subjugated by them anyway. That's the original Star Sapphire concept. It's wildly misogynistic, but it doesn't mean Hal the character is misogynistic. But it's also a very political story, even if I don't think the writer was deliberately trying to make a point so much as...being an average, thoughtlessly sexist guy living in the 60s. (Carol continues to be the subject of mindbogglingly sexist writing and art well into the 2000s. Fucking comics.)

And so you have Hal Jordan, whose love life was ruined by his girlfriend getting promoted above him and who called his best friend by a racist nickname for decades; Hal Jordan, poster boy for chest-thumping post-9/11 kneejerk patriotism; Hal Jordan, lightning rod for a certain kind of regressive bigoted fanboyism. Choosing Hal as the Lantern for a particular story over John or Kyle has come to signify something very specific, but none of that is necessarily reflective of what Hal himself believes.

So what about Hal himself? Well, when we first meet him, he's the epitome of privilege: a white, straight, cis, Christian (I know he's canonically half-Jewish now but that's only as of the past decade or so), ablebodied, upper middle class (Geoff Johns retconned him to have a working class background, but in the Silver Age, he had one uncle who was a millionaire, another who was a judge, and a successful politician brother) man with a flashy job. Privilege tends to lean Republican; even if he is from California, I suspect Hal voted for Eisenhower in 1956.

In GL/GA, the word "Republican" isn't used to my recollection, but Hal is definitely presented as...I'm going to say conservative by I mean lower-case C. He doesn't have deeply held political beliefs, but he's traditional. He doesn't question the system, because he's never had to. He resists things that challenge the way he's always understood the world works, and that's very relatable - most people do! And he will absolutely argue with Ollie, who certainly isn't always right about everything. But he's also willing to listen, and have his mind changed, and certainly reachable via appeals to compassion and fairness.

Once the "relevance" trend of the late 60s-early 70s was over, Hal's stories default back to ostensibly politically neutral, although obviously nothing is actually politically neutral. In the late 80s and early 90s he's the most unpleasant version of himself, and that has political manifestations, like when he allows John to be imprisoned in apartheid South Africa for a ridiculous and unnecessary crime Hal himself committed. It's extremely fucked up, but again, it's less because of Hal's actual opinions and more because Christopher Priest wanted to write about apartheid, even if it does make Hal look incredibly, horrifically racist.

Then jump to the mid-2000s and Green Lantern: Rebirth, and you might imagine that losing his hometown, getting possessed by a giant space bug, becoming a supervillain, dying, and becoming the embodiment of God's vengeance might have some effect on Hal's politics, but that is not what Geoff Johns is here to write. Johns is writing a Hal who teleported in from, like, 1967 - no nuance allowed. He's a summer blockbuster that walks like a man. He's a Baja Blast. He's never had a coherent political thought in his life. In his defense, he has had more and goofier concussions than any superhero I can think of and his brain is smooth like an egg. Still.

Anyway, all of this is to say that I think Hal tends to default to center right positions but can be easily coaxed over to center left. That said, he has never not once in his life had his shit together enough to vote in a single election, not even for his own brother.

Guy:

So Guy's deal is a little bit complicated because his most vocally political era was also in part due to severe and personality-altering brain damage.

When Guy was originally introduced in the 1960s, he had the pleasantly bland personality of all superheroes. Many years later, he suffered a series of major injuries, torture, and a lengthy coma, and he emerged from the coma in 1985 with the aggressive, abrasive personality he's best known for today. Justice League International took that even further, using him to parody the jingoistic, red-blooded American action hero of the 80s.

This version of Guy is a vocal fan of Ronald Reagan and despises the USSR. He's pro-war, proudly xenophobic, and treats women badly enough that it crosses the line into repeated sexual harassment, both physical and verbal. (To be fair...ish, this last also applies to Wally West and arguably a number of other men, and was always played for laughs. It was gross all around.)

Again, this is partially a manifestation of his brain damage. There's also a running gag in JLI where if he gets hit on the head, his personality changes to this cloying, timid, gentle one, sort of halfway between a child and a flamboyant gay stereotype. Hit him again and he goes back to Asshole Guy. I'm not going to pretend I don't find some of the gags funny, but it's obviously all highly problematic, and not just from a medical standpoint.

That said, I don't think we can dismiss Guy's politics or his usual personality as simply a manifestation of brain damage. We see in later flashbacks that he developed the abrasiveness as a defense mechanism from growing up in an abusive home, and as he matures through the 90s, he doesn't actually become a significantly different person, even after his Vuldarian healing factor kicks in and heals his brain. (It's a thing.) I think it's more accurate to say that the brain damage probably affected his impulse control, his filter, and arguably even his paranoia levels.

All of which is to say that as much as I would love to go "Guy's better now, so he's not a Republican!"...that dog won't hunt. I think a really good canon writer could make the case that Guy is pro-union-style working class and also a former teacher so he's at least center left, but as of now canon evidence is pretty firmly on the red side. It doesn't help that the GLC has been written as fetishistically pro-cop and pro-military since Johns got his grubby hands all over it. I will happily ignore the New 52 retcon that Guy was a cop, and you could even try to argue that he dislikes cops because his brother was a corrupt cop who became a supervillain, but I think it's much more likely that he identifies with cops as a Corps member. Although I don't think he would have any patience for killer cops. ("You were afraid for your life even though you were the only one with a weapon? Then fucking quit, coward.")

All of that said, I think Guy is similar to Hal: defaults to center right, can be talked into center left on certain issues but he's more stubborn about it. (They would also both be enraged by Jan 6 and disgusted by the current Republican party - I can't quite argue that Guy Gardner is a Democrat but Green Lanterns don't have any patience for traitors or cowards.) It's also kind of a moot point because he never knows what is happening on Earth and hasn't voted since his pre-coma days.

John:

Oh John Stewart, thank god for you.

John was introduced as an explicitly political character in an explicitly political story. The first time we see him, he's stepping in to defend Black men from a white cop, citing his own knowledge of the law to do so. He shows a much more perceptive and informed perspective on the issue's main plot (a racist senator running for president) than Hal does. Even in the little moment above, we see that he's sensitive to exactly what it means for him, a Black man, to be taking on this role.

None of this is a surprise, since we'll later learn that John's parents were civil rights activists. Not only would he not have had the privilege Hal and Guy did to assume his existence was politically neutral, he was explicitly educated about political realities and progressive advocacy from childhood. He's well-informed, he's passionate, and he's going to tell you when you are being fucking stupid.

John isn't immune from the GL cop/military...thing, although I can't blame Johns for that - it was the cartoon that made him a Marine, and the comics followed suit. But that's never outweighed his origin or his upbringing. Like, he's friends with the DCU's fictional version of Nelson Mandela.

This one is straightforward: John is a staunch progressive. He is, however, in outer space 90% of the time, so he's always at least a little bit out of date. I imagine every time he comes back to Earth he spends the first 24 hours watching the news in abject horror.

Kyle:

Kyle doesn't talk about politics a lot, but when he does, he lands pretty much where you'd expect a young California-born artist living in New York City to land: to the left. My read on Kyle is that he hasn't really thought any of his politics through, which makes sense - he's a character who is led by emotion over reason every time. He doesn't have John's carefully thought-through arguments or knowledge of the law behind him. I feel like when something political upsets him, he's more likely to splutter angrily than make a coherent argument (which: same). When he's given the time to think things through and speak from the heart, though, he can be very eloquent, like in his speech to Terry after Terry accidentally comes out to him.

It's also worth pointing out that his solo appearances were mostly in the 90s, which were prone to avoiding politics or only addressing them in a halfhearted both sides-y way like the story above.

That said, I don't think he ever actually does anything about his political opinions. He never votes in midterm or primary elections, and probably only voted in a presidential one because Alex dragged him along one time. I feel like Donna tried to do the same when they were dating and that was when Kyle realized he'd forgotten to change his voter registration from California to New York. Jennie wasn't responsible enough to Mom him into doing his civic duty, and he's been in space pretty much nonstop ever since, so...

Simon:

In that other post, I said Simon's experiences should have radicalized him, but instead he was created by Geoff Johns. Simon is a Muslim, Lebanese-American man who came of age in the post-9/11 era, and was wrongfully convicted of terrorism and waterboarded at Guantanamo Bay. His reaction to this was...to put on a ski mask and wave a gun around. Like, it's been a while since I've read these issues, but aside from the "ripped from the headlines!!!" of it all, I feel like Simon's experiences largely don't inform his actions or perspective except that he's super angry (fair enough).

The thing about Simon (and Jessica) is that he hasn't been around very long, and most comics don't have characters directly expressing political opinions. It's not a coincidence that these characters are in chronological order and each write-up is shorter than the last. I can think of about three times where Kyle has ever said anything I can interpret as political, and he's been around for 30 years. Simon only has a third of that history. So while one could certainly extrapolate what Simon's opinions are likely to be, I can't think of any canon where he actually says them.

Jessica:

Jessica has even less to go on in terms of explicitly political comics. You'd think she wouldn't like guns because of what happened to her friends, but she has one of her own and doesn't seem bothered by Simon's. I'd imagine she has opinions on immigration as someone whose family is from Mexico and Honduras, but it never comes up. If I were writing for DC, I'd make both Simon and Jess leftists, but as for actual canon proof? I got nothing.

I will say that she probably avoids political discussions because anxiety, and I bet she got really good at voting by mail during her years not leaving the house. She probably votes by mail from space. Maybe John's not the only one with an up-to-date voter registration.

Kilowog:

#green lantern #hal jordan #guy gardner #john stewart #kyle rayner #simon baz #jessica cruz #meta

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theoreticaltranstherian · 2 months

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ARTISTS! PICREW FOLKS! ECT!

I have a challenge.

I am going to, using my magical powers of description and poetic word choice, describe myself.

You should try to draw/make me based on what I describe and mention me in the post/reblog this post with the picture!

No pressure but if you see this and aren't an artist but know someone who may be, perhaps reblog and mention them? Just if you don't mind :)

However, do not (and I can't stress this enough) use AI art for this. I do not support the use of AI art at all and I do not want to interact with jt whatsoever

(it's gonna be in the third person bc I can write like that better)

(also sorry for my weird similies)

He stood there in front of the mirror, somehwat awkwardly, observing himself. He was 5'6 - no idea why he had that memorized, but oh well - and built like a tree. That is, if that tree was in fact not a tree but a stick with limbs. He had Fluffy red hair that fell to his shoulders when it was wet but rested normally a few inches above. How he hated that hair; Utterly untameable and never sat quite right. He had disproportionately long legs, not so much that it stood out normally, but if it was mentioned you could see it and when wearing skirts or shorts his long expanse of leg seemed to stretch on forever. He had very little muscle, and as he flexed experimentally in the mirror, he snorted - He looked like he was built with pencils. His shoulders and hips were the same width, that is to say quite narrow and somewhat awkwardly thin; it matched the rest of him, but he couldn't help but wish that he was bulkier. His neck was functional if not a little short. Attached to it, as with most humanoids, was his head. He wore thick rimmed round glasses both because they had to be with how thick his lenses were and they hid more of his face, which he was quite insecure about anyway. His ears were ever so slightly uneven, leading to his glasses never quite sitting right on his face and usually resting on his nose. Oh, his nose; the only thing he didn't despise about his face. Not that it was a specifically good nose - One of the nostrils were a bit bigger than the other and it was sort of small - but it looked the least weird out of all his facial features. Resting below his nose was a septum ring, the same black one he'd had on since he got the piercing only because he couldn't be bothered to change it. Continuing down past his lightly freckled face was his mouth, as was to be expected. He had pale lips to match his equally pale skin, the two only differentiated by a slight pink tinge on the former and the assumption that he was not in fact a snake and did have lips. He had eyebrows slightly darker than his hair, although to tell the truth he sometimes would use mascara to make them darker because of his fragile masculinity and his need to fit traditional male standards of appearance so as not to be misgendered. His face overall was the shape of one of those Japanese watermelons that had started to become squared but only very barely before escaping its clear plastic prison. He wasn't insecure about his height, but that didn't stop him from always wearing platforms; he just liked how they looked. He was currently wearing his favorite outfit, consisting of a black tank top that went a few inches up his neck, an olive and dark green striped button up not fulfilling its namesake over top, and some pale dark green cargo pants. He hated wearing jewelry, as it was just one more thing to lose, but he always had on a chain with a gold ring holding a small clock face; His partner had asked him out with it, and he kept it with him because he knew if he set it down in his dump of a room it would be lost to the ether the second he looked away. He also had his ears pierced, but rarely wore earrings and instead always had on a pair of headphones to help with the constant anxiety from noise. He had tried to wear headphones with earrings in the past but found it extremely uncomfortable. As he stepped back from the mirror, he realized his internal monolog was extremely monotonous, and decided to stop observing himself.

Thank you to @annotated-catastrophe for the original idea!!!!

#art challenge #drawing challenge #writing thingy

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glorified-red · 1 year

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Damian Wayne SFW Headcanons

word count: 2,300~

warnings: none

Today is officially my first day at school in person after 2 years, I'm officially at Big Boy College, boyos. I am posting this during my Phonetics class which tracks for me.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Damian is incredibly loyal and affectionate to those he loves, it just may not be very traditional ways of showing it. He shows his affection through Acts of Service the most: cooking for you, folding your clothes, driving you places, etc. He likes to feel useful and know that his actions are making your life easier. Deeper into the relationship you’ll start to see the physical affection grow steadily: letting you fall asleep on him, holding your hand in the car, wrapping his jacket around you, etc.

B = Beginning (How would the relationship start?)

Most likely from school. You two met and slowly became close friends. A relationship with Damian takes time, so school is the perfect place for you two to steadily grow beside each other until you become inseparable. Outside of school, you two could meet at coffee shops, art shows and galleries, and dog parks. Bumping into each other frequently is enough to catch Damians eye.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Damian will deny it until his dying breath, but he adores cuddles. He loves to lay on his back and let you snuggle into him, he’ll patiently wait until you let out a sigh and fully melt into him so he can place his hand on your head softly. He radiates heat so he is an amazing cuddler in the harsh Gotham winters.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Settling down was never even a thing Damian considered until a few years flew by and suddenly Damian wanted to go grocery shopping with you, he wanted to come home to you singing in the kitchen—he wanted a home with you. He finally found a person who made home seem possible, it just took a few years for him to realize it. He is a god at cooking and cleaning so you will never have to worry about the house being unclean.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Damian would be very straight to the point with you. If he doesn’t think it's working out or the relationship is more of a hindrance for either of you, he’ll call it out. He’d be swift about it and you’ll probably have to remind him you need more closure than that.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Damian doesn’t enjoy being tethered to someone permanently, he hates feeling like his individuality is being erased. He’d much rather give you a promise ring more than anything. It's a way to symbolize he’ll always want a future with you and beside you, and a thank you for your patience with him. Marriage seems so far away for him because of the way his life is, but his promise to you is just as endless as any legal documents.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

He can be brash and blunt in nature but he’s slowly unlearning it from his family and friends. He’s gaining more emotional maturity with each moment so when you two get together, he’s more than ready. His work can be rough and brutal, but he leaves it all behind the second he sees you, you always manage to smooth out all his hard edges simply because he wants to better for you.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Despite Damian being a major cuddler, he’s not big on hugs. But ever so rarely, he’ll hold you so tight it was like he was made for hugging. His hugs are usually after a close call or a long mission whenever he’s reminded that the time in the world is finite. He’ll hold you when he’s afraid to lose you, and those hugs are so precious.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Very slow. It takes him ages to realize that the feelings he has for you are love and not adoration or curiosity. He’ll care for you so deeply but the word “love” is so foreign, he barely even knows it. When he does realize it, he’ll say other words that mean the same thing to him: beloved, habibti, or nip at you. He’ll show his love so much that when he says “I love you” for the first time, it’s just another layer of his love.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Damian can get very jealous and very territorial very quickly. He’s competitive by nature, so if someone swoops in, he sees it as a threat to his place and therefore a challenge. When he gets jealous he’ll seem more arrogant than usual, he’ll boost just a bit more, puff up his chest a little more than normal, and butt heads with whoever is the source of that jealousy until his place is secure again.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Kisses with Damian develop over time as he learns what makes you tick. He tries to lead as much as he can but eventually he finds more fun in reacting to you so he can get better. Most often, his kisses are quick and short on your forehead, top of your head, cheek, etc. He likes to save mouth kisses to make the best of them, because once he gets a taste of you, it's hard to not want more.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

As most of the Batfam, Damian needs to be good with children as he works with survivors constantly. He’s able to keep them entertained and calm them down swiftly . . . but that doesn’t mean he likes them. He hates kids most of the time because they’re immature and idiotic, they barely have any function aside from annoyance. Yet somehow, kids swarm to him. So he’s wonderful with kids, but he will shoot you a pleading look while he’s being used as a jungle gym.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Damian is a very early riser. He enjoys waking up with the sun and starting his morning routines to wake up his mind and body. If you join him, mornings are quiet and blissful. Yoga, soft ambiance music, and a soft smell of breakfast being cooked. The first words of the day are spoken silently through touch and acts, all to say good morning.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Nights with Damian are rare as he usually spends them on patrol. He tries to give you a goodnight kiss before he leaves and silently returns in the night so you wake up in his arms. Sometimes neither happens and you’re awoken to the sounds of a hurt bird, others he doesn’t return until sunlight is already shining. But rest assured, he’ll always make it up to you.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

As with most things with Damian, he takes his time opening up. He’s in no rush, everything will happen with time. So he reveals small stories here and there, stories about his childhood or his future, slowly revealing what makes him, him. When a story is told, there are more layers that will be unraveled in a few moments, never being revealed all at once. Damian is a puzzle, but he’s fascinating to figure out.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

It truly depends. When someone is new or learning, Damian’s patience is unfathomable, especially with those he cares for. With you, his patience is endless. With others that he puts to a high standard or people who should know what they’re doing, he’s very quick to be angered by their incompetence.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Damian tries to remember as much as he can about you. He remembers the most important parts of you, from your ambitions to your creation, he knows you like the back of his hand. But man, he can not remember for the life of him what the difference is between your favorite shoes or your favorite jackets, they’re just functional to him—“So why do you need so many for different occasions when they serve the same function?”

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

The moment Damian realized you didn’t view him as anything other than himself. He wasn’t a monster in your eyes, he wasn’t a byproduct of those who came before him, he was just that, himself. He revealed his deepest wounds to you and you never viewed him differently. That was his favorite moment, when you looked into his green eyes and saw emeralds instead of a lineage.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Damian is the most protective person you will ever meet. He is fiercely loyal and protective of those he cares about and that means you. He would happily burn the world down if it meant you remained unscathed. On patrols, he fights enemies with the reminder that with each one that’s put away, the more safe you are. However, he is competent enough to protect himself, he doesn’t need any protection—but reminding him you’re there after a long patrol is more than enough security for him.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

Damian is insufferably good at planning dates and gifts, not because he’s experienced, but because he’s surrounded by hopeless romantics that rubbed off on him. Now he’s naturally a romantic. He doesn’t even have to try or think too hard, he’ll just always manage to leave you breathless. Art dates, museum walks, handmade gifts, and romantic gestures, he does them without even thinking because he simply wants to share his world with you—and that is truly romantic.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

He speaks before he thinks a lot. His entire life has been trained on instincts: act now, ask questions later, don’t think just do, etc. So sometimes his mouth speaks faster than his brain does and he can say some harmful things when he’s worked up. It’s rare he ever gets that worked up with you but when he hears what comes out of his mouth, he’s quick to take a step away from you to calm down. But that usually means him storming off until he’s calm enough to talk to you. He hates that he has to do this, but he’d rather wait and talk to you with respect then keep talking with ferocity.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Most of the time he genuinely does not care, looks have never been detrimental to his lifestyle so why should he care how other people view him? But when he’s representing his family at a gala or being photographed, or even going on a date with you, he is incredibly nitpicky with his appearance. He cares what his family and you think about his appearance because he values your opinion, so he’ll trap himself in the bathroom for hours preparing.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Nope. In the nicest way possible, no. Damian prides himself on his independence and self-reliance, that doesn’t change when he falls in love with you. The best part of your relationship is that you two are whole individuals who chose to spend their lives building something together that doesn’t erase what you have already. You compliment each other so well because of this.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

He bounces into different languages sometimes. From Arabic to the language of the League, he slips into his natural tongues whenever he gets really angry or really sleepy. The first time you witnessed it was during a fight with one of his brothers. Suddenly they were both shouting in a language you didn’t quite understand. Another time was while Damian was half asleep and he started mumbling something to you in Arabic, you didn’t catch much, but the words of endearment weren’t terribly foreign to you.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

A partner who needs constant reassurance. Damian is more than happy to provide reassurance but he would like a mutual trust in the relationship that Damian loves you, even if he doesn't voice it. He needs someone who can understand Damian's language of love and find assurance in his actions. He also can’t reassure someone constantly when he has three separate lives to maintain as well as vigilante stress on top of that, he just doesn't have the time or energy. He needs someone who can be there through the chaos of his life and ground him.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

Damian doesn’t snore but he does breathe deeply when he sleeps. His breaths are very slow and soft, if you try to follow them you’ll probably get a headache. When he wakes up you can’t even tell because he keeps his breathing pattern the same and slowly brings it to his normal pace. He does it without thinking but it’s a byproduct of his training so as to not alert anyone he’s awake.

Taglist ♡

@anothertimdrakestan

@cherry-dropp

@missredrobin

#Damian wayne #robin #Damian Wayne x reader #Damian Wayne x you #Damian Wayne x y/n #robin x reader #robin x you #robin x y/n #Damian Wayne headcanons #robin headcanons #headcanons #sfw headcanons #alphabet headcanons #batfam #batman #dc #dc comics

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thepradapariah · 2 years

Text

Your Rising Sign ✨. The Male Gaze 👀. & Female Character Movie/TV Tropes 📺.

Are you the manic pixie dream girl or the femme fatale?!

Astro Observations 🪐

Using Movies & TV shows, I’ll be talking about observations I’ve made about rising signs! This is just my opinion! You are more than welcome to share your thoughts in the comment section!

(If you know your sidereal Rising Sign Naksaktra EVEN BETTER!)

Disclaimer:

BARE WITH ME HERE!!! This post is written in a VERY generalized way. I am not trying to be exclusionary at all! I want this to be a fun post about movies & astrology. Please be creative with your pronouns if needed! This post is for anyone who wants to read it, no matter your gender or preference, but it will be written in traditional cis-gender fashion, BUT!!!!! I have tried to incorporate all female identifying communities within the examples! I hope there is something for everyone :)

Before we begin:

Definitions:

✨What is the Male Gaze?

“In feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world, in the visual arts and in literature, from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heterosexual male viewer. In the visual and aesthetic presentations of narrative cinema, the male gaze has three perspectives: (i) that of the man behind the camera, (ii) that of the male characters within the film's cinematic representations; and (iii) that of the spectator gazing at the image.” — Wikipedia

✨What is a Character trope?

“A trope is an idea, pattern or motif that appears often enough in a particular art form that consumers of that art form begin to form particular associations with that idea.” - The Novel Factory

Introduction:

Men tend to be VERY simple creatures. Yes, they may present themselves as the broody artist w a checkered past or a sci-fi-nerdy-glasses-wearing-type fellow who LOVES Star Wars & Comic-Con. But believe it not, both these men have something in common…Their simplicity. Most men see life in black & white. They tend to take things at face value & rarely feel the need to dig deeper into something unless they are called to. This is not to over generalize (or perhaps that’s exactly what this is) but to draw attention to the straight forward attitude men usually have towards life. (I blame this on their primal hunter/gathering nature, but that’s another topic for another day). Men tend to prefer life & communication to be clear & concise, whereas woman tend to be far more “colorful” in our approach. We don’t spare any details when talking w our girlfriends about the latest gossip as if it’s our life’s duty, where men can sit in silence, playing video games & be perfectly content. In fact, I learned in sociology, that men can actually have ZERO brain activity happening at times (besides the automatic stuff, like breathing lol). Meaning— men can actually sit & think about nothing. Women, not so much, we are constantly stimulated, thinking & planning ahead. Because of this cosmically cerebral mis-match, the way men & woman tend to view each other can be a point of contention. Woman tend to over complicate men & men tend to over simplify woman. Thus giving us the ongoing battle of real complex female characters VS. the over simplified version of them through the Male Gaze. Do men think woman just sit around playing in make-up & fashion, bursting out into random tears & having pillow fights all day? If you ask Hollywood— probably. In this post, we will be specifically looking at how men over simplify woman using Movie/TV tropes & comparing them to the display of our rising sign, &/or if you know it, your rising Nakshatra.

You should know, that before I got into tarot & astrology, I graduated from the film school at New York University. So I am WELL AWARE of the film/tv writing process & thought this would be a cool way to combine my education of films & my love for astrology to teach & critique how woman tend to be represented in Cinema & Television— and in return, real life. (Art meets Life, amiright?)

There has been a discourse in the film & tv world about how woman are represented through the male gaze. I’m sure you’ve heard of the “manic pixie dream girl” trope over saturating the market right now. (Don’t worry, we will get into this later). Woman feel as if these are shallow representations of the feminine experience. While I agree with this statement, usually we don’t see very fleshed out, complex & interesting woman from male writers. (*cough cough* Euphoria Season 2.) I’m arguing here that until we form deep & intimate connections with men, they tend to see us, woman, as these movie tropes, IRL (in real life). If you don’t understand what I’m saying, hang in there w me.

Because men tend to be simple & take things at face value, they can miss out on the nuances of the woman they are with. How many times have we seen in movies a wife gets a haircut & the husband doesn’t notice? See, no eye for detail, or subtlety. Those small details that make us unique from other woman tends to go over their heads from time to time. And in a day in age where woman are generalized more on a mass scale through social media, it’s easy for men to get carried away thinking woman are all the same or simply, just not that complicated. This isn’t a bad thing, per say, this is just the default until we are able to build a lasting, deep connection between masculine & feminine energy.

In this post, we are going to be breaking down this “conundrum” by RISING SIGNS/1H/Nakshatras. Why? Because the rising sign is how you are seen in the world. The first house rules the body, & what people project on to you as well as what you project onto other people. (The beauty of the 1H/7H axis…more about this later) As a sidereal astrology girly, I think the first house/Rising Sign Nakshatra rules the personality more so than the sun & moon sign. After all, it is called “person”-ality, & the 1H is the house of person, whereas the 7H is the house of partner.

✨Why Does this Matter?

Well first off, it matters how much you want it to matter. This post is for inspiring self expression. By seeing how you effortlessly come across through the male gaze, you may be able to craft your own unique persona or perfect one of these tropes. I am not writing this post because you have to see yourself the way men see you or over simplify yourself while getting to know someone, I’m writing this to give you some indication of HOW men see you so you can put on a SHOW! I’m hoping this gives you the encouragement to take your narrative into your own hands & present your femininity in a way that’s true & authentic to you. I am an absolute FAN of these female tropes. Movies & tv shows have helped me curate the kind of woman I want to come across as. Nothing like seeing a great character on TV that you want to emulate. We all have the ability to play pretend. Look at using the male gaze as a game of dress-up. You can ALWAYS play the part in the ever going Hollywood Film— Your Life.

✨What is the First House?

The first house is the house of first impressions— the cover of the book men are judging.

Because your first house is home to your rising sign, to put it simply, the first house is how you come off to others at first glance. Even though I’m sure you’re a beautiful, complex & intriguing creature, for the sake of this article, we are looking at the first house through a “shallow” perspective. You may feel as if these descriptions don’t fit you at all, in fact, you may feel like this is the total opposite of who you actually are! (Blame the contradiction of 1H/7H axis for this one) However it’s not about how you feel, it’s about how you come across…

Read this article as if you are your crush meeting you for the first time. (Read that again, very meta, I know). The Male Gaze in movies/tv has been argued to be lazy & uninspired writing. I personally think that’s just the male gaze in general. I kid, I kid. Lol. But seriously…they are very simple minded, so we can use this to our advantage to give some of the best performances of our lives!

***If you are reading for your Sidereal Vedic Rising (which is HIGHLY suggest), please look up the degree, so you can read for the specific Nakshatra)

(If you are a man reading this, I don’t mean to drag you. We all know the childhood fact, Men are from Mars & Woman are from Venus. Lol.)

Through the Male Gaze, we will be breaking down how you come off through your rising sign & placements as Classic Movie & TV Character Tropes.

How to Read:

✨IF YOU KNOW YOUR SIDEREAL VEDIC RISING NAKSHATRA: Read that first! That will be the most specific to the trope. (I didn’t double dip, each nakshatra is only used ONCE)

______________

✨If you DON’T know your Sidereal Rising Nakshatra & your reading as a Western/Tropical Girlie———>

✨You can read for the sign in your first house (your rising sign) &/or planets placed in your FIRST OR SEVENTH HOUSE!

✨7H placements cast a direct aspect on your 1H, so if your rising sign doesn’t resonate, check your 7H placements! They have a major influence as well!

✨If you have multiple planets in your 1H &/or 7H, the planet with the LOWEST degree is the dominant planet. Ex: If you have Saturn at 26 degrees and Venus at 2 degrees, you would read the Venus tropes.

✨Unlike men, I’m giving you some flexibility (Lol) Your placements may overlap. For example, if you’re a Pisces Rising— read the blurbs for Manic Pixie Dream Girl & Girl Next Door. One description will probably fit better than the others, but you got options! If you know your sidereal chart for your rising Nakshatra, you’ll get

***There is NO direct correlation between the signs & Naks picked, this is a matter of opinion, so I put what I felt worked!***

Please please please keep in mind, movies & tv characters are larger than life, so please have fun with this post!!! This is over the top!! If you can imagine that you were an old Hollywood glamour queen or a modern cinema starlit, this would be your starring role!!!

⚠️ I do not want to offend ANYONE by using traditional gender pronouns. I am a cis-gender heterosexual female, so I am writing from the perspective I know best. I am NOT trying to say this is the only perspective that matters. I have included cis-woman, trans women & lesbians as examples in this post. Please feel free to share any insights you have, no matter the gender, non-gender or perspective! I’m truly open & supportive. This is not an exclusionary post.

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!!!! I am using Movies & Television shows as examples, so be prepared!

⚠️ Of course, special shout-out to my little sister! Without her, none of this would be possible!!

On with the Show! 🌹

💋 Manic Pixie Dream Girl

Nakshatras: Ardra, Punarvasu, Swati, Vishika, Mula

Zodiac: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces (All Mutable Rising Signs) & Aquarius

Planets: Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter (1st or 7th House, lowest degree)

Tarot Card: Princess of Cups (Earth & Water)

✨Definition

“[The Manic Pixie Dream Girl] exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures… [The MPDG] seems to exist only to provide spiritual or mystical help to the protagonist. The MPDG has no discernible inner life. Instead, her central purpose is to provide the protagonist with important life lessons. “

-Wikipedia (Manic Pixie Dream Girl was coined by Nathan Rabin)

✨The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is arguably THEE female movie trope of the last 40 years in pop culture. As movies moved away from the Bombshell aesthetic of the 1950’s, most notably, Marilyn Monroe; Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s introduced a new kind of woman. (Even her last name, go-lighly is a play on her attitude towards the world) A woman who throws caution to the wind & isn’t afraid to take risk. In fact, this woman LIVES to take risk! She flutters in & flutters out of the Male gaze, usually chasing some wild dream of being a fashion designer, writer, actress ect, OR is a notch above (or under, depending on how you look at it) an aimless sexy hobo. Regardless of her career ambitions, she’s always as creative as she is elusive— yet somehow, is always able to drop into the male’s life right in the knick of time, whisking the male away on some fever-dream like adventures. Encountering the Manic Pixie Dream Girl almost ALWAYS accompanies a spiritual Awakening for our male protagonist. Upon meeting this woman, usually in some weird, “only happens once in a life-time” way, his world gets thrown into a chaotic flurry. Everything he thought he knew he now knows he never knew anything about it at all. He questions life, he questions reason, he question society, capitalism, the “American Dream”, etc. This is BEST demonstrated by Marla (Helena Bonham Carter) in Fight Club, directed by David Fincher. (If you haven’t seen this movie, you MUST (18+), Brad Pitt is at PEAK sexiness…s/o to the Female Gaze lol) Fight Club is a wicked tale of a man fighting himself, society & his own psyche after meeting a woman who mirrored him so closely, it triggered a masculinity awakening. This is the function of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She is so free, so unbound, so fluid, & feminine, she helps to bring to life the masculine side of a man by reflecting his own inner chaos back to him.

As a Ardra, Punarvasu, Swati, Vishika, Mula Rising or Mutable Rising Sign: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, or Pisces, this could be one of the ways you appear through the male gaze. Because your temperament & view of life can be so changeable, you can come across as a free-spirit, a loss soul, or a wonderer. Perhaps you are, & perhaps you aren’t, but as quickly as you change a hairstyle, you change your goals in life. The male feels as if he needs to tame you, give you structure, security or direction OR he feels like he wants to join you! Break away from the daily grind of life, break societies expectations of him & rendezvous w you, eating cereal, painting & watching cartoons all day. You can represent a child-like wonder and be the embodiment of the “wild-side” of life! As the mutable rising signs of the Zodiac, you tend to be moody & unpredictable. Through the Male Gaze, men may find it hard to connect with you because you always seem “elsewhere”. You always seem a little dazed, perhaps a little confused, but certainly “pixie” like in your approach to life. To the right male, you are fascinating, like a Jackson Pollock painting (the splatter paint dude) in the works— each stroke improvised, never knowing where the paint is going to land, but intrigued more by your process than the final product.

✨Music:

Female Gaze: Like a Bird- Nelly Furtado

Male Gaze: Sex And Candy- Marcy Playground

✨Examples

Holly Golightly- Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Jules- Euphoria

Summer- 500 Days of summer

Robyn Brooks- High Fidelity

Helena- Fight Club

Cat- Victorious

Issa- Insecure

Raven- That’s So Raven

Bubbles- Powerpuff Girls

Emily- Emily in Paris

Sally Bowles- Cabaret

💋Ice Queen

Nakshatras: Jyestha, Dhanishta, Uttara Bhadrapada

Zodiacs: Aquarius, Libra, Cancer, Scorpio

Planets: Saturn, Uranus, Moon, Venus

Tarot Card: Queen of Swords (Water & Air)

✨Defintion:

“…Cool, reserved, and giving nothing away. She may want love as ardently as anyone, but she masks her soft heart behind a wall of ice. It is up to someone else, typically her Love Interest, to soften her cold demeanor and win her love.

The Ice Queen is considered dangerous to love because she will not (or cannot) love back. She's not much for friendship either, preferring to be alone.” tvtropes .org

✨The Ice Queen is cold & unforgiving. She IS the resting bitch face personified, unimpressed & unfazed by those around her. Seemingly aloof, the male in the story is always trying to breakthrough her tough and unbothered exterior. Her coldness posses a real challenge to anyone who is interested in her romantically. She’s just a bitch. And a bad one at that! The Ice Queen is stern in her appearance & her approach to life. Usually divorced, or widowed, but doesn’t have to be, she walks as if she carries the weight on the world of her shoulder. She’s been abandoned by happiness in life, but she’s so regal, no one knows how deep her scars cut. She can resemble the Boss Bitch/Diva trope, because she normally holds a lot of power, but she carries a certain detachedness that is unique to this trope. She is NOTHING nice. The Ice Queen is hard to please & has no issues letting people know she’s unsatisfied. The Male wants to “warm her up”, breakthrough her cold exterior & get to know why she is so damn mean! In some cases he succeeds, in others he realized she’s just a mean & shallow as he originally thought. Elvira Hancock in Scarface is the prototype for this feminine character trope. Not only is her nose typically buried nose deep in snow (if you get it, you get it), she’s. a. straight. cold-hearted. biotch. She’s unbelievably gorgeous & unapproachable, & this is exactly what draws the male protagonist in to her. But even after the male “wins her over”, she was never satisfied. An Ice Queen to her CORE, she was never one to be defrosted. Defamed? Maybe…Defrosted…never.

It’s worth noting that the Ice Queen is usually HIGHLY fashionable. Not the cheap stuff either— the Ice Queen is a Queen none the less. She’s not the T-shirt & jeans girl next door, or the purple hairdo manic pixie…she’s class & sophistication. First rule, you gotta be hot to be so cold.

If you are a Jyestha, Dhanishta, Uttara Bhadrapada Rising or an Aquarius, Libra or Cancer Rising, or have Saturn, Uranus, the Moon, or Venus aspecting your first house, you may find that you come across as the Ice Queen through the male gaze. You carry a certain reserved & detached aura upon first meeting someone. Rarely would you put all your cards on the table. There is also a certain maturity that you carry with you when you walk into a room. Men will assume “oh, this girl, she’s been through some stuff”. You may find that you are somewhat withdrawn in social situations, although people may be very drawn to you. You don’t necessarily care about being liked, but you certainly care about being respected. You come off as if you don’t tolerate any kind of messiness. Men may think you play hard to get or that you just think you’re better than the average. Whatever! You don’t care what they think. You’re too busy reading or being an intellectual (whatever that means lol…this is the male gaze we are talking about). Again, to the right egotistical man who believes he can “warm you up”, you are a welcomed and ongoing challenge. The Ice Queen is the female trope of male dissatisfaction. When a Male encounters the Ice Queen in cinema, she tend to represent a part of the male that will NEVER be pleased, content or accepted. Normally the man after this cold woman’s stone-cold heart is trying to prove his worth to the world around him, & the Ice Queen serves as the perfect trophy. If he can impress her/have her, he can impress anyone & have the World! The Ice Queen is the ultimate prize for the male protagonist w ego/self-esteem issues. Nothing humbles a man quite like a cold-hearted bitch. You may find in your dating life, Male’s feel the need to impress you for no good reason..or maybe you enjoy watching men walk on their heads for a date w you! Either way, as the Ice Queen female trope you carry a certain air about you that commands attention & respect. You carry authority over yourself & those around you. The male gaze says although your intimidating, your worth a try to shut down all the haters, even if you’re hater number 1!

✨Music:

Female Gaze: Needed Me- Rihanna

Male Gaze: Roses- OutKast, Cooler than Me- Mike Posner

✨Examples

Elvira Hancock-Scarface

Camille- The Sapranos

Lady Mae Greenleaf- Greenleaf

Elsa- Frozen

Jade- Victorious

Elekta Evangelista- Pose

Claire- House of Cards

Molly- Insecure

Lucille- Arrested Development

Betty Draper- Mad Men

Mother Shannon, House of Balenciaga- Legendary

Cersei Lannister- Game of Thrones

Dominique La Rue- Harlem Nights

Gru’s Mom- Despicable Me

💋Femme Fatale

Nakshatras: Ashwini, Bharani, Ashlesha, Purva Bhadrapada, Shatabisha

Zodiacs: Aries, Scorpio, Cancer

Planets: Mars, Pluto

Tarot Card: Queen of Wands (Fire & Water)

✨Definition

“A femme fatale,sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to enchant, entice and hypnotize her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as verging on supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, witch, having power over men. Femmes fatales are typically villainous, or at least morally ambiguous, and always associated with a sense of mystification, and unease.”

-Wikipedia

✨The Femme Fatale is arguably the most ICONIC of the female movie tropes. A popular trope of Film Noir “movement” in the late 1940s, early 1950s, the Femme Fatale is a sexual seductress with a naughty side. Enchanting as she is dangerous, the male gaze ogles her, even though it may cost him his life— or at least his job & social standing. Medusa is one of the best representations of this trope. If a man locks eyes w her, he’s as good as dead— yet, time & time again, men tried to defeat her, only to meet a tragic end. As time progressed, the story of the woman who turns men to stone (definitely a sexual innuendo if you ask me) found new life in television & film. The Femme Fatale is a beautiful disaster just waiting to happen. She’s wild, like the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, but she has a certain knack for danger and crime. She lures the male in & traps him like a spider in her web. The male is usually a little weary of the woman, but is overcome w her grace & charm, or he’s truly an unsuspecting victim who gets completely taken advantage of an entangled in whatever mess she’s made for herself. One way or the other, the male often ends up in a position of life & death after lusting after this dark & intriguing beauty. The film, Carmen Jones, starring Dorthy Dandridge, is a classic tale of a woman w loose morals who ends up (spoiler alert) dead. Unlike most of the other female tropes, the femme fatale almost always suffers consequences for her actions. She either ends up in jail, or dead, or kills her lover, or he ends up in jail, or her lover ends up dead. Tragic, I know. Again, think of Medusa…she killed everything she laid her eye on, & then ultimately had to be killed. (RIP Medusa, you were a baddie). No one gets out scotch free when dealing w this character. The femme fatale is mysterious, almost like a mythical creature or an enchantress, & the male is instantly drawn into her, whether they exchange words in a bar, or she simply flicks her cigarette & he rushes to relight it. One thing is for sure, she lives by her own rules & is bound by nothing…not the law or death itself. She’s usually a criminal minded free-spirit, manipulating her way through life to survive.

If you are an Ashwini, Bharani, Ashlesha, Purva Bhadrapada Rising Or an Aries, Scorpio, or Cancer Rising, or you have Pluto or Mars aspecting your 1H, you may come off as the femme fatale through the male gaze. Your dark, broody & secretive nature is fascinating to them, and they want to join you on a passionate journey through time & space or save you from whatever sticky situation you may have put yourself in. They want to play detective & you are the perfect case to crack. When the femme fatale enters the male’s life, she instantly posses a threat to his usually naive understanding of the world. She’s not your typical housewife— far from it. She challenges the traditional social construct of beauty & submission. Normally from a troubled/difficult past past, the femme fatale will only submit to law & death, she’s been forced to learn the ugly sides of life & uses them to her advantage. You may find that male’s tend to want to dominate you or control your direction in life in relationships, but you are REPULSED by this notion. This trope teaches men (and woman sadly), that freedom comes w a cost. Hopefully it’s not your life, but if it is, you sure make a sexy corpse!

✨Music:

Female Gaze: Wild side- Normani

Male Gaze: Dirty Diana -Michael Jackson

✨Examples

Filomena (Sophia Lauren)- Marriage Italian Style

Cat Woman- Batman

Carmen- Carmen Jones

Dr. Frank-N-Furter (played by the wonderful Lavern Cox)- The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Jennifer- Jennifer’s Body

Gilda (Rita Hayworth)- Gilda

Amy Dunne- Gone Girl

Laura Biel- 365 Days

Alex Vause- Orange Is the New Black

💋Queen Bee/Mean Girl

Nakshatras: Krittika, Purva Phalguni, Chitra, Purva Ashadha

Zodiacs: Libra, Capricorn, Aries, Leo, Taurus & Gemini

Planets: Venus, Mars, Sun, Mercury

Tarot Card: Princess of Swords (Earth & Fire)

“The Mean Girl trope had us all believe that the dark side to womanhood is catty, conniving competitiveness.”

The swaddle.com

“Mean girls are often overly concerned with appearance. They may place a high priority on their clothing, their make-up, and even their weight. Likewise, they may zero in on these things in others, pointing out everything from acne and weight gain to clothing choices and hairstyles.”

-theteenmagazine.com

✨Somewhere between The Ice Queen and The Diva, there lies a sweet sour sweet CLASSIC female trope that always leaves the girls GAGGING in disbelief, like “did she just say that?!!” The Queen Bee/Mean Girl trope has her fair share of representation in film & TV, particularly in teen dramas, but she is NOT limited to high school. The Queen Bee is in charge, she knows what she wants, she knows how she likes it & she has ZERO problem letting her loyal subject know. Sometimes, she is portrayed w a deep deep deep DEEP down heart of hold, but most of the time, she’s just a straight biotch from beginning to end. You DON’T want to cross her, or you just might end-up on her ever growing hit-list. If there is one thing Ms. Mean Girl can do..it’s hold a grudge. As stated above, the Queen Bee/Mean girl trope serves the stereotype of the cattiness & competitiveness of femininity. And it is a fact that in the wild, the female animals are usually far more aggressive than their male counterparts. (Think Lion, or a Mama Bear). Boys may have their sports, but lady’s have their looks & they will secure that W come hell or high water all the way to Prom Queen.

If you are a Krittika, Purva Phalguni, Chitra, Purva Ashadha Rising or Libra, Taurus, Aries, Leo or Gemini Rising, OR if you have Venus, Mars or the Sun aspecting your 1H/7H, you may come off as the typical Mean Girl Trope through the Male Gaze. You’re aloof, yet decisive about the things you truly care about— like— “Wednesdays, we wear pink”. You keep people on the tip of their toes with witty banter & effortless conversation. If they don’t know the latest trends, the current celebrity gossip or who dumped whom…well, you’re just not interested in what they have to say, so why bother? You can play the villain easily & have no problem being unliked as long as you are respected. You are a social butterfly, a socialite, if you will. You know how to make the streets talk with admiration & envy. People may be afraid that they can’t meet your standards, but good, they probably can’t. NO UGLY FRIENDS is the motto— people may think you actually hold try-outs for who is allowed to sit with you at the table. Through it all, you know how to take control & lead— this energy oozes from you as people seem to just step aside as you sashay down the halls. Always up on the latest fashion, you always come w your A-game and your enemies will NEVER catch you slipping. There is a beautiful confidence that you exude because you know you are the one and only. People may be extremely intimidated by you, but the real ones will bow at your feet.

The shadow side of this trope is the shadiness. Queen Bees/Mean girls are known for being just that—MEAN. People may assume that you are quite backstabby & mischievous. YOU, of all the movie tropes, don’t mind playing

d-i-r-t-y! People perceive you as never wanting to let go of that crown & you’ll do whatever it takes to keep the social order in tact. Think “Status-Quo” High School Musical w Sharpay, the ULTIMATE representation of this trope, screaming from the top of the cafeteria! (THIS IS NOT WHAT SHE WANTS! THIS IS NOT WHAT SHE PLANNED!!!!!) She didn’t care who she had to cut, scheme, lie, trick, plot & sabotage to make SURE Ms. Gabriella did not get the spotlight w her man, Troy. Think of the lengths you’ll go to to get what you want. You come off as spicy, cunt-y (in the best way), & beautiful. You are a glamour girl & never afraid to throw some shade here & there, making you the ultimate reigning Queen Bee!

✨Music

Female Gaze: Feeling Myself- Nicki Minaj

Male Gaze: Mad at myself- Issues

✨Examples

Maddie- Euphoria

Regina George- Mean Girls

CoCo- Dear White People

Lulu- Pose

Toni- Girlfriends

Emma Roberts in Coven & Scream Queens

Blair- Gossip Girl

Cheryl Blossom- Riverdale

Santana- Glee (Rest in Peace)

Buttercup- Powerpuff Girls

Alison DiLaurentis- Pretty Little Liars

Sharpay- High School Musical

The Heathers

Penelope- My Dog (LOVE HER, but she’s such a Bitch—a bad one though lol)

💋Ingenue/Damsel in Distress

Nakshatras: Mrigashirsa, Rohini, Hasta, Revati

Zodiacs: Cancer, Capricorn, Libra, Aries (All Cardinal Rising Signs) & Pisces, Taurus

Planets: Moon, Venus, Saturn

Tarot Card: Queen of Cups (Water) Libra, Aries

“The ingénue usually has the fawn-eyed innocence of a child but subtle sexual appeal as well.”

“The damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device (or trope) in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust (or a combination of those) gives the male protagonist the motivation or compulsion to initiate the narrative. The female character herself may be competent, but still finds herself in this type of situation.”

Wikipedia

✨The Ingenue/Damsel in Distress is one of the most recognizable female movie tropes to date. From the tales of The Greeks, to King-Kong, to Broomhilda from Djengo— there is always some damsel…somewhere…that is…in fact…in…distress. The Ingenue is a naive babe, just learning the ins & outs of life. She’s pretty, she’s unassuming & adorably doe-eyed, full of wonder for the life ahead of her— just waiting for a strong man to show her the way! The ingenue is common, but in the best way. She’s not an ice-cold bitch like the Ice Queen or the Queen Bee, but she sits more in her femininity that the Tomboy or the Diva. She’s divine & subtle and a man is always lurking around the corner, waiting to whisk her away from all the evils in the world. If this sounds like a Disney Princess, it’s because it is. Most Disney Princesses would fit into the Ingenue/Damsel in Distress character trope, but just like most of the Princesses, no matter how young & impressionable, the Ingenue is usually the one who makes a way for herself in the end.

If you are a Mrigashirsa, Rohini, Hasta, Revati Rising or a Cardinal rising (Aries, Cancer, Libra Capricorn) or Pisces, the male gaze may perceive you as the Ingenue/Damsel in Distress trope. Your beauty & grace exceed you, & your youth is ever-present. When the male sees you, they just want to protect you & hold you dear. You spark masculinity in those who are attracted to you because you come across so soft & gentle. But don’t get it twisted, you can be a little spicy! You certainly have a little sass to you, but you try not to wear it on your sleeve. You are a true darling to those who are deserving. You serve ultimate demure womanliness & you seem to glide through any room you’re in. Although your impulsiveness & naiveté may land you in some sticky situations, there’s always a lovely leading man just beyond the pines to lead you out of the darkness and into their arms (Awwwwwwwwwww). You may be the type to need help opening the pickle jar, or clumsily fall into some big strong arms— you don’t mind being on the receiving end of affection & people just swoon over you. Unlike the Door Next Door, there can still be an “unapproachability” factor to you. You’re not the girl from down the street, you’re the new girl in town; a little lost, a little curious, but always cute! You may find that men tend to underestimate you & you’re constantly trying to prove yourself. OR you can find yourself in situations where your voice tends to be over powered as you get lost in a sea of toxic masculinity! Either way, you know how to leave a room in awe. You carry just enough mystique & intrigue that male’s fight to know more about you, but yet they just feel as if you’re a naturally good person. You’re coy, but not too coy. You’re shy, but not too shy. You are the perfect “woman”. You may have a past, but your future is always bright! A hero waits around the corner for the perfect time to catch you when you fall or introduce you to a world you didn’t know existed.

As the Ingenue/Damsel in Distress, your energy is POWERFUL, almost as if you’re sexily yelling “Fire! Fire! Save me! Help me!” when you walk into the room. You know how to keep the male gaze & they will break their necks to see you eloquently walk by. Before the reign of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, you were the trope on top— the beautiful default representation of hyper-femininty in the 20s/30s/40s. You set the standards for the early starlets, they were nothing if they weren’t the lovely ingenue!

✨Music

Female Gaze: Bring Me to Life- Evanessance, Pretty When I Cry- Lana Del Ray

Male Gaze: Let Me Love You- Mario

✨Examples

Betty Draper- Mad Men

Celie- The Color Purple

Neytiri- Avatar

Autumn- P-Valley

Daisy- The Great Gatsby

Persephone- The [Abduction] of Persephone

Irene- Drive

Angel Evangelista- Pose

Disney Princesses

Broomhilda- Django Unchained

Piper Chapman- Orange Is the New Black

Mississippi- P-Valley

Penelope- The Odyssey

Satine- Mulan Rouge

💋Girl Next Door/Tomboy

Nakshatras: Anuradha, Uttara Ashadha, Shravana

Planets:Jupiter, Venus, Neptune

Zodiacs: Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces, Taurus, Libra

Tarot Card: Princess of Pentacles (Earth)

“The girl next door is usually from a small town or an un-flashy neighborhood. Her personality tends to be down-to-earth, supportive, and approachable. For both her main boy and her culture at large, the girl next door embodies an idealized, wholesome femininity.”

-the-take.com

✨The Girl Next Door/Tomboy Trope is by far the most realistic & relatable female trope of all. She’s not flashy. She’s not mean. She’s kind & sometimes even “one of the guys”. She gives off an innocence that makes her irresistible to the male gaze because she’s just so darn cool. She’s “not like the other girls”. Although she may prefer a comfy t-shirt & jeans, she’s comfortable in her femininity. She doesn’t try to compete with other woman— even though other woman my try & compete with her. Why? Because she’s usually the girl surrounded by all the guys— not because she flaunts her beauty, but rather because she’s not stuck on herself. She challenges the status quo demonstrating that sexy can be fun, sexy can be sweet & sexy can be “normal”. Zendaya is arguably the IT girl of a generation & she usually plays this type of character. She comes across as someone you can sip cool-aid with after she beats you in a round of basketball! For some, that’s sexier than Marilyn Monroe herself! This is the All-American (no matter the race) beauty that only lives a few doors down. This trope is most likely to be in the “friend-zone”, until one day the male realizes…”OH MY GOSH! SHE HAS BOOBS!”

If you are an Anuradha, Uttara Ashadha, Shravana Rising OR a Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces, Taurus, Libra Rising, you could come off as the Girl Next Door/Tomboy female trope. You’re approachable & not stuck on yourself & that makes you highly desirable through the male gaze. You’re simple & non-demanding like some of your other female counterparts and this makes you a breath of fresh air in a Kardashian fueled instagram dystopia. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure you know how to clean up nicely! When it’s times for you to put on a skirt & heels, you knock ‘em dead. You’re stunning! But you’d much rather lead with personality than looks. You have an effortlessness about you that can’t be obtained by just anyone. At times you may feel a bit awkward about your sexuality, but again, through the right male’s gaze, this is SUCH a turn on. This is an extremely powerful trope because you are realistic. You may have big dreams, but you feel like you come from humble beginnings. You’re authentic to yourself, not to Chanel & Gucci. Sometimes, you may feel overlooked & one-up’d by the “popular girl”, but there is ALWAYS someone who thinks you are the most beautiful girl in the room because you light up the room like no body else & don’t get me started on the way you flip your hair & how it gets the boys overwhelmed. You don’t know you’re beautiful…and that’s….that’s what makes you so beautiful. How lovely!

If you are the Girl Next Door Trope, you don’t have to worry about putting on a show to impress the boysies around you. Just continue to be you’re cool & down to Earth self. Even though it seems like we live in Shallow Land, where everything is based on superficial looks & flawless instagram selfies, you’re super special because you don’t give in. Don’t conform & don’t rush to be the “it” girl. You don’t need the BBL & the thick lashes. (NOTHING IS WRONG W THIS!!! NOTHING~~~) Your natural beauty is more than enough through the Male Gaze!

✨Music

Female Gaze: All You Wanted- Michelle branch

Male Gaze: Hey There Delilah- The Plain White Tees

*sorry I couldn’t link it! Ran out of space!

✨Examples

MJ (Zendaya)- Spider-Man

Zoe- Grownish

Victoria-Victorious

Monica- Love & Basketball

Bella- Twilight

Justice-Poetic Justice

Peggy- Mad Men

Moeisha- Moeisha

Betty Cooper- Riverdale

Blanca Rodriguez- Pose

Apollonia- Purple Reign

Danielle- The Girl Next Door

💋Diva/Boss Bitch

Nakshatras: Pushya, Magha, Uttara Phalguni

Planets: Sun, Saturn, Mars

Zodiacs: Leo, Scorpio, Taurus, Aquarius (All Fixed Rising Signs) & Sagittarius, Capricorn

Tarot Card: Queen of Pentacles (Earth & Water)

“The strong, dark, beautiful woman. She's often a go-getter, chasing stardom, wealth, or just recognition for her talents. If she becomes an Idol, she's not constrained by the pressures of always appearing youthful, innocent, and approachable.

Part of her allure is instead her maturity, either in personality or in sexuality. When she walks in the room she not only turns heads, but she demands respect and won't hesitate to set you straight if she doesn't get it.”

-tvtropes.org

✨The Diva/Boss Bitch Female trope is THEE BADDEST BITCH. She’s worked hard to get where she is & she isn’t going to let some MAN come along and knock her off her thrown. This female trope demands a certain level of respect when she walks into the room— all heads turn because they know she’s the boss, just waiting to give quick & sharp directions. Usually fashionable, because she can AFFORD it (hello!), she knows how to command in any setting while looks good. A trend setter! She may be one of the most intimidating of the female tropes through the Male Gaze, on par with the Ice Queen, because the Diva carries a certain masculine energy. She usually is running things & bossing men around herself. She doesn’t let her sex get in the way of her ambition & talent. This character trope is not afraid to speak her mind because she knows she has just as much right to a seat at the table as anyone. She’s hard to impress & won’t settle for anything less than perfect. Mediocrity will NOT FLY with the Diva. She expects & she will have the best.

If you are a Pushya, Magha, Uttara Phalguni Rising or a Leo, Scorpio, Taurus, Aquarius, Sagittarius, or Capricorn Rising, you may come off as the Diva/Boss Bitch female character trope. You seem to prioritize work, success & your ambition over friendships & relationships. You force the males who gaze upon you to reevaluate their own status & merit in the world. They know you can’t be easily swayed & have to step to you with their best foot forward. Usually depicted as an insatiable boss, men may feel you’re an insatiable lover— demanding & hard to please…whatever, this doesn’t stop you! You know what you want & if they don’t get it for you, you’ll get it your damn self. You come off as self-assured & somewhat egotistical. You’re proud of your work & you expect to be treated like the BOSS that you are. If someone has a problem with that, well then, they can just get in line! Olivia Pope in Scandal is a great example of this trope in action. First, she has a J.O.B. & she’s DAMN good at it. The best, even. Her sex appeal through the male gaze is due to her wits & her competence. Like you, as soon as she walks into the room, people know it’s business time.

If you are the Diva/Boss Bitch Trope, don’t let ANYONE discredit your hustle—not another woman, not a man…NO ONE! You’ve worked hard to get where you are, and it shows because of the way you carry yourself. You can be one of the classiest tropes of all & that’s more impressive than you could ever know. Your beauty lies in the fact that you are sophistication personified. Your intrigue lies in the fact of your rarity! Not every woman is as ambitious or as capable as you are. You make men shiver when they lay eyes on you because you have an aura that screams “STEP YOUR GAME UP OR GET TO STEPPING!” Never try to dim who you are. You’re bossy & you’re the bitch they all LOVE to hate! Let them! You’d probably hate you too if you weren’t you because you are just too fly to handle! Confidence oozes from your pores because you know your stuff. Although it’s lonely at the top, you enjoy the view of downtown from your corner office! It’s hard to compete where others don’t compare Ms. Diva! Own it!

✨Music

Female Gaze: Flawless- Beyoncé

Male Gaze: Ms. Independent- Ne-yo

*sorry I couldn’t link it! Ran out of space!

✨Examples

Olivia Pope- Scandal

Blossom- Powerpuff Girls

Miranda Priestly— Devil Wears

Annalise Keeting- How To Get Away With Murder

Sylvie- Emily in Paris

Jaqueline- Boomerang

Shug Avery- The Color Purple

Cookie- Empire

Mercedes- P-Valley

Matron “Mama” Morton- Chicago

#astrology #vedic astrology #astro notes #astrology observations #sidereal astrology #astrology notes #astro observations #music #rising sign #movie tropes #Spotify

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insertsomthinawesome · 4 months

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I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!! Okay so honestly I have been very very inconsistent over the years with just disappearing for periods of time due to various things 😂 So it probably seemed pretty normal to most people.

But it felt different on my side, so I'm excited to be back in business. I took a month long hiatus! 31 days of not drawing digital art. Its not something I talk about on here? But I've been suffering from some serious long term Art Burnout for.... a really really long time. Long enough that I should've taken a break probably years ago. It finally got so bad that I could barely draw. I was scared to do it (cause it always looked "bad" in my eyes [i'll come back to that]) and doing it was exhausting and disheartening.

I talked it over with somebody and realized that the fear and anger and frustration I felt towards my own artwork was uh. Not Normal or Healthy. And I finally committed to taking a real break for once.

I still drew a little bit by hand? Traditional art has always felt like it has lower stakes for me (i don't often share it online, and sometimes I don't even share it with friends) so I did some of that when I felt like it. But Digital art was completely off the table.

I had put such an immense pressure on myself to make my digital art perfect, to make as much of it as quickly as possible to satisfy something. It wasn't fun anymore. I'm proud of what i've made over the years! But for a long time now the stuff I've been making was made while hating every second of making it. With some rare exceptions.

I hated my art! It was a combination of Perfectionism, taking in too many external expectations, and the burnout. If you hate doing something its kinda hard to love it even when you want too lol. It wasn't "Bad" in the sense that the quality was low and it was ugly! It was "Bad" in the sense that it was unhealthy for me to keep doing it at that point in time.

I'm glad to report though, that with my hiatus officially over as of Wednesday last week: I am once again. In Love. With doing art, and being an artist :)

I put off taking a break for years cause I was scared that taking a break would mean that I would never achieve all the things I wanted to do with art. I was scared it was a stupid and lazy thing to do that would mean I'd never achieve my dreams. And Also even though I kinda hated drawing, I also loved making art. Its a weird duality that I can't even really explain??? I hated it but I also loved it. I wanted it but I also wanted to run from it. It wasn't until I was more mature and had more clarity and insight (and unfortunately also until the problems got worse) that I was finally able to let go of those fears and just do it.

And I'm really really glad I did. It was everything I needed. And I hope to strike a better balance in the future with art. Taking more breaks when I need them, or just when other things have my attention like reading or Video games (Some star rail got played during this time xD)

From the outside things probably aren't going to be that different?? At this point I don't really have any sure plans to post anything I've been drawing since my Hiatus ended. I might or I might not xD I'm still a hobbyist artist taking things at her own pace, but I hope that it shows how much happier I am :)

Whumptober 2023 is being officially put to rest by this post btw! I was in major burnout when that event started, and I'm ready to just, move on from all the past expectations I'd shoved on my shoulders. If I feel like filling any of the prompts or going back to any of the ideas I'd come up for it I will! But I'm not going to worry about doing it unless the desire sets in. Thanks to everybody who's been so kind to me throughout my time on here as an artist! Ya'lls tags and screaming and kind words, the fanfic, the asks and the responses? Its been fantastic :) You guys have made me laugh, smile, and cry tears of joy. I hope from here that things only get better and sweeter! And if I have bad days again, that's okay too.

Here's to 2024 and whatever it may bring ya'll :D 🎉🎉✨✨🧡💜

#isa screams #long post #gif #flashing #i think? Lemme know if I'm incorrect on that one alksdjfLKSJDJDSG #I don't normally talk this much so its kinda strange?#its kinda nice to be more honest about this stuff though #I'm a bit more of a private person so its hard to find the balance between wanting to discuss things openly and honestly #but with the fact that I don't owe the entire world an explanation for everything I do #its a tricky thing #but today I felt like doing this and I think that's okay #if i regret it I just won't do it again alsdjLSDJLFJSGSDG #thanks if you read this! I appreciate it!#I'm a pretty smalltime artist relatively. So sometimes it feels as though it doesn't mater what i say or express.#But hm. I doubt its really that simple or bleak #And if I don't respect myself then well. Who will right?#And I want to learn how to be happy with how little or how much I get #part of the reason I've done so poorly mentally as an artist is chasing numbers and outside praise instead of asking the harder questions #am i happy with what i do? what I make? Who I am #I'm going to probably be working on those questions and problems for the rest of my life.#But thats okay. Thats not a bad thing :)

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betheckart · 7 months

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Solomon Sallow Theory

Hello !

First post, I'm going to heat things up regarding a game that a lot of people love and about a character that many hate.

Solomon Sallow in Hogwart Legacy.

This theory about him has been running through my head for some time, because of his behavior and his past and present actions, there is something that bothers me, that disturbs my Ravenclaw instinct.

So, let's update the character's situation. A retired auror, the latter finds himself forced to take under his guardianship the children of his brother who died in an unfortunate accident, Anne and Sebastian. We do not know much about the period that follows until the children's schooling where his burden is increased by a little extra in the person of Ominis Gaunt.

Then comes the famous incident and the situation escalates to the point of unforgivability.

I know, Solomon is not very popular among the Hogwart Legacy audience. Rightly so, many find him to be an idiot, a gruff and inflexible character but I keep telling myself that there is something wrong with this story, something illogical about his behavior as a as an adult having to watch over the well-being of his nephew and his niece in addition to that of their best friend who still comes from a prestigious wizarding family.

So let’s get back to the beginning…

I would like to point out that, as despicable as the Gaunts' reputation is, I don't think they would have left one of their children to an incapable person. I know that the little we hear about them is hardly glorious however, Ominis remains an heir of Slytherin, which is far from being a forgetable detail, and the Gaunts protect their blood so he would never have left a child to a man for whom they would not have a minimum of confidence, at least that is what I suppose. Naturally, we can also suspect them of having preferred to leave him with the Sallows to relieve themselves financially.

However, bare in mind that Solomon must share the core traits of his family - he is far from stupid, he knows what sport the Gaunt family plays and he must well suspect that Ominis was obliged to use an unforgivable curse. Simply, like us, he put things aside, Ominis was only a child whose actions were dictated by fear and who was consumed with guilt unlike Sebastian who did not have the slightest regret and who would have used any other spell. However, he did not hesitate to accept this possibly problematic kid under his roof even though he only had limited means. Sorry for his detractors but it must be admitted that it is an act of great benevolence, nothing obliged him to take the heir of Slytherin under his wing but he did it, only to preserve him from the dark traditions of his family , he saw the pure being that is our favorite blondie. (And clearly, given the Sallow house, the Gaunts didn't give it a damn!)

I would like now to point out something about the brilliant Sebastian Sallow. At Hogwarts his talent as a duelist is more than recognized, everyone knows it and everyone puts the emphasis again and again on how surprising our victory over him is. But I think his talent is in no way natural. I would like to point out that the rare times we get to see Anne who remains under her curse, she fights with a similar talent and it is the same with Ominis who spent his summers with them. I think these three are doing so well for one reason and that is Solomon Sallow.

Let me explain, as a former Auror, I would not be surprised if when the children began to learn magic, he was naturally able to assist them in the use of defense spells against the dark arts. Remember, the training dummies are behind the Sallow house, I don't think that's a coincidence. During the holidays I am convinced that he helped the three children develop their skills. Of course, some might object to the ban on using magic outside of school, but didn't Ominis use magic outside of school well before and without consequences? In my opinion the ministry was much more flexible on this subject at the time, in fact it was not even a subject.

So …

From the few things we got to see Anne is gifted, even under the influence of a curse. She defends herself admirably and from as little as we know about this whole thing, Ominis manages excellently despite his disability. However, without adequate training, he would never have reached such a level even with the academic support that Hogwarts offers. Sebastian is very talented, of course, but I think his uncle was very harsh with him because he is precisely a boy, the one who had to protect his sister with him. Solomon is the patriarch and naturally Sebastian would one day take over, so he had to prepare him properly. Sebastian's hard work with his uncle will have paid off - coming back to Hogwarts would have given him a certain arrogance.

Then came the incident and Anne's curse.

And, ladies and gents, here comes my theory.

Solomon is a good wizard, by that I mean a good fighter. Certainly, the condition of his niece was quite worrying but nothing would have stopped him from capturing a goblin and extracting information from him to find out who had cursed her and cure her. However, he did nothing. Why ? Why didn't he do anything? He raised his brother's children, protected Ominis and did nothing to help Anne even though he had the ability to do so? What gives ?!

Why would he act like that ? Unless… he knew the truth?

Solomon Sallow is a former Auror, which definitely means he knows how to lead an investigation and like the rest of his family knows how to use his brain. I think he searched for the person responsible for his niece’s curse and unfortunately found the answer. Victor Rockwood, a formidable bandit of unprecedented danger. A man who would not hesitate to kill him. Naturally, he had to quietly try to bring justice by keeping his nephew and niece out of the public eye. As he points out to our character, it is no use giving hope when it is useless . As long as he could not guarantee Anne's recovery, it was better not to let the truth be known.

Unfortunately and you know it, Rockwood emphasized it very well during his dialogues with Ranrock, he has connections, friends very high up in the ministry and this is largely proven by the inaction of the ministry concerning the misdeeds of the scoundrel In the region. There is no justice, Victor Rockwood is protected, unreachable and far too dangerous. And Solomon Sallow saw himself being powerless in the face of the corruption of the magical world - unable to face these dangerous people. Certainly, some might point out a certain cowardice but put yourself or walk a mile in his shoes! He was all that remained for Anne, Sebastian and also Ominis, the only adult who could protect them, watch over them! They don't have anyone else!

Solomon was therefore forced to make a terrible choice. The problem at hand being none other than his nephew. Sebastian. As he pointed out, he is his father's son but also his uncle's nephew. He grew up with his brother and raised Sebastian, he knows him by heart whether he likes it or not. Sebastian's intelligence becoming a danger, the elder Sallow would then have manipulated his nephew to make him focus on a single problem. How to cure Anne rather than the real curse caster. Just imagine for a split second : if Sebastian had known the truth, he would have launched a guerrilla war against Rockwood, certainly Ominis going with him, which would have been a disaster. The two boys would have thrown themselves headlong into the battle when they were only fourteen years old and they could have been seriously injured, died or worse! Expelled! (Oh wait...)

In short, by diverting Sebastian's attention, he protected him and by manipulating him to dissuade him from continuing his quest, he tried to keep him away from the truth so that he would not put himself in danger. We all know though that Sebastian is quite the stubborn kind and that he would definitely dive into anything he’s told not to.

Anne's curse was manageable at first, so he may have thought she would be able to live with it, but we know the situation only got worse. Anne was forced to drop out of school and return to Feldcroft. The guilt that Solomon would have developed would have pushed him to overprotect Anne. Unable to help him and knowing the truth, he would have unconsciously harbored anger towards Sebastian who naively tried to find a solution to something that did not exist. Managing him was certainly complex but at least, in a way, he was guided in a relatively wise way and Ominis was there to watch. In the game, the students talk about Sebastian but ultimately only the heir of Slytherin is considered his friend, a true friend.

But something disrupted his plan.

Us.

Many have highlighted his behavior towards our character. Let’s face it, we were the disruption. Without our presence, Ominis would never have given in for the Scriptorium, Sebastian would never have had access to Salazar Slytherin's book and he would never have been able to cross the catacombs to find the relic. Solomon had given him a quest with no outcome but our character provided assistance to which Sebastian should not have had access. When we think about this, we can understand pretty easily why - from our first dialogue ever with him - Solomon tries to impose his opinion on us regarding Anne's healing. Why he wanted us to dissuade his nephew from venturing down a dark path and unfortunately, we’ve been the downfall of them both.

When Sebastian finally uses the Imperio, Solomon understands that our presence has affected his nephew's quest and worse, it has encouraged him to cross lines he did not want him to cross. While the talented Slytherin is on the verge of becoming a man, the former Auror had just witnessed an act that he could not accept. It was proof of his failure, of his inability to protect his brother's son, that he had failed to keep him away from black magic. His hasty decision to leave Feldcroft would then have been a last-ditch move to desperately try to protect the twins.

By moving Anne away from Sebastian, the latter would no longer have to witness the deterioration of her condition and Anne would have been able to benefit from a healthy, stress-free environment which would have brought her a certain peace of mind. Everything he wanted and to offer her - offer them indeed. Solomon would have feared that beyond his quest for a cure and with the assistance of our character, his nephew would have ended up getting closer to the castle and that he would have made the connection, discovered the truth and launched this war that the Auror feared so much. He couldn't endanger the lives of his family and the new student.

I know, it's a bit exaggerated given our strike force in the game but Solomon doesn't know that. All he sees is another teenager putting themself in danger and worse, dragging his nephew along on their journey. Worse for our case, we have just started manipulating magic, how can such a character be trusted ?

In short, one can agree that if my theory is correct, it would explain a lot of things about Solomon Sallow's behavior.

I am now waiting for your opinions, hoping that I have managed to express myself well.

Théorie en version française !

Bonjour !

Première publication, je vais faire chauffer les choses concernant un jeu que pas mal de gens aiment et sur un personnage que beaucoup déteste.

Solomon Sallow dans Hogwart Legacy.

Cette théorie le concernant me trotte dans la tête depuis un certain temps, du fait de son comportement et de ses actions passées et présentes, il y a un truc qui me chagrine, qui trouble mon instinct de Serdaigle.

Donc, mettons la situation du personnage à jour. Ancien auror à la retraite, ce dernier se retrouve contraint de prendre sous sa tutelle les enfants de son frère décédé dans un malheureux accident, Anne et Sebastian. On ne sait pas grand-chose de la période qui suit jusqu’à la scolarité des enfants où sa charge s’alourdit d’un petit supplément en la personne d’Ominis Gaunt.

Vient ensuite le fameux incident et la situation dégénère jusqu’à l’impardonnable.

Je sais, Solomon n’est pas très aimé parmi le public de Hogwart Legacy. A juste titre, beaucoup trouve que c’est un con, un personnage bourru et inflexible mais je n’arrête pas de me dire qu’il y a quelque chose qui cloche dans cette histoire, quelque chose d’illogique concernant son comportement en tant qu’adulte devant veiller aux bien-être de son neveu et de sa nièce en plus de celui de leur meilleur ami tout de même issu d’une prestigieuse famille de sorcier.

Donc commençons par le commencement…

J’aimerais souligner, qu’aussi ignoble que soit la réputation des Gaunt, je ne pense pas qu’ils auraient laissé l’un de leur enfant à une personne incapable. Je sais que le peu qu’on entend à leur sujet n’est guère glorieux cependant, Ominis reste un héritier de Serpentard, ce n’est pas rien et les Gaunt protègent leur sang donc jamais ils n’auraient laissé un enfant à un homme pour lequel ils n’auraient pas un minimum de confiance, tout du moins c’est ce que je suppose. Naturellement, on peut aussi les suspecter d’avoir préféré le laisser avec les Sallow pour se soulager financièrement.

Pour autant, notons que Solomon doit être dans la même ligne que sa famille. Il est loin d’être idiot, il sait quel sport pratique la famille Gaunt et il doit bien se douter que Ominis ait été dans l’obligation de faire usage d’un sort impardonnable. Simplement, comme nous-même, il a fait la part des choses, Ominis n’était qu’un enfant dicté par la peur et qui est rongé de culpabilité contrairement à Sebastian qui n’a pas eu le moindre regret et qui aurait pu faire usage de n’importe quel autre sort. Pour autant, il n’a pas hésité à accepter ce gosse possiblement problématique sous son toit alors qu’il n’avait que des moyens limités. Navré pour ses détracteurs mais il faut avouer que c’est un acte de grande bienveillance, rien ne l’obligeait à prendre l’héritier de Serpentard sous son aile mais il l’a fait, uniquement pour le préserver des sombres traditions de sa famille, il a vu l’être pur qu’est notre petit blond favori. (Et clairement, vu la maison des Sallow, les Gaunt ne lui ont pas donné un rond !)

J’aimerais maintenant souligner un fait concernant le si brillant Sebastian Sallow. A Poudlard son talent de duelliste est plus que reconnu, tout le monde le sait et tous soulignent encore et encore à quel point notre victoire sur lui est surprenante. Mais je pense que son talent n’est en rien naturel. J’aimerais souligner que les rares fois où nous pouvons voir Anne qui reste sous le coup de sa malédiction, elle se bat avec un talent similaire et il en est de même avec Ominis qui a passé ses étés avec eux. Je pense que si ces trois-là se débrouillent aussi bien c’est pour une seule et unique raison, Solomon Sallow.

Je m’explique, en tant qu’ancien auror, je ne serais pas surprise que lorsque les enfants ont commencé à apprendre la magie, il a naturellement pu les assister dans l’usage des sorts de défense contre les forces du mal. Souvenez-vous, les mannequins d’entraînement sont derrière la maison des Sallow, je ne pense pas que ce soit un hasard. Durant les vacances je suis persuadé qu’il a aidé les trois enfants à développer leurs compétences. Certes, certains pourraient rebondir sur l’interdictions de faire usage de la magie en dehors de l’école mais Ominis n’a-t-il pas fait usage de la magie en dehors de l’école bien avant et sans conséquences ? A mon avis le ministère était bien plus souple à ce sujet à l’époque, voire ce n’était même pas un sujet.

Bref…

Du peu que nous avons pu voir, Anne est douée, même sous le coup d’une malédiction, elle se défend admirablement et du peu que nous avons pu voir, Ominis se débrouiller excellement malgré son handicap, sans un entraiment adéquat, il n’aurait jamais atteint un tel niveau même avec l’encadrement scolaire qu’offre Poudlard. En parallèle, Sebastian est très talentueux, certes, mais je pense que son oncle a été très sévère avec lui parce qu’il est justement un garçon, celui qui devait avec lui protéger sa sœur. Solomon est le patriarche et naturellement Sebastian reprendrait un jour le relai, de ce fait, il devait le préparer convenablement. Le travail acharné de Sebastian avec son oncle aura fini par payer et en revenant à Poudlard, tout cela lui aurait donné une certaine arrogance.

Puis vint l’incident et la malédiction d’Anne.

Et là, vient ma théorie.

Solomon est un bon sorcier, je veux dire un bon combattant. Certes, l’état de sa nièce était des plus préoccupant mais rien ne l’aurait empêché de capturer un gobelin et lui soustraire des informations pour savoir qui l’avait maudite et la guérir. Pourtant, il n’en a rien fait. Pourquoi ? Pourquoi il n’a rien fait ? Il a élevé les enfants de son frère, protégé Ominis et il n’a rien fait pour aider Anne alors qu’il en avait la capacité ? Pourquoi ?!

Pourquoi ? Si ce n’est qu’il savait la vérité ?

Solomon Sallow est un ancien auror, il sait mener une enquête et à l’image de sa famille, il sait faire usage de son cerveau. Je pense qu’il a cherché qui avait maudit sa nièce et que malheureusement, il a trouvé la réponse. Victor Rockwood, un bandit redoutable d’une dangerosité sans précédent. Un homme qui n’hésiterait pas à le tuer. Naturellement, il a dû tenter de faire discrètement justice en gardant son neveu et sa nièce dans l’ignorance. Comme il le souligne à notre personnage, il n’est pas utile de donner de l’espoir lorsque c’est inutile et tant qu’il ne pouvait pas garantir la guérison d’Anne, il ne valait mieux pas faire savoir la vérité.

Malheureusement et vous le savez, Rockwood l’a très bien souligné lors de ses dialogues avec Ranrock, il a des connexions, des amis très haut-placés dans le ministère et cela est largement prouvé par l’inaction du ministère concernant les méfaits du gredin dans la région. Il n’y a pas de justice, Victor Rockwood est protégé, inatteignable et bien trop dangereux. Et Solomon Sallow s’est vu impuissant face à la corruption du monde magique, incapable de faire face à ce dangereux personnages. Certes, certains pourrait souligner une certaine lâcheté mais mettez-vous à sa place ! Il était tout ce qu’il restait à Anne, Sebastian et aussi Ominis, le seul adulte pouvant les protéger, veiller sur eux ! Ils n’ont personne d’autre !

Solomon s’est donc vu dans l’obligation de faire un choix terrible. Le problème se posant n’étant rien d’autre que son neveu. Sebastian. Comme il l’a souligné, il est le fils de son père mais aussi le neveu de son oncle. Il a grandi avec son frère et a élevé Sebastian, il le connait par cœur que cela plaise ou non à ce dernier. L’intelligence de Sebastian devenant un danger, le doyen des Sallow aurait alors manipulé son neveu pour le centrer sur un seul problème. Comment guérir Anne plutôt que sur le réel lanceur de malédiction. Imaginez ! Si Sebastian avait su la vérité, il aurait lancé une guérilla contre Rockwood en embarquant Ominis. Les deux garçons se seraient lancés à corps perdu dans la bataille alors qu’ils n’avaient que quatorze ans et ils auraient pu se blesser gravement, mourir voire pire ! Être expulsé ! Attendez… Bref, en détournant l’attention de Sebastian, il l’aurait protégé et en le manipulant pour le dissuader de continuer sa quête, l’aurait détourné de la vérité pour qu’il ne se mette pas en danger. Et Sebastian est un adolescent têtu à qui il suffit d’interdire de faire quelque chose pour garantir qu’il y plongera à pied joint sans jamais s’en détourner.

La malédiction d’Anne étant gérable dans un premier temps, il a peut-être cru qu’elle parviendrait à vivre avec mais nous le savons la situation n’a fait que s’empirer. Anne a été contrainte à se déscolariser et revenir à Feldcroft. La culpabilité que Solomon aurait développée l’aurait poussé à surprotéger Anne. Incapable de l’aider et en sachant la vérité, il aurait inconsciemment nourri une colère envers Sebastian qui naïvement essayait de trouver une solution à quelque chose qui n’existait pas. Le gérer était certes complexe mais au moins, d’une certaine façon, il était encadré dans une voie relativement sage et Ominis était là pour veiller. Dans le jeu, les élèves parlent de Sebastian mais finalement seul l’héritier de Serpentard est considéré comme son ami, un vrai ami.

Mais quelque chose à perturbé son plan.

Nous.

Beaucoup ont souligné son comportement vis-à-vis de notre personnage. Avouons-le, nous étions la perturbation. Sans notre présence, jamais Ominis n’aurait cédé pour le Scriptorium, jamais Sebastian n’aurait eu accès au livre de Salazar Serpentard et jamais il n’aurait pu franchir les catacombes pour y trouver la relique. Solomon lui avait donné une quête sans issus mais notre personnage a apporté une assistance à laquelle Sebastian n’aurait pas dû avoir accès. Quand on réfléchit à cela, on comprend alors pourquoi dès notre premier dialogue, Solomon tente de nous imposer son avis concernant la guérison d’Anne, pourquoi il voulait que nous dissuadions son neveu de s’aventurer sur un chemin obscur et malheureusement, nous avons été leur perte à tous les deux.

Lorsque finalement Sebastian fait usage de l’Imperio, Solomon comprend que notre présence a affecté la quête de son neveu et pire que cela l’a encouragé à franchir des lignes qu’il ne souhaitait pas le voir franchir. Alors que le talentueux Serpentard est en passe de devenir un homme, l’ancien auror venait d’être témoin d’un acte qu’il ne pouvait accepter. C’était la preuve de son échec, de son incapacité à protéger le fils de son frère, qu’il n’avait pas réussi à le tenir hors de la magie noire. Sa décision précipitée de quitter Feldcroft aurait alors été un dernier geste pour désespérément essayer de protéger les jumeaux.

En éloignant Anne de Sebastian, ce dernier n’aurait plus été témoin de la dégradation de son état et Anne aurait pu bénéficier d’un environnement sain et sans stress qui lui aurait apporté une certaine quiétude. Tout ce qu’il souhaitait et pouvait lui offrir, leur offrir. Solomon aurait craint qu’au-delà de sa quête d’un remède et avec l’assistance de notre personnage, son neveu aurait fini par se rapprocher du château et qu’il aurait fait le lien, découvert la vérité et lancé cette guerre que l’auror craignait tant. Il ne pouvait mettre en danger la vie de sa famille et du nouvel élève.

Je sais, c’est un peu exagéré au vu de notre force de frappe dans le jeu mais ça, Solomon l’ignore. Tout ce qu’il voit, c’est un autre adolescent qui se met en danger et pire qui entraîne son neveu dans ses périples. Pire pour notre cas, nous venons de commencer à manipuler la magie, comment avoir confiance en un tel personnage ?

Bref, je trouve que si ma théorie est juste, elle expliquerait bien des choses sur le comportement de Solomon Sallow.

J’attend vos avis en espérant avoir réussi à bien m’exprimer.

#hogwarts legacy #sebastian sallow #anne sallow #ominis gaunt #solomon sallow

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