#i dunno if anyone else does this? but in my mind i view certain characters as either side characters or main characters

[tvrningout-a]

me: it's fine, i'll just do a lil bullet point bio to give all the important details straight-away

me, a minute later and summoning all the spooky vibes i can muster: i'm gonna write a chapter-style bio once again and hope people read it <3

[kisilinramblings]

Have the staff made any comments about Gabriel's abuse in the show?

I dunno about Sébastien, Mélanie, Fred and Mathieu as I don't follow them on social medias, but I don't recall Thomas or Winny answering much questions about Gabriel's psych and how he treats Adrien... I even wonder if they do actually get some to begin with. But it appears to be low compared to questions about the LS, Chloé or any lore related question or clarification about the episodes.

But I do remember one moment with the writers during a QA panel at the Japan Expo answering one when someone asked them about Chat Blanc.

(Japan Expo 2020 - 9:53)

Quick translation :

Juleka Cosplayer : Hi! I would like to know why, in the Chat Blanc episode, HM is so violent with Adrien even though he knows he is his son and he wants to take care of him? Well, I didn't quite understand that violence when he is hitting him?

Sébastien (writing director) : Yes, why?

Fred : Very good question.

Sébastien : Did he hit him as hard in the text than on the screen, I dunno.

Thomas : First, he doesn't physically hit Adrien, but Chat Noir who is (physically) invulnerable.

Juleka Cosplayer : But he knows who he is!

Thomas : Yes, and he knows he is invulnerable too. And the goal behind it wasn't to physically hurt him but to render him psychologically unstable so he gets akumatized. It is really more a psychological question than anything else.

Sébastien : To add to this, if he was hugging him and saying nice things to him, it would have been more complicated to akumatize him, you see? And in order to reach his goal, this bad guy does this. He is a villain. It's complicated, but what you are saying is very interesting because it is a debate. Who is Gabriel? What is his relationship with his son? It's a debate which has also happened in the writers room between the four of us (Thomas, Fred, Mélanie and him). We each have different point of views on the father and the son, on their relationship, on the whys and wherefores of this relationship as well of their individual objectives...

I am very careful how I am formulating my sentences to not say anything I shouldn't be saying -- It's very complicated for us to talk about something we have written 2 and a half years ago. Especially that we have written one and half season than what has been broadcasted. And also because animation -- for those who don't know or are baffled by what I am saying -- is a very long thing to produce. For those who are watching the show, it's made in 3D, there is a certain amount of quality and this quality, these requirements we put into the show makes it long to produce. But for the enjoyement of you all, big and small, when you are watching it.

Fred : I'm bouncing a little bit on the subject before we pass to the next question. I find it very interesting during all the conversations so far to see there is a constant with people watching Miraculous. The people who are here with us always look for the good inside each character. Even the bad guys. Even Chloé -- we got an example earlier -- and I find it awesome that you are reflecting that back at us about the show that there is always good inside people, that we must always look for some good inside someone. So thank you for reflecting that back at us.

Sébastien : Kudos to you! It's true that in this negative society which surrounds us, it's beautiful to have a positive show and to have you... That's what I was talking about, the positive you are sending us is very nice.

---

Please keep in mind I was translating quickly what they were saying, so if a word doesn't make too much sense I apologize (Seb is very tricky to follow sometimes because he can restart his idea as he talks). But that should give you some understanding of how they see things. I find it good all five of them have their point of view in the matter and they did have these discussions about all those points Sébastien has enumerated

Also I have re-listened the whole QA and they do pay attention to what they tell. They have given the example of Chloé's bullying. They make sure kids understand what Chloé says or does when she is mean is not something they should emulate against anyone. That they recognize it is bullying and that it is bad.

And during the last question about what is the story they want to tell with Miraculous (starting at 40:32), Sébastien mentionned that the message has never ever been this clear to each of them ever since they have started to write S4. They had a good general idea during S2 when the writers room got created and they come work together, but it got refined two seasons later and now it is crystal clear for them, making Seasons 4 and 5 episodes very clear about what they want to tell us about.

[etherealxgenie]

Why ‘Adrien is Oblivious’ is a Misconception || Miraculous Why?

(Before I begin, note that this is my opinion over the topic and am no way am bashing anyone’s love for a ship and/or character. I respect who and what you like, therefore expect the same courtesy. However, if this is something you cannot handle, please click the back button as this will be a heavily discussed topic. Critiques are welcomes, Flames will be deleted. Other than that, enjoy.)

So I know I said I don’t normally get involved when it comes to the Miraculous fandom, but there’s always one thing that’s been bothering me from nearly the beginning since the series began.

Even before I had the ugly divorce from the love square after Desperada, I always found it hard to believe with the way Marinette behaved around Adrien was completely unnoticeable. And because of the way Adrien seems to not take note of it, fans (pure and toxic) automatically make the assumption that he’s oblivious or dumb.

But did people ever take the time to divulge why and to view it in his perspective? Aside from the excuse of bad writing, I think there could be other reasons as to why Adrien doesn’t acknowledge her behavior. And she doesn’t hide her feelings around him either while wearing the mask either, so far that she makes the same stuttering speeches and frantic hand motions.

But here’s a list of reasons for Adrien to have which can be plausible:

1) He IGNORES it. 



Now before you go and start bashing the poor boy (god knows the fandom lacks the sympathy), keep in mind Adrien IS a celebrity of Paris. I dunno exactly how the celebrity lifestyle maybe different for the U.S, but I’m pretty sure this would have to do of how he was taught. As the face of Gabriel and with the reaction from several fans alone, Adrien was probably told by Gabriel in regards about fans and how they would react to him and how he has to ignore such barbaric measures. And given the way he sees fans react to him (Gorizilla), he believes his father is right.

In regards of Marinette, he hopes to make a friend for her instead of seeing her as one of his fans, even if he appreciates the support.

2) He’s looking for FRIENDSHIP, not ROMANCE

Adrien is starting a new chapter in his life and is looking for some normality at his new school. More so, he’s looking to make more friends. There could be to some reasons why for one of wanting a better friendship than what Chloe or Felix had set an example for. Mainly of course for the fact that Adrien is lonely and looking for companionship of his choice.

But he’s not in the rush for a straight out relationship.

I know what you’re thinking: “But he’s asked out Ladybug constantly! What the hell are you talking about?”. Well truth be told, Adrien as Chat may just be looking for an excuse to hang out with her. There’s no denial he’s attracted to her personality or admires her, but he DOES wants to get to know her first. Which is something Marinette fails to let happen as both herself AND Ladybug.

Now it is true Marinette has done things to help and may know stuff about him (either through stalking or researching online), but she hasn’t taken the time to get to know him on a personal level. She doesn’t know if he’s an anime lover, what he dreams of doing or how he likes puns. And as Ladybug when he show his more true self, she automatically rejects him with the somewhat reasonable excuse fear for identities. I’ll leave that alone as I’ll do another thing on identities later.

So in regards of Marinette’s ‘love’ (obsession), Adrien is just looking for friendship with her and not love. He’s not ready for a full on relationship yet where he’s starting fresh on friendships, which is why dating Kagami didn’t work out (I didn’t need to watch S4 to predict that). She pressured him into a relationship and expected them to be the perfect couple. It was clear he was not ready and yet seemed to ignore it anyway for her feelings towards him. For a healthy relationship to work, you need to think about the ‘we’ and not ‘me’ and to take time.

3) He’s SOCIALLY CHALLENGED

We don’t know how it really was when Emilie was around, but it seemed regardless Adrien had a strict childhood. His father, Gabriel Agreste, seems to have the main say of his life to control him as he saw fit, to mold Adrien the way HE wants him too. And because of such strictness, Gabriel is the kind of person to only tell Adrien the needed lesson to keep him under his thumb along with keeping him isolated.

Similar of how Judge Claude Frollo did to Quasimodo. Just as Mother Gothel did to Rapunzel and Cassandra.

And for those reasons alone, Adrien is left without the majority skills needed to make it on his own, including how to socialize and interact in a way with certain people. The only socializing skills he had probably was how to interact in regards of fans or how to avoid bad publicity. Something enough in regards to being a celebrity. Gabriel didn’t nor has planned for Adrien to have any interaction with others beyond that.

This particular reason alone helps understand his plight more and why 90% salt/bashing/hate thrown at him is completely unnecessary. Especially during ‘Chameleon’ and ‘Ladybug’.

Adrien is like Quasimodo and Rapunzel, being thrust into the new world after escaping their tower only to discover many things they’re not familiar with. Imagine being at the age of 14 but your parents haven’t been the best and haven’t taught you how to socialize with certain people. Then the teen could act in a certain way with anyone: friends, adults and even strangers in which they teen can be taken advantage of.

But how does he adapt quickly to being Chat Noir, you ask? Adrien probably had only but fantasies to fall back on whenever he’s isolated and alone. Probably even dreamed of a superhero rescuing him or taking him away to a new life where he’s free to be himself. His greatest nightmare shown in “Sandboy” is nothing about Ladybug or anyone else, but being locked away in his room for the rest of his life.

He’s no doubt a secret comic geek and probably dreamed of being a hero himself. Chat Noir is far from perfect, but he catches on of how a true hero should act. He’s also adapts quickly and is perceptive of behaviors. Like the way Ladybug and Fu doesn’t tell him the entire truth of what they plan for the future and try to isolate him from it. And between the two, Chat Noir perfects more of hiding his identity. Not for the fact of probably reading about it, but because Chat is someone he always wanted to be that he can’t as Adrien.

So the next time if you observe the show or read any works in regarding Adrien’s behavior and before you chalk it up as oblivious, dumb, stupid or selfish… how about you dive into his perspective and try to understand more of his side? There’s two sides to every story.

[togashicomeback]

Unpopular HxH opinions

Alright so, here’s some of my “unpopular” hxh opinions. I’m not meaning to offend anyone, these are opinions and I am perfectly accepting of other points of view, by stating them I am not impliying in any way that your are wrong.

Also, please keep in mind I’ve only read the manga (once), never seen the anime, which from my understanding further develops certains scenes. I also went in after a month of lurking in the fandom and had certain expectiations, which may have spoiled my experience at times.

In the manga, white backgrounds and closeups are fine (in certain parts). When characters are talking in transitional scenes, it’s fine. You’re reading quick dialogue, a more complex panel would be wasted with the short reading time. Although I believe Togashi does go overboard at certain points, he (almost) always uses different shots/backgrounds for the more important parts, the one that the eye will spend more times on. There’s exceptions, but readers should understand that panels of characters saying stuff like “yeah/let’s go/ok/etc.” should be simple, it’d be a waste of drawing time otherwise.

Pariston is kinda... boring, at least in the manga. The fandom hypes him up a lot, and I do like the idea of him, but when it comes to the actualy story, to me he only shines when interacting with Ging.

Also, Anime Pariston is prettier that Manga Pariston.

Greed Island arc is good. It’s fun, it has many moments that cement Gon’s lack of self worth and his relationship with Killua, and it serves as a nice break between two dark arcs, thus making the CAA more impactful. 

Regarding the fandom, I’ve had the impression people will just claim that the darkest arc is the best? I could be totally off here, but sometimes it feels like fans are just repeating popular ideas, without thinking why the arc is good.

My favourite arc is Greed Island, but I do recognize that the CAA is masterfully written and it has some of the best scenes and characters of the manga (like Shaiapouf). It is better than GI, but I still prefer the other: for once I like the “happier” one.

Shaiapouf is an amazing character and reducing him to “annoying and crazy” is just ridiculus. You can find him that, but it has to be recognized that his characterization is outstanding.

Shaiapouf is more interesting than Pitou, whose character development wasn’t executed as well, at least according to me. While with Shaiapouf we get a few, subtle hints to his development, Pitou just says an extablishing phrase (”What the king wants is what matters”) and then, once Meruem asks them to heal Komugi, they have that key moment. But that’s kind of it? I don’t know, perhaps I’m just biased because I hate cat people and loved Pokkle. Super open to debate about this one!

Youpi is interesting, although less than Shaiapouf. His changing ideas about honor and conflict were cool.

Chrollo and the Phantom Troupe are wasted potential, not bad characters. Ok, listen, I know that I diss them a lot, but. In the York Shin Arc there was this whole setting up about group dynamics and how living in a disfunctional society impacts people: the Spider is composed of people who’ve found their purpose in the group. It has the potentiality to be interesting, how they value the idea of the spider more than the memeber. And yet, this is ultimatly left undeveloped, which is a pity.

Of course, when I talk about development I am referring to a characterization that doesn’t justify their actions, but simply makes them more well rounded characters.

Chrollo was literally set up to be a man going through an identy crisis, but in the end he’s just a pretentious, edgy asshole.

Why is Shalnark popular? He has little to no appereances in the manga. I get that he’s pretty, but still... Does the anime develop him more?

I love the idea of Killua/Gon, but if the manga were to focus on their friendship I’d be fine with it too. To be honest, sometimes I feel like the reason certain interactions come off as romantic is due to their codependency - however, I guess it could be both.

Wether they end up as friends or “lovers” (using the term loosely ‘cause they’re kids), first they need theraphy. Mito, do something.

On the topic of shipping... I like Leorio/Kurapika, but the manga doesn’t really seem to be going for it? Only when they met after the Election Arc there seemed to be some implications. I dunno, I guess we’ll see. Togashi come back please.

Why do people portray Zeno as the sane one of the family? He allowed Silva to abuse all of his children. He is a bad person. You can like him! But don’t claim he’s sane, he just doesn’t like bullshit.

Kalluto supremacy. (may not be controverial, but needs to be stated)

And last, but not least, my most controversial opinion.

Let me start off by saying that I love the idea of Alluka and Nanika. I love what they represent and I’m truly happy that so many people feel represented by these characters. However, I couldn’t help to find Alluka a bit... dull, at least in the manga. She’re mostly there, looks cute, does nearly nothing... that’s it. She has a lot of potential and I hope she’ll get more development in the future. From my understanding, the anime fleshes her out a bit more? Also, let me reiterate that I like her character, just think there’s room for improvement (in the way she appears in the plot). There were some great scenes, my favourite being when Alluka “defended” Nanika: I really liked the methaphor and would love for more stuff like that.

I’m also concerned by her dynamic with Killua. I am afraid that having to take care of someone else will only fuel Killua’s codependent tendencies. I hope this relationship will actually be an healing experience for him.

...that’s it, I think! If you made it this far... wow. Thank you! Would love to hear your opinions, I’m always open to debate.

[terramythos]

TerraMythos' 2020 Reading Challenge - Book 33 of 26

Title: The Edge of Worlds (2016) (The Books of the Raksura #4)

Author: Martha Wells

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Adventure, LGBT Protagonist, Third-Person

Rating: 9/10

Date Began: 11/28/2020

Date Finished: 12/09/2020

Two turns after The Siren Depths, Moon has settled into life in the Indigo Cloud colony with young children of his own. But when all the adult Raksura experience a disturbing, shared nightmare that foretells the destruction of their home at the hands of the Fell, things are about to change. Soon an expedition of strange groundlings visit The Reaches, claiming they need the Raksura to help investigate a mysterious abandoned city far to the west. Believing the two events are linked, Moon and the others embark on a journey to avert disaster. However, they soon find more than they bargained for when a Fell attack traps them in the deadly, labyrinthine city ruins.  

If eyes fall on this, and no one is here to greet you, then we have failed. Yet you exist, so our failure is not complete. 

Full review, some spoilers, and content warning(s) under the cut.

Content warnings for the book:  Graphic violence and action. Some mind control stuff (par for the course at this point). 

This is a difficult book to review because it is, for all intents and purposes, part one of a longer two-part story. While the three previous books were all self-contained, The Edge of Worlds isn't, even ending on a cliffhanger. I feel like this duology might have been written as a single book but got split for publishing reasons. As of this writing I have not read the next book, The Harbors of the Sun. So take what I say with a grain of salt, because my commentary assumes the next book will address certain things.

The Edge of Worlds’ core plot builds on threads from the previous book-- mysterious ancestors, bizarre dead cities, the Fell/Raksura crossbreeds, and so on. This book doesn't include any new details about the ancestors, which are just called "the forerunners", but I expect the next book to touch on this more, as it’s been a consistent Thing in the series. There's also another mysterious, ancient ruin critical to the plot. However, it’s pretty different than the underwater city in The Siren Depths, so doesn't seem repetitive. Oddly, it reminds me of House Of Leaves with its vast size, impenetrable darkness, and sentient (?) traps.

The book also explores Fell/Raksura crossbreeds in yet another way. Previous books depicted them as terrifying weapons (The Cloud Roads) or just weird looking Raksura (The Siren Depths). The Edge of Worlds splits the difference, introducing a Fell flight that seems much more sympathetic and reasonable than any encountered thus far-- led by a crossbreed queen. My criticism of the Fell way back in The Cloud Roads is they're basically an Always Chaotic Evil horde of predators, but this new idea adds a lot of nuance. Though I am assuming the next book goes into this more, as they’re just introduced here. It's important to remember the Fell and Raksura are descended from the same ancestor, and even though Raksura are the heroes of the story, there are a lot of similarities between the two species. Overall this is one of the most intriguing threads in the series, and I'm glad we keep coming back to it in new ways.

Another thing this book does differently is perspective. Moon is the POV character in the other main entries. While that's still true, there are several interludes from the perspectives of others. For practical purposes this is to show what's going on outside of the main party, particularly so Malachite showing up at the end doesn't feel like an asspull. Also, certain events really do need to be explained when Moon isn't present. I can respect that.

From a reading standpoint I really like these alternate points of view. They're all minor characters-- Lithe, Ember, Merit, River, and Niran-- which is an interesting choice. Ember's interlude is actually my favorite part of the book. It's fun to see a more "traditional" consort approach an awkward situation, and I like his initial struggle to accept and treat Shade (one of the crossbreeds and a personal fave of mine from the last book) as a regular consort. Ember comes off as very submissive in the rest of the series so it's fun to see him take charge. Also this part features a scene in which two intimidating Raksuran queens, Pearl and Malachite, have the most tense tea service of all time. It's just hilarious. 

This book actually has a trans analogue with the Janderan, the primary groundling species, who apparently choose their gender when they reach adulthood. Specifically there’s a focus on a young man named Kalam, who just took that step. This doesn't feel like the standard fantasy/scifi copout because humans literally do not exist in the series. Wells handles trans/nonbinary/agender characters (human and otherwise) extremely well in The Murderbot Diaries so I feel it’s in good faith. LGBT rep in the Raksura series has been great so far, honestly. Moon/Jade/Chime is like... canon, man.

Another general observation I haven't previously noted... I love how many interesting and varied flying ships there are in this world. They're all boat-like (nothing like airplanes) but there has been a different kind in each book. Considering that most of the main cast can fly it's interesting that flying ships are consistently integral to the plot. It would be so easy to cop out and design one ship that every society uses, but Wells really makes them all unique despite serving similar functions to the story. The ship in this one is organic, powered by living, cultivated moss. I dunno! I just think it’s neat. 

I do have one criticism for The Edge of Worlds, keeping in mind it's part one of a longer story. The pacing. This book is pretty slow; it takes a while to get going and then there are lots of lengthy travel sequences. As long as there’s interesting flavor to it, I generally don't mind this approach. It allows for breathing room and character interaction. But even I started feeling bored at points and had to power through. It feels like a lot of the travel could have been cut from the book without losing much. For example, the journey to the colony tree in The Serpent Sea took up maybe a few chapters. I appreciate travel in this series from a worldbuilding perspective, but in this case I think some time gaps would have been fine. The action doesn't pick up until the party arrives at the ruin, in the latter half of the book.

Also, this isn't really a criticism, but there are several references to the Raksura novellas and short stories. I haven't read them (yet) so they’re totally lost on me. I can't blame Wells for including references, both as a wink/nudge to people who have read them and because ignoring relevant ideas makes no sense. But as someone lacking context it comes off as awkward to have a character think “WOW, this is just like that one time Jade had to do this one thing!” and I’m just like “...it is???” 

Despite this I like just about everything else in the story, especially the second half. It really does feel like a proper finale, bringing back notable characters from throughout the series (not anyone from The Serpent Sea yet... I do have my suspicions here, though). River seems to be getting a mini redemption? The labyrinthine, dark city is creepy, and the artifact they find inside it is super unsettling. All the climactic action is intriguing, particularly regarding the new Fell crossbreeds. The novel ends abruptly, but that’s understandable since the next book leads right off from it. I'm really excited to see how the Raksura story concludes.

[inversionimpulse]

there’s a difference between ‘internal consistency’, ‘canon’, and ‘faithfulness.’

Internal consistency is necessary to the suspension of diselief. Your story needs to be consistent with itself to be believable, and a story that isn’t believably is hollow. ‘Believable’ doesnt mean it has to mimic reality exactly, it means it has to portray its own reality effectively.

Internal consistency is incredibly important and not really up for debate. You can bend it or break it when it’s necessary to make the story more effective, but you shouldn’t do that too much lest the audience stop believing.

(everything below this point might be a bit of a hot take, I actually dunno. Also, this is just me trying to work out some recent thoughts by putting them on a page, I might change my mind next week, who knows. Hell, I’m not even sure I agree with all of it now. Also I’m gonna slap it under a readmore because I have anxiety)

Canon is something that’s very silly to get too caught up in. While I don’t encourage some of the more extreme uses of Death of The Author I’ve seen, the fact remains that personal experiences and interpretations are extremely valuable. Every story means something a little different to each person who reads it. The author’s intent is, of course, still very important, and knowing what it was can enhance the experience. But the thing that matters most to the reader is the reader’s own engagement. Canon is not your god - treating stories like mathematical problems with only one proper solution is what high school English teachers do, not what you should be doing.

And then, when ‘canon’ extends past the creator, what does it even mean?

I think I should illustrate with an example. The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, one of the most famous Batman stories ever written. The ending is a common subject of debate. Did Batman kill the Joker? The ending is open-ended. I don’t know what Alan Moore intended, and I don’t care to look it up - and I don’t think he’s ever said, anyway. I don’t think Batman killed Joker, other people (such as Grant Morrison, one of my favourite comic book writers) think he did - both these interpretations are completely valid, even though they create radically different stories - one where the Joker’s nihilistic view isn’t entirely wrong, and one where, as Gordon says, they “show him our way works!”. These two endings are completely different and they change the meaning and themes of the story, but saying that only one is valid is rather wildly missing the point. What’s important is the story that you read (it’s still possible to be wrong, though. You’re still working within the constraints of the written word - if your interpretation goes completely against the text, it’s still wrong).

Now, ‘canon’ agrees with me. The comics continued on, and Joker kept breathing. But why is this ‘canon’? Why is this a more valid an interpretation than that of people who think Joker died? These continuations, they weren’t written by the same person as Killing Joke, they were appended on to it by other people. Why is their writing a more valid continuation of Moore’s work than, say, a fanfic? Because executives at DC said so? What gives their approval so much weight? They didn’t create Batman, Bill Finger did. These corporate suits don’t have anything to do with Batman outside a court of law. What makes Moore’s work more valid than a fanfic, even? Bill Finger created Batman, not Moore, and Finger was too dead to give his approval to Moore’s work, and again, the corporate suits who say what goes and what doesn’t never had anything to do with Batman’s creation.

So what i’m getting at here, is this: why are these things ‘canon’? Even though Batman comics kept rolling and Joker kept breathing, why is that more ‘canon’ than Joker’s death? Why is The Killing Joke more canon than a fanfic? Because Copyright law says so? First of all, that copyright would have expired long ago if not for a certain mouse’s all-consuming greed. Second of all, that’s all just words - the only person to have a moral right to authority over Batman is Bill Finger, and he’s gone.

So if we look at this, what is ‘canon’? By the strictest definition, the only canon Batman work is Finger’s and everything else is invalid. But I think a more appropriate answer would be that ‘canon’ is something entirely up to the reader’s interpretation. The stories you like are part of your canon, and the ones that you don’t, aren’t. Because it’s more important that a reader has a good, meaningful experience than that you can slot everything into some strict timeline. It’s modern mythology, not in the hands of any corporation, but in the hands of anyone who can tell a story. Every Batman story is technically valid, whether DC published it or not.

And my use of the word ‘technically’ just then brings me to my third point, what ‘faithfulness’ is. Even if every Batman story is technically valid, that doesn’t make it good and it doesn’t mean people have to like it. The character of Batman is malleable, having been passed through as many hands as he has, but there’s still a core to it. if your Batman story has him as, I dunno, how about, a Yakuza dude who kills people with a bat-shaped knife, why is that a Batman story? You really think people are going to see Batman in that? A Batman story at the end of the day should still be a Batman story and people who love Batman should still be able to see the character they love in it. And if they don’t see that, they have every right to hate it.

The example I’m going to use here is MCU Spider-Man, who I’ll try to be as neutral as possible because otherwise I’m just going to piss everyone off. For a lot of older Spider-Man fans, Spider-Man is a working class schmuck who claws his way to greatness entirely under his own ability, who is a hero because he knows it’s the right thing to do, even though he’s so often tempted to use his powers for selfish short term gain. And a lot of them don’t see that in MCU Spider-Man - what they see is someone whose suit was made for them by Iron Man, they see someone who rarely faces real consequences, they see someone who cares more about being a hero than doing the right thing. These people have every right to hate MCU Spidey; if they can’t see the character they loved in this new character, they have no obligation to love the new one just because of a shared name. I’m not making any judgments on MCU Spidey himself, I’m just laying out some opinions people have about him. And if you do see the Spidey you fell in love with in MCU Spidey, you have every right to argue the point with those people.

(Confusing canon and faithfulness is silly, too. Just because, I dunno, Ra’s Al Ghul isn’t actually immortal and doesn’t have supernatural powers in some adaptation doesn’t mean it’s not a faithful adaptation of Ra’s Al Ghul if you can still tell immediately it’s Ra’s Al Ghul, if you still see the parts of Ra’s Al Ghul that really matter. Canon is the little nitty-gritty details that don’t matter as much as some people think if the whole is still faithful - more than the sum of your parts, right? Maybe a character doesn’t quite look the same, maybe they don’t quite have the same backstory - but if it’s still recognizably that character, if it’s still faithful to the spirit, I think it’s usually still good. When arguing about faithfulness, you’ve gotta learn to pick out the details that really matter and not worry about the ones that don’t)

So when making a story using a pre-existing character, you really ought to be as faithful as you can - not to some nebulous idea of ‘canon’ but to what you interpret to be the spirit of the character. Because at the end of the day, if you’re making a Batman story, it’s for Batman fans, isn’t it? If you’re making a Spider-Man story, it’s for Spider-Man fans, isn’t it? And it’s for the people who would be Spider-Man fans if they had been exposed to it - which hopefully your story will do. What’s the point of radically changing Batman to appeal to people who don’t like Batman instead of people who do or who would? If they even bother to bite the bait you’re dangling for them, which doesn’t happen often... what then? Now you have people who expect something that isn’t really Batman and you’ve lost the people who like things that are Batman. You’ve got Johnny-Come-Latelies who are after something very different from what other Batman stories offer who will leave when they realize that and you’ve lost the loyal, established fans. This sort of thing can work out and be mega-profitable, but not often.

And leaving aside all talk of profit and fans... if you’re writing a Batman story, shouldn’t you be trying to write a good Batman story? Not something entirely else you’ve put the name Batman on? Snyder.

Basically what I’m trying to say is this: If the original author has left the figurative building (and only if. While the original author still has a hand in things, their word is pretty much law), then everything appended to it by anyone is equally valid, no matter if the law says so or not. But that doesn’t mean it’s good or that people have to like it equally. Also copyright law is bullshit and Disney should not be allowed to fuck it up any further.

Oh, and I should add that a bad story doesn’t erase the good stories. If a video game you like is remade and the remake is bad... well, the original game is still there, isn’t it? And even if the remake is good, the original might just offer something different that’s still worth experiencing. Nothing can negate the original work’s quality. So if, say, I think the most recent Spider-Man film is bad, then, well, no skin off my neck - as much as I’d like new good Spidey films, the old good ones are still there and so are the comics they’re based on.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Why I think Jean Grey is cool/underrated

I’m a novice when it comes to X-Men comic lore. As such if I get any info or interpretations here wrong please set me straight.

 This is how I’ve come to gradually perceive Jean Grey and think she’s a good and perhaps misunderstood character.

  To me, I can sum up Jean as someone who’s experienced great pain and hurt but who is in spite of that a very nice, nurturing and fundamentally empathic person; a little like Sue Storm, though I dunno if I’d call her the ‘Mother’ of the X-Men. Perhaps it is even that pain she experienced so early in her life through her friend’s death that MADE her so empathetic. Through that empathy and her immense power she has this duality of being possibly a great force for destruction or of healing.

 She wants to help and heal, but understands that sometimes she has to fight and be destructive (e.g. against evil mutants, Sentinels, etc) and knows to use restraint in pursuit of that. But being both an empathic person and also SO incredibly powerful (at times to a cosmic degree) her capacity for being destructive (even to herself) can be set loose. E.g. she could be profoundly dangerous if you hurt her friends, precisely because her empathy forges such love for them.

  In a sense her first major arc as Phoenix and as Dark Phoenix sum up this duality about her; let's put a pin in any retcons later on for a moment.

 As originally presented in Uncanny #100-101, when Jean became Phoenix it was explicitly to save her friends. She didn't want to die but was willing to give her life for them, desiring just enough strength to pull that stunt off. And she got that strength and then some. So you had this powerful yet kind person (who was still relatively young and inexperienced) abruptly handed way more power than maybe anyone should have but she still used it (at first) to help. The climax of the 'Phoenix Saga' with the M'kraan crystal (sp?) was fundamentally about Jean using her newly acquired cosmic powers to fix, to [I]heal[/I], something. And she could only do it by being empathic, by reaching out and drawing upon a human emotional connection (to her friend Storm) and forging a connection with a relative stranger (Corsair, the father of the person she loved so there was in a sense an emotional connection there she drew upon). The narration of that moment (visualized beautifully in X-Men the Animated Series ‘The Phoenix Saga Part V) painted the idea of Jean imagining her friends as a tree, a symbol for life and growth and kind of...healing. Appropriate for a Phoenix which represents rebirth and renewal.

  But then you get the Dark Phoenix Saga and this very empathic person, is corrupted by someone in a sense taking advantage of her emotions, by tricking her into making emotional connections through which he can then corrupt her and open the floodgates to the awesome power that might be beyond pretty much any mortal to control. And so Jean became a force of explicit destruction. Which is also appropriate because a Phoenix represents death and destruction as well.

  I do not know if this is canon to 616, but in X-Men: Grand Design, when Jean's powers first manifest she tried using them to essentially keep her dying friend alive. In X-Men vol 2 #71 the issue starts with Jean using her telepathy to cleanse the X-Men’s home of the negative psychometric impressions left by Bastion and his Zero Tolerance operation. Jean Grey was trying to remove some of the pain and hurt inflicted upon her home and friends, but doing it quite literally. Both of which would go some way in supporting what I'm trying to say about who Jean is, as far as her having great power which she can and wants to use as a force for healing.

  Appropriately for Xavier's first student (arguably the first X-Man), she in a sense is a microcosm of mutantkind and of the X-Men specifically. The X-Men can be destructive, sometimes HAVE to be destructive in defence of themselves, their people and of wider humanity. But Xavier also wanted them to be a force for healing and growth between mutants and humans and in truth that was their bigger endgame goal. So Jean being his first student, a founding X-Man, at times a team leader and the most powerful X-Man (usually) is symbolically appropriate.

  Maybe I am stretching here, but I also think that Jean’s pain and the duality of her being a force of potentially great destruction or healing plays into what to my limited experience are some of her most significant relationships.

 Professor X: Obviously she believes in his dream and wants to see it through, I outlined the connection above.

 Wolverine: A stretch perhaps because it wasn’t established off the bat, but the idea of Jean being a healer to others (noticeably her first interaction with Logan is as his doctor in X-Men 2000) connects her to Logan who is a literal self-healer due to his powers. You also have someone who has been through immense pain similar to her and possesses incredible potential for destruction he practices to (not always successfully) control. In a sense they both have dark and terrible ‘alter egos’, for Jean Dark Phoenix and Logan his berserker rage where animal imagery is used to personify their states of being. The Phoenix is after all presented as a raptor bird of prey and Logan is literally named after an aggressive predatory animal. Yet Logan can also be a positive force for others as a teacher, protector or even as a someone capable of taking life to ‘balance the scales’. I recall Mark Millar’s run where he murders Gorgon and his Hand/HYDRA gang in part to provide some measure of closure for the parents of a boy they murdered to get to him.

 Storm: At least during Claremont’s early tenure on X-Men he was presenting Storm as a pseudo Mother Nature style Goddess who even maintained plants in the mansion. The plants themselves demonstrate Storm as capable of care and nurture (her motherly relationship with Kitty bears this out) like Jean; so she’s connected with a form of healing and growth. Through her powers though, she and Jean also (in different ways) possess an immense capacity for destruction and healing, Storm’s being perhaps more direct and physical and Jean’s more subtle and ethereal. Both are also connected to primordial forces though, Storm the elements of the weather and Jean, obviously, with fire.

 Cyclops: They both experienced great pain and loss in their youth. They both possess immense destructive power. Cyclops however is tormented because his powers are in a sense broken, he is supposed to be able to control his optic blasts but that same youthful pain and loss led to him being unable to. And by extension he is himself a person with a lot of mental issues (not necessarily outright mental illnesses though).

 He is someone who can be emotionally distant because of these issues as well as his broken abilities, at least to some extent, leading him to be distant in terms of physical intimacy too. They say the eyes are the window into the soul and Cyclops’ powers mean he can neither look upon anyone’s eyes/soul without a red filter nor can anyone see into his. He can feel but in a sense is reluctant of doing so (which leads to at times more detached yet pragmatic leadership).

 Jean Grey however is a great counterbalance to Cyclops.

 Her powerset in a sense ‘fixes’ (or heals) Scott or else bypasses his handicaps. Her telekinesis is so powerful she can hold back his otherwise typically destructive power.* Even without that, her telepathy allows her a window into Cyclops’ mind/soul  in a way she couldn’t have if she wasn’t a telepath and he had complete control of his powers. Her empathy and mutual experiences of loss, pain, of bearing the burden of being potentially destructive allow her to emotionally connect to this man who finds it understandably difficult to open up and gives them both an avenue to share their baggage. Hopefully this, at least at times, can make Cyclops more well rounded and able to emotionally connect to others.**

 If nothing else Cyclops ability to be somewhat detached and thus more pragmatic and Jean’s ability to emotionally connect and be empathetic mean that as far as leadership is concerned, they are at their best united than apart.

 Having said all that stuff about Jean, the reason why I think I and perhaps other people like her is because in a sense she represents a different more subtle form of heroism and is herself an unconventional example of it.

 Often in superhero fiction the protagonists and fan favs are the characters who’re well...bad ass.

 Bad ass in a more ‘traditional’ and obvious ways. Wolverine, Batman, Punisher, even the quippy acrobatic and super strong Spider-Man.

 And there is NOTHING wrong with that. I adore all that stuff I suspect the vast, vast, vast majority of people reading this do too. It is in fact my preference for the kinds of superhero fiction I enjoy.

 However there are other forms of strength and heroism too.

 There is heroism in removing or preventing destructive forces like say Superman typically does. But there is also heroism in being the healer, or the person who tries to help people achieve their potential or prevent them from falling apart.

 Abstract example, but if you were to say the Wolverines and Batmen represent the heroism of fire fighters then the Jean Greys would be the paramedics, doctors and therepists who attend the victims. But imagine they also had fire hoses and axes too but less flashy and attention grabbing ones.

 Jean is far from the only example of this type of her, Sue Storm would be another example in my view. But what gives Jean a certain uniqueness to these other types of heroes (who for whatever reason do tend to be female, make of that whatever you want) is the fact that she also has the double edged sword of her power to heal being capable of immense destruction and at times she needs to fight hard to ensure it leans towards the former and not the latter. Sue Storm after all couldn’t be a casual city buster if she really slips up. Add onto that an extra layer of the mutant metaphor and Jean fighting for Xavier’s dream and Jean stands relatively apart from both these particular types of superheroes and many superheroes in general.

 That doesn’t make her or similar heroes better than the Wolverines or Batmen of the genre. Just a different flavour. But a more uncommon and at first glance less bright and shiny flavour so it gets overlooked.***

 Or worse, as Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men imo ignorantly summed up in their first podcast episode, gets them dismissed as a stereotype.

 Jean in that podcast and I think too many people is dismissed as just being ‘the girl’ or in all the stuff I’ve spoken about as a stereotypical female superhero.

 Which I disagree and take issue with. To begin with there is nothing wrong with a female character having these traits, the problem lies in the overabundance (if there even is any) and exaggeration which creates the stereotype.

 When Jean debuted in the 1960s, protagonists or not, yeah there were a fair number of female characters who were written as caring, nurturing and empathetic. And they were written that way just BECAUSE they were female characters and that was one of the few and limiting boxes to put female characters into.

 But I think Claremont and other writers basically (partially to be consistent perhaps) EMBRACED those traits within Jean and built upon them so she wasn’t like that because she was a female character but because that was just her particular personality, much as Rogue, Storm, Emma Frost, Shadowcat, Psylocke, Dazzler Polaris, and the other X-Ladies had their own personalities however many traits in common they shared or not.

 It doesn’t make Jean lesser, or weak or even boring. At that point you are almost equating good/strong with stereotypical male superhero traits.

 It just means she’s different and offers a different shade of strength and heroism.  

  And unless I’ve been super off the mark with most of this stuff, that’s why I think Jean Grey is cool and underrated. 

 *I’ve heard she can even temporarily fix Scott’s mental injury so he just sees normally but have never seen this in a comic, only (specifically from the Dark Phoenix Saga) her literally controlling the blasts so they don’t shoot out at all. Love to know if she can do more than that.

 **Not saying Scott was ever and unfeeling monster, just that he seemed to have a certain distance to everyone else in my reading experience, partially due to the burden of leadership.

 Also as far as making Scott more well rounded, this is perhaps a stretch but skipping around a lot of 1990s comics where Cyclops and Jean are together prior to ‘The Twelve’ he seemed more open and comparatively upbeat (I recall him and Beast goofing off in the wake of ‘Onslaught’ or something right?) next to his attitude after he and Apocalypse were separated (by Jean, so again she was acting as a healing force) and he and Jean drew more distant, their marriage fell apart and then later she died and he began dating Emma.

 I’m not even trying to diss the Scott/Emma relationship. I’m just observing...he was less upbeat and more stoic and seemingly distant than he was in the 1990s. Maybe one or both of those are OOC and I just don’t realize so again please tell me.

  ***Flashy and obvious btw doesn’t mean bad or lesser, again just different.

[carrionkat]

Response for kateofthecanals

Here ya go, @kateofthecanals

I don’t really use Tumblr all that much so I apologize for any formatting hiccups or errors in courtesy.

Well, since I agree with literally all of your positive points (especially how Rey and Kylo’s visions could be the same, just viewed from a different perspective), and this is already getting too long I’m just going to address your negatives!

- The turning point for me, going from “YES YES YES!” to “oh…” was immediately after the team-up in the throne room, when I quickly realized that Kylo didn’t kill Snoke because he suddenly “woke up”, and he didn’t do it for Rey… he did it so that HE could be the HBIC.

I actually read the scene differently. Conflict is the central theme of Kylo’s character, so I saw him as undecided up until he realizes that he will never be out from under Snoke’s boot. He wants to be free to decide who he is and the path his destiny will take (as seen in his “let the past die” speech) and he can’t do that while Snoke lives. I think it’s less about taking charge of the First Order, and more about killing the monster who has been pulling his strings since he was an infant. And I think Snoke demanding he kill Rey is what wakes him up, in that it makes him realize that he will never be allowed to make a meaningful choice while Snoke lives. He doesn’t want to kill Rey (in fact he wants her to be a part of the future he creates). He achieves avoiding this by killing the person making her death a possibility.

- I was really bummed when Snoke “revealed” that he was the one who facilitated the Force-bond between Kylo and Rey, but I was relieved to see this wasn’t the case after all at the end when Kylo and Rey had that one last Force-encounter. But again, what was this actually worth in the end? She closed the door on him. It was established in this film, via Luke, that a Force user can close themselves off to the Force. Who’s to say Rey won’t do the same to Kylo? That she will find a way to cut him off completely? There’s literally nothing stopping her, because she has clearly given up on him…

 This is going to be a steep hill to get over, but I think a grand enough gesture from Kylo could get through to Rey. Once she knew what happened to him as a child with Luke, she forgave him for a whole lotta bad. If he were to, say, sabotage the First Order or release a prisoner or something that showed he was still conflicted, I think that could change her mind.

 - … as has everyone else. And with good reason, tbh. The moment Kylo threw Rey under the bus for Snoke’s death, declared himself new Supreme Leader, and went fucking buckwild on Luke, I knew all hope for redemption was gone. Even Leia was like, “nope, I was wrong, he’s lost for good.” Basically what I got out of this movie was, Rey and Kylo “flirt” with the other sides of the Force for a hot second but then just ultimately decide that they belong where they were in the first place. Gee wow what awesome character development…

 I think there was actually development here. Kylo has gone from puppet to free being. His personality beyond that is still malleable. The Dark is what he knows and it’s what he’s been trying to be since childhood, so it’s the path he follows, for now. I’m not sold that it will be the one he continues to follow, however. I also think the hopelessness of the situation is supposed to parallel Empire Strikes Back. We’re supposed to feel grim. This is our heroes’ lowest point; we’re only going up from here.

Also, he despises Luke for good reason. Him going buckwild on Luke isn’t really a condemnation of his entire character. His uncle, who he trusted and loved, tried to kill him. That’s gonna leave some damage. His rage isn’t born out of a hatred for Luke’s ideologies or of hatred of the Light, it’s born out of having his trust broken in the most cruel way possible. Maybe even resentment that Luke’s actions drove him into Snoke’s less-than-kind tutelage, but that’s probably reaching.

 - The revelation of Rey’s parents was just so… banal. I felt like this was thrown in there just to put the question to rest, without any additional thought or exploration, even though that was made such a HUGE deal of in TFA. But, nah, they were “nobodies”, end of story, case closed, that’s all she wrote. It was never even explained how Kylo knew about Rey’s parents!!

 The way I thought Kylo knew is because Rey knew, the whole time, and was just in denial about it. He sees it through their connection. She sees herself in the Dark part of the temple because she already knows the answer. (Also her saying she was “unafraid” while stuck in the Dark says something, but we’ll see if it gets followed up on).

 - I’ve seen people claim that this movie “shuts down” anti arguments for good and that is simply not the case. There is still plenty of ammo from this movie they can use, chief among them Kylo’s cringeworthy statement to Rey that “You’re nobody. But not to me.”

 Oof, yeah, I actively cringed when he said that. Someone’s been reading PUA shit. But if you want to dig for excuses you can bring up that Kylo has literally zero positive interactions with anyone except Rey, and is thusly a social moron who has forgotten what kindness is. What he’s saying is what Rey feels (that she’s nobody), followed up by what he feels (that she’s somebody) and with no pretty trimmings about it. It’s still a really shitty thing to say and I wish that line wasn’t there.

 - I’m glad everyone’s happy that Kylo didn’t actually KILL Leia (which I knew he wouldn’t) but I dunno how many brownie points he gets considering he still let those other fighters take her out…

 He does seem a little shocked when the other fighter’s shots connect, so maybe he was so focused on making a choice that he didn’t realize the fighter’s were taking the shot? Still, I agree with you.

 - And he barely even flinched when Snoke was torturing Rey. You’d think that, I don’t know, since they have a Force-bond and everything, that he would have been able to feel her pain or something???

 Yeah, some kind of reaction would have been nice. I thought I saw him trembling, but I can’t remember it very clearly so I would have to rewatch.

 - During Kylo’s attack on Crait, at a certain point (around the time Luke shows up), Rey just, like, disappears, completely, and doesn’t show up again until the very end to do her rock-lifting trick. Firstly, where the hell was she that whole time, but more importantly, wouldn’t it have been kind of awesome if, like, she could sense what was happening between Kylo and Luke and using their Force-bond try to talk him out of it? And see him actually STRUGGLE with it because he’s still torn between wanting to be with her and wanting to be the Big Bad? Buuuut no, because at that point, both their minds were made up, and Rey had given up on him anyway.

 Rey’s part (or lack thereof) in that battle seemed really messy narratively. There’s no reason for them to be flying over the mountains in the Falcon; they have no reason to believe that the rest of the Resistance is trying to flee the base. Why aren’t they back there in the action? Why don’t they try to blow the cannon up? Or take out the Walkers? The bond that Rey has with Kylo AND the student/teacher one she has with Luke are both just left dangling there. The Kylo/Luke confrontation is incredibly tense and I loved so many things about it, but it does feel like substance was cut for style there.

 - On a more technical level, I was really disappointed by how the Force-bond sequences were filmed. I expected way more from Rian Johnson; this was something any first-year film student could have come up with. Now, I’m not claiming to be “better than Rian Johnson”, but in my headcanons of Rey and Kylo’s Force-conversations, there was a noticeable atmospheric shift – some sort of visual cue that something “different” was going on… Instead of just this basic cutting back and forth between them in their respective locales. Meh.

 There was a bit of an audio cue (the sound warped) but a bit of blur around the edges or color shift or something would have been a nice visual cue.

 - I didn’t find Rose that memorable, sorry. And her whole mission with Finn, much like the Kylo/Rey storyline, ended up being completely pointless, thanks to Admiral Holdo needlessly keeping vital info about her plans from Poe. WHY??? All of it was just an elaborate excuse to send Finn off on another adventure where he would end up back with the First Order so he could finish off Phasma, period. Like, yeah, there was that little hint at the very end that those kids who took care of the fathiers would, like, have something to do with the Resistance in the next movie, but honestly that could have just been a little meta commentary about how kids have been inspired by the Star Wars franchise over these past 40 years. Which is nice and all, but Finn and Rose’s mission was still pointless.

 Agreed; it felt like the weakest part of the movie to me. I wanted to like Rose and Finn, but I kinda ended up resenting that their (ultimately) pointless story was taking so much time away from what I thought were more interesting plot lines.

 I think the last bit was meta commentary, as well as showing that Luke’s words are true; he isn’t the last of the lightside. It’s not just Rey who will succeed him, it’s every child who has heard his story and strives to be good because of it.

 - Same with Holdo. So here’s this lady who just shows up out of nowhere, keeps vital information from Poe for no good goddamn reason, thereby forcing him to come up with his own plan and send Finn & Rose on a wild goose chase, and then suddenly we’re supposed to buy this close, intimate relationship she has with Leia so that we’ll feel all wistful when she decides to go on a suicide mission to protect the Resistance?? That should have been Leia, tbh… and not just for cheap emotional impact. At that point, Leia believed both the cause and her son to be lost and really had nothing else to lose at that point, and it would have been well within her personality to take out as many motherfuckers as she could to go down with her. Holdo should have been set up as Leia’s heir apparent going forward, and Leia going all kamikaze on the First Order would have been an interesting parallel to Luke also sacrificing himself to protect the ones he loved. AND it would have solved the whole issue of how to move forward in the story after Carrie’s death. I mean, we know that Leia was supposed to play a big part in Episode 9, but we’ll never know what that was supposed to be anyway…

I feel Holdo’s story was weakened by that last interaction with Leia and where she says she liked Poe. If she stuck to the opinion she voiced earlier about him being a liability, maybe cautioned Leia about his recklessness, it makes her character more consistent. She’s presented as being kind of “by the rules” as opposed to Poe’s casual improvisation. If they kept her mindset as “he’s an idiot who can’t take orders and that’s an issue; the chain of command exists for a reason; we can’t have everyone second guessing every decision I make and that’s why I didn’t tell him” it wouldn’t feel as wishy-washy. Maybe it could have even worked as a lesson for Poe.

I like that Leia didn’t die here. It helps keep that idea of hope alive. While the reasons you point out for her doing Holdo’s maneuver make sense on a personal level, Leia being alive gives the Resistance hope, and it gives the audience hope.

For some of my personal thoughts on where Kylo and Rey could end up going from here...

Where we leave Kylo he's still in strife. He's gotten everything he's wanted: eliminating his 'weakness,' eclipsing Vader in power (after all, Vader didn’t survive the Sith ideal of killing his master) but it will not bring him any sort of joy. He's lonely and lost, not power-mad, and becoming Supreme Leader is only going to isolate him more. His force bond with Rey is still intact, despite her metaphorically closing the door on him. Their interactions haven’t been intentional, yet they still happen, because they’re both lonely and long for understanding. That’s not going to change for Kylo, even if it does for Rey. That could be a piece of what causes him to change.

Kylo Ren doesn’t give a shit about the First Order, not really. He isn’t making rousing speeches about the necessity of the cause like Hux; his actions are all concerned with Snoke’s orders and his own internal strife. He doesn’t want to lead the First Order because he believes in it, he’s leading to use it as a tool. He wants to destroy his past so he can finally shape his own destiny and decide for himself who he wants to be. He’s been shaped by others all his life; now he’s free of that. Snoke, the biggest influence in his life, is gone. He couldn’t kill Leia when he had the chance. He is pulled to Rey over and over. He seems to feel regret at the end when he finds Han’s dice. The question is, who will be created by this situation? Will it be enough to pull him, maybe not entirely to the light, but into the grey?

Snoke made a comment that I think/hope will come to be very relevant. Something to the effect of “darkness rises, and light to meet it.” The Force strives to create balance. The more dark there is, the more light there must be. But trying to balance two extremes causes tension and strife. They try to eliminate one another, and the pendulum swings wildly between the two. The true way to create balance, is to move towards the middle. I think that’s what the point of Luke’s arc was. Luke’s fear of the Dark helped create Kylo Ren from Ben. His adherence to an order that gave rise to Sidious and pushed his own father into Dark caused it to happen again. This makes it clear that the Jedi order of old doesn’t work anymore.

The Jedi were a defunct order. They swung the pendulum to far to the “Light” and demanded impossible things: emotionless, passionless, unquestioning devotion. Does any of that sound like Rey? Emotion drives everything she does! To eliminate her emotions, to make her a Jedi, it would destroy her entire character. If they do that they’re throwing out all the themes and messages they built up over Last Jedi. Same thing if Kylo stays entirely Dark. I think (hope) that they both come to realize that neither of them actually wants the destruction of the other. Maybe Rey reads those texts that made it onto the Falcon and realizes that she can’t follow the Jedi ideals. Maybe those old texts contain the idea of grey Jedi instead of the Light/Dark dichotomy; after all, there was a shrine to the Dark on the island, so the founders of the temple couldn’t have rejected it entirely.

They’ve set up plenty of signs that point to the emergence of grey Jedi instead of the Sith and the Light. They could end up pulling the rug out from under us and just make IX flat “good” vs evil with no nuance, but that would be ignoring all the work done in Last Jedi, and it would be messy story telling to not follow the cues that they already laid.

And honestly is Kylo goes grey there’s no reason why he and Rey wouldn’t end up together. Force bonds are powerful things, and their awareness of one another is almost painful. Rey would have to shut herself off from the Force to cut off her awareness of him, and is she really going to do that? Maybe she will for a time, but that’s not a long-term solution.

So while there are no steadfast assurances that we will get what we want from IX, I would say that the necessary groundwork for what we want has already been laid.

Oh! Another thought. Kylo’s “rule the galaxy at my side” is the SAME EXACT THING Vader offered Luke (but, like, without the romantic undertones). Like Luke, Rey rejected his offer. But Vader was still redeemed in the end. If Kylo’s story continues his mirroring of Vader, we will get a redemption. The real question is, will we get it without Kylo dying?

[kakihoden]

(/ω＼)ﾟ.+(〃ﾉωﾉ)ﾟ.+°50 More Interesting Questions

Rules: fill this out and tag at least one person you’d like to know more about! Or just fill it out! Or don’t! Answer only some of them! Make up your own questions! “What kind of requirement is that”, you ask? A reasonable one! Who am I to tell you what to do? Anything goes!

tagged by @theempresskaizer​ and @incorrectmidc THANK YOUUU <3

1. What kind of food can’t you stand?: FISH, especially Fried Tilapia. I dunno. I loved fish as a kid, but now just the smell of it makes my stomach churn. Oh, and broccoli. GDI the first time I tasted it was traumatic :’D

2. If you could choose one minor inconvenience to never have to deal with again, what would you pick?: losing my pencils  -- for a person who draws often losing these babies is kinda ironic, isn’t it?

3. Have you got any useless talents?: Uhm.... I can sleep anywhere. LOL

4. If you could be really really good at one thing, what would it be?: drawing.it’s literally the oldest hobby i have so :/

5. Name a few people you think are extremely good-looking: real people?! okay, dumb question. i kinda view people’s faces as equal, but there are particular people who stand out.  i love looking at Eva Green and Angelina Danilova. my girl crushes :v

6. What was your favorite way to pass the time as a kid?: doodle doodle on the wall; wait for my mama’s angry call :’D

7. What is something you’re proud of?: uhm... I dunno. I don’t dwell much on myself on a positive light, so I haven’t really thought of the things I should be proud of. Unless it means something else? IDK lels

8. What’s one character flaw in people that you just can’t tolerate?: being self-righteous, or being too self-important. I tend to act cold towards people like these cuz duuuuuhhhh. I’d rather treat you like fart than say mean things cuz people like these aren’t really worth getting work up over.

9. Do you consider yourself to be more of a leader or a follower?: Back when I was a youthful optimistic fellow, I have, indeed proven myself able to be a leader, but now I just wanna be a follower. Energy-saving mode on unnecessary things :D

10. What kind of student are/were you?: When I was in high school, I was the overrated student. And it sucked because teachers placed high expectations against my will when in fact I am the lazy student who relies on stock knowledge to get through school life :v

11. Butterfly effect question! Has there ever been a seemingly minor decision you’ve made (at the time) that ended up having a profound influence on your life?:Yes.*blushes*

12. Name your most irrational fear/aversion: I used to run away at the speed of light at the sight of anything worm-like. >___<. I once accidentally touched a worm and it felt cold and slimy it was disgusting I literally threw a fit (LOL), but now I can tolerate them. Just... stay away within a one-meter radius D:

13. Are there any fictional characters you find especially relatable?: a looottt. 

14. If you drink, what kind of drunk are you? Alternatively, what sort of person are you at parties?: I don’t drink alcoholic beverages to the point where I get wasted. But let me tell you a story: when I was a kid, Mom gave me a quarter kilo of grapes. I finished it in one sitting, but I got drunk so I hit my head on the door knob when I tried to stand up. I wonder what kind of drunk I am now? AT PARTIES? NOOO... I just stay at corners and try to avoid having to party. It’s not the party that’s bad, it’s the socializing. :’D

15. Do you fall in love easily? Or does it usually take a long time for you to trust someone?: I fall in love with 2d men easily. And yes, it takes quite some time for me to trust someone nowadays, cuz I learned my lesson the hard way.

16. Would you rather have one close friend or 100 casual friends?: just one close friend is enough. I get tired of people quite easily.

17. Do you consider yourself to be more of a slob or a neat-freak?: *glances around my work area* Yep. I’m a slob alright. But that’s only when I’m too busy on something. Otherwise, you’ll often see me arranging my stuff here and there.

18. Describe a place (imaginary or real) that you would find incredibly cozy: a view of the sunset in a large window from a high place. and where a contrast of temperature is at its best <3

19. Do you have kids? If not, do you want them someday?: I’m not that fond of kids because the kids in my neighborhood are brutal. They call me pancit canton (instant noodle) because of my  hair :’’’’’’’’’D (I’m a 23-year-old bullied by 5-year-old kids)

20. What was your favorite book as a child?: I didn’t like reading, believe me. I learned to read quickly because I wanted to get away from books as fast as possible. LOL

21. Name one thing you just don’t get what all the hype is about: uhm... mobile legends and despacito :x srsly what are those 

22. Name one thing that you think is tragically underrated: what is. IDK...  ಠ_ರೃ

23. If you had to be glued to a person for a month, real or fictional (who you have never met), who would you choose?: I’d be with Hitsugaya Toushiro! (then will secretly glue us together again before one month ends LOLOLOLOL) Taichou! <3

24. What’s something you’d like the chance to do someday?: I want to travel a lot to old places. Ah... it’s a life-long dream :3

25. Do you typically speak your mind when you have a controversial opinion? Or do generally prefer to not rock the boat?: I’m a peace-loving person, and I’m weak at arguments so I keep my mouth shut and let my brain become noisy until my thoughts settle down instead of speaking up. 

26. What’s the dumbest fad you’ve been caught up in?: I live in a cave -- what even is the latest fad today

27. What’s something you thought was cool as a kid/adolescent, but now cringe at yourself for?:  I was low-key emo back then but it only manifested in my music preference because I was keeping up a good school image. Now when I look back at that “shiny and brilliant student” facade I wanted to smack my younger self in the head (btw, my music preference never changed). 

28. What’s a trait you consider to be very admirable?: Bravery. It can take you far if you have it. I admire brave people.

29. Is there a particular kind of item people always tend to give you as gifts? (For instance, people always get you things with ducks on them because you like ducks, etc.): I don’t receive gifts anymore (too bad, will you give me a gift? XD) but my godmother often gave me dresses and clothes, and blue items cuz she knew blue was my favorite :3

30. Do you speak multiple languages? Which ones?: I speak Filipino, English and not that fluent at Japanese (and currently taking a crash course at Bahasa Indonesia)

31. Would you rather live in the big city or the countryside?: I’d choose countryside in a heartbeat!

32. Has there ever been something you were certain you’d hate, but ended up loving?: none in particular. 

33. Do you mind being the center of attention, or do you prefer the spotlight to be on someone else?: I do not like too much attention. I do appreciate it when someone notices me but if I get too much of that, it wears me out.

34. Favorite holiday?: Christmas!

35. Are you a more go-with-the-flow type of person, or do you need to have things planned meticulously?:  there are days when I just go with the flow, but when the situation calls for it, I spend a night planning my days, especially trips. Yup.

36. Is there something you loved so much you wish you could forget it and experience it all over again? (A tv show, book, series–anything.): Final Fantasy Advent Children. I’d love to experience that doki-doki when I see Cloud in action <3 and my nightly walks back at the province. The moon-lit road home, the fireflies, the silence, the nature -- I’d love to go back there and spend a good vacation. Plus the residents are really friendly

37. What hobbies do you have?: Drawing, procrastinating, sleeping, procrastinating, reading manga, and did I mention procrastinating?

38. If you could have a superpower, but it was only mildly useful, what ability would you want to have?: what even -- then it’s not called superpower anymore, but rather just “power” LOLOLOL. I wish I could shut down my nose when someone farts XD

39. Something people are always surprised to learn about you: that I’m not actually intimidating and that I am indeed Filipina. 

40. Something that took you way too long to figure out: how to answer this. also, still trying to figure out how I’ll dissect my building. -_-

41. Worst injury you’ve had?: I fell down the stairs when I was a kid and it damaged my knees. Now both knees hurt during the cold season.

42. Any morbid fascinations?: I like drawing gore?

43. Describe your sense of humor: dark! as a result of my depression, my jokes tend to be categorized as black comedy LOL. Also perv. :v

44. If you had to be born in another era/place, which would you choose? I wish I was born in Japan, or renaissance England (^◇^；)

45. Something you are irredeemably bad at: time management (/ω＼)

46. Something that sucked but you’re glad you went through: College. Why the hell did I have to pick Architecture major of all things? But I learned a few things so okay.

47. Would you rather have a really godawful ugly tattoo in a place that is only slightly inconvenient to conceal with clothing (upper arm, thigh, etc.), or the coolest, most beautiful tattoo ever in the middle of your face? (Neither tattoo can be removed or concealed with makeup, and the ugly tattoo will deeply offend anyone who sees it.): ugly tattoo. I don’t like having stuff on my face

48. Are you more of an optimist or a pessimist?: I’m a pessimist irl. I’m actually a depressing human being hiding behind my drawings online ﾟ.+(〃ﾉωﾉ)ﾟ.+°

49. What would be the most flattering compliment someone could give you?: that I’ve inspired them. Ah truly a ray of light in this dark depressing life of mine (￣∇￣) .+°

50. Something you feel people often misunderstand about you: my silence. me being silent to them often means I’m mad, or brooding, or being a bitch. LOL NO. that’s just my face ᕕ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕗ

tagging! @emigotchi @confused-tofu @rimalupin @arimii @pumpkingamelodge @spyroeden @midnightuglystepsister @midnightcindy @kseifert @oh-my-otome and you!

[surveystodestressme]

44.

5000 Question Survey Pt. 5

401. Some say that high school is the best time of your life. Was that true for you? it was actually the worst time of my life 402. What do you find yourself encouraging others to try? following their dreams 403. Which is better: Mel Brooks or Woody Allen? either or i guess 404. When was the last time you were up all night? it’s been a while 405. __ is life. The rest is just details. Fill in the blank. such.

406. Are people too complex and different to be categorized? i suppose so 407. Is it good to have pride in your own race or does that separate people from each other because it makes them think of everyone else as ‘outsiders’? as long as it’s not too much pride where it’s a bad thing 408. What fictional story would you like to live through? there’s sooo many 409. Are cats or dogs smarter? idk they’re both pretty smart 410. Have you ever guessed someone’s password and broken into their diary? not someone’s diary but their account for something online 411. What teacher, if any, has effected you the most in your life? there are quite a few actually.  i love a lot of my teachers from grade school 412. Are you more easily bored or excited? a lil of both 413. What’s the bravest or most daring thing you have ever done? idk 414. “What’s the point of robbery when nothing is worth taking?” (- Adam Ant) true 415. If your man or woman served you breakfast in bed as a treat what would you want? bacon, sausage patties, toast, and waffles 416. What do you do only when you are upset? cry??? 417. What’s the oddest CD in your collection? i have a shrek christmas carol cd lol 418. What’s the best diary name you ever saw? uhhh i don’t know 419. What would your friends be surprised to learn about you? there’s not much 420. Who owes you an apology? no one that i can think of 421. Who deserves an apology from you? lol no one 422. How would you like to treat your kids differently from the way your parents treated you? i’m not having kids 423. Which do you like best: 60’s, 70’s or 80’s fashion? 80s for sure 424. What is the worst pick up line ever used on you? i mean it wasn’t really a pick up line.  but some guy asked if he could give me his number and when i said i have a boyfriend he asked if there were ever times when i was feeling lonely and needed some company.  he’s lucky i didn’t punch him in the face lol 425. Of the following, which word best describes you: inventive, kinetic (energetic), light-hearted, mature light-hearted 426. Do you own a record player? Do you use it? i wish i owned one 427. How easily do you make friends? it depends on my mood.  i feel like i’m pretty easy to get along with though 428. What is the difference between having character and being a character? being a character is more comical and having character is a good personality trait 429. Are there any animals you flat out refuse to touch? maybe a crocodile or alligator 430. Do you care about your weight? more than i should 431. Did you/will you go to the prom? i went twice 432. Have you ever wanted to date twins? no lol 433. What one thing would you change about high school if you could? that i stood up for myself when people were picking on me 434. If you came with a warning label, what would it say? sometimes bitchy 435. Are you artistic and creative? i think so 436. What were you (probably) doing on this date last year? probably watching movies 437. What are you obsessed with? cats 438. What was the last compliment you received? jack told me i was beautiful 439. Do you have any brothers or sisters? one of each 440. Who would you like to be alone with right now? my boyfriend. 441. Do you push people away when you really want them to come closer? no 442. Is a prenuptial agreement necessary or does it take the romance and trust out of marriage? i feel like it takes the trust out of the marriage 100% 443. Do you lie your way out of things? no 444. Are you better at talking or listening? listening for sure 445. What will only happen to you once in this lifetime? idk 446. Know of any conspiracy theories you think might be credible? not that i can think of 447. What are the most beautiful words that have ever been spoken to you? an old friend said this to me, “you know, as me and tiana were driving to the book store, we both noticed the view to the left was incredibly stunning.  like, the sunset hit the trees perfectly.  and all i could think was that i’d rather be looking at you.” one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me 448. If it were legal would you own a human slave (race unimportant)? hell no 449. Have you ever read your own writing at a poetry reading? i’d be too nervous 450. What is one simple thing that gives you the happy shivers? i dunno 451. What do you do for exercise? i just walk 452. Would you rather have a strict teacher with a sense of humor or a lenient teacher that doesn’t teach? strict with a sense of humor 453. If you ever have a baby what might you want to name it? i don’t want any babies 454. If you won free tickets to a concert from a radio show and had to choose between Inxs, Poison, Blondie and Moby, which would you choose? blondie 455. Are you a good cook? not at all 456. Do you prefer when things come with no assembly required, even if they are a bit more expensive? depends, i don’t usually mind putting something together myself 457. Start a sentence with the words: what if what if my cat could talk to me 458. Are you more spontaneous and unpredictable or loyal and routine? loyal and routine. 459. What is the highest number you can count to in your head? pretty high if i tried 460. How do you go about losing weight? shit i don’t 461. Do you have street smarts? i suppose 462. Do you have a lot of common sense? i think i do 463. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? orange sherbet 464. What’s your favorite movie that involves dancing? high school musical 465. Would you ever want to become a guest on a talk show? If yes what would the show’s theme be? sure.  jimmy fallon 466. Do you like the way you look naked? most of the time 467. Have you ever dissected an animal? several 468. Who do you know who is brilliant? my boyfriend 469. Who do you know who is dull? some of my coworkers 470. Do you ever think about time travel? occasionally 471. What is one interesting fact you know? when a cat is declawed, if it isn’t done correctly a new bone can grow back and cause extreme pain 472. Do you talk to yourself? Do you talk to your pets? i talk to myself sometimes and i always talk to my cat 473. Do you believe that humankind has a future in space (will we live there some day)? absolutely 474. Would you rather wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty or more delicate outfits? depends 475. How do you 'live life to the fullest’? do crazy things.  live every day like it’s my last 476. Are you sloppy or a neat freak? i’m kind of a neat freak 477. Would you rather have a trunk full of nickels or half a trunk full of dimes? half a trunk of dimes 478. What is the worst mistake you’ve ever made? there is plenty 479. Are you in good health? i suppose 480. Are you patriotic? no 481. The greenhouse effect is bad for your health. yeah 482. There are about as many molecules of air in one breath as there are hairs on your head. damn 483. The Miss America pageant started out as a contest in which people decorated wheel chairs and one chair was judged the prettiest. that’s cool 484. To remove a tattoo a physician can place a small balloon under the skin, which is inflated so that the tattooed skin gradually stretches. Then they cut the stretched skin away. lol really??? 485. Cock fighting is a sexual sport. i’m sure it is 486. It is the warmest time of the day during the hour that the sun is the highest in the sky. why are there 20 interesting facts in a row??? lol i don’t think i’m going to write anymore on this survey 487. Certain scientists specialize in studying cow farts. 488. The brilliant colors (reds, oranges, yellows) across the sky that we get from sunsets are caused mainly by pollution. 489. In Grimm’s original fairy tale, Rapunzel is pregnant. 490. Dracula was the first movie about a vampire. 491. The inventors of Corn Flakes, the Kellogg brothers, ran a school for delinquent youth. 492. “Kemo Sabe” means “soggy shrub” in Navajo. 493. Sir Thomas Crapper invented the toilet. 494. The Earl of Sandwich invented the Sandwich. 495. Some Chinese alchemists were trying to invent an immortality medicine and accidentally invented gunpowder instead. 496. The human body is made of about 99% water. 497. Bubble gum contains rubber. 498 This survey to the zero power = 0. 499. Most lipstick contains fish scales. 500. There are 86401 seconds in day.

[blujaydoodles]

@songbased​ and now Kiele :D

What is your character’s favorite type of food, or specific dishes that they love? Is there a reason behind their fondness?

She really likes fresh fruits! Also, it’s cliche but she does really like spicy food. They don’t have a lot of hot spices where she’s from, so it’s kind of a fun novelty for her, plus it’s a point of pride and a bit of a power move to eat something ungodly fucking hot and not be bothered by it, lol

Does your character favor a certain color? Are many of their clothes this color?

Everything she owns is red or gold. Gotta work that Aesthetic

What is your character’s favorite instrument? Can they play it, or do they just enjoy listening?

She’s really into drums! She loves to dance so she can’t resist a good beat.

What is your character’s favored weapon?

Whips. She dances with flaming whips for attention money, but they’re also fun for... other applications 

How does your character deal with having something on their mind? Do they show it, or get quiet? Do they talk about it? Are there any coping mechanisms they have that others may notice?

She doesn’t really know how to have or express feelings like a functional adult, so she tends to convert any and all negative emotion into Anger, if she can help it. If the thing on her mind isn’t something she can really get angry about, she’ll tend to get pissy and lash out in general.

If your character is angry or aggravated with another character / party member, how do they deal with it?

Say so, immediately. She’s not shy about confrontation, to say the least.

What are your character’s pet peeves?

‘Kaylee’ ‘Keelie’ ‘Kelly’ 

How long does it take for your character to confront or deal with something that is on their mind / a problem? If contingent on the type of problem, what are they more capable of handling?

She’ll usually confront problems head on and as soon as possible. She doesn’t like being weighed down with Issues and Baggage and prefers a direct approach to getting rid of problems. However, if the problem is something like ‘a loved one died and I’m having a hard time’ that can’t really be Fixed, she has a really hard time dealing with things like that.

Is your character affectionate? Whom does your character choose to share affection with?

This is interesting because on the one hand, she’s super affectionate with most people she meets, whether it’s platonic or flirty, but she’s also emotionally A Disaster so it’s hard to say how much of it comes from a place of genuine affection

If a fellow party member has a problem or concern, how (if at all) does your character deal with it? Do they try to help? Would it depend on the party member?

It would depend on the party member. If she didn’t care about them, she’d tend towards a ‘that sounds like a You Problem’ attitude. She’s cool with the current party right now, though, so if it was something she wanted to help with, her approach is, again, whatever is the most direct, confrontational, and/or active-- ‘How do I Fix This?’ ‘Who do I kill?’

What are some habits that your character has? Do they have a morning or night time ritual?

She’s not much of a habit-former, for the most part. She’d rather be flexible and unpredictable.

Does your character have any unusual sleeping habits? How much do they sleep, where are they most comfortable? Do they snore? When given the option, are they an early or late riser?

She’s somewhat of a heavy sleeper, and can get herself comfortable almost anywhere. If she’s sleeping with somebody else, she’s a pretty heavy-duty cuddler and tenacious big spoon. She only snores sometimes/ a little, she mostly sleeps pretty quiet. She tends toward late nights and early mornings, apparently a high enough energy person to recharge quickly without needing too much sleep.

How does your character behave when they are tired or exhausted?

Super grumpy, more inclined to accidentally set things on fire from not paying attention to what she’s doing

Does your character have any quirks that others might notice? Speech patterns, or things that they tend to do?

Her body heat tends to noticeably rise when she’s angry or otherwise excited. She doesn’t wear shoes, I dunno if that counts as a quirk? 

How does your character’s constitution translate to their every day life? Do they tend to be prone to sniffles or are they generally sturdy? How quickly do they come back from major injury?

She’s fairly sturdy. She doesn’t get sick often, and tends to bounce back from injuries pretty well-- partly out of decent Con but also, I’ll admit, largely out of sheer stubbornness and force of will. She refuses to be viewed as weak.

How does your character deal with being less than 100%?

Complain, a lot, unless it’s really serious in which case she’d play it off, again in a stubborn refusal to show any genuine weakness

How does your character deal with temperature? Do they run hot or cold?

I mean. Fire genasi. She runs hot. Also, I’ve rethought my thoughts on the, like, physics of this I guess-- I think in colder weather she’d be super uncomfortable, and would be bothered by the cold a lot faster than people who aren’t from volcanic tropical regions and also part literal fire person

Does your character have a preference between indoors or outdoors? Where do they seem more or less comfortable?

Outdoors. She likes to be under the sun, and to be able to see the stars. Also, people tend to frown on things indoors being on fire, which is a thing that... tends to happen when she’s around, so

Does your character have various outfits for different situations, or do they tend to wear just one? Do they have any interchangeable pieces, or any odd clothing habits/quirks?

She’s got a handful of outfits but they’re mostly really similar-- just for visual variety more than different situations. She does also have an extremely fancy red silk dress that she’s going to wear a lot just because if anyone can be overdressed and make it work it’s her. She wears a lot of jewelry, mostly gold and colorful glass. The more of her body she can get away with baring, the better.

How does your character feel about their belongings? What condition are their belongings in? Do they have more belongings, or the bare minimum? Are they possessive or protective of their things?

She’s not super materialistic. She’s had a violent, unpredictable temper since she was born, so even though she’s somewhat grown out of throwing/ kicking/ incinerating things in a fit of pique, she’s pretty much used to not getting too attached to Things.

What are your character’s hobbies? What do they do during their off-time? Do they have anything that aids them in these hobbies or skills?

Dancing and lampworking! Dancing is big in her culture and just something she grew up with, and she had a natural talent. By contrast, she was set up as an apprentice to a glassblower as a kid literally just to try to get her to focus her energy into something constructive for once, something that relied on delicacy and patience, and she hated it for a really long time. But now that she’s good at it it’s a source of pride, and she does try to use it as a relaxation method, although she still tends to smash things that don’t turn out perfect... She does lampworking A) because making beads and animal figures was less boring than like... bowls and vases, and B) because a smaller toolset and workspace is a lot more portable. Being able to create and control flames herself with a lot of precision is an A+ bonus to this hobby as well.

What does your character bring to the party? Are they a skilled fighter? Are they good with intelligent pursuits or charismatic encounters?

Damage output. Oh man does she set things on fire so so good. She’s also pretty good for charismatic endeavors, but usually the bard takes initiative in those situations so it’s not necessarily just her thing.

How do they help set up camp?

Build, light, and manage the fire; set up a sleeping area but only for herself

What are some other ways your party is obviously benefited by your character’s presence?

I don’t know if there have been any really obvious story benefits yet...? 

What is your character’s relationship with money? What are their spending habits? How would your party perceive their relationship with money / accepting pay from others?

Like I said, she’s not super materialistic, so she’s a little indifferent about money. It’s never been a problem for her to be able to get money when she needs it, either by performing or selling glassworks or just flirting her way into free dinner and drinks (and lodging, usually). That said, if she’s been promised gold, she’s gonna get it. She spends money mostly just on whatever she needs at the moment, but will also buy stuff on a whim because she decides in the moment she wants it

What is your character’s overall disposition when surrounded only by the party? Are they different around just one or two party members? If so, are these specific members, or rather that your character is more comfortable opening up around fewer people?

It’s way too early yet for her to have a different, separate comfort level within the party as opposed to with outside people tbh. She’s not one to Open Up about her Feelings so I guess we’ll see what the future holds in that regard

Does your character walk at a faster or slower pace? Does it depend on the setting or situation?

She saunters, but in general she’ll keep pace with whoever she’s walking with.

How does your character pass travel time?

Chit chat with whoever she’s with, usually. She tends to get bored traveling by herself and will try to find another traveler or caravan going the same direction to pair up with. 

Is there anything else that your party members might notice about your character?

She still gets pissy whenever Ametys comes up-- something about that encounter really pushed her buttons, it seems. When she’s casting a spell (or channeling Wild Magic), not only do her hands glow like embers-- so does the burn scar on her chest. She tends toward snap judgements and extremes-- she likes you or she hates you, immediately, and she doesn’t easily change her mind. By now she’s flirted with everyone in the party except for Silas and Whisper. 

[woodland-knight]

I dunno why, but I'm obsessed with the idea of the Celestial interacting with other characters, even though its not possible. Maybe its because of the interesting things that could happen? Anyways, I have ideas: the Celestial talking to the Crystal Crew, them being curious about the Celestial Realm. Or maybe an interaction between the Celestial and Altair/Vega since they all came from the same world.

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO GET TO, ANON.

When I first saw this, my reaction was “??? Am I becoming the member of the fandom people admit their fandom secrets to???” and wasn’t really sure how to respond at first. In the end, I figured writing some sort of fic based around the idea would be a pretty cool way of responding! …it just took me forever to finish because of other priorities. Thank you work.

As a warning, it kind of turned into a sappy Tiznes fic, but I made sure to include the celestials interacting at the end! I hope that isn’t a problem!

Also spoiler warning for both games. That’s probably important to mention.

“Tiz… Tiz….”

There was a loud thud as Tiz fell onto the cold, wooden floor of his room. He had been dead asleep only moments prior, but something had caused him to become restless. Unfortunately for him, this resulted in him rolling straight off his bed in a tangle of his own blankets and onto the less comfortable surface of the ground. As he attempted free himself from the mess he was now in, he tried his best not to wake his wife, who had been sleeping right next to him. When he glanced upward, however, he could see her on the edge of the bed, looking down at him in the dim candlelight of the room.

“…do you need some help, dear?” Agnès quietly asked her husband as he untangled himself. She sounded concerned, which wasn’t much of a surprise taking he had fallen off the bed, but he didn’t feel she had reason to worry. Falling off the bed was more of a minor inconvenience, and he had been through worse without injury before. Grabbing his blankets and pulling himself onto the bed, he sat down next to her.

“I’m okay, pumpkin,” Tiz whispered in response as he finished unravelling the blankets. “I just fell off the bed is all, no biggie.”

“Are you feeling alright? Did you hit your head? Does anything feel broken?” Agnès asked as she sat up and put her hand on Tiz’s arm. Tiz winced a bit in response but shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it, Agnès. If anything I’m just going to be a bit bruised,” he assured her as he rubbed part of his arm. “Nothing feels broken either, I promise.”

Despite Tiz’s casual response, Agnès didn’t seem convinced. “At least let me go grab the white mage asterisk! You could have easily hurt yourself and not even know it yet,” she pointed out as she checked Tiz for additional scratches and bruises. Tiz, however, immediately shushed Agnès and turned his attention to the corner of the room where their three-month-old son laid sleeping in his crib.

“Be a bit quieter, Agnès. You don’t want to accidentally wake Theo,” he told her as he watched their baby sleep. “It already took us long enough to get him to fall asleep once tonight, and I don’t want to imagine what the second time will be like.”

Agnès nodded her head in understanding and turned her attention back to Tiz, whom she was still very much concerned about. “Why were you so restless anyway? It’s not like you to move around so recklessly in your sleep,” she mentioned as she finished checking Tiz. Unsure of what had happened himself, Tiz shrugged.

“Maybe I was having a strange dream?” he guessed as he scratched the back of his head. “I don’t remember what really happened, but I think at some point I kind of just… Heard something and rolled myself off the bed.”

Agnès frowned at her husband. “That isn’t normal, Tiz. Are you sure there isn’t more to it? Are certain you’re feeling alright?” she asked, once again with concern in her voice. Tiz thought for a moment, but he couldn’t think of anything else that could have caused it.

“I feel perfectly fine, pumpkin. In fact, I’m almost certain I was just having a strange dream,” he insisted as he shook his head again. “It’s really not something you need to be concerned about.”

Agnès slumped her shoulders down, and her expression changed to one that better matched her concern. “Well, if you start feeling strange or ill, please don’t hesitate to tell me,” she requested as she put her hands in her lap. “I don’t want to wake up in the morning and find something wrong with you…”

Tiz reached over and put his hand on Agnès’ shoulder. “If anything happens, I promise I’ll let you know,” he told her, “but there’s nothing you need to worry about, okay?”

A bit hesitant, Agnès put her hand on top of Tiz’s. “…do you think you can at least tell me a bit more about your dream? I want to know what it was that you possibly could’ve heard,” she said with a little bit more concern. Tiz understood why him hearing voices would make her worry, but he didn’t feel it was as bad as Agnès made it out to be. Nonetheless, he knew he had to calm her nerves somehow.

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll see what I can remember,” he told her as moved his hand and leaned back to think. “It’s kind of cloudy, so it might take a bit.”

Agnès nodded her head again and turned her attention back to Theo. “Take your time, dear. There’s no rush,” she assured him as she watched their baby sleep. Turning his head and doing the same, Tiz tried his best to recall what had happened in his dream.

At first, Tiz couldn’t recall a single thing. All he did was stare blankly at his son and the shadows that slowly moved along with dim candlelight. His head buzzed with different thoughts as he tried to force himself to remember the dream, but nothing relevant was coming back to him. It was if he hadn’t dreamt at all, though he was most certain he had been dreaming by now. Perhaps in actuality, however, his mind had been tricking him; he couldn’t really know.

After many minutes of silence, however, he was finally able to recall something- the voice that had called out to him. He couldn’t tell if it had been male or female, and what they had said to him has been nothing more than his name followed by a mess of indistinguishable words. When he closed his eyes to try and visualize what he had seen, he was met with nothing but a mess of thoughts. There was nothing to discern the area his dream had taken place in, and nothing depicting anyone or anything had appeared. He had completely forgotten what had happened.

“Tiz… It’s time to go home, Tiz.”

…suddenly, an image flashed in Tiz’s mind. There was the night sky with stars shining all across it; lights of different colors floating down softly among them. Three people, all vaguely familiar, sat and talked with each other like they were all old friends. They were laughing and smiling; enjoying each other’s company at a small table outside of a building made of shining stones. It was as if they were living in an entirely different world from his own.

“…the celestials,” Tiz whispered as he continued to stare off. Agnès turned his attention back to him and tilted her head, confused by her husband’s sudden revelation.

“The celestials? What do you mean, Tiz?” she asked as she moved closer to him. She slowly reached her hand over to try and get his attention, but she was met with him suddenly moving and putting both of his hands on her shoulders.

“It was the celestials, Agnès! I saw them!” he exclaimed as his eyes widened. Without hesitating, Agnès put her hand over Tiz’s mouth and motioned for him to quiet down.

“You’re going to wake Theo, Tiz!” she warned with a quiet, yet stern voice. “Explain what you saw with your inside voice, please!”

Tiz rubbed the back of his head out of guilt but nodded, prompting Agnès to hesitantly remove her hand. “I remember it all now, Agnès,” Tiz told her with a much lower voice. “The sights, the sounds, everything!”

“What did you see?” Agnès asked as she watched Tiz closely. He could tell she was curious, but it seemed her concern was back as well. At this point, he’d probably never get her to stop worrying.

“Visually, it was similar to what myself and the others saw five years ago. It was bright, colorful, and filled with astonishing architecture,” he began to explain. “It’s everything that you’d expect from a fantastical world beyond our own.”

“What about atmospherically?” Agnès continued to ask. Tiz could tell how invested she was based on her fervent expression, but Agnès herself probably hadn’t realized she had one. He turned his attention away from her and to a candle flickering on the nightstand.

“Atmospherically? Well, it was a lot more cheerful this time around,” he continued to explain. “The first time just felt dark and heartbreaking as a result of Vega’s warped emotions, but that was all gone now. It felt like a place of hope and peace…”

Agnès leaned closer. “And the celestials? Tell me more about them,” she requested. Tiz was surprised by exactly how curious she was, but then again, it was an abnormal situation. It wasn’t every day a person saw the celestial realm, whether in their dreams or in reality.

“Well, despite having a clear view of everything else, their appearances are a bit lost to me,” he admitted as he watched the flickering candle flame. “I can remember certain things, such as Altair’s red eyes, Vega’s flower hairclip, and the other celestials ribbons, but beyond that I can’t recall a thing.”

Agnès put her hands in her lap. “That’s okay, Tiz. I’m more interested in if they said anything to you more than what they looked like,” she told him. “I just want to make sure you’re safe and that you won’t be needing their assistance again.”

Tiz looked back over. “Is that what you’re worried about?” he asked her as he furrowed his brow. Agnès fidgeted and looked down at her hands while nodding.

“I want to make sure this isn’t some sort of sign, Tiz… I’ve already lost you once, and I don’t want to think about having to lose you again, especially now that we have a son,” she said as she continued to fidget. Tiz could tell she was starting to get anxious, so he reached over and put one of his hands on top of hers.

“You know you don’t have to worry about that anymore. I feel perfectly fine,” he assured her. “In fact, I think they were trying to tell me that I didn’t have to worry about something like that happening again.”

Still anxious, Agnès snapped her attention back up to Tiz. “Are you certain? What did they say?” she went back to asking. Tiz could feel her start to squeeze his hand tightly, and it admittedly hurt a bit, but he knew it was only because of how she was feeling.

“Well, at first they didn’t really acknowledge me. I just heard them discussing things about you, me, Edea, Ringabel, Yew, Magnolia… Everything we’ve done for our world and theirs, and how we’re all doing now. Honestly, it sounded like they were old friends catching up after not seeing each other for a long time,” he explained. Agnès, who was still squeezing his hands, bit her lip.

“And when do we get to the part about you staying alive?,” she continued to ask. Tiz, trying to ignore the pain in his hand, shook his head.

“Well, they didn’t directly say anything about it,” he admitted, “but it became pretty obvious the more I listened to them talk. The way were speaking with each other, it felt more like they were trying to indirectly tell me something- like things were going to be okay now and that I didn’t need to worry about anything. They were all together now, and they’d ensure things stay how they are now.”

Agnès took a deep breath. “Well… If that’s what you truly believe, then I won’t make any objections,” she told him, though it was obvious she was still anxious. Tiz assumed she had more to say on the situation, but she probably didn’t want to bother him.

“…if it makes you feel any better, Agnès, the original Celestial did speak to me,” he admitted to her. “For just a moment, she stopped what she was doing to smile and wave at me.”

“And what did she say!?” Agnès asked without skipping a beat. She had been a bit loud, so Tiz shushed her and pointed at Theo to get her to quiet down. Nodding, Agnès covered her mouth and let Tiz continue to talk.

“She told me ‘Tiz…! Tiz! It’s time to go home, Tiz! You’re going to keep Agnès waiting if you keep listening in on us!’ Didn’t they ever teach you not to leave a lady waiting? And to think you’d still do it after all you’ve put her through!’ …I think the idea of keeping you waiting again worried me so much that I rolled off the bed,” he recalled before laughing. Agnès, though a bit hesitant, let out a small laugh as well and uncovered her mouth, and Tiz hoped that meant she would start feeling less anxious.

“I guess she knows how angry I would have been if they had tried keeping you there,” she said before giving Tiz a soft smile. “I’ve already been through enough just to be with you in the first place, so I’d never forgive them if they hadn’t made sure you woke back up.”

“Don’t you worry, Pumpkin. I don’t have any plans of leaving you and Theo any time soon,” Tiz promised as he pulled Agnès into a hug. Still smiling, Agnès happily returned the hug as her worries started to fade.

“May the celestials keep you safe, and the crystals too,” she whispered before closing her eyes. Gently holding Agnès close, Tiz once again glanced over at their son.

“And may they make sure Theo stays asleep for at least another few hours,” Tiz joked before laying back down with Agnès. “I’m not sure how much they can help with that one though.”

Unfortunately for the young parents, Tiz was right. Not even a moment later, soft sounds of crying came from the crib. It seemed the two parents hadn’t tried hard enough to keep themselves quiet and woken their baby. Freeing herself from Tiz’s embrace, Agnès quickly got out of bed and rushed to her baby’s side. Tiz, meanwhile, sat up and looked out the window at the night sky.

“…I’m blaming Altair for that one.”

.

..

…

“Why is he blaming me!?” Altair complained as he placed his glass on the café table. “Just because I’ve woken young Theo up once or twice before when checking on him, it doesn’t mean it’s always my fault!”

Vega, whom was sitting next to her husband, laughed. “Altair, darling, he’s only joking! Remember, neither of them have any way of knowing that we still watch over them, so he has no reason to actually blame you,” she pointed out. Annoyed, Altair slid down in his chair and crossed his arms.

“I still don’t appreciate the assumption that I was involved,” he grumbled. “After all that I’ve done for the boy, he could at least show some respect.”

Across the table, another celestial smiled as she tried to suppress a laugh. “Perhaps because you spent so much time with him, he knows it would be in your nature to cause trouble,” she teased. “What was it you would you say? Life is like a brussel sprout; not as good if you’re not a bit adventurous?”

Even more annoyed now, Altair glared at the young celestial. “I see how it is, young lady… But I’d like to point out that you spent just as much time with the boy as I did. He should know just as much about you as he does about me,” he reminded her. Still smiling, the celestial wagged her finger.

“You seem to have forgotten I rarely ever spoke a word to him,” she said with a somewhat mocking tone. “He has no way of knowing what I’m truly like, and thus no reason to throw the blame on me.”

Interrupting the conversation, Vega cleared her throat. “Now, now you two. We didn’t come together in order to argue over Tiz,” she told them as she took Altair’s hand to calm him. “We came together to share our stories with each other.”

“Ah, but my dear Vega, that’s exactly what I was trying to do before Tiz decided to make his remark. I have not forgotten why we came together today,” Altair mentioned before looking in his glass. Inside, he could see the reflection of Tiz and Agnès trying to calm their baby. Curious, the other celestial leaned over to take a look as well.

“Just think, Altair! We helped all of this happen!” she said with a smile. “If it weren’t for the two of us, neither of them would be where they are right now!”

Vega nodded in response to the celestial’s comment and smiled. “The two of you have done a great good! You should be proud of yourselves,” she said before looking into her own glass. In hers, she could see Yew and Magnolia as they discussed the contents of a book written in the moon’s native tongue.

“And of course, Deneb was of great service too,” Altair mused as he put his glass down and leaned back in his chair. “Perhaps she and her son will visit us soon. It would be a nice to see her again.”

“And it’ll finally give me a chance to meet her!” the other celestial enthusiastically pointed out. “She’s quite the miracle worker it seems, and there’s a lot I could learn from her!”

Vega once again nodded. “Deneb is a good friend of ours and quite talented. I think you’d enjoy her company,” she said as she continued to watch her glass. Seeing how focused Vega was, the celestial grabbed her own glass and took a peek. From what she could see, it seemed like Ringabel and Edea were sharing a private moment, so she put the glass down and let them be.

“I hope I get to meet her soon. There’s so much that I’d like to ask her,” she mentioned to the two older celestials. “Besides, she’d probably also serve as a good distraction from our monitoring.”

Curious about the celestials words, Altair raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying you don’t like keeping everyone safe? You’re the one who has monitored them the longest, so if you hadn’t liked it you would have stopped long ago,” he pointed out. Laughing, the celestial shook her head and once again smiled.

“No. I just think it’s a good way to keep you from waking the baby again.”

[underabr0kensky]

This is fucking long but people seem to like when I do these like surveys

1. Who was the last person you held hands with? Honestly I’m not sure. It’s been quite a while. Probably Lila, but we don’t even talk anymore thankfully lol

2. Are you outgoing or shy? Outgoing normally. Sometimes I’m shy if I’m out of my element.

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? OZGE. Fucking plane tickets are so expensive.

4. Are you easy to get along with? For the most part yeah, but if our views clash I can get kinda opinionated.

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? She’d probably tuck me in and lie down with me and stroke my hair tbh. And maybe force me to drink water :P

6. What kind of people are you attracted to? Anyone who is intelligent, artistic, creative, open-minded, inquisitive, and likes to have conversations.

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? Probably not an “official” relationship, but hey. :)

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? Ahaha, she knows who she is.

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? Nope. I’m so open about it some people get uncomfortable though.

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? Ozge :). It was about serial killers haha

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? “Sammy burgers lol”

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? I can’t pink really. But there’s one song by Takeo Ischi about yodeling to chickens that I’m pretty obsessed with.

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? Fucking yes. It’s really relaxing.

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? Luck, yes, sort of. Miracles not so much.

15. What good thing happened this summer? Well, the past summer was easily the worst of my life. But hopefully this one will be better.

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Nah.

17. Do you think there is life on other planets? I think the universe is too fucking huge for us to be alone.

18. Do you still talk to your first crush? Nope, but I still remember her name.

19. Do you like bubble baths? Nah. Gimme a nice hot shower.

20. Do you like your neighbors? I don’t know them. But they have cows that I moo at sometimes.

21. What are you bad habits? Drinking, eating/drinking shitty food, and driving like a fucking maniac.

22. Where would you like to travel? Europe. Specifically Germany. Specifically Berlin. <3

23. Do you have trust issues? Holy shit, yeah.

24. Favorite part of your daily routine? Getting off fucking work.

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? My smile, I suppose. I don’t like it.

26. What do you do when you wake up? Curse god for giving me a job that gets me out of bed at 5 AM.

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? I’m cool with my skin tone.

28. Who are you most comfortable around? Phil, Trey, Ozge, and Sasha.

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? Yeah, usually after they cheated on me. Bitches.

30. Do you ever want to get married? Yes I do.

31. Is your hair long enough for a pony tail? Yep. It’s tied into a half-pony right now.

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? Emma Stone and Emma Watson.

33. Spell your name with your chin. cvolnnberrt

34. Do you play sports? What sports? I’m into boxing, that’s really it. I like watching football though.

35. Would you rather live without TV or music? TV. I barely watch TV anyway, I’d kill myself without music.

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? Yep, a couple of times.

37. What do you say during awkward silences? I usually just let them go, silence is nice.

38. Describe your dream girl/guy? Reference the earlier question that asked what my “type” is or something to that effect. Lucky me, I know someone like that :)

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? I don’t really have a favorite, but I go to Kroger a lot.

40. What do you want to do after high school? I haven’t been in high school since 2011, but back then I just wanted to go to college.

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? No, not everyone.

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? Probably that I’m tired, pissed off, or just sad.

43. Do you smile at strangers? Sometimes, if I’m in a good mood.

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? That’s actually hard. Outer space, but I’d love to go to the ocean floor.

45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? My alarm. And a certain person. :)

46. What are you paranoid about? Being alone/being replaced/someone getting bored/tired of me.

47. Have you ever been high? Yeah. I’m not really a fan.

48. Have you ever been drunk? I get drunk a fucking lot.

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? Nah. I haven’t done any super secret spy missions or anything.

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? Black and red plaid.

51. Ever wished you were someone else? Yeah, a few times.

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? My fucking LOCATION.

53. Favourite makeup brand? I don’t wear makeup, son. I’m too cheap for that shit.

54. Favourite store? I dunno. Probably Hastings.

55. Favourite blog? @am-i-evil Seriously she makes really cool gifsets.

56. Favourite colour? Black.

57. Favourite food? Lasagna.

58. Last thing you ate? Mac and cheese.

59. First thing you ate this morning? PB+J.

60. Ever won a competition? For what? Yeah, I’ve won several spelling bees.

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? I got in-school suspension a couple of times for skipping detentions that I got for skipping class. I skipped a lot. Fuck the po po.

62. Been arrested? For what? Nope. We almost got arrested for arson once though because we were tossing Lysol cans into a bonfire and watching them explode.

63. Ever been in love? Yeah, I have.

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss? I liked her for like a year, she moved to another county and another school, we randomly ran into each other in Wal-Mart, and we went back to the garden section to talk and ended up kissing. I was 14.

65. Are you hungry right now? Nope, I just ate.

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? I like them as much as my best friends.

67. Facebook or Twitter? Facebook, but I don’t really like either.

68. Twitter or Tumblr? Tumblr motherfucker.

69. Are you watching tv right now? Nope.

70. Names of your bestfriends? Phil, Trey, Ozge.

71. Craving something? What? A trip to Germany and a shot of vodka.

72. What colour are your towels? Tan or grey.

72. How many pillows do you sleep with? Two.

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? Yeah, I have a stuffed Grim Reaper and two stuffed cars.

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? Like 5.

75. Favourite animal? Cat. Or maybe snek.

76. What colour is your underwear? Right now I’m just wearing pajama shorts. No underwear, you pervert.

77. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla.

78. Favourite ice cream flavour? Heath bar.

79. What colour shirt are you wearing? Black.

80. What colour pants? Dark blue.

81. Favourite tv show? House M.D.

82. Favourite movie? Goodfellas.

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? Mean Girls.

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street? 21 Jump Street.

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls? I don’t remember names. I’m not THAT big a fan.

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo? Crush.

87. First person you talked to today? Ozge. :)

88. Last person you talked to today? Also Ozge.

89. Name a person you hate? Logan.

90. Name a person you love? Ozge.

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? There always is.

92. In a fight with someone? Nah, not currently.

93. How many sweatpants do you have? None actually.

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? I think 4.

95. Last movie you watched? The Rookie.

96. Favourite actress? Emma Watson.

97. Favourite actor? RDJ, Johnny Depp, or Leo DiCaprio.

98. Do you tan a lot? I do.

99. Have any pets? Nah, unfortunately.

100. How are you feeling? I’m good :)

101. Do you type fast? Yeah, 200+ words a minute last time I checked.

102. Do you regret anything from your past? Yes, a few things.

103. Can you spell well? I have won spelling bees. I told you this.

104. Do you miss anyone from your past? Yeah, of course I do.

105. Ever been to a bonfire party? Yeah! They’re fun as fuck.

106. Ever broken someone’s heart? I have, unfortunately.

107. Have you ever been on a horse? Mhmm. It was interesting.

108. What should you be doing? Getting ready to pick my dad up.

109. Is something irritating you right now? Yes. It’s fucking hot.

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? I do right now.

111. Do you have trust issues? You asked me this. This is why I have trust issues you piece of shit.

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? I honestly have no idea.

113. What was your childhood nickname? “Bob-o”

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? Yeah, many many times.

115. Do you play the Wii? Nope. I hate Nintendo.

116. Are you listening to music right now? Yes. The chicken yodeling.

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup? Yeah!

118. Do you like Chinese food? Sometimes. I’m picky about it.

119. Favourite book? Bag of Bones by Stephen King.

120. Are you afraid of the dark? Nope. I like it.

121. Are you mean? I can be if I’m pissed, but usually I’m nice or so I’m told.

122. Is cheating ever okay? Fucking no.

123. Can you keep white shoes clean? Hell no.

124. Do you believe in love at first sight? Not really, but I definitely believe in mutual attraction/chemistry at first sight.

125. Do you believe in true love? Yes.

126. Are you currently bored? Nah :)

127. What makes you happy? Music, Ozge, food, alcohol.

128. Would you change your name? Nope.

129. What your zodiac sign? Libra.

130. Do you like subway? It’s okay.

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? Well, I mean. I like her back. Soooo. I guess I’d do that.

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? Ozge. You asked me this too, fuckface.

133. Favourite lyrics right now? THE CHICKEN YODELING, DUDE

134. Can you count to one million? Yes, but fuck me I’d get bored.

135. Dumbest lie you ever told? Some stupid shit about my friend having a bad dream when he was rolling around drunk and being loud.

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? Closed. Fuck open doors.

137. How tall are you? 6′

138. Curly or Straight hair? Wavy. Happy medium.

139. Brunette or Blonde? Brunette.

140. Summer or Winter? Summer. I fucking hate cold.

141. Night or Day? Night.

142. Favourite month? October.

143. Are you a vegetarian? Hell no, I am damn near a carnivore.

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate? White.

145. Tea or Coffee? Those are both gross.

146. Was today a good day? Yes it was.

147. Mars or Snickers? Snickers.

148. What’s your favourite quote? “I choose to live rather than just exist”

149. Do you believe in ghosts? I’d like to, but I’ve never had any proof.

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page? “The Russian prisoners who had been incarcerated in this open-air camp were given no food or water.”