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literaryvein-reblogs · 2 months ago

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Writing Notes: Military Science Fiction

Military science fiction - a subgenre that combines science fiction with military elements.

Also known as sci-fi, science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that contains imagined elements that don’t exist in the real world.

Science fiction spans a wide range of themes that often explore time travel, space travel, are set in the future, and deal with the consequences of technological and scientific advances.

Military sci-fi novels deal with subjects like space warfare and futuristic weaponry. These books may also explore how war and technology affect human or alien characters.

Characteristics of Military Science Fiction

Novels in this subgenre will often include one or more of these common military sci-fi tropes.

Advanced weaponry and warfare: Military sci-fi often includes detailed descriptions of futuristic weapons. World-building may include discussions of new types of spaceships and ammo for futuristic machine guns. Aside from technology, there may be unique military organizations or world-specific fighting strategies.

Epic battles: In many military sci-fi stories, the climax is a large and exciting battle. These fights can occur on land or in space and pit humans against aliens.

Philosophical discussions of war: Military science fiction can bring up philosophical and ethical issues, like war’s impact on civilians and warriors. Authors may even use sci-fi to critique real-life military operations.

Tips on Writing Military Science Fiction

Writing a great military science-fiction novel can be a long, challenging process. As with any novel, you’ll want to construct a satisfying plot, develop interesting characters, and write polished, vivid prose. That said, writing military science fiction requires many unique considerations. Here are some tips for creating a memorable military science-fiction novel:

Broach complex ideas. A good military science-fiction story depends on a great conceit. Before writing your first book, have some sense of the question your novel is asking. This question can be implicit or explicit in military sci-fi, and many novels make these questions obvious. For example, Ender’s Game asks the question: What if humanity’s survival during an alien invasion depended on highly intelligent children?

Tell a good story. While military science-fiction novels are often thought experiments, they should contain an interesting narrative story. Come up with an intriguing story that brings your questions to life. Ask yourself: What is the change that will occur over the course of your story, either in the world or in the life of the main character?

Create an interesting world. World-building is one of the most important parts of creating a compelling military sci-fi story. The intricately imagined details that make up your world should flow in some way from the idea at the heart of your story. In that way, the world you create in your military sci-fi novel also reveals something about your point of view on the real world. Even the most fantastically imagined story is still a reflection of real-world questions and problems.

Consistently obey the rules of your world. One of the qualities that set sci-fi novels apart from fantasy is that it still obeys consistent logic, no matter the strangeness of the world. For military sci-fi, this might involve rules about how advanced weapons and spaceships work. You may find yourself mapping out intergalactic government agencies and writing laws.

Focus on character development. You may get caught up building your world or focusing on your plot, but remember that well-developed characters are important, too. Your plot may hinge on a major battle, but make sure to create interesting conflicts for your characters.

Examples of Military Science Fiction

It can be helpful to read military science fiction to better understand what the genre has to offer. Consider some of these works by well-known science-fiction writers:

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (1959): Heinlin wrote this novel in response to real-life nuclear arms policy. Set in the future, it touches on moral and philosophical questions an interstellar government faces.

Childe Cycle by Gordon R. Dickson (1960): This series chronicles the fracture of humanity into space. Dorsai “supersoldiers” attempt to reunite the human civilizations.

Star Wars by George Lucas (1976): Star Wars’s novelization actually predates the iconic film’s release by a few months. Ghostwriter Alan Dean Foster wrote the book based on Lucas’s space opera screenplay.

Battlestar Galactica by Glen A. Larson (1978): This franchise follows the last of humanity as they fight a war against a robot race.

Armor by John Steakley (1984): Armor’s soldiers use exoskeletons in a war against insect-like enemies in this bestseller.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (1985): This novel follows young children with high intellect who help lead a war against an alien race.

Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold (1986): This series of novels and short stories is set in a fictional universe of star systems called the wormhole Nexus.

On Basilisk Station by David Weber (1993): This novel follows a military school graduate named Honor Harrington, whose insubordination gets her exiled to Basilisk Station, a far-off station of smugglers and thieves.

A Hymn Before Battle by John Ringo (2000): This novel is about Earth’s preparation for an alien invasion.

Old Man's War by John Scalzi (2005): The Colonial Defense Force is a military organization with two goals. The first is to defend Earth from alien invasion; the second, to find new planets to colonize. This novel follows John Perry’s journey through the ranks.

The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell (2006): This series is set one hundred years into an interstellar war between two warring factions of humans.

A Confederation of Valor by Tanya Huff (2006): These novels follow Sergeant Torin Kerr as she leads her team of space marines through missions across the galaxy.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

#military science fiction #science fiction #writing notes #writing tips #writeblr #literature #writers on tumblr #writing reference #dark academia #spilled ink #writing prompt #creative writing #writing advice #on writing #writing inspiration #writing ideas #light academia #writing resources

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gothicrepetitions · 2 months ago

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The Soulless Jack plot-line is fucking insane. Supernatural's lore on soullessness is extremely inconsistent but with Jack, a lot of it is about the lack of instinct for good. 'He isn't bad; he's just absent of good', 'the old Jack had a good heart', 'Without his mother's humanity, all that's left is Lucifer'. All the characters reiterate some version of this. However, 14x15 lays it out very well; 'Losing your soul doesn't make you bad. It doesn't make you anything. It's an absence of of pity, of empathy of humanity'.

The thing is... SPN simultaneously tries to juggle both these ideas despite the fact they are contradictory. We're shown Jack, trying to develop a framework (being given the worst advice by Donatello, but tbh you can't blame Donatello for that one considering how isolated Jack's grown up and how limited his world view is); snake=sad->sad because he isn't with his friend->his friend is in heaven(???)->if the snake dies he'll go to heaven(???)->he'll be reunited with his friend->snake is no longer sad.

It's a shocking scene for the audience and Cas who goes on to say the scene showed Jack's absence of good. But...

The thing about Jack is he is very much kid-adjacent in that he lacks the experience and while technically does have an adult brain, he has not experienced brain development in the typical stages one does. Because of this he has not explored and interacted with the world enough to have a grasp on abstract concepts like good or bad or life or death and he's still in the process of developing his own moral framework. He is just two years old, unsocialised and isolated, and constantly living in high stress environments. He emulates the figures around them who have their own issues and fucked up moral compasses and parent him in wildly different, terrible ways.

He's grown up knowing the Winchesters are the arbitrators of good and bad so he tries to emulate them, which even without these being the worst people in the world, this isn't really a great moral framework and we see one of the problems come out of this which is. Jack doesn't even really know what Would The Winchesters Do; understandable!! It is literally the Winchesters+Cas's job as parental figures to help and support Jack.

Because of this the Soulless Jack arc often just comes off as Jack being. kid-adjacent. Facing all these terrible and abstract concepts and struggling with how to approach the world around him.

And being punished because he's... not inherently and nautrally inclined towards 'good'? Except that's fucking stupid because there's no such thing as an inherent good (or bad); people develop their ideas of right and wrong and children are scaffolded through it by the more knowledgable, older mentor figures in their life who are supposed to, not impose, but guide them into developing their own moral frameworks. And so Jack is simultaneously infantilised and treated with the expectations of a typical adult human

And again, Supernatural juggles both the idea of 'Jack struggling with concepts of morality because he doesn't understand it; this doesn't mean he's good or bad' and 'Morality is something inherent and you should naturally know what is good or bad and not knowing means you are bad'. The latter is the take TFW subscribe to in their approach with Jack (including Cas to some degree in that he deeply sympathises with Jack and tries to give him support and ultimately chooses Jack; yet at the same time when confronted with Jack killing the snake he doesn't talk to Jack and immediately chalks it up to Jack losing all goodness and being left with his 'Lucifer side').

The scene where Sam and Dean call Jack back in order to lock him up is... it's sickening, it's terrible. Watching Jack attempt to explain his thought process, but being misconstrued and having his words twisted to be that he blames Mary for her death, and he's completely oblivious to the way Sam and Dean's demeanor shifts to become even colder. And he's locked up without trying to be understood by his parental figures. It's the two perspectives Supernatural takes with Jack's soulless arc clashing together in a scene where there's such divide between SamDean and Jack that it's hard to watch.

But ultimately, the narrative sides with the Winchesters and Dean's given the choice of whether to kill Jack or not; he doesn't and by the next season all the events throughout the season are completely forgotten.

#jack kline #i need a tag for s13-15 winchester family #winchester family #sam winchester #dean winchester #spn meta #supernatural #spn #castiel

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windmaedchen-oceanhorn · 3 months ago

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Erin, her adjusted design after being reborn. Her previous design and character story up until Chains of Eternity (AFK Journey January 2025) are here, for reference.

Esperian Headcanons (and musings)

Dura, Celestials and Hypogeans

Dura, representing the light, and Ygdris (I assume?), representing the dark once had consensual bed-time together and created life on Esperia (Lightbearers and everything that followed).

Gods fight and so Ygdris creates the Hypogeans, an impure species lacking the light of Dura, in order to drown the light on Esperia forever.

Hypogeans are thus created "as is". They do not grow or develop in any shape or form. They are infertile and most of them entirely unable to use their bodies for that pleasure (not least because many don't even feature those human parts). They cannot develop softer feelings or form bonds beyond that which they were given upon birth (such as a sibling bond, which is more a given fact than anything of warmth and tenderness).

Hypogeans vary in their shapes. Those more abstract often inhibit greater strength or rank, while overly human features tend to be regarded as "weak", but only within the limited flexibility of general Hypogean emotion anyway.

Hypogeans do not need to eat, drink or sleep. They can, if so built, choose to do the former, but will then slightly weaken due to their bodies processing the nutrition (including side-effects).

Hypofiends are mindless, expendable minions, a manifestation of Hypogean magic. Any Hypogean can create those and order them around to do their bidding.

Ygdris stands on top as the god and creator. There are three generals underneath him and then follow the rest of the Hypogeans. There are possible further sub-ranks but overall, not too many. Hypogeans are very rigid and know their purpose and rank, so there is little to no in-group fighting.

A Hypogean would never kill (or betray) another Hypogean, but they do display and engage in violent behaviour over disagreements due to their god-given natures.

Erin and Eugene were too curious upon their birth. A human feature not present in many other Hypogeans. They preferred to live by their curiosity and fascination for everything Esperians do and offer and have avoided their responsibilities in the conflict (without truly lifting a hand against their own kin BUT still). Eventually, both end up defecting. Eugene to protect the two children alongside Gavus; Erin to stay by Merlin's side (to watch over him until a final resolution to the light/dark problem could be found, which was only "temporarily" solved by Dura at that time, at the expense of her life).

Celestials are the response of Dura to Ygdris' Hypogeans. She preferred to use loyal and outstanding mortals and provided them with strength and life in order to fight and permanently destroy the Hypofiends and Hypogeans. The bodies of Celestial are in a certain frozen, eternal state. That is why they have no need for food or drink or sleep. That is why they also are no longer fertile, but still capable of experiencing the bliss of procreation. They can choose to eat and drink, but their bodies will weaken a little due to the processes taking place for digestion.

Eugene's bond with Gavus was a friendly and but strictly necessary one at first, instigated and maintained by Eugene's curiosity. But eventually, due to the constant exposure to Esperia, Eugene was able to experience change and emotional development, possibly in response to Gavus' lead, and their relationship changed to what fans seems to love so much about them. xD

Erin, too, began to develop a deeper understanding of emotions as she continued to live by Merlin's side for centuries. What is impossible to most other Hypogeans, was possible for these siblings due to their innate curiosity and openness to change, as well as their exposure to these complexities of life. An oversight of Ygdris? ;-)

About Merlin

Due to Cyran's classmates thing, I wonder if the body of our current Merlin is one that was born only a few decades ago. He already had the habit of changing his appearance prior to the Second Divine War (for unknown reasons but observed by Hogan), and he continues more than ever after his return to not look like his true 50-60 year old human self. I doubt that he was aware of the role he needs to play while he attended the Serene Lyceum and even taught there but the war must have brought that to light, since I am certain it was concluded victorious only thanks to Merlin's interference.

BUT, I prefer Merlin to be an eternal being, with that regular memory loss (!!!) who simply enjoys stepping into the shoes of a student every once in a while to learn again. Meaning, they adjusted their appearance a little bit to attend for a couple of years alongside Cyran without attracting attention.

It would be easy to catch up with everything thanks to the vast library Merlin (and Erin) have created for themselves over the centuries, but it's also cool to use the Lyceum for that quick refresher. ;-)

This also feeds into my idea that Merlin is a practical learner, and actually doesn't like to read and write themselves for that process. They prefer to listen and ask and apply and adjust. xD

His deeds even before and during the war were sung across the realm and since then, within that lifetime, Merlin has made that name for himself. Everyone praising Merlin in the game does so for these deeds only (and nothing any other Merlin might have done historically before).

The fact that "Merlin" is a title and handed down to eligible people (according to Dolly) as well as the fact that our Merlin isn't the first one (according to the God of Death), now this pertains to a much larger timespan than the most recent decades. It might even be several millennia and way more "Divine Wars" than the two we know about. Usually light and dark fight constantly in a never ending cycle. Periods of peace can be established but eventually the scales tip over and a new equilibrium has to be created. Thus, in the memory of the recent and current generations of Esperia, our Merlin is the first and only one of such ability and fame, regardless of the fact that a Merlin has existed previously for each of these recalibrations between light and dark.

More to come elsewhere. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think. <3

#my art #afk journey #hcs #ocs #afk merlin #afk cyran #erin

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akipatzzio · 3 months ago

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Eunyung Baek character analysis (AGHHHH IM SOBBING)

Growing up, Eunyung was exposed to all kinds of violence in the seclusion of his own home. His father was a drunkard and his mother was a woman who couldn't stand up for her child when her husband would abuse him. He was hit frequently and his parents neglected him emotionally.

They were unpredictable and extremely manipulative. Eunyung had grown up in an environment where he constantly had to keep an eye out for "patterns" in their behaviors so as to not aggravate his parents. Instead of knowing how horrible this treatment truly was, he was manipulated into believing it was he who was at fault. His parents would enable this thought process by placing the blame on him and that their actions were justified because he was a "troublesome problem child." This was why he begins to believe that he is completely independent and doesn't need any help whatsoever.

During his childhood, he'd run away multiple times. Whenever he would run away, he would end up hanging out with delinquent children who didn't wish for him to improve and instead praised his miserable way of life. They didn't want to see him succeed, but wished and even expected for him to live in the horrible conditions he was forced into. An example of this would be Dongbum (I'm not too sure if that's his name) when he sees Eunyung working in the convenience store. He had fully believed Eunyung would still have been leading such a miserable life just like he had in middle school, and even egged him on for actually improving his state of life (ex.: actually putting in effort in his studies when he neglected them during his middle school years.)

Wanan initially paints Eunyung as a mean jerk who had ripped up Haejoon's stomach and had lied through their first official meeting, albeit as we proceed through the story and get to learn more about him, we actually find out that his rough demeanor and less than great defense mechanism were a result of his living conditions growing up. Growing up with abusive parents who gaslit him and blamed him at every opportunity would rub off on him whether he liked it or not. We can see this especially in his habit of lying. He used lying as a way to close himself off from others, to protect himself from being vulnerable to someone he couldn't trust. He hides his true emotions, even to those he deems as friends.

His lifestyle as a child led him to easily recognize those with similar experiences as him — he'd noticed when Marie flinched away when he'd loomed over her, trying to grab the voice recorder. He'd immediately noticed the change in the demeanor of Haejoon's mother after the absence of his father, when Haejoon himself hadn't noticed it once throughout his many years living with her.

Eunyung keeps himself at a distance from even his closest friends to protect himself. After all, only God knows what would happen if he left even a minor weakness for them to exploit, right? He wouldn't risk having his business spilled to the world, being judged, or even being left alone. All alone, without anyone.

Haejoon and Eunyung's relationship is honestly one of the best developments in the manhwa. Initially, the two have a very sour relationship due to the horrible acts they've done against eachother. Yet they're stuck together, whether they like it or not, because one of them has another place to go to. As the story progresses it, it was revealed that Eunyung was fond of Haejoon because he was just as miserable as he was. He had no where to go back to, no home, and the warmth of a family was long gone for both. They're both equally miserable. Seeing Haejoon's loneliness helped fill the loneliness and sadness in his own heart.

Yet they weren't the same. They couldn't be. Eunyung had been in the state of despair and loneliness for a very long time by now, and Haejoon was only beginning to step foot into that abyss. Eunyung seemed to admire or more of envy the fact that Haejoon retained his ability to feel so deeply, to trust, and to put effort into his life despite everything he'd been through. He retained his sense of justice and empathy, despite everything horrible that had happened to him. Unlike the Eunyung who resented the world, kept himself at a distance from everything and everyone around him, and acted like he couldn't care less about others' opinions when he hated being judged, hate having things assumed about him, hated having his pain and efforts overlooked because of his ability to hide it so well.

It's the predictable outcome, considering his past, that he's so aggressive toward others, so reluctant to break free of the mask of falsehoods he hid behind. He uses aggression as a means to get out of any situation to give himself the advantage, to stop anyone from hurting him like his dad did, and to protect himself from the traumas of the past.

#character analysis #eunyung baek #baek eunyung #no home #no home manhwa #manhwa #eunyung no home

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ravinoforre · 5 months ago

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So I saw an opinion on a character that I, respectfully, don't agree with at all, and it isn't the first time I've come across this particular take either. I don't like nor want fandom discourse, making counter points to arguments in general make me nervous, but as someone particularly attached to them and their related characters, I have a lot of thoughts I want to get out there in the hopes that maybe they can be seen from a more positive perspective. So um, here they are. Get comfortable, this is gonna be a long one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Defense of Lily (Pokémon XD).

Those of you who've played this might already know what I'm referring to, so I'm just going to rip off the proverbial band-aid. Right at the start of the game, as you, the player, are being introduced to her, one of the first things she says is;

...and ok yeah, I admit. This is kind of a weird thing for her to say (in front of her son too, oops). This is usually one of two instances that people latch onto to prove she's an awful mother, but there is, at least in my opinion, some hidden context to her words. First of all, she's not wrong; the whole lab does in fact constantly sing their praises and fawn over both these kids (which is adorable tbh). Secondly, it's not unreasonable for her to believe that lots of inflated praise on a child, no matter how well meaning, may have negative consequences on their development. A kid receiving a constant stream of "you're so cool/special/talented" may end up with an inflated ego and become depressed, or even lash out in anger, if that praise either stops or something comes along to disprove it (like failing a test or making a mistake).

(Side note, I came across some partially related studies (x), (x) and an article from a parental psychologist (x) that go into different types of praise given to children; person, or ability praise ("you're so clever") vs process, or effort praise ("you worked really hard"), their effect on self esteem, personal growth, and performance, and how ability praise actually negatively effects a child's sense of worth compared to effort praise or even no praise at all. It's a lot to go through right now and this post is already going to be super long, but I mention them here because I'll go into something later that you may find rather interesting. I know I do. They're fascinating reads, too, I would recommend!)

Now listen up! Lily, contrary to the belief that she's a cold-hearted mother who shuns her offspring, actually does praise and engage with her children! Throughout the story, she'll talk to Michael and say some interesting and wonderful things as his adventure continues! The problem is that unfortunately, a lot of this proof is hidden throughout each story beat in a section of the lab that is no longer required to enter to progress (and most people won't bother to go back and speak to their own mother who apparently "hates" them). Off to find Jovi:

🥹 baby... Before saving Phenac City:

🥺😭euuhhbbebeh father mentioned During the Phenac City hostage situation:

After the Phenac stuff:

"I'm proud of you." You literally cannot get a more explicit form of praise than I'm proud of you. Hell, I can't even recall a time my own mother told me that. Fucking hell. Also. Pampered?! You hear that? She's practically contradicting those accursed two lines! By her own admission, the kids are pampered babies! Her concern isn't that people will spoil them—because they're already spoiled!

(Jovi is a pampered baby princess). I think Lily's worry in her comment is that may roll too far; it's like she says—spoiled rotten.

Ok one more example for this section:

(disclaimer: these screenshots are from the romhack XG which is why her name isn't in all caps; trust me, this same line is in base XD too) Remember the types of praise I mentioned earlier? Ability (person) praise and effort (process) praise? And how the former could be damaging to a child's self esteem? Do you notice anything particular about the way she speaks to Michael and praises him? "You've become an outstanding trainer in your own right." Not "You're so strong." "You're doing so much for the good of others." "Your courage will save the Shadow Pokémon." Not "You're so brave." "You did it all by yourself without anyone's help." She's praising his actionable efforts! She's applying process praise! (Pleeease read those studies and article, at least the first study I linked, it's genuinely insightful and fascinating, and it's even more amazing that an example of it is featured in a video game by a character most people won't interact with beyond necessity! I love this game! So! Fuckinhg!! Much!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

Ahem. She's also not saying that people shouldn't praise her kids either; only that she wishes it wasn't gushing praise all the time. Too much of a good thing could be harmful, after all. Let's see...

Sounds reasonable so far, right?

...Galactic peace?! My brother in Arceus, all he did was beat you in a friendly Pokémon battle—a battle that Michael's already been led to believe he'd win anyway thanks to that previous comment from his coach (those screen caps are in chronological order)! Even without the fact that by this point he's midway through a dangerous fight against a criminal organization, it's probably not a good idea to give a developing young teen a literal God complex; what if he gets so full of himself he genuinely believes he's unbeatable... and then loses? That child's mental state is going to plummet. So even if you don't agree with Lily's praise comments, you might at least better understand where her concerns are coming from if this is potentially the kind of thing that's being told to her kids regularly.

Moving on, try putting yourself in her shoes a moment. She's a working, grieving, single mother of two who, according to an NPC in the lab "has an exceptionally high sense of responsibility".

As a scientist with the necessary expertise, she has the heavy task of helping realise a sensitive project—sensitive not just in terms of urgency (as Krane predicts Cipher is going to be a threat again), but also in terms of emotional weight; this project was something her late [husband] poured everything into until his death, so both her and Krane continued on with it; by the time the game starts, they're agonisingly close to completion. And time is of the essence. Quick tangent: watch the cut scene post Krane kidnap again. The camera rests on Lily an awfully long time. The father of her children died before this project was finished, and now Krane, a close friend of both of theirs, has been taken away by force. Both her children have witnessed something traumatic. Her daughter is sobbing. She's literally being told the situation is "hopeless" by a colleague. Imagine the sheer anguish this woman must be going through before having to push through all of it and take complete charge for the sake of finishing the project. For the morale of the entire lab staff. For the sake of keeping her kids calm. For the fate of the region itself. Anyway, because of this project, and how close they are to finishing, she isn't able to afford much, if any, time off to spend with her kids "this instant". It's probably why the lab staff have pitched in to help look after them (which must make her feel pretty damn guilty with that high sense of responsibility of hers). It's why she asks her son to go find his little sister in her stead.

And this brings me to point number two that I've seen used countless times to slander her:

She just lets Jovi run off on her own, and doesn't care what her kids are up to.

Which... no, sorry, hang on here. Lily isn't letting Jovi run off on her own. For starters, both her and Krane believe she's in or somewhere outside the lab grounds, playing hide and seek with the caretaker, Adon.

A game of hide and seek (particularly if they're taking turns hiding) is likely why nobody's seen her since lunch, by the way, and not Lily not giving a damn about the whereabouts of her child. And when she's found and brought home again, Lily says this;

This implies she's spoken to her daughter about running off on her own before, and we do later get to know that Jovi has a habit of running off ahead; she runs off down the steps in Gateon ahead of her brother, she rushes off to deliver the machine part by herself to the chamber, and even though Michael is the one asked, she runs off to go see Datan—despite Lily telling her she doesn't need to do that. This means if Jovi gets invested in something, it's apparently hard to stop her. Visiting Kaminko's is a recent fixation of hers, and if Adon is already aware of where else she might have gone off to if she's nowhere on lab grounds, it might mean she's been there before (that, or Adon was the one who caved and told Jovi where to find the place). I might even speculate and say Lily has specifically told Jovi before about not running off to the manor. Anyway, check out what she says when you find the little runaway but come back empty handed.

The heart-sinking realisation and disappointment in that "...Oh" alone....

So no, Lily isn't letting her young child run off on her own—Jovi is disobeying her mother. She's either used the game of hide and seek as an excuse to dip (and then forgot about Adon entirely), or she got bored midway through and decided to head to her new place of interest despite any of her mother's previous objections. (And before anyone says anything, no, that doesn't mean Jovi is a bad kid, either. She's, what, around 7 yrs old? She is doing typical little kid things, emulating her older brother, and discovering and pushing her boundaries as she grows up. I have seen some putrid, abysmal hate for her over the years too. She is a child, leave her alone.) Onto the second half of the above statement; she doesn't care what her kids are doing. As in, Michael is on a treacherous journey against a dangerous group of people and she's totally ok with letting her kid do that (as if that isn't the case with practically every mainline entry protag mother but alright, I'll bite).

Introducing one of my favourite exchanges with her in the game. During this time, the purify chamber still isn't complete, and they'll need to use an alternate way of purifying Shadow Pokémon until then—the Relic Stone in Agate Village.

oh it worries her, does it? You know what happens when No is selected?

And then she drops the conversation. There's no endless loop to get him to go, which would have been the more convenient thing for the devs to implement. But this was a very deliberate choice that tells me more about a character than I've seen done in a video game before. She's respecting her son's decision to stay home. She is not forcing him to do something he isn't comfortable with. Of course, as a video game, the purpose is to progress to the next story beat. So he has to go. Better talk to her again.

I don't even think I need to add any extra commentary, this should really speak for itself at this point.

I've also reached the image limit on this post so it's probably time I wrapped this up, so in conclusion; is Lily a bad mother, as I've seen people claim? No, and I believe I've showcased plenty to prove she isn't. She's not perfect, no parent is, but she's a damn sight more involved in her children's lives than the mainline moms, who are often nothing more than out of the way Pokémon Centers that don't acknowledge their child's journey in any meaningful way. So then, was she in the right for saying what she did at the start of the game, right after Krane praises her son, who is in earshot of this conversation? Well... also no. She could have picked a better time and place to bring it up, honestly. But God forbid a woman make a mistake or voice a concern, lest her be mischaracterized and demonized forever by two unfortunately worded lines of dialogue.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Michael, you're finally going off to the ultimate battle, aren't you? You've really grown in stature. As your mother, it makes me feel conflicted. I'm happy and proud on one hand, but I'm also a little sad. Go and get rid of Cipher, and make it quick! And come home safely."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you've managed to reach the end of my ramblings, I'd like to say thank you. Hopefully I've given you some food for thought. Maybe I've even changed your mind about her. And even if I haven't, I appreciate you taking the time to read this regardless.

#i'm uh shaking #this took me several days to write #i needed time to really articulate my thoughts #oh and another point i wanted to add that i couldn't find the right place in the post to mention #is that as funny as JaidenAnimation's XD video was #it has done irreparable damage to Lily's reputation #the fate of women in media amirite #long post #pokemom #lily #jovi #trainer michael #pokemon xd #orre #ravinranting123

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drinkyourvillainjuice · 11 months ago

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how to not let your autistic inner child win (or how to write an if) by the secretary

[id: a student with glasses being pointed at and mocked by two students on screens, and two more offscreen with only their arms showing. the central bullied student looks sad, and everyone else is laughing. end id]

Ruhoh, is this another secretary essay? Well, yes it is! The gender politics one will eventually come around when I feel like it, but this one, as the title suggest, is about how to write an IF. And since I'm presuming most of you are on the spectrum (or on a spectrum), it gets a little tongue-in-cheek.

hehe

Anyways, if you have autism, you have eternal swag. It's just true! But having so much swag makes it a problem when writing, or doing any sort of project. This is something I've noticed from people who don't have evil autism. Those not afflicted by the rare autism version of evil autism (my autism) will often be really bad at just... doing things - despite having all the abilities to do so! I think it might be a adhd thing or something too. Anyways, I love helping people, (this is my evil autism), and I'd like to share some girl tips on how to kill your inner child :)

I think something I've noticed from people making any sort goals- online, real life, job, working, etc - is it is straight forward. ie: I want to graduate from high school, I want to make a video game, I want to journal everyday. These are all achievable using your abilities that you learn and gain through your life, and failure doesn't exempt you from trying again. Thing is, this specific thing I just described (straightforward goals) is something I think a lot of autistic people struggle with.

I deeply remember sitting down in the corner of my high school, looking like the hottest girl who played pokemon on her ds when someone who had +1% more autism than me told me that, one day, he was going to make the most cool pokemon game ever where you could date other characters and have babies and have your children go on adventure too. As a 14 year old, I thought to myself 'bitch, shut up' but also, 'this is so unrealistic, but he really believes it, uh'. And he did! And you know, I think that's okay. I think it's okay to believe that you can make things that you cannot do at the moment - I mean that's just how life it. We didn't go on the Moon thinking we couldn't

But... the guy didnt know how to code, or how to make games, or how to program, or how to develop stories, or how to make art, etc etc etc. He didn't know these things, but he wanted to make these things. And I see this to a certain degree quite a bit when it comes to creation. I want to say: it's a very important of the process but simply one part.

I think being able to imagine what you could do if you have all the resources in the world, all the time, and all the help is important - but it is even more important to look within and go 'alright with all this in mind - what can I do?'

And if you're in the field of IF, well, what can you do? Coding, storytelling, character design, plotting arcs, etc. I think the skills can be learned by anybody (sidenote incoming)

If anybody ever fucking says that art is innate, they're fucking lying. It's a skill you grind out. You work it out. You work even if you feel not creative. You write words even if they don't come to you naturally. You draw even if the images can't be conjured. You work you work you work and you make something. You cannot always make art when feeling creative because you aren't always creative. you must be willing to die for your art, yes, but you must also be willing to create without any creative sparks! If you want to be an artist, you better work bitch.

(sidenote ending) and with that in mind, you need to develop restraints onto yourself. In IF, it's actually to create restraints, and here are some I suggest for all of my fellow autists who might struggle with them. I love you guys, truly, anyways. here they are:

restrain characters.

Make three characters + a main character. Write a couple of scenes with them. Is that your maximum? Is that too much? Go up and down until you find the right amount. You can add more character when your writing is better. Stick to a minimum per scene. If you have ideas for 30 characters, you can easily melt them into 10. Seriously. Put the heat on maximum and start creating new fun dolls to play with.

2. restrain scenes

You cannot write 500 per interaction. This is a bad idea because a) you might do the thing where you run out of creativity which you need to learn to do without but it is hard and b) interactions are time limited and time sensitive. not everybody will go through them. if you have a 30k update, but most people will only see 1k... are you really writing a game for them or for yourself? I made my wife do this format:

youll gain the ability to gauge if a scene is important or not eventually, I'm sure.

3. restrain area

I recommend writing like a murder novelist. You have a closed circle, and the player cannot leave it. they can only be within that space. That space that exists within that specific story is the only thing they have access to. it can be a school, a city, a bedroom - but its limited. you create setpieces that players interact with. some set pieces are the same with just a different coat of paint on.

anyways, i believe in dreaming big, but i also believe that we have little time on our hands to create. when wanting to make something, restraint yourself. its always way more fun to find ways to break out of our bonds then just roaming free, right? I mean... maybe not. I'm not your mother, you know.

#secretary post

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dawnstruck · 4 months ago

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A small rant about Arcane and human rights

Something that has been bugging me for a while now: I have been seeing several posts and comments defending CaitVi’s gassing of the Undercity, so I want to talk about it a little bit.

This is not so much about their respective motivations and whether their actions can be justified under that lens. Yes, Vi has no support system, therefore clings on to Cait, and thinks it’s her responsibility to stop Jinx. Yes, Cait blames herself for her mother’s death and has just become head of her house and part of the council. Yes, they might both believe the measures they take are reasonable.

We could argue back and forth whether those decisions and developments make sense for their characters and whether the narrative overall does everything justice. Personally, I think it doesn’t but, again, this is not my main beef.

Instead, I have seen people claim that gassing the Undercity was okay because “they were only using it on gang members.” And omg, there is so much to unpack here.

First off: Were many of the Chem Barons probably ruthless, corrupted, dangerous individuals? Probably. However, I don’t really recall any details of what makes Margot and Chross (aka the only Chem Barons who are left over and accosted during the raid) particularly bad. Because they are less relevant to the story, the whole stint therefore feels more like a personal vendetta against Jinx (which is ultimately is).

Furthermore, what about their goonies who get hurt and endangered in the process? Are they bad people? How many of them were somehow forced into working for the Chem Barons, because the options in the Undercity are simply extremely limited? Sevika dedicated herself to Silco, apparently out of conviction to his vision of a free Zaun. Does she deserve to be gassed? Does some random lackey deserve it who is just trying to feed their family? Are people who commit crimes out of socioeconomic distress exempt from the protection of their human rights???

And my biggest complaint: You cannot specifically target anyone with gas. It’s either gas or no gas. Anyone who is in the vicinity and does not happen to have a gas mask just lying around will be affected. Even leaving the streets and going inside wouldn’t really protect you. After all, how do ventilation systems work in Undercity houses? And don’t we know that, canonically, Enforcers really like to smash windows? So congratulations, Caitlyn, you just gassed some old lady who couldn’t afford to get her window replaced after your colleagues busted it in a while ago. She’s dead now.

And you might say, oh, but we don’t really get to see any of that, so it's just speculation. But, technically, we do see it. Namely, in the scene where they are gassing the abandoned arcade where Jinx happens to be. And they are looking for Jinx, so that’s real convenient. And of course it makes sense, Vi and her siblings used to hang out there, so of course she would suggest that they check out their old haunt. But you know what that means? Vi suggested that, without any sort of announcement, they should gas an abandoned arcade where children have been known to hang out. And then, when Cait hears a sound, she immediately starts firing bullets into the smoke.

This is also, and I cannot stress this enough, the time when Isha was following Jinx around. Isha could very well have been inside that arcade as well or out on the street where the Grey also would have been. Just because we are not shown this, doesn’t mean that the implication isn’t there.

And that is the problem with war crimes: They are considered war crimes because you don’t just harm the ones who are trying to harm you. When you drop a bomb on a building where a dangerous person lives, and there are a hundred other people in that building, then congratulations, you have hurt and probably killed one hundred innocent bystanders.

But within the story, the whole ordeal feels like a copaganda where the Enforcers are presented as cool and capable (badass montages set to upbeat music) who we are meant to root for and feel empathy for. Apart from Cait and Vi, the rest of the team also gets somewhat significant scenes and storylines throughout the rest of the season. Compare that with the only lackey we who gets actual dialogue in the whole raid scene: Heenot is presented as pretty pathetic from the moment he is introduced. In fact, he needs to be saved and freed by the Enforcers, who then proceed to arrest him. I bet he is hella grateful for that.

And that’s why Vi’s stint as an Enforcer has left such a bitter aftertaste. It’s only made worse by how they make it out to be about her having to pick between Jinx and Cait, which culminates in her not giving Jinx the deathblow once Isha gets involved and then Cait abandoning her. Vi then has her emo phase and becomes an Underground fighter, but it seems there are no direct consequences of what she did to the Undercity. There are no people who recognize her, no one from the general populace who calls her out on what she did. There’s a monument to her father in the center of the city that she decided to gas with her girlfriend, and somehow it's no big deal.

It would have been so much more fulfilling for Vi to try and interfere with Cait’s leadership outside of their confrontation with Jinx. For Vi to see what they are doing to her hometown and its people and to wake the fuck up. To take an actual stance within the overall story apart from just personal entanglements and grudges, which would also then mirror Jinx’s development as the reluctant hero of the Undercity.

Instead, we get relationship drama and war crimes that are brushed under the rug, and neither Caitlyn nor Vi ever have to face real direct consequences for what they did to the people of the Undercity WHO DESERVE TO BREATHE.

Yes, Arcane is just a story. But it is a story that, in Season 1, was about class conflict and oppression. It is also a story that, in Season 2, unfortunately perpetuates the same narratives we see in real life every day. A narrative of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ in which it's all about our good soldiers and cops and citizens versus that other group that, for some arbitrary reason, deserves less sympathy and protection.

#arcane #rant #meta #caitlyn kiramman #vi arcane #enforcer vi

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statusquoofficial · 3 months ago

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5 Fun World-Building Things in My Book

🍇🐑🐣🪲🩺

1) Antithesis Berries

Because my magic system is based around a crystal that causes you to mutate and evolve when you ingest it, there is a special kind of berry that's evolved an anti-nutrients. When you eat them, they stop your body from absorbing the Catalyst until the berries have left your system. This is good if you don’t want to mutate because Catalyst is in all the food and water on the surface, but if you’ve been exposed your whole life, the withdrawals can theoretically kill you (if you keep eating them).

2) Herding Animals

Animals that live in close-knit groups are prone to evolving in very similar ways because they face the same problems and need to have a united front. You can’t have some giant sheep, some poisonous sheep and one that can run at light speed. However, solitary animals like tigers, humans and most predators can evolve as much as they want in whatever way they please. The only compatibilities that need to be maintained are mating and child-rearing.

3) Hereditary Evolution

Speaking of children, the adaptations of any given organism isn’t hereditary because the mutations don’t effect genes in the reproductive cells. However, as the baby is being grown, it’s body is slowly being expose to Catalyst and in some cases, the baby will be born with similar traits to their parents. This may be because they baby’s immune system used the adaptations of the mother to guess what environment the baby would be dealing with.

4) Kinds of Adaptations

Change can come in many different forms. In animals, for example, they might change size, colour, develop new markings or camouflaging skills. They might change from reptile to bird, fish to mammal, amphibian to insect. Their breeding process might shift, or they might change their diets drastically when their normal food is scarce. It’s all a matter of survival.

5) Ailments

While Catalyst can target conditions like asthma or blindness, it can’t stop injuries, death or in particular, viruses. This is because viruses also have access to Catalyst, giving them a boost in the fight against the immune system. This leaves most organisms on equal ground luckily, unless you somehow went your whole life in an underground bunker… hm.

Status Quo, my new romance book is coming out this year! Does it sound like the kind of book you’d love? (of course it does, you’re on Tumblr, you nerd.) Well, check out my page and watch as the original book cover, character art and world-building are developed from scratch by one young author with audacity and a dream.

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theanidaduck · 4 months ago

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I made my own moonsona! Greetings, Aleida, The War angel.

Initially, it was hard for me not to make an overloaded design, while leaving it not entirely light, since it would look very stingy and ugly, as most of the DT 2017 character designs look (Yes, their second season villain walks around in his underwear).

The second problem is... The figure, no, seriously, I couldn't figure out which areas of her clothes would be figured out and where they would be loose. As a result, she has slightly loose pants and a jacket. And since the cloak would get in the way, I made the jacket collar similar to moonlanders wear.

I didn't want to make her a fairy, but since she's a war angel, I came up with the idea of using a sea angel as a reference.(Even though it looks bulky). In her default state, she has no claws and the wing blades are turned off. (I still don't fully understand how cybernetics and lunar technology work).

An equally difficult process is creating a name. I wanted to give her something in the spirit of Artemis (Arthemis), Themis, but so that there would be something of her own. I settled on the shortened name "Adelaide", and let them shorten her name to Alei (which sounds like the word Ally). ❗️Attention, it has nothing in common with my name, it just happened by chance❗️😇.

About the palette... Somehow all the colors in the series seemed bright, so Aleida's are calm. Even a clumsy person who can't draw or know anything about color theory won't make her an eyesore for the viewer. No need to worry.

It became more fun to develop the ref, but I will still just say that I took the promo refs with children from the first season as a basis. So, I did it!

#ducktales2017 #ducktales #MoonTalesAU #MoonGatesAU #Moonsona

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byemambo · 9 months ago

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4Minutes EP. 7 - My Takeaways

Wow, this series is only becoming more and more intense for me to organize my thoughts in a timely fashion. It also doesn't help that so much content has been released for me over the past few days and there are only 24 hours in a day hahahaha. But now I'm back, and looking forward to the final episode in the next few days. It's been a wild run and I'm excited to see the wrap up.

Emotional Development: Outcomes of a Broken Home

In this series, we get a chance to entangle ourselves with various family dynamics and the characters growing up within those dynamics. What I found most interesting and can help aid in my analysis is how abuse and neglect affect those who grew up deprived of emotional needs during their upbringing, but other significant moments within their development. I really enjoy consuming psychology media, but I'll be referring to Patrick Teahan's 5 Emotional Development Delays: What You Need to Know which actually came out not even 24 hours before I began tackling this post so it was the perfect time.

Teahan has highlighted his points within the original video as such (which I may or may not refer to all of them):

Codependency & Romantic Intimacy Delays

Security Delays

Perception Problems Delays

Functioning Delays

Negative Coping Strategies Delay

I think it's safe to assume that almost all the main characters within this series have dysfunctional upbringings, pivoting them in certain directions in life that mimics the dysfunction or invites it into their lives (all highlighted under the cut!).

Korn: Fear Driven by Shame and Incompetence

Through Great's confrontation in front of the business building after walking out of his dad's office, more details of Great's childhood consisted of being the son to the mistress, where Korn's mother took on the role of his wife respectively. Once Korn's mother commits suicide which some people have speculated that Great's mother could have possibly killed her herself but this has yet to be confirmed, there is an obvious shift in the relationship the family has with one another and has best been illustrated during their family dinner scenes and Korn's confrontational scenes with Great.

In Teahan's first point about codependency:

"...a four year old will be terrified that a connection is severed with an angry or aloof parent, [often] coming up with really good attempts to appease or please a parent to reestablish or make that connection, even if it consistently fails..."

I'm sure after the death of his mother along with Great's mother inversely taking her place beside his father, Korn confines himself by meeting with his father's demands, even if that entailed perpetuating the same cycle of corruption and harm placed upon those beneath their influence for decades. However, we witnessed one of the first moments of Korn's facade breaking once he was scolded by his father once more when the company's crimes were revealed to the general public: speaking out of turn and belittling Great's mother in an uproar.

This frustration only grew with time as the operations of the organized crime scheme continued to fall, from the cyber hack, to the information leak and inability to forcefully receive information and leads from the captive, to Samarn reporting to his father without permission. I spoke more about Korn's character in my episode 4 analysis which I think is worth checking out for more details on Korn's personality. Being treated with harshness and as a failure only triggered his innate desire for his own autonomy and to be desired by those he cares for, only to be turned away over and over again: Great, his father, Tonkla.

Episode 5

Along with Teahan's thoughts on romantic intimacy that coincides with codependency, stressing the distinction that these delays and resolutions to conflict are "childlike" and not "childish":

"...children don't like a process of getting to know someone slowly and they want things to be more immediate."

Once we were able to piece together the differing timelines between Great's reality versus his 4 minute reality which is elaborated in my episode 6 analysis, it seemed like Korn's scenes remained consistent except for the initial scene we get with Great after dropping him off after dinner during episode 1. Depicting him as someone who deeply cares for his younger brother as his familiar and someone he can confide in, this persona alters itself to someone who desires a means to an end and doing everything within his power to maintain his family at the top of the hierarchy, Korn spirals and becomes the main cause of his downfall through his own temper and neglect.

The stark difference between how he approached his romantic relationship at the beginning with Tonkla versus the last time they spoke to one another in person is like night and day, but Korn's darkness consumes him to a point-of-no-return. Which now revisiting the episode for more clarity: Korn is last seen at Great's condo while the police are still present at the crime scene, however, we don't see him at the hospital once Great had been admitted and suffering from instability of his vitals. I can only infer that he had left to follow his parents across the border, or Tonkla had successfully gotten to him with the intention of killing him.

When Korn attempts to overpower Tonkla into having sex with him despite not being present for weeks during Tonkla mourning over the murder of his younger brother, rather than meeting his supposed lover with empathy and remorse: he doubles down though intimidation tactics and speaking down to Tonkla. This of course fails once Tonkla's emotional state had been pushed beyond its limits, breaking him from the confines of the relationship of master and servant, even if it was for a brief moment.

Great: Free Will Does Not Exist

Great's demise made me pity him as an individual, especially after I reading cookie-kat777's post about Great's depression. Throughout the original timeline, Great is someone who moves in the world with recklessness and a deep rooted hate and defiance towards his father out of spite. Teahan's thoughts when discussing perception problems further explains Great's skewed mindset towards the severity of his actions within the moment, not understanding the deep set grief and despair he had brought onto others:

"...when we have a toxic parent, a child is whatever the parent says they are. They can rebel against those or take them on, both become extreme distortions of perception...they might never take themselves seriously and they will stay small. A toxic parent expects adult behavior from a child...adult survivors struggle [with] not seeing their own humanity as well as the humanity in others."

We see this emotional outburst onto Great from all angles: his hook up turned unrequited love Tyme, his brother, his father, his mother. With his own instability to make room for the processing of his own emotions, I could only imagine the weight he experienced during those final weeks before him being shot by Tonkla. He had no care in the world about Manee's death after his hit and run, his eventual whiplash from his assistance in getting rid of the body with Title, his immediate horror witnessing the killing of Nan, and eventually his own demise.

Episode 5

In a world where no matter what he does, decisions are made on his behalf without his input, without his own thoughts, without his own feelings, without his own agreement. Rather than taking accountability for their own sins, his family continues to place the burden onto Great, making such claims about following through with such horrific intentions for "his" sake. Whether it be providing him with a financially stable home life, giving him the fancy cars and fancy condos to live mindlessly in, buying the prizes out of the claw machine, all in order to keep him quiet and obedient: it may seem out of the question for some people that undermine the conflict that Great experiences simply because he's a "rich spoiled brat". Even though I have never seen nor have touched the level of wealth and status Great's family has been able to achieve, as someone with my own mental health disorders and dissonance: unhappiness does not care about who its target is, and even with all the wealth in the world and everything handed to you, there is still plenty of room for dysfunction and despair to thrive. After all, misery loves company.

We can see this level of recklessness and destructive behavior through Great's actions, especially with his reactions to all the heinous situations he comes across. Moments such as him hitting Manee or helping Title dispose of Dome's body, you can see how he's in a daze for majority of those moments before continuing on and avoiding damages and accountability. But once those moments pass, a wave of anxiety and stress overcomes him, using impulsive outlets such as smoking and sex to calm his nerves or even heighten them to reach a state of euphoria that temporarily shields him from his damning reality.

The only few moments we witnessed Great's joyous moments in his reality as well as his imagined reality had to do with the presence of love and affection:

Episode 1, 3, 4, 7

What I found interesting from the flashback was not just about Tyme and Great having a shared past, but it seemed like Great's childhood during the time of Tyme's family becoming partners in the operation was fairly tame. There are genuine displays of affection from his mother and father, and it only makes me wonder when the shift occurred between him and his father to escalate to a point of destructive behavior. Was is when he wasn't able to play with Tyme anymore? Was it when Great's father's moral values shifted once Tyme's parents were killed for an exchange of more wealth and status?

Tonkla: Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth

Teahan's comments on negative coping strategies highlighted my own interpretation of Tonkla's behavior and personality throughout the series:

"...we often find things that would help us address pain. ...can also find drugs and alcohol to manage horrific stuff going on in their home life or in their parental relationships."

I talked about Tonkla's personality and perception in depth in my episode 4 analysis when talking about his dynamic with Korn, alluding to potential physical abuse since we witnessed his emotional abuse earlier on in the series. 4MINUTES deciding to include this backstory helps us as the audience understand the severity of Tonkla's home situation before deciding to live under Korn's care that we see in episode 1. How brutal and violent his father is, how despite reporting to the police on multiple occasions, they remain hands off and enable the abuse to persist, underhandedly assuming Tonkla and his brother to continue enduring the abuse they suffer every day under their own roof.

Episode 7

We can see how passive and absentminded Tonkla becomes when it comes to enduring his own mistreatment, which we get a gist of this from how he processed Dome's passing as well as the secret hot and cold relationship he has with Korn. Surviving off of the same impulsiveness Great relies on to cope with such a bittersweet reality, Tonkla's drug usage and rough sexual encounters keep him from going beyond the edge for as long as possible, but of course, falls short once Dome, his only family member passes away. When we see Tonkla's dad abusing and killing the cat that appears in front of Tonkla as a hallucination throughout the episodes, the collar becomes an even deeper metaphor to Tonkla's imprisonment and stagnation serving as a reminder of not only his father's abuse, but his ownership underneath Korn (he even mentions his father passing away during the conversation with Korn after their first time in episode 4 but now we know his true cause of death).

Episode 7

Teahan elaborates on the romantic aspect of these emotional delays:

"...there is a special bond or a fantasy with their partner which doesn't match the reality of what it is." "...not caring if our partners are actually abusive for fear of being wrong or being in a relationship where we're not a good match."

As well as perceptual issues stemming from abuse during a child's upbringing:

"Often the abuse itself is a parent damaging a child's perception because the adults have the power over reality...they really get into fights in their head and the offense, real or imagined, stays with them, where we perceive the person having an issue with us or making it about us when it's really about the other person."

However, we see this shift in reclaiming his power once Win comes into the picture and tries everything within his power to bring justice to Dome's murder (we don't know for sure if that's stemming from a place of sexual desire, romantic, a strong sense of justice, or a combination of all three). As far as I'm concerned: out of all the main characters, Win has been reliable and consistent in his protection and devotion to Tonkla, offering up a different side of connection as a juxtaposition to the abuse and power imbalance Tonkla dealt with for majority of his life. Because of how disconnected he becomes from Korn's absence, I find it interesting how Korn managed to keep important details such as his relationship to Great a secret from Tonkla, making this betrayal more damaging. As the famous Code of Hammurabi states: "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth".

Episode 7

Tyme: An End Before a Beginning

Tyme's life overview pains me not because I fell madly in love with Jes over the course of this series airing or anything, his life beginning with emptiness and grief after the death of his parents. The trials and tribulations he experienced, from the loss of loved ones, growing up in poor conditions, a deep desire to earn a living to give his grandmother a better life, there are many aspects to Tyme's life that contributes to his passive nature, trickling into his professional and personal life from Den reminding him to treat his patients with humanity and his breakup with his ex girlfriend. We see this when he approaches Great and has sex with him in order to get a step closer to avenging his family, we see this when he confronts Chanin, we see this when he's willing for Samarn to take his life once Nan dies in their hands. However, the most vulnerable of Tyme comes out when he is told by Den about Great's condition at the hospital, which brings on immense guilt and grief for a relationship they could have had if their circumstances were different.

Episode 7

I appreciate that Den becomes a voice of reason, which lots of people had wonders about how big of a role he plays as a character within the grand scheme of things. I believe that Den's character has enough push and pull without being too directly involved and entangled with the main characters, since we know how dedicated Den is to his research as well as the health and well being of his patients. He becomes one of the few people outside of his grandmother that Tyme has trust over, as well as emotional safety in sharing his burden and thoughts about Great and his current state. Whether Den knows the full details of what both of them have been through, Den gives Tyme a sliver of hope for a better outcome, which I found interesting when he was having his conversation with Lukwa about what happens during her OOBE (out-of-body-experience).

Episode 7

What became the most significant for me was Tyme becoming in tune with expressing his deep emotions, which we witnessed him crying at various stages of this episode but with the same emotional baggage: when he witnessed Great's emergency surgery, when confiding in Den about his regret, asking Great for forgiveness by his bedside, and when he's running away from his aggressor before ultimately being shot dead.

For someone that has expressed very little emotion from the moment we were introduced to him as a character until the final few episodes, almost having a similar detachment and perceptual issues Great has, I could only imagine the intensity of his emotions during each moment of vulnerability. Not even 24 hours pass and Great is shot outside of his home after they had their argument and Tyme placed the blame for Nan's death on Great, Great entering a coma from his injury and Tyme dealing with the weight of responsibility for his physical state (whether it is actually his responsibility or not, sorrow will have its way and point him towards guilt), and while bleeding out, grieving for the death of his grandmother, the death of his parents that he can no longer avenge, him now having no chance of asking Great for his forgiveness and remaining an angry and betrayed person in memory. That honestly becomes an even worse punishment on top of what he had been through thus far in his life: the punishment of being dragged to your end without being able to embark on your beginning with the person you care about most.

Episode 7

Both him and Great enter the period of 4 minutes at 11:00PM, which makes me wonder if there will be a way for them to revive themselves if their timelines converge. Is there a possibility for them to call out for one another in their own imagined realities? Can their senses transcend such abnormal circumstances? If Tyme were paying attention to these details outlined in Den's research paper before getting shot, will he be able to use this knowledge to find his way back to Great? Will both of them be able to see one another in the gallery Lukwa saw Great in? Will they both live together or die together? So many questions that I hope we have the vital answers to once episode 8 is released.

This post feels like word soup LOL. I think it's just me having too much fun keeping up with other content while still trying to figure out how to lay this analysis out. If you made it to the end, thank you so much and I appreciate your time! If you're feeling extra generous: check out Xdinary Heroes's new song iNSTEAD! (esp if you like metalcore/rock). See y'all on Friday :)

#4 minutes #4minutes #4 minutes the series #bas asavapatr #bible wichapas #fuaiz thanawat #jes jespipat #thai bl #thai drama #thai series #bl series #mambo.4minyap #mambo.speaks #oh boy are we even ready for friday #pray for us

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kimsaidhii · 2 months ago

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I wanna write this fic revolving around Jacob Frye as a character study, I’m thinking of placing him in 1960s England where crime rates were high and gangs were thriving.

What I had in mind is that the story kinda follows the beginning of syndicate, where Ethan died leaving his two early 20s children by themselves, they didn’t have any inheritance as I don’t imagine the Frye family to be wealthy (example was that Ethan was canonically a schoolmaster/teacher, during the Victorian era teachers, although considered honest due to their occupation, were placed in the lower or middle lower class depending on role, with Ethan being a teacher I would say he didn’t make a lot)

backstory: Evie was meant to be in university but she took a 3 year gap year when she was 18 due to her dad’s declining health and her wanting to be his caretaker, whilst Jacob went to university having to commute from Crawley to London but dropped out because he wanted to be with Evie…and he had horrible attendance and punctuality. Jacob worked full time since Ethan was out of commission and Evie was a full time carer, although the family did get some government aid (national assistance before that but Jacob didn’t want to be in a house with his father— daddy issues)

After Ethan died he didn’t have a lot to give to his children, so the twins sold his home and everything in it. Evie wanted to start fresh, Jacob would follow Evie wherever she goes. They were inseparable, womb mates afterall. She finally enrolled in university in London (idk which yet, probably kings or Greenwich…now I’m thinking Greenwich because of the green theme in syndicate)

Now, remember when I mentioned that Jacob was working full time? Yeah he was working full time as a boxer in cafe royal where you entertain rich people by fighting your gloves off— he also did illegal ring fighting, started young too. Due to London being a cesspool of crime activity and gangs, where wealth, reputation and suits now mattered, it was inevitable for Jacob to meet a few gang members or even leaders at times. He was good at what he did but he wasn’t ready to subject himself into a gang— he had Evie to care for after all, they only had each other now.

But Evie also began taking part time jobs to help as well, she felt like a burden to her twin who’s younger by four minutes (“it’s just four minutes,” Jacob shrugged once) with balancing schoolwork and work, she slowly burns herself out.

The overall problem was that Evie took out a loan to host a proper funeral for their dad AND for tuition, with that and the charge of interest she wants to work it off. Jacob gots himself in a small gang called “The Clinkers,” with doing small thing like being a courier or doing street-level enforcement, he was a good fighter. Not that strong but he fought dirty and without honour, making him dangerous and unpredictable in the ring.

But the clinkers were running themselves to the ground! The leader was doing a piss-poor job at handling with rival gangs especially the top dog Blighters. So Jacob hatched a plan to start a gang… for more money, for more reputation and for Evie

That’s currently all I got, this was heavily inspired by the movie “Gangster No.1” great movie, details London life and as a Londoner it’s surprising how accurate it was. The story would just be like…a process of Jacob being a gang leader. I’m not sure if there’s going to be romance. And to say, I do not ship rothfrye at all, hate that stuff but I can’t deny how Maxwell Roth and Jacob Frye’s interaction between each other benefits Jacob’s character development. But only that, nothing else.

#jacob frye #assassin's creed #ac syndicate #assassin's creed syndicate #assassins creed syndicate #evie frye #assassins creed #frye twins

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schafpudel · 5 days ago

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I really would rather that a maximum of five people having expressed discomfort with how a character who is functionally disabled (can't feel pain or hunger, can't asses risks, can't understand other people's emotions or intentions, severe alexithymia) is treated by the show and the fanbase, would not get glossed as "shipping discourse" or "antis being antis."

I don't want to ban problematic, fucked up ships or w/e. I know full well that there are just as many victims who process their own abuse through fiction as there are abuse victims who want to avoid seeing fictional abuse at all - a competing access needs problem. Even outside of that, fucked up fictional relationships can be deeply fascinating to explore the dynamics of. I would actually rather, for example, read [shipname] fic that is deeply, nauseatingly toxic, than fic that treats it as a healthy fluffy relationship.

I just wish "disabled teenager is verbally abused and physically manhandled by his (also teenage) caretaker" was not treated as cute and funny and grounds for jokes about the disabled kid being like his caretaker's dog or a toddler just because he can't think very well. That the homoerotic edge to the caretaker's relationship is treated as just making it funnier to joke about, and not as something that could reflect anyone's real life experiences.

I wish that when I point out that the disabled boy's girlfriend responds to him developing just enough cognitive awareness to want to give a gift to another girl by, effectively, knocking him comatose and trying to drug him into being unable to say no, and that she lays next to his catatonic naked body and this has deeply uncomfortable implications. That this makes it feel weird when them getting together is framed as good, fluffy, and wholesome because she's also an abuse victim and needs a boy (that she hurt) to save her.

I find these characters interesting - sympathetic, even, they have their own issues. I have no intention of calling them irredeemable, or their fans irredeemable.

But any time I try to talk about this character's relationships from his perspective, people make it all about the other characters' perspectives - because his perspective doesn't matter, right? His emotional gamut is limited and he can't make good decisions, so that means he's basically not even a person, right? It's ok that he's slapped, and called stupid and useless, and taken advantage of, right? People can recognize when a character is experiencing fantasy-racism or fantasy-queerphobia but I feel like a crazy person trying to point out ableism against people with cognitive issues (without a real world, explicit diagnosis, no matter how much I can point to *symptoms* considered disabling) because Tumblr already doesn't respect such people as full human beings in real life. Tumblr users want to call their political enemies and anyone who vaguely annoys them the r-slur so bad, after all.

Basically everyone (like, what, all of five people?) who ever talked about ableism and abuse with regards to this character has stopped talking for months. I'm pretty sure it's because they realized they would never get through to people. So it's really brutally cruel to misrepresent our arguments to vague and laugh at us, right? For having some criticisms of a children's show from 2002?

#genuinely its a beautiful show #there is a lot i genuinely love about it. it is genuinely one of the best magical girl anime of the 2000s.#but this one characters arc of gaining autonomy and support via the protag is just murdered in season 2 to make everyone else look better #and it ripples out to make the whole show structurally weaker than it could have been #on top of having troubling implications #then again this fandom cant handle criticism of the recurring “joke” of the adult teacher threatening to marry his students so.

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a-araiguma-a · 10 months ago

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Prologue. Between the serving and Her smile.

Chapter 1. Towards the inevitable

Fandom: Harry Potter Pairing: in the future Oliver Wood x fem!reader Warning: drama, problems of parents and children, mention of a loved one dying, much pining a/n: It is a pity that the number of characters is limited and I will have to divide the chapter into several parts, because I cannot shorten the introduction to the story. First, I will tell you about the heroine, her childhood, how she entered Hogwarts, after the events will go faster. It will be funny if I describe the child's life in such detail and describe the relationship between our couple poorly. Once again, English is not my native language

Start - Prolog (Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5) - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stood on the slopes of the Scottish Highlands, hidden from prying eyes, which gave it the appearance of an old, abandoned castle. For those who weren't privy to the mysteries of magic, Hogwarts was just a ruin, long abandoned and forgotten. But for wizards and witches, this castle was the heart of the wizarding world, the place where their abilities were developed and legends were born.

Any child with a magical gift who reached the age of eleven always received an invitation to enter Hogwarts. Enrollment in the school was almost automatic, because immediately after birth, their names were entered in a special Admission Book stored in the bowels of the school. A certificate of admission confirmed their membership in the wizarding world, and on the threshold of their eleventh birthday, an owl would bring them a coveted letter with the Hogwarts seal.

But if the child was a Muggle-born or a half-breed unaware of their magical heritage, the enrollment process was a little more complicated. For such children, a special envoy was sent from Hogwarts, who personally visited the family, explaining to them the amazing truth: their child is a wizard or witch, and the path to the wizarding world opens up before him.

So it was with Margaret. Born in 1976, her birth was marred by tragedy. Her mother, Charlotte, barely had time to see her newborn daughter before her heart stopped. Doctors warned that the birth would be difficult, but the parents hoped for a miracle. Alas, fate decreed otherwise. Her father, Bennett, was completely broken by the loss of his beloved wife. Grief-stricken, he couldn't accept that he now had to take care of the tiny life they'd created together. Margaret was a constant reminder of what he'd lost. Every time he looked at her, he saw the ghost of Charlotte, the same blond hair, the same expressive eyes-features that should have made him love, but only hurt. Unable to bear the pain, Bennett gave her up to be raised by his parents.

Meanwhile, Charlotte's family, although distant, never forgot about the child. They were full-blooded wizards, but after Charlotte's marriage to a Muggle, they decided to keep their distance. They understood that Bennett knew nothing of the wizarding world, and they respected his grief by staying away. However, they watched their granddaughter from afar, hoping that one day, when Margaret turned eleven, she would enter Hogwarts, enter her true world, and the connection that had been lost would be restored.

Over time, Bennett's wounds began to heal, and this was helped by a colleague at work, who gradually became closer to him. She understood his suffering and supported him. Over time, their relationship grew into something more, and when Margaret was six years old, they married. It brought some stability back to Bennett's life.

Margaret's stepmother was a kind woman, but she also had her own difficulties. Denied the opportunity to have children of her own, she saw Margaret as both a challenge and a gift. It was difficult at first. The little girl was quick-witted and insightful, but she didn't understand why her father barely paid attention to her, but this was a woman he loved. He bought the child whatever she wanted, but his eyes, when they did meet hers, were filled with sorrow.

As the years passed, Margaret learned to live in this world with quiet fortitude. She found solace in books, escaping to worlds far removed from the cold reality of her home. Her stepmother, despite all her efforts, had never really won the girl's heart, and Bennett's aloofness remained an unhealed wound.

As Margaret grew up, she began to notice strange things happening around her. Objects sometimes moved on their own when she was angry or upset, and she could predict things before they happened. These glimpses of magic were disconcerting to a girl who had grown up in a world of logic and common sense, where such things were considered impossible. She didn't know that there was an ancient magic flowing in her veins, a legacy that was just waiting to be awakened.

And now, her eleventh birthday was approaching, and with it the possibility of a new beginning — a world in which she might find her true place, a world that could fill the void in her heart.

It was the summer of 1987. Her life went on as usual, surrounded by a caring stepmother and a distant father, whose attention was focused on a new family and work. A few weeks before her eleventh birthday, a normal morning in the house was disrupted by an unexpected knock on her room window. Margaret approached curiously and saw a large owl with a letter sealed with an unfamiliar coat of arms. The letter was addressed to her, with an exact description of the room she was sleeping in. Just as she took the letter in her hand, there was a knock on the door of the house. When she opened the door, she saw a tall man in an old-fashioned robe. His eyes were sparkling with good humor and a touch of mischief. He introduced himself as Professor Maxwell and explained that he had come to deliver some amazing news.

Margaret's world changed the moment she learned of her magical heritage. Her mother, Charlotte, was from an ancient wizarding family, and now, thanks to her, the girl had to go to Hogwarts — a school that she didn't even know existed.

Professor Maxwell patiently explained everything to Margaret's father, answering his questions and dispelling his doubts. Bennett was stunned, but he knew that this could be a real chance for his daughter to find her place in a world where she had always felt like an outsider. Miranda, trying not to show her excitement, hugged the girl, assuring her that they would support her in any choice.

And so, on that day, Margaret realized for the first time that her life would never be the same again. There was a new world ahead of her — a world full of magic and amazing discoveries, a world where perhaps she would finally find her place.

Several days had passed since Professor Maxwell's visit, and Margaret was still trying to realize that her life would change radically. Questions swirled in her head like a whirlwind: what kind of school is this? Why had she never heard of magic? And most importantly-what will happen now?

The answers to these questions came unexpectedly when Charlotte's parents and Margaret's grandparents arrived at Bennet and Miranda's house. This was their first visit in years, and their arrival was a complete surprise. They had come with a clear intention: to take their granddaughter home before Hogwarts, to help her learn magic and answer all her questions.

When Bennett opened the door and saw them, he froze, not knowing how to react. Inside the house, Margaret and Miranda had already heard voices on the doorstep and stepped out into the hallway. When Margaret saw the elderly couple with their stern but kind faces, she immediately knew who they were, even though she had never met them before.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild," Bennett said quietly, ushering them into the house. — Please come in."

The Fairchilds went inside, looking around the house. Grandmother Margaret, an elegant woman with graying hair, looked at her granddaughter warmly, and her husband, a tall and imposing man, nodded in greeting.

"Margaret," Grandma said softly, taking a step toward the girl. — We're your grandparents. I'm sorry we weren't there before, but now that you're about to be a part of the world of magic, we want to be there for you.

Margaret felt a little confused. Her eyes darted back and forth between her grandparents and parents, not knowing how to react.

"We'd like you to come and stay with us for the rest of the school year," Grandpa continued. We have everything you need to help you prepare for school, and we can answer all your questions.

Bennett nodded in silent agreement.

"It's the right thing to do," he said at last. — I can't explain everything about magic to her myself, and you can do that. This is her world, and I want her to be ready.

But Miranda, who was standing next to Margaret, pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"Bennett, you can't just send her away," she said, sounding worried. "She's part of our family. I know something special is waiting for her, but how can I just let her go? We barely managed to establish a relationship...

"Miranda, I understand," Bennett said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But think of Margaret. She needs to learn about her magic, learn how to control it. The Fairchilds can help her.

Grandma took a step forward, addressing Miranda:

— We don't want to take her away from you, Miranda. We just want to give her a chance to learn about her roots and prepare for what awaits her at Hogwarts. We know how important this is, especially for children who are experiencing the world of magic for the first time.

Miranda took a deep breath and looked at Margaret, who had been silent all this time, listening to their conversation.

"Margaret," she said softly, " what do you think of all this?" Do you want to go with them?"

Margaret hesitated, not knowing what to say. On the one hand, she felt that her grandparents could give her answers to the many questions that plagued her. On the other hand, she didn't want to leave Miranda, who had become almost like a mother to her.

"I — I do not know," Margaret said at last. — I want to learn more about magic, but I'm scared. It's all so unexpected...

"We'll be with you, honey," Grandma said, taking her hand. — This is a new world, and it will open up amazing opportunities for you. But you don't have to decide right now. We can wait until you feel ready."

Miranda, feeling her anxiety subside a little, looked gratefully at the Fairchilds.

"Thank you," she said. — I just want her to be happy and not feel lonely."

"That's what we all want," Grandpa said, taking a step back. "We can wait a few days for you to get used to the idea, Margaret. You can make a decision when you're ready.

Margaret nodded, feeling understood and supported. But the decision was still up to her, and she knew that many difficult choices lay ahead.

#harry potter imagine #harry potter #oliver wood #oliver wood imagine #oliver wood x reader #oliver wood x you #x reader #hp imagine #x y/n #hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry

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