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friendrat · 2 years

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HUZZAH I CAN ASK YOU THINGS NOW!

So so so so so — you said you had two or three D&D campaigns that lasted for a while. What were those, and what characters did you play in them?

Also, do you have a favorite D&D character who you either have never gotten to play or only got to play for a very short amount of time?

My first long running character was a 5e Tiefling Sorcerer who worshiped Bahamut. Her name was Friendrat (😆), and she drew some vague backstory information from her true namesake (ie that she was an advisor). She and her group lived in a post apocalyptic wasteland where there were shortages on food, water, shelter, and pretty much everything. People were generally untrusting of outsiders and slave trade was rampant. Her best friend was an elderly monk named Mouse (this was not planned at all, random coincidence), and they dubbed themselves Team Rodent and had a team rocket parody motto. Her backstory isn't anything she's proud of. She used to be an advisor to a gang leader named Joe. His gang was a big leader in the prostitution and human trafficking industry. She was to an extent an advocate for the girls, in that she advised Joe to give the girls better treatment, such as medical care, nutrition, and better living conditions. Somehow she also came to know a bit about the underground railroad of sorts that helped the girls escape, but her involvement in that never really got defined. Anyway, she was a pretty important figure in the gang, basically second in command, until a new Joe took over (the name functioned as a title rather than a given name, whoever was in charge was Joe). This Joe didn't think women should be in positions of power, so he gave her the ultimatum that she could be his private girl, or she could join the rest. She left that night, and never stopped running since. At some point she started worshiping Bahamut, and tried to make up for her part in the trafficking. That campaign kinda fizzled due to a player stepping away right when he was about to be important. We got to see a flashforward though in my second character's campaign after an interdimensional crossover. It may start again someday, but who knows.

My second character was a 5e Half Elf Bard/Druid named Eanrin (I was needing Goldstone Woods closure, ok? 😆). His story didn't get a happy ending though. We weren't good at following instructions in that campaign. It was supposed to be like 5 sessions long, and we were meant to kill a lich. We got hung up on the fact that the lich would come back if we didn't destroy the phylactory as well, and we spent so much time worrying about that that we ran the campaign for over a year, and in game accidentally let the lich win the war. Eanrin never got to confess to his true love because she got bodyswapped with the lich and then murdered. The campaign ultimately ended by the lich dying in a random accident, and an emissary of the Raven Queen telling us all off, and taking one of the companions as payment for our failure. Although two of us were still contractually bound to her or something... I don't remember for sure. We were alive and she expected better from us in the future. Some room for a sequel. It was bittersweet (more bitter than sweet), still a fun campaign though. We learned sometimes you shouldn't overthink the plot... not exactly the closure I was looking for, obviously.

My third character is in an active campaign. She is a 4e Maubashri (homebrew cat race) Fighter named Acara. Acara is fiercely loyal, and has a sense of wonder and curiosity. She dual wields short swords and has been known to scale houses mid battle to fight opponents on the roof. Before she was born her parents were attacked and her father, a healer, was killed. Her mother, pregnant at the time, was the only survivor of the attack, because she was saved by a gold dragon. When Acara was born she was a black panther like her mother, but her undercoat was a unique shining gold. Eventually she set out from home in search of the dragon to thank him for saving her life, and a part of her also hoped to find the people responsible for her father's death to bring them to justice. Thusly far she hasn't succeeded in either. Her travels led her to a town trapped in a strange fog, and plagued by a mysterious killer known as Slasher Jack, who has been attacking "working girls" and removing their organs for unknown purposes. Upon arrival in town Acara stumbled across one of his victims, but the effects of the fog played with her mind and caused her to see the body of her mother (this DM is bound and determined to give Acara unending trauma...). Anyway for some unexplained reason, Jack became obsessed with Acara (not sure why, she doesn't fit his pattern), and after our failed attempt to defeat him, he left town, and left some creepy love note for Acara saying how they would be together again and he would take her apart then (like I said... unending trauma...). He wasn't the real big bad for this chapter though. The real big bad is a trapped dark god, one of 6 or 7 that are breaking through into our world, and we have to reseal them. We have managed to reseal the first one, but still have a long way to go. Our party lost two characters in the process, but only one will be replaced (we lost a player to cancer...).

For the second question, I made Nyx and Brendis from one of my original stories into 4e characters to further flesh out the characters, especially Brendis, because Nyx is more fun to think about. We didn't get very far in the campaign, but Brendis was a lot of fun to play. He was a cinnamon roll, so the other players picked on him quite a bit. They suggested things like going to a brothel to get the girls to teach him to apply makeup (to cover his birthmark, which was attracting unwanted attention), and he would go bright red. 😆 So I wish I had gotten to play around with him in a dnd setting more. Other than that I have a series of characters based on mythology and fairy tales in various stages of being finished, including a Hercules character, a Princess Niamh character, and a Billy Beg character. I also have a character named Brugrim who is based solely on the thought "a Dwarven Bard who plays exclusively Dwarf Metal". He likes to sing Diggy Diggy Hole.

#asks answered #dnd #dnd stuff #dnd ocs

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figureofdismay · 3 years

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I found a section of Launt fic notes on the midst of another fic I was typing in (from morseverse) that got most of the way to just being fic draft. I’m working on another thing right now so it’ll be a while til i circle back, but in light of Recent Events, I wanted to scrape together something to share to show my solidarity and where I stand, ie, fully happy to write rpf, thanks ;)

Outline ficlet with Dialogue and suggestions of narrative. Post crash, some unspecified time between monza and the end of the season. accidental hybrid of movie and “real” fanon backgrounds. Rated G or T. 1,367 words

EDIT ugh sorry, I just noticed my cut fell out, maybe because I added tags from the mobile app? back now ty for your patience!

– at least one thing that’s focused around the background of the about the early days, f3 and london and camping out at the circuits around europe, trying to get by on talent and luck and the hard sell of whatever lunacy they were bringing to the table at that time. and the premeditated plan to have what they had together, but to keep it from anything and anyone outside the careful inner circle, both the bluffing and finagling their way in and the genuine tenderness that would be a liability. (check who might’ve been close enough, you do want a smattering of real facts to mix in with the absurdity and make it feel like it means something). Does it carry on past those early, pre-history years? Fade decorously into a “you decide” ending? Become determinedly happy and factually denying?

-- fades into a Context, a past intimacy that’s become a substrate and a memory, not something that is referenced directly because they made it to the world they wanted to get into and what they had doesn’t belong there -- being different people, adapting. The sense that the past is more real but less real, the way it doesn’t feel like lying to edit it out because this kind of friendship is easier anyway.... up until a point.

– The phone calls after the crash. Near daily. And I think that Niki didn’t want James to see him before he was better, ready. Not see him at his weakest and lowest. Didn’t want to hook him with guilt, was too vain, and too in love, even after so long. Years too late and now he has a wife who finds mutual enjoyment in him – and maybe they should have stayed only friends but it is confusing with women and she has stuck by him through this, hasn’t she, brave and impatient and undaunted. Too much guilt on all sides.

– Niki has been snappish with James after he’s back in their midst in the season and at first James thinks it’s the championship, that Niki is annoyed with him for catching up or fears his success. But it’s never been like that for them, the track, the careers are so deeply compartmentalized and after they talked things out in the midst of the furor over his disqualification, he thought they’d put aside any suspicions of professional jealousy – they were both too confident in their talents and too invested in seeing it play out for that to be it, he’s almost sure.

And mostly things are fine, except for the way Niki is withdrawn and nervous when he thinks no one is looking, and switches between being palpably distant from his wife and letting her mother him, the way he holds himself stiff as though still in pain - of course he likely is. And aside from the way James wanted to flinch when he first saw him, and had wanted to sit down hold onto him in ways that hadn’t been allowable in years and certainly not in company the way they always were now, it seemed, a terrible strangling ache that rose up upon seeing, much more vividly all at once, how close he’d come.

James had wondered if it was that almost-flinch, the way his eyes had watered and his step faltered, he’d never been much of a master of his expressions, that Niki was punishing him for, but that didn’t seem right either, not with the way Niki was pretending he wasn’t upset instead of taking it to him directly, just snapping sometimes and drawing away.

-- a holding pattern for a few weeks, trying to bluff their way towards normal while James tries to figure it out, until

“You’re angry with me because I didn’t come to see you. You are, aren’t you. I can’t believe it.”

“I’m not, I have no right to be, I just… thought you might sometimes.”

“You told me not to! Clearly, specifically and repeatedly! You said, ‘James, I don’t want you to visit me right now, I won’t be up to it and you can’t be distracted, you mustn’t come.’ I heard it often enough to memorize it.”

“Why did you listen to me?! you never did before!”

though between the guilt and the fear it’s a lot harder to casually or willfully go against his wishes

“I thought you genuinely didn’t want to see me. I was partly my fault after all, you would be well within your rights not to… to… and with the strain of it all, I counted myself lucky that you were taking my calls.”

“You’re an idiot, then. As if that would change things even if i did blame you at all. Don’t you think we are more than that?”

“So why did you tell me to stay away, then, if it wasn’t any of those things?”

“I was very ill, James. And this is–” he gestured sharply at his head, his bandages, “This is ugly. I watch people look away quickly when they see it, but it was worse before. The nurses let me see – maybe they shouldn’t have but I wanted to. It made Marlena cry, and she does not let things… touch her the way they do you. I didn’t want you to see.”

“You think I’m that shallow? that it would change how I. Well. Feel about you?”

“Not shallow, not. But you are not good at letting things go. ANd you still think that you have responsibility, no matter how I tell you you don’t. I did not want this for you. And I didn’t want you to see, and keep seeing it later, as things go on. But still, I realized that I am selfish and wish you had come. The days were very long sometimes, that’s all. I do see you were just going by my wishes.”

“Maybe you should have told me the truth, that’s all. Let me decide for myself what I could handle. Or at least not fault me for what I couldn’t have known to do differently.”

“Yes. Yes, I suppose – anyway, what more you could have done than talking to me like we were on the phone, I suppose I don’t know. I meant what I said but it only made sense at the time.”

“If you won’t hold it against me anymore, I won’t hold a grudge either. And I’d guess… If your friends had all come. If I had come by from the outside world, it all would have been much too real too soon, wouldn’t it.” A crushing kind of sincerity, of sympathy, that Niki didn’t want to, wasn’t ready to entertain, too near all the sore places.

“It’s real either way, ready or not,” he said brusquely, “All I can do is get used to it.”

he wanted to say ‘you’re so much harder on yourself than anyone ought to be, I can’t stand it’ with a kind of desperate affection, but he’d learned over the years that this was a fruitless avenue, a blind spot Niki might never see. And after all it had saved him in a way, expecting and demanding himself to live when no one thought he could. If he was a difficult man, at least he was alive and difficult.

“I would say that I won’t do the same to you again next time, but I refuse that there should be a next time,” said Niki with a flash of an unselfconscious grin up at him from beneath his cap brim with the kind of confidence that only he could manage that he could declare it and make it so.

“There had better not.” He was getting better again at ignoring the slithering sense that risk in their fragile rockets had seemed closer than it had ever been, and could at least smile proudly at Niki’s recently regained confidence. It wasn’t simple, Niki seemed somehow more completed, more separate and self assure than he’d been before and James had the feeling of being gently shut out of something that had once been his, a lonely sense, but at least it seemed he wouldn’t held at arms length anymore.

#launt #rathunt #rpf #rush 2013 #james hunt #niki lauda #fic #if you don't like rpf you can blacklist the tag <3 #classic f1 shipping #motorsports fanon #classic f1

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agerefandom · 3 years

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The TARDIS Playroom

Fandom: Doctor Who

Characters: Regressor!Thirteenth Doctor, Graham O’Brien

Words: 2,000

Summary: The TARDIS has had a playroom for a long time, and The Doctor doesn’t spend enough time in there. One day, while she’s regressing, Graham wanders into the TARDIS and finds her playing.

Warnings: Nothing that I can think of, aside from the accidental regression reveal! Little bit of baby talk around a pacifier near the end. Also, I didn’t bother to correct all my Canadianisms in this fic (ie. ‘pacifier’ instead of ‘dummy’), apologies if that bothers anyone!

for @andromedaspace

It wasn’t often that The Doctor took a day off. There was always something interesting to do, somewhere to be, sometime that needed help getting back on track. But occasionally there was a lull: companions visiting families, no emergency broadcasts screeching through the TARDIS, just the hum of the ship and countless miles of corridors stretching into paradox space.

And then, maybe, if things had been busy lately, and there were injuries to nurse, and too many close calls… The Doctor would rest.

From the console room, the sounds of a Sheffield street could be heard through the front doors. Those doors were locked, the TARDIS tucked away into a little alcove between two fences down the street from Graham and Ryan’s house. Further into the TARDIS, music could be heard: an upbeat France Gall song. Hard to place the music in the twisting, impossible hallways of the TARDIS, but not impossible. Down a flight of stairs, and turning to the left, an open door revealed The Doctor’s current whereabouts.

Most of the TARDIS was warmly lit, crystals growing up the walls and in the centre of larger rooms. This room was no exception, stalactites hanging from the ceiling and providing a golden glow, but the floor wasn’t grated metal like the rest of the TARDIS. Here, the floor was covered in carpets, messily tossed over each other, and pillows and blankets on top of that, giving the room an appearance of a large and badly constructed bed.

The Doctor sat in the middle of the chaos, happily sucking on her pacifier. She’d chosen a new one after her most recent regeneration, blue and patterned with yellow jewels that sparkled in the crystal lights above her. A series of stuffed creatures were spread around her, some of the bigger ones leaning against the walls, and two of her favourites currently chatting in her lap, held up by her hands.

The policies of the N’ga’shto are more complicated than you’re making them seem! the blue Knashta was saying.

You’re being deliberately obtuse, his companion responded, a plush puppy The Doctor had picked up in Munich in 2032. The great Ish’ka is clearly a figurehead, and cannot be held responsible for the actions of his parliament.

The Doctor tilted her head back and forth between the two stuffies, making them bobble their heads as they argued. The act of playing pretend wasn’t something that had been practiced on Gallifrey, but the school-children were encouraged to debate foreign policy and challenge each other’s ability to recall the elders’ teachings. She enjoyed merging the two activities, watching her soft friends argue about things that mattered. If things got too intense or she got stuck, everything could be solved with a big hug and a nap. That was how playtime worked.

Sure enough, both the Knashta and unusually smart puppy were distracted when the next song came on, and started to dance, their soft legs tossing back and forth as The Doctor made them dance together. She laughed, her pacifier muffling the sound, and rolled onto her back, holding her plushies close. The puppy’s fur tickled her neck, and she pushed him off with a reproachful glance. The Doctor did not like to be tickled.

Well… did she? She certainly hadn’t, in most of her regenerations, but she didn’t think anyone had tried yet. Yasmin and Ryan would occasionally get into spats, trying to poke each other’s sides, but they never went after Graham or The Doctor. She would have to find some way to figure that out!

The Doctor ran her fingers down her sides, but it didn’t feel very ticklish when she did it. Sighing, she rolled over on top of her Knashta plush and rested her forehead on the carpeted floor. This was one of her favourites in the room, a rich oriental pattern that was so very soft to lie on. She ran her hands over the fabric, humming happily, and then pushed herself back to sitting.

It was while The Doctor was pushing herself up that she finally saw Graham standing in the hallway, hand raised as if to knock on the open door.

Her mouth opened in surprise and her pacifier fell out, landing on one of the pillows under her knees. She clutched her Knashta to her chest, automatically defensive. There was no reason to be scared, she knew, not of Graham, but this was her secret room, and he wasn’t supposed to see all this!

Oh, but she had been stupid, not asking the TARDIS to let her know if one of her companions used their key to come for a visit.

“I can go if it’s a bad time?” Graham said, finally lowering his hand from where it had been hovering by the door. “I didn’t mean to bother you, Doc. I texted a while ago and you didn’t get back to me.”

The Doctor had left her phone in the pocket of her normal clothes, which she didn’t wear at playtime. All at once, she was very aware of her bare knees. She loved her shorts and all of their many pockets, but they weren’t for people-time, they were for playtime! She tugged a pillow out of the pile and pushed it against her knees, frowning in Graham’s direction.

Then she felt bad for being rude: Graham hadn’t done anything wrong, after all. She was the one who hadn’t texted back.

“Ah, sorry,” she managed, gesturing for the TARDIS to turn the music off. “Don’t have my phone with me. Was it… important?” The Doctor tilted her head to the side.

“Not in the least,” Graham chuckled. “I was just wondering if you wanted to come for dinner, that’s all. Going to flex my cooking muscles, make some stir fry. Very impressive stuff.”

“Mmm.” The Doctor nodded, making her lips smile.

“Listen, I really am sorry for coming in without shouting first.” Graham pushed his hands into his pockets, looking guilty. “TARDIS has started to feel a little too much like home, but it’s your ship. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“No, no!” Oh, she’d made everything bad and now Graham would feel uncomfortable and he wouldn’t want to come and visit her anymore. “I, you can come anywhere! The TARDIS is your home! This room isn’t just for me, it’s nice for sleepovers, and… I can share?” The Doctor held her stuffie out in front of her, trying not to look too worried.

“That’s a nice gesture, Doc. May I come in?”

“Yes, of course! No shoes.” The Doctor sat back on her heels and watched Graham toe off his boots, stepping onto the soft patchwork surface of the carpets. He was looking around, and The Doctor followed his gaze: mismatched pillows, piles of soft bedding, stuffed animals bigger than she could wrap her arms around, all scattered across the space. Did Graham think it was weird?

“Do you hate it?” she heard herself ask. She never did have a very good brain to mouth filter.

“Hate it?” Graham seemed genuinely surprised by the question. “No, kiddo, it looks super cozy. How often do you spend time here?”

The Doctor attempted to untangle timelines in her mind, straighten them out along human measurements.

“Every few months?” she guessed, rubbing the Knashta’s head between its many button eyes. “Not a lot.”

“That’s a crying shame.” Graham folded himself into a sitting position in front of her, hands on his knees. “Space like this deserves lots of time. Look at all these blankets!” He looked at her for permission as he reached out, and The Doctor liked that. She gave him a nod, and he tugged one of the fuzzy blankets onto his lap. “There, now I feel cozy.” He tucked it in around his knees and toes, and settled down with a sigh. “Who’s your friend?”

“They’re a Knashta,” The Doctor said, fighting down a silly wave of shyness as she held her friend out for Graham to see. “They’re a rebel and they don’t like big leaders, but they lack revolutionary nuance.”

“And do they have a name?”

The Doctor shook her head. She didn’t name most of her stuffies because remembering all those names would take a lot of memory space, and she preferred to remember the names of all the real people she saw from day to day.

“Hmmm, would you mind if I gave them a name?” Graham asked, running a hand over his stubbly cheeks as he smiled. The Doctor knew that Graham only did that when he was really happy, and usually when he was outside in the sun. It was nice that he was doing it here, with her, in the crystal-lit playroom of the TARDIS.

“You can give them a name if you want.” The Doctor’s shoulders were starting to hurt from holding up the plushie, but she would hold them up until they received a name. Names were important, so Graham needed to look closely.

“Well, let’s think for a moment.” Graham rubbed his chin, pushed his eyebrows together, and pursed his lips. The Doctor fought down a laugh at his exaggerated thinking expression. “I’ve got it! They look like a Greg.”

“Greg?” The Doctor said dubiously, looking at the Knashta. Knashtar usually had much longer names, but sometimes they took shorter nicknames when visiting other planets. It could be short for Gr’egtha’shvantanos, which was a proper Knashta name.

“Undoubtedly.” Graham smacked his hands against his knees. “I’d know a Greg anywhere.”

The Doctor brought Greg back to her chest, hugging them firmly. Their eyes pressed against the bottom of her chin, but that was alright. No one said love was easy. “I love Greg.”

“They love you too,” Graham said.

“Do they?” The Doctor wasn’t sure why the question slipped out of her. All of her friends in the playroom loved her, and she loved them. That was what plushies were for, loving and being loved. Soft and simple and comforting.

“There’s not a person who can get a hug from you and not love you, Doc. Take my word on it.”

The Doctor hid her smile behind her newly named Greg, glancing up to see Graham with a matching grin.

“You dropped this, by the way.” Graham hooked a finger through the handle of her pacifier and brought it up. “Yours, kiddo?”

The Doctor nodded reluctantly. She had been hoping Graham hadn’t seen it, but he clearly had. That was one of the things that wasn’t a people-time thing. Even if it was very comforting and helped her think, even when she was big.

“Here you go.” Graham offered it to her and The Doctor opened her mouth automatically. Graham blinked: oh, he’d wanted to hand it to her. Before The Doctor could correct her mistake, he reached forward and popped the dummy into her mouth. She hummed, relaxing with the familiar pressure on her tongue.

“T’nk y’u,” she said around the pacifier.

“Not a problem,” Graham said, and patted her on the head. Oh, that was nice… she had so missed people touching her hair. Almost before she knew what she was doing, she chased the touch, pressing into Graham’s hand. “Oh! Hello.” Graham chuckled, but willingly scratching his fingers through her hair, all the way to the back of her scalp.

The Doctor melted, her head coming to rest on Graham’s knee, with Greg the Knashta held close against her. They were her new favourite. But also, Graham was her new favourite, as long as he kept petting her head.

“Well. You’re over here now,” he said, and moved a piece of her hair out of her face. “Big flop, Doc. Thinking about a nap?”

“M’ybe,” The Doctor sighed, closing her eyes as Graham started to comb his fingers through her hair again.

“I’ve gotta be home at six to start dinner, but there’s plenty of time for a nap before then. I’ll stay here with you.”

“L’v y’u,” The Doctor said, the world already getting softer around her. She could feel Graham’s affection and comfort radiating from his hands. Thanks to the physical contact, she was receiving vague thoughts and impressions, so she heard Graham’s response before he said it out loud.

“Love you too, kiddo. Sleep well.”

#fandom agere #agere writing #doctor who agere #dw agere #agere fanfiction #agere fics #sfw agere #agere stories #i love the doctor so so so much #they deserve the world #i also love graham very much #i love lots of people #anyways the knashta are totally made up!!! they're not from the show #if anyone's curious #my writing #my stories #doctor who

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doberbutts · 4 years

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On Consent and Autonomy

Having a discussion with a friend about this sort of thing reminded me that I never typed anything up with Tiki’s journeys through this outside of adding onto various posts already talking about how little dogs like chihuahuas don’t get to have boundaries a lot of the time, and how a lot of the shitty aggressive little dogs are simply dogs who were never allowed to express a boundary without drawing blood.

One of the most important things to me with my animals is, and always has been, consent. I use it with my exotics, I use it with my domestics. There are things that my animals must allow me to do- nail trims, baths, teeth brushing, etc- but for the things that are required I do a lot of no-nonsense desensitization and a lot of fearfree veterinary methods to allow the animal to see that while these things are non-negotiable, they’re also not that bad and don’t have to be the worst thing ever.

But for everything else, there’s always consent involved.

I’ve spoken before about how there’s the issue of autonomy and consent especially with little dogs, who have their buttons pushed and their boundaries ignored simply because of their size, because it’s not like if you harass a doberman into biting you, because an angry chihuahua can do the same damage an angry doberman can. How little dogs especially are favored for the “living toy” and “fashion accessory” factor above all else, and how many of them are so undersocialized and underexercised that they don’t even seem to grasp that they can walk from place to place by themselves and just expect to be carried everywhere by default. How many actually don’t like that and dislike the idea of the looming behavior us freakishly tall humans tend to exhibit while interacting.

One way I managed that entire problem with Tiki was simply asking for consent to pick her up or put her down. She first learned that she could actually move from place to place on her own, and then she learned that she could accept or reject the offer to be held, and then she learned that she could ask to be held or put down. Simply by giving her a cue for both up and down, and allowing her to navigate that while earning her trust that I wouldn’t suddenly change the rules. Even to her last day, she understood the difference between her previous life of being scooped up without warning or consent, and the life I had built for her to accept my offered choice of being held tight to me.

When the vet brought her to me one last time, she was squirming in the vet’s hands to get down. When I offered her the chance to be held, she leapt into my arms and cuddled close. She was delirious with fever and couldn’t hold her own head up, but she still recognized the offer of comfort, and she chose to have her final moments held tight to my chest.

But- that’s not the only consent-based training I practiced with her, or with the various dogs at my job who struggle with the same thing.

In our training videos, you could see me tossing a treat a short distance away to encourage her to leave me. Training can put a lot of pressure on a dog, especially a dog that may be sensitive or struggle with confidence, and the tossed treat provides a “break” from expectations as it allows them to disconnect and disengage, giving them a chance to destress by sniffing, shaking, or running around a bit before returning to you. My general rule of thumb is that if I toss the treat and the dog does not immediately return for more training, they are asking for space or even for a longer break. This is a bit different if the dog is simply distracted by its surroundings- for those, I will encourage them to come back by calling them. But more and more I have found that these sensitive dogs actually develop more and more tolerance to that pressure, because they are allowed to back off when they feel overwhelmed, and rejoin you when they feel more confident. Of course, it is key to keep your training lighthearted and fun regardless, but especially so with these sensitive dogs that need a little extra boost. No one likes learning that feels like a chore.

Another thing I do is during playtime. If I begin to suspect someone is getting too aroused or overwhelmed, I remove the aggressor from the situation and bring them a few feet away. If the recipient does not want to continue the interaction or needs space, they typically will walk away. If instead they come bounding over to harass the aggressor to rejoin play, then the game was fun and everyone was having a good time. If I have removed someone too late for a peaceable interaction (ie: I stepped in as aggressive corrections began happening), then both are taken aside to calm down before being re-released to opposite ends of the play area and they are monitored closely to ensure their next meeting and interaction does not result in a grudge match. I frequently use a three-strikes method with this- you get three chances to not be a giant dick before playtime is over. After that point, you may watch (if you are quiet), but you are outside of the play area and on leash. Very rarely do I need to employ that method more than once before the dog in question connects that dickish behavior = no more fun, and it keeps everyone else safe in the mean time. More often I have dogs that learn how to play appropriately, respond to social cues and minor corrections well, and to alter their play to suit a variety of partners and groups.

I also do this with human-to-dog playtime! Tiki loved biting and wrestling hands, and once again especially with a smaller or more sensitive or less confident dog, it’s easy to accidentally overwhelm or scare or hurt your dog without realizing it. To prevent this, I do push the dog away during a wrestle match. If the dog bounces away from me, or continues to bounce but holds a position just out of reach, then generally that is a cue that they were becoming overwhelmed and need a moment to recover. If the dog immediately pounces on my hands again, then once again the game was fun and everyone was enjoying themselves.

Dogs cannot speak English or any other human language. That’s not to say they don’t understand us, but their ability to say these words are so limited that outside of a handful of studies we truly haven’t seen too many instances of dogs communicating with words we humans can understand. That does not at all mean they cannot consent. I frequently ask the dogs “do you want ___” or similar. While yes, most of the things I ask them are things I’ve built up very positive associations with- a walk, a cookie, their dinner, to go play- the fact remains that all of the dogs in the house are used to hearing us ask if they desire something. Before I give Creed a cookie, I ask if he wants it. Before I take him to potty, I ask if that’s what he needs. Before I offer him something to sniff, I ask if he wants to. There are, in fact, times where I give him something and he spits it out. I ask him, “do you want ___” and sometimes he really does walk away. No, he didn’t want that right now.

It can sound silly, asking dogs what they want, asking for consent, things like that. But it’s also not as difficult of a concept as one might think! Having seen so many dogs aided by these methods and more, I can’t imagine going back to force a dog to do something (non-essential) it genuinely didn’t want to do. What exactly is the harm in allowing your little dog to say no sometimes to being picked up? What exactly is the harm in allowing your sensitive dog to say it needs a break from training? What exactly is the harm in allowing your dog to say it needs a moment to calm down while playing? The harm in not allowing these things is the very real prospect of getting bitten. Allowing them? Don’t really see any negative side-effects.

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edettethegreat · 4 years

Text

How to stage King Lear so that Edmund’s 100% more sympathetic and Gloucester’s 100% more of a jerk

( the prequel )

( the sequel )

(This is 100% about Edmund. If you wanna read stuff about other characters then this isn’t the post for you)

(Seriously this isn’t about anyone other than Edmund)

(This is your final warning- enjoy!)

(Or don’t I don’t care I’m really tired and I have midterms to study for)

General Staging

-every time Edmund and Gloucester are on stage together, they gravitate away from each other. Kinda like what happens when you try to push two magnets together. If one takes a step towards the other, the other moves away.

-Gloucester rarely ever looks at Edmund. He often walks in front of him when both are walking together. In scenes where a three way conversation is taking place between himself, Edmund, and someone else, he looks at the other person the whole time.

-Edmund faces away from people when he’s lying to them. Often by standing in front of them (but like, across the stage from them so the audience can see them both) (like this—->)

(I deleted the picture accidentally this is not ok now I have to draw it again)

Casting/ Costumes

-(I’m only gonna be talking about the characters that I actually care about how they’re cast)

-Edmund: someone of average height, yet shorter than Gloucester, Edgar, and Cornwall. Around the same height as Albany and Goneril. Taller than Regan. Is attractive (obviously. That’s one of the first things we’re told about him), but leaning more towards cute than hot (as per my analysis in a previous post). Wears shades of grey- all of his costumes make it clear that he’s upper class, but they’re not overly flashy.

-Gloucester: If I get even one Santa Claus vibe, I’m gonna punch a wall. He should have zero resemblance to Santa. I just saw a production of Lear where he may as well have been a mall Santa. I wanted to scream. Anyway. Onto what he should look like. I honestly don’t care, as long as i can’t mistake him for Santa. It’s the vibe that counts. ANYWAY. His costume is obnoxiously ostentatious, but it gets gradually more normal as the overall stress level increases.

-Edgar: taller than Edmund, and physically more muscular, but in like “Disney channel movie football player side character who’s no one’s primary love interest and is kinda dumb” sort of way. (Future Edette Editing: What I meant was “he’s a himbo”) He’s not ultra hot, but he’s not exactly ugly either. He’s pretty average looking. He wears shades of brown, because I feel like that suits him.

-Cornwall: tall but doesn’t give off Tall Person Vibes. Preferably with dark brown or black hair, but other colors can work as well. I cannot imagine him wearing anything other than suits that are mostly black with some shades of red somewhere- I don’t care how you incorporate the shades of red into his costume, as long as they’re there.

-Albany: has a dark shade of blond hair, or a medium shade of brown hair. Any other hair color just doesn’t work. (Future Edette Editing: any color hair other than black is fine for Albany). Dresses sensibly and wears really boring costumes.

-Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia have at least a little bit of a family resemblance. Please. Their costumes are similar as well- all wear standard types of clothes you’d expect the princesses of England to wear.

ACT 1 SCENE 1

- Gloucester and Kent enter the stage with Edmund trailing behind them. They’re entering the palace from outside. Idk how England’s weather works, but I decided that the whole play takes place in the fall. I’m not wrong. It does. It doesn’t feel like the sort of play to take place in any other season. You can all fight me on this in the comments, I have no evidence to back up this claim. Anyway, they’re all wear jackets. Because it’s fall.

-As Kent and Gloucester say their first lines, they take their jackets off. It’s hot inside the palace. Edmund leaves his jacket on. It’s not a heavy jacket. He’ll be fine.

-As Gloucester finishes up his first line “...can make choice of either’s moiety” he hands his jacket to Edmund. He does this in a very natural way- it’s clear this is something he does instinctively, without thinking about it. Edmund takes it. He takes it instinctively as well, without thinking about it.

-Kent, watching this says the line “Is not this your son, my lord?”. As in “hey dude. Isn’t he your kid? Why are you treating him like a servant or a coatrack?”

-at “His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge”, Gloucester puts a hand on Edmund’s shoulder in a “yes this is my son” sort of way. He does that a bit too roughly- not in any attempt to hurt Edmund, but definitely showing that he’s doing it for show and not in genuine fatherly affection.

-While Gloucester talks about Edmund, a waiter goes around with champagne glasses. Maybe they have actual liquid (ie water) in them, maybe not. I don’t care. Anyway, both Gloucester and Edmund take one.

-As Gloucester continues talking, he slowly sips whatever alcoholic beverage is in the champagne glass. (Probably champagne, but hey, I’m no expert on alcohol). NO, this isn’t to imply that he’s only speaking Like That (TM) because he’s drunk. He is not drunk.

-meanwhile Edmund downs the whole glass, in the standard theatre way of “I don’t wanna be here and I don’t wanna deal with this”

-Gloucester hands his empty glass to Edmund. He seems to suddenly remember that Edmund is, in fact, there. He says him line “Do you know this noble gentleman, Edmund?”

-At “my services to your lordship” he would bow or something (I don’t know English nobility etiquette, sorry), but he’s currently holding two glasses and a jacket, so he partially bows to the best of his ability.

ACT 1 SCENE 2

- A main set piece for this play would be a door or two on wheels that can be moved around. People really like entering and exiting buildings.

-ANYWAY. Edmund comes in through said door, currently located at the back of the stage. Gloucester house have a portrait of Gloucester family in huge on the wall. Gloucester’s in the middle, with Edgar on one said and Edmund on the other. At this point this should go without saying, but the gap between Gloucester and Edmund is much larger than the gap between Gloucester and Edgar. There’s also a desk and chair somewhere on stage.

-As he starts his first soliloquy, he takes off his jacket that he was wearing in scene 1 and drapes it over the back of the chair

-at “legitimate Edgar, I must have your land”, he turns towards the portrait and looks at Edgar. Then there’s a pause in the soliloquy as he goes over to the desk and writes The Letter (TM). Then he continues the soliloquy with “Our father’s love is to the bastard Edmund..”

-Gloucester enters. He doesn’t notice Edmund.

-As Gloucester asks Edmund for the letter, he and Edmund slowly circle around the stage, the way you’d see animals circling when they’re preparing to fight each other. They’re not going to fight. Not directly at least.

-Gloucester doesn’t make direct eye contact with Edmund for most of this scene

-Until he does, at the line “Give me the letter, sir.”. The line itself is said very forcefully. Both Gloucester and Edmund have stopped circling each other. They stand at opposite ends of the stage. There is a pause, and then Edmund takes the letter back out of his pocket and gives it as he continues saying his lines.

-Gloucester spends the remainder of the scene looking at the letter instead of at Edmund.

-“Edmund, seek him out..” is said very offhandedly, like he’s giving an order to a servant, rather than talking to his own son

-Gloucester leaves, Edmund sinks into the chair at the desk. He puts his head down on the desk and leaves it there for a solid second. He starts his soliloquy with his head still down. (Future Edette Editing: I still want something here to show that Edmund doesn’t get any enjoyment from this- he’s doing it out of anger, or as revenge, or to gain what should have been his, had things been slightly different, or possibly as a means of survival. Basically, he’s not doing this to have a fun time at deceiving anyone) He’s not enjoying what he’s doing- he’s not rejoicing at what is seemingly his success- he sees that it doesn’t make a difference. Gloucester would rather have no sons than only have him.

-Edgar enters. Edgar enters in a great mood. His optimism is turned up to a solid 100%.

-“How now, brother Edmund!” He speed-walks over to Edmund, who’s standing near the middle of the stage at this point. He does something brotherly- I don’t know what that would even mean, given that I am a girl with no brothers. He puts his arm around his shoulder or ruffles his hair or something. That’s the vibe I’m going for. The “haha yeah we’re siblings and we totally get along” vibe. Edmund is, however, not vibing.

(-if the second option is what we’re going with, Edmund takes a moment to fix his hair. A very short moment, but a moment none the less)

-Edgar notices that Edmund does not seem to be vibing, and that’s when he continues with his line “what serious contemplation are you in?”

- at “..go armed”, Edmund hands Edgar his own sword. This is the sword Edgar will later use to kill him.

ACT 2 SCENE 1

- On Edmund’s conversation with Curan: This is the first conversation Edmund’s having with someone without there being any uncomfortable tension between them. They talk in a casual way, and it’s clear that outside of the play they would be friends, regardless of status. Why would they be friends? Because I decided they should be.

-Edgar is doubly armed- with Edmund’s sword and with his own. He was planning on returning Edmund’s sword. When they “fight” Edgar uses Edmund’s sword and Edmund uses Edgar’s. They have different types of swords- Edmund’s- which is now Edgar’s- is slightly shorter and lighter. Edgar’s- which is now Edmund’s- is a two handed sword. These details are slightly irrelevant, but I feel like their weapon of choice (even though they’re using each other’s weapons (ie not their weapons of choice)) should match their personalities.

- Edgar just. Has NO idea what’s up with Edmund’s “hey we gotta sword fight now” thing. It should be clear to the audience that he’s ONLY going along with it because he trusts Edmund entirely.

-during the fight, Edmund slashes the family portrait with his sword, cutting a line between Edgar and Gloucester. Is this cliche? Yes. Must it happen anyway, because ✨symbolism✨? Yes.

-Edgar leaves through The Door I keep talking about

- Edmund stabs his non-dominant arm. This is relevant and important.

- “But where is he?” Gloucester hasn’t even noticed at this point that Edmund was injured in the “fight”. “Look, sir, I bleed!” Is Edmund’s attempt to get Gloucester’s attention. It’s his way of saying “I got injured for YOUR sake. THAT’S how good of a son I am!!”

- “where is the villain, Edmund?” The word “villain”, not the word “Edmund” is emphasized. While his seemingly innocent a son is standing there with his arm stabbed and bleeding, he’s more concerned with the son who supposedly plotted against him, but is currently running away now and is of no threat to him.

- (this is the point where I get really into @suits-of-woe’s Cornwall theory, because while I had never thought of it before, as soon as I read it I agreed with it completely. Please go read the theory if you haven’t already.)

- While Gloucester rarely looks at Edmund, Cornwall’s eyes go straight to Edmund as soon as he enters the room. Edmund doesn’t notice- he’s too busy trying to support his stabbed arm in a functional way without bleeding everywhere

-while Gloucester and Regan are talking, Cornwall calls a servant aside and whispers to him. The servant leaves. He asked the servant to get Edmund bandages because his arm has LITERALLY been STABBED and no one’s doing anything about it.

- Edmund’s focused on his arm until Cornwall’s line of “Edmund, I hear that you have shown your father a very child-like office”. Finally, someone appreciates him! At “It was my duty, sir”, it’s clear that there’s some sort of understanding between them. They somewhat get that they’re on the same side. There is a short pause.

- “...and received this hurt you see” Gloucester, being Gloucester, grabs Edmund’s injured arm to “show it off” to Regan and Cornwall. Edmund, master of hiding his emotions and such, winces for a millisecond but then goes back to “ah yes everything is ok and I am totally not condensed rage in human form”.

(Future Edette Editing: I am *so glad* I’m editing this because I really don’t like some of the stuff I shoved in here to try to cater this to a larger audience)

-after “..how in my strength you please”, that servant Cornwall called returns. As he says “For you, Edmund, whose virtue and obedience..” until the end of that paragraph Cornwall takes the bandage and bandages Edmund’s arm- I mean no one else is gonna do it. That, combined with the content of what Cornwall says in the paragraph, lead Edmund to be like “wait. Is this?? A father figure???” “a father figure? For ME???”

(-Hence the Cornwall theory I mentioned earlier)

- “I shall serve you, sir, truly, however else” this is the first line he’ll say in a way that it’s clear to everyone (mainly the audience) that he’s 100% sincere. He’s not trying to be deceptive. He’s not trying to trick anyone. He says it softly and truly means it.

-Edmund’s arm remains bandaged for the remainder of the play. (It’s not heavily bandaged or anything)

ACT 2 SCENE 2

- At “How now! What’s the matter?..” Edmund comes out holding Edgar’s- which is now his, I guess- sword. He’s holding it well enough, considering it’s a two handed sword and he just stabbed himself in the arm, but it’s pretty clear that he won’t be able to win a fight with it. Don’t worry, he’ll get a new sword before his final duel.

-at “no more, perchance, does mine, nor his, nor hers” “his” is referring to Gloucester, not Edmund. This isn’t because Cornwall is ignoring Edmund, it’s because that’s just the order they’re standing in. Edmund entered this scene first out of the four of them, so while Kent and Oswald are on one side of the stage, Edmund stands towards the middle, and Cornwall, Gloucester, and Regan stand at the other side.

ACT 3 SCENE 3

-Gloucester is angry in this scene. Why is he angry? Because I say so. He says all his lines in an angry and bitter way. Which may be counterproductive- having Gloucester be angry about how Lear is treated may make him more likable, which isn’t my goal. But I don’t care.

-Edmund says his paragraph at the end in a bitter and angry way too. Because ✨ parallels ✨

ACT 3 SCENE 5

-Cornwall is Gloucester’s opposite when it comes to how they react to/ treat Edmund. While Gloucester rarely looks at him and has an anti-magnetic effect, Cornwall stands near Edmund on the stage and looks at him both when he’s speaking to him and when Edmund’s replying. And not in a “good eye contact is important” sort of way, because Edmund faces away from people when he lies to them. Just for staging reasons, not because he can’t lie when facing people.

-Cornwall knows Edmund’s lying- he shows this by constantly moving so that he’s nearly always standing beside him instead of behind him (not actually directly behind him; scroll up for General Staging, where I explained this.)

-At “go with me to the duchess” Cornwall puts a hand on Edmund’s shoulder, directly paralleling Gloucester in Act 1 Scene 1. Because I really like ✨parallels✨. Except Cornwall, the same guy who said “thou shalt find a dearer father in my love”, does this in a much more- fatherly, I guess?- way than Gloucester did.

-At “if the matter of this paper be certain...” Edmund does what he does when he lies; ie tries to turn away and takes maybe half a step back. He pretty much trusts Cornwall enough to not walk halfway across the stage when he lies, but not enough for him to either lie directly to his face (or just tell the truth, I guess- but that’s because the whole point of this is to stick to the original script and use only stage directions to make Edmund more sympathetic).

-At “True or false, it has made thee earl of Gloucester...” Cornwall puts his other hand on Edmund’s other shoulder (wow I’m bad at describing things)

Here are some stock photos to help ya visualize this-

THIS is putting one hand on a shoulder. Note that the two people aren’t necessarily facing each other.

AND THIS is putting both hands on shoulders-

(So imagine that, but minus how aggressive that looks, and minus one of the people’s arms. Also a whole lot less tense/intense.) (Anyway. Moving on.)

-at “thou shalt find a dearer father in my love” (...cue me googling “how on earth do fathers show affection?” Because I really want to get the point across that edmund’s like “a father figure??? For me???” And Cornwall’s like “👍. A father figure. For you.”) HECK I GOT IT. Hear me out. Cornwall pats Edmund on the head (in like, a fatherly way), and with the other hand hold The Letter (TM) (even though this is a different “the letter”) and looks it over. This is the first time he looked away from Edmund since this conversation started. In a way that portrays “yes you are my son now I have claimed you as my own” but also “you are not necessarily my top priority- I can give you the fatherly love and affection you desire, but it’s not exactly unconditional. You did well today, good job! You keep up the good work and I’ll keep up my end of this; ie providing you with the fatherly love you never received in your childhood” ( @suits-of-woe I am trying here. I am struggling. I’m so sorry for ruining the Cornwall Theory like this- I’m trying my best to convey it via my amazing stage directions, but I can see pretty clearly that I’m epically failing at this).

ACT 3 SCENE 7

-Cornwall walks onto the stage first, followed by Goneril and Regan close behind them, and Edmund last.

-at “Farewell, sweet lord, and sister”, Cornwall nods at Goneril in response (this has nothing to do with Edmund, I always just thought it was weird that he doesn’t respond)

- at “Edmund,.. farewell” Goneril had already left the stage, Regan is standing next to Cornwall at the opposite end of the stage. Edmund’s about to exit when Cornwall says “Edmund”. He turns around- expecting Cornwall to say something more to him or something. There’s a pause. Cornwall doesn’t have anything else to say. He just says “Farewell”. Edmund nods and leaves the stage.

ACT 4 SCENE 2

-oh heck I gotta stage an Edmund and Goneril scene now

-I don’t wanna?

(Future Edette Editing: and so I won’t!! I don’t normally describe things as cringe, but that’s what this was. I only put this in because I felt obligated to talk about every scene. Oh well- I guess 4.2 isn’t getting stage directions from me)

ACT 5 SCENE 1

-Edmund enters first, dressed in some sort of military commander uniform. Because. Like. There’s a war going on. His sleeves are rolled up/cuffed up to elbow length, and his arm is still bandaged from when he stabbed it.

-there is a tent with a desk in it on stage. Hold on let me illustrate this:

(Future Edette Editing: yeah there was an illustration here, but I’m changing some stuff so I deleted it)

It’s all on wheels so it can be moved around the stage- whichever piece is the most important to the scene will be more up front.

-Edmund stands at the desk which has some military plans of some sort on it.

-Edmund is armed with a brand new sword (Cornwall’s sword? Maybe? Who knows?) (UPDATE: yeah hi future Edette here- I decided that it is, in fact, Cornwall’s sword)

-With Regan, Edmund also doesn’t get that she’s flirting with him right away.

-and then. Then he’s like “OH WAIT” “WAIT SHE’S FLIRTING” “WAIT SO I GOT 2 GIRLFRIENDS??” “OH WOW THIS IS FANTASTIC” “THIS IS LITERALLY THE BEST WEEK OF MY LIFE” (lol Edmund it’s also the last week of your life)

-he 100% realized at “No, by mine honor, madam”.

-Albany stands at the opposite end of the desk. He never moves any closer or further from Edmund than the opposite end of the desk. Goneril would have moved closer but Albany is blocking her.

-as Edmund leaves he puts on his military commander hat of some sort and adjusts it while looking in a mirror or some other reflective surface. Just to show he’s still the same Edmund from act one- he still cares about his appearance to an extent.

-at “the enemy’s in view, draw up your powers.” Edmund half-jogs in back onto the stage- showing that he wasn’t just commanding the soldiers ( if he was he’d have been walking at a moderate pace), but he was actually with them, to some extent, fighting along side them on the battlefield.

- (Future Edette Editing here: yeah so I deleted the notes on the soliloquy here. I didn’t like them. Oh well.)

ACT 5 SCENE 3

-wow it’s hard to make this Edmund guy redeemable/sympathetic when he kills off Cordelia. Like. He really didn’t need to do that

-why, Edmund. Why must you do this.

-you’re making my job here (ie to make you sympathetic) very difficult.

-ANYWAY. I’ll do what I can for this scene

-The captain here? Yeah, he’s Curan from earlier. Edmund made him a captain. There you have it, Edmund’s one semi-redeeming factor for this scene

-I really don’t know how to have this part play out in a way that makes the audience sympathize with Edmund. This is the best I can do.

(Future Edette Editing: yeah so honestly killing off Cordelia and Lear was a logical and strategic move to make, tbh. ((Not morally fantastic. But logical.)) Because yeah Albany would have left them alive and then what? They’d get the throne? Let’s be real here- the country’s already collapsing- the last thing you need is Lear or Cordelia on the throne. Even *Albany* would do a better job than either of them. And he wouldn’t do anything at all. So. Yeah.)

-I’m so burnt out right now I know this isn’t the quality content you came here for but I don’t know how to get this back on track either. ANYWAY I am dedicated to finishing this. Let’s go! There isn’t much left to the play! I’m almost done!

-at “Sir, by your patience, I hold you but a subject of war..” Albany speaks in a very harsh tone- talking to Edmund as if he were a child who interrupted class for like the eighth time that day. Albany’s just salty that his wife likes Edmund more than him.

(Future Edette Editing: Sorry if this doesn’t flow well here anymore- I deleted a bunch of stuff)

-as the argument continues, Regan and Goneril get more frantic because they see they’re not winning.

-Albany gets louder and angrier because he’s frustrated that his wife likes Edmund more than she likes him. Also because at this point, he pretty much hates Edmund.

-Edmund, however, is the quietest out of all the yelling people around him. He doesn’t like arguments- or rather, he doesn’t like when he’s the one the argument is directed towards. He tries to stay calm and talk in a level voice. As everyone around him argues he tries to step in between them and silently play the role of peacekeeper.

-at “Nor in thine, my lord” Edmund is still calm./ not yelling at him. He says it like he’s stating a fact, not contributing to the argument.

-at “half blooded fellow, yes!” My book’s translation to modern english say “Bastard, it is!”. And like. No one’s called him a bastard for like 4 whole acts now. All I have to say to this is Big Oof. (Is that a dead meme? Yeah. Probably.) Edmund is surprised at first- then glares at him- in a way saying “oh? You want to go there? We can go there. I’ll gladly fight you with my own two hands.”

-at “I will mainly my truth and honor” he draws his sword, which I have now decided definitely is Cornwall’s sword. Why does he have it? Idk, Regan probably gave it to him.

-As Edgar and Albany talk before the fight, Edmund swings his sword at nothing in particular- the way you’d see people warming up for a fight. This sword is not a two handed sword, so he’ll be fine even with his stabbed arm. As I mentioned earlier, he stabbed his non-dominant arm, so his sword arm is fine.

-at “In wisdom I should ask thy name..” he does something to indicate that he might know it’s Edgar. What does he do? I don’t know. Something with a whole lot of ✨symbolism✨. I’ll figure it out before posting this. Or maybe I won’t. (Future Edette Editing: Yeah so I figured out what to do here slightly after, and I have a whole post about it- but to sum it up, he looks at the *mysterious masked man*’s sword (which as you may recall was his). And he’s like “oh. Oh. Ok then.”)

-they fight. Edgar (as I previously mentioned) is using the sword Edmund gave him at the beginning. Edmund is using Cornwall’s sword.

-As they fight it’s clear that they’re pretty evenly matched. (I mean. Then again, Edmund was just helping in battle like two seconds ago while Edgar was just chilling with his half dead/dead father. So. Edmund’s trying to win a duel after just doing a bunch of exhausting physical activity while Edgar is not.) (Edmund would win if they were fighting when they were both at their strongest)

-(I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, but I’m gonna restate it so that you don’t mess up on how you imagine the fight going down. There’s only one valid interpretation of it, and it’s my own interpretation. That has literally never been used in any production. Yup. That’s the only valid way to imagine the duel.) ANYWAY. As they fight, Edmund seems to be about to win, when Edgar hits his already stabbed arm. Edmund loses focus in that one moment, because. Like. That’s painful. (I was gonna say he drops his sword, but does he? Does that work? I don’t know. If he does or doesn’t, it’s valid either way). Then Edgar stabs him. With is kinda even more painful, and somewhat fatal.

-After he’s stabbed, some random soldier brings him to the tent toward the back of the stage, where he stays until he’s brought off stage

Here’s an illustration to help you picture this:

-Edmund is more focused on his wound than the conversation. His tone and body language for the rest of the play conveys “You won! I lost! I’m sorry! Can I get medical attention now??”

-Headcanon that Edmund would have lived if he would have gotten some medical attention sooner

-at “yet Edmund was beloved” he does a little sarcastic laugh (not like a laugh laugh, more like a cynical nose exhale?)- he sees the irony of how all three of them trying to take their rightful power, and all dying at the same time as a result of it.

-while Edmund tells them they still have time to save Cordelia, he sinks down/lies down. He already accepted the fact that he’s going to die.

-while he’s delivering this news, Edgar and Albany look at him in shock and then at each other. From there to the rest of the scene, no one looks at Edmund again. Not because they don’t like him, just because they find him irrelevant now (which Albany outright states a few lines from here).

-When Albany tells the soldiers to take Edmund off the satge/away from there, he doesn’t look at Edmund, he just vaguely motions to him.

-At “Edmund is dead, my lord” “That’s but a trifle here”, Albany barely turns to look at the messenger. He doesn’t care that Edmund is dead. No one does. The wheel has come full circle. No one cared about Edmund at the start, and he’s just as irrelevant now. Edmund wanted to be something to people. He would have wanted them to react to his death. If they had celebrated it, he would have been happier than if they ignored it. He doesn’t even get that much.

-The Curtains Close. The Play Is Over-

#king lear #shakespeare #Do you know how many HOURS went into this??#...because I don’t #I genuinely have no idea how many hours went into this #I was studying for midterms at the same time as writing this #so the hours spent on this and this alone were probably around 5?#5 hours sounds legit

68 notes · View notes

atinydise · 4 years

Text

Ateez reacting to their s/o passing out because of a diet (1/2)

❦ Genre: Fluff.

❦ Pairing: OT8.

❦ Word count: 2k5.

❦ Requested: Yes, thank you! 🦋

❦ Masterlist.

Part 2

HONGJOONG

Your boyfriend Hongjoong was humming the lyrics that he was creating. As always, he went to your apartment to work. Since you were dating, he stopped to work alone at the studio. He always said that your presence gave him inspiration and that he felt more happier near you. While he was composing, you were cooking the dinner and settling the table. You were slower than usual. Your head was spinning, and your knees were shaking. Before passing out pathetically here, you drank a long glass of water. “I think I’m almost done,” shouted Hongjoong happily from the living-room. You shook your head, “O-Oh really? It’s great babe.” “This album will be our best one!” he smiled. You settled plates on the table, but your dizziness was increasing. All of your apartment was turning around you. “Do you want to hear it? I’m pretty sure you will like ‘Dazzling Light’.” He asked still focused on his laptop. “L-Let me finish that first,” you said weakly tugging on the door frame. “Sure, take your time. I will send it at Eden-Sunbaenim.” He said proudly. As you were trying to reach a glass on the cupboard you fell on your knees. “Babe? Are you okay?” asked Hongjoong from the next room. “Y-Yes. I dropped something,” you lied. He would freak out if he knew that you were dizzy. And he would force you to go at the hospital and that’s the last thing you wanted was to stay in a bed just because of a stupid diet. You took a deep breath and went back to the living-room, acting like everything was fine. “I hope Eden-Sunbaenim will like it,” sighed your boyfriend. “For sure, he will like…” Hongjoong stared at you when he saw that you were tugging dangerously near the table corner. “Babe? Are you sure everything’s okay?” he pulled down his laptop on the couch. “Y-“ you started to say but your dizziness won and you fell miserably on the floor. “Y/N!” yelled Hongjoong, rushing to you. The last thing you remembered was your boyfriend calling the emergency. Sadly, that’s the last thing you wanted.

When you woke up, you couldn’t remember anything, but you were glad to be in your bed. You stood up weakly and looked around you. Hongjoong was sleeping next to you but he opened his eyes when he felt you moving. “Y/N?” he asked with his sleepy voice. “Are you okay?” You fell down, staring at him, “yes, thank you.” He smiled but asked “why you haven’t told me that you were sick?” “I’m not sick… I’m just dieting.” You confessed. “What? Why?” He sat up. You sighed; you know that he would never approve this. “Jiyu said that I gained weight… and that I need to be more careful because I’m dating an idol. So I’m trying to-“ “What? Screw Jiyu!” cursed Hongjoong. “She’s jealous because you are already beautiful!” You smiled, “Joong-“ “Don’t keep dieting, you are the prettiest girl on this earth. Don’t change anything!” he held your hand. “But-“ “No but!” he cut you straight. “You. Are. Perfect.” You smiled, “thank you Joong-ie.” He kissed your hand softly, “do you want to eat something?” “I’m craving for a burger right now.” You rubbed your belly. “Let me order one for you.” He rushed to the kitchen to grab the fast food prospectus, but he stopped at the door frame and looked right at you. “What?” you asked. “Please stop this diet. You are really perfect the way you are okay?” You nodded, “okay I will stop.” He smiled and disappeared in the kitchen. Lucky you, Hongjoong was in your life.

SEONGHWA

Your boyfriend come at your apartment after his schedule. He promised to spend the weekend with you since he was busy these last days. When he came, he brought you a dozen of red roses and a chocolate box. Your favorite. “It’s not the Valentine day,” you smiled, glancing at the calendar next to you. He kissed your cheeks, “there’s no special day to show how much I love you.” You giggled, “then thank you. That’s adorable.” “That’s your favorite chocolate so feel free to eat it like an ogre.” He mocked you. You freaked out. Seonghwa was ignoring that you were on a diet for 2 weeks. Your weight was obsessing you and dating a handsome boy like your boyfriend made it worse. And if he knew that you were on a diet, he would scold you for an eternity. “I’m not an ogre but I won’t eat it now. I-I just brushed my teeth.” You lied. “Oh, okay. It can last for a week so no rush.” You nodded. After that, you played a good movie and cuddled your boyfriend. You were surprise to see that he didn’t say anything when your belly growled. You were craving so bad and it was impossible for you to eat. At the end of the movie, none of you wanted to move; too comfy in the couch. “We should go sleep. It’s pretty late.” Said Seonghwa, looking at his phone. “Too laaaazy….” You whined. “Come on… you just need to walk to your bed.” “No, I need to do my skincare routine too…” you yawned. He raised a brow, “why you haven’t done it when you brushed your teeth?” You gulped; he was smart. “Too lazy and you knocked 2 seconds after I finished to brush my teeth!” you bit your lips, nervous. He hummed and stood up. “Hurry up then before I sleep without you.” You sighed when you saw him leaving the room. You had no choice to do your skincare now. When you stood up, your head was spinning. You blinked few times to adjust your vision. “I stood up too fast…” you whispered. When everything went fine again, you went to your bathroom. But the dizziness came back. You grabbed the sink, too scared to fall but in vain. Your body slid weakly against the counter. “Hurry up!” Shouted Seonghwa from the bedroom. “I can’t keep the bed warm for both of us!” You wanted to stand up but when you tried, your hand slid, making fall your skin care products. This time, you didn’t try to do anything. You just fainted here on the cold floor of your bathroom. 5 minutes later, Seonghwa sat up on the bed. “Are you done? I’m falling asleep babe.” No answer from you. He raised a brow and called you again. Still nothing. He could see the light from the bathroom so it means that you hadn’t closed the door and that you could hear him well. “Y/N?” he repeated. Something was wrong. He got up and rushed to the bathroom. His heart stopped when he saw you laying on the floor. “Babe!” he kneeled next to you and made sure that you were still breathing. But you were not answering.

The wet sensation on your forehead and the cold contact on your skin may have wake you up. You opened your eyes weakly. You saw Seonghwa with a worried look hover you. “What happened?” you asked. “I don’t know! I was falling asleep and you weren’t replying to me. So, I came here, and I found you like that.” He summarized. “Oh…” “Oh? That’s what you only have to say?” he scolded you. “Are you sick?” “No…I’m just on diet. Seems like I didn’t eat enough.” You confessed, rubbing your belly. “Why are you dieting?” You sighed, he would be mad, but you can’t worry him more. “I felt like an ugly witch next to you. You are so handsome…” “Y/N… we talked about that already… you are the most beautiful girl ever. You don’t need to have any insecurities. You are stunning.” “Easy to tell but to do…” He held your hand, staring right at you. “I fell in love with you because you are beautiful inside and outside. The last thing I want is that you change because of me.” He confessed. More he was talking, more you felt pathetic. He was right. You nodded, “thank you. That’s what I needed to hear.” He kissed you softly, rubbing your cheek. He was always so nice and gentle to you. “Let’s go eat your chocolate. You need energy.” He said, kissing your forehead. How you ended being so lucky to have him?

YUNHO

It was a normal Saturday morning. You were in your boyfriend’s arms. You were awake in the last 30 minutes, but too comfy to move. Plus, you felt like you had 0 energy. Even turning on the other side was impossible. You knew that it was because of your diet and the intense work out session you made yesterday. You knew that you would need to eat and gain strength, but you couldn’t do it. That’s why you faked to sleep when Yunho’s alarm rang. He stretched and you felt him stare at you, but you stayed still. He brushed your hair out of your face and woke up. Few minutes later, you tried to sit up, but you didn’t get enough energy. You just laid back. “I’ll wait I guess…” you whispered. You stared at the ceiling, there were weird forms on it, surely because of your dizziness. All your senses were on also. You could hear Yunho struggling with the microwave, as always. There was a toast scent too, that was probably burning though. You closed your eyes to reduce the spinning, but you fell asleep. “Y/N…” You were lost in your dream, but this voice was cutting it off. “Y/N…” You hummed and opened one eyes, “Yunho?” He smiled, “are you sleeping beauty? You are sleeping since a long time now.” “Really? What time is it?” you yawned. “1 pm,” he replied. You sat up instantly, “what?! I slept that long?” You remembered the reason of your accidental nap. You tugged on Yunho, who was crouching next to you. “Wow, are you okay?” he asked, worried. “Yes. I just lost my balance,” you lied. “Should we eat at the restaurant?” he offered to change your mind. “Sure, that’s a good idea.” You smiled. “Go take a shower, I’ll wait for you.” You sighed and took all of your strength to get up. But your body absolutely lost it at your first step. Yunho heard a loud noise behind him. “Did you knock your knee-“ he began, laughing. He froze when he saw you on the floor. “Y/N?” he called you, shaking you a little bit. “Eh Y/N!” he repeated louder. “What’s happening?” He carried you on the bed, rushing to the kitchen to take a bottle of water and sugar. He gave you a little bit of water. When you reacted a little bit, he sighed of relief. “Eat a little bit of sugar,” ordered Yunho. “That’s disgusting,” you said weakly. “Eat this Y/N,” he said seriously. You rolled your eyes and ate the piece of sugar. “When was the last time that you ate?” “Yesterday…” you said shyly. “Yesterday? At dinner?” “Breakfast…” you bit your lip. “Y/N! I told you to stop this diet! You don’t need it.” He sighed. “Easy to say when you are perfect,” you grunted. “Stop dieting! Work out should be enough.” He flickered your forehead. “Ouch Yunho” “I’ll do it for every meal you missed.” “Okay okay… I’ll eat.” “Thank you! And don’t forget that you are perfect.” “And what if I gain weight?” you asked. “Then it’s more of you to love!” he tickled your waist. He knew exactly what to say to comfort you or reduce your insecurities.

YEOSANG

You were waiting Yeosang in front of the amusement park entrance. It was a bit cold, but you knew he would be there in few minutes. Your body was shaking more than usual. You knew that it was because of your diet that you started 2 weeks ago. You felt really insecure these days because of your co-worker’s comment. She wasn’t your friend or someone with who you will hang out after work, but it made you insecure. “Y/N? Sorry sweetheart, I’m late.” Said Yeosang grabbing you by the waist. “It’s fine. You kissed him softly, “how are you?” “Pretty fine! Like every time I see your baby face,�� he smiled. You blushed. It’s been 2 years that you are dating, but you can’t stop being shy every time he’s cute with you. “Are you okay? You look tired?” asked your boyfriend, putting his forehead against yours to see if you got fever. “I’m fine,” you giggled at his ministration. “If you say. Then we should go!” he grabbed your hand and pulled you inside. “We need to start with the big rollercoaster over there!” he said excited. You gulped, thinking that you will faint inside because of your diet. But you nodded in approval. He held your hand tightly. You knew that he hadn’t believed you when you said that you were fine, but he didn’t want to insist. More you got into the park, more you felt dizzier. You were surrounded by people, bumping into few of them accidentally. The sweet smell wasn’t helping too. It was incredibly cold, but you were sweating like a summer day. “We are almost there!” he said, pointing at the big rollercoaster. You simply hummed, not getting the strength to answer properly. How could you manage to fake that you are fine the whole day? It’s been 15 minutes and you are already in a bad condition. “Oh. As expected, there’s a queue.” Said Yeosang. You sighed; your legs were shaking; you couldn’t stay up for too long. That’s at his moment that everything went down. The smell, the noise the loud music and the hotness won over you. “Yeos-“ you tried to ask him for help before passing out on the floor. “Y/N!”

When you woke up, you were in Yeosang’s bed. Everything was dark but you recognize your boyfriend’s bedroom. You sat down and rubbed the spot next to you, to see if he was sleep but it was empty and cold. “Yeosang?” you called him weakly. He got in the room instantly, turning on the light, causing you to blink and growl at this sudden illumination. “Y/N, are you okay?” he sat down on the edge of the bed. You nodded, “what time is it?” He glanced at his phone, “7pm.” “What?” you facepalmed, “I ruined our day…” He held your hands, “no! it’s not your fault.” “It is… I’m on a diet since few days and I didn’t eat that well,” you confessed. Yeosang raised a brow, “on a diet? Why?” You explained him the whole story with your co-worker and how you felt pressured to date an idol. He became furious when he knew the cause of this diet. “Y/N! Do not listen them! You are smart enough to see that you are perfect the way you are, and you don’t need to look like someone you are not!” he scolded you. “I’m just insecure sometimes,” you wiped a tear sliding on your cheek. Yeosang calmed down instantly being sorry. He sat behind you to hug you tightly. “You are perfect the way you are. No one could change this. Except you if you really want to change something. But that will be your and only decision.” You crawled in his embrace, being grateful to have him in your life. “Thank you Yeosang.”

Part 2

#ateez #Ateez hongjoong #ateez seonghwa #ateez yunho #ateez yeosang #ateez x you #ateez x atiny #ateez x reader #ateez writing #ateez reactions #ateez requests #ateez imagines #ateez scenarios #ateez fluff

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red-elric · 4 years

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this week’s episode has me in a momiji mood so let’s talk about why his curse was the first to break (after kureno’s) and why i think his is the only curse break that tohru caused almost entirely (albeit accidentally; and really, it was tohru’s effect on him, rather than her direct actions breaking the curse).

a note on my interpretation of the breaking of the curse: the zodiac curse seems to be broken by a combination of time (ie, the curse broke this generation as opposed to any previous due to the length of time it had affected the sohmas) and a sohma prioritizing bonds with the outside world over god and the other zodiacs. i believe kureno’s curse broke mostly by happenstance; before it broke, i believe akito wasn’t nearly as possessive and psychotic about keeping the zodiacs near her (she clearly snaps after his curse is broken, not wanting any others to break), and that combined with kureno’s tendency to blend in with the background compared to the other strong personalities in the zodiac, kureno was likely passed over a lot compared to other zodiacs, and just in general had a normal, fulfilling life up until high school, when that normal life caused his curse to break first. obviously after it broke, he became completely entrenched in the zodiac world far more than before, but the damage was already done. after momiji, hiro’s curse breaks; i attribute his curse being broken to his family. every other zodiac member has a family deeply tied into the more.... vague, symbolic representations of the curse; their parents fall into the trap of being ‘too overprotective, or rejecting of their child completely’ and continue either way the tight bond the zodiacs have with the sohma family’s toxic mindset. hiro, however, grew up with parent who genuinely loved him no matter what, who expected normal things from him and didn’t really gain or lose anything from the curse. the birth of his sister, cementing the nuclear family structure that so many zodiacs secretly long for, managed to overthrow the bond hiro had with the curse and replace it with gentle familial love. as for the rest of the zodiacs; akito was able to see she was being unreasonable, and that there was still hope for her to be loved without the curse, so she overthrew it herself (and freed the rest of the zodiacs along the way). tohru had a pretty significant impact on breaking akito’s curse, obviously, but so did kureno, shigure, and even ren; tohru as the voice of reason, kureno as the martyr and direct object of visible pain that the curse provides, shigure as the hope for a better future, and ren as the example of what she could become if she stayed on her current path. nothing tohru did for akito, however, compares to what she did for momiji, ever so subtly and quietly throughout the entire manga.

ive talked in detail before about momiji’s coping mechanism of pretending to be more childish and innocent he is in a much larger post about momiji/kimi, and why i relate to them both, but to summarize: consciously or subconsciously, momiji tries to make himself seem cute, harmless, and entirely altruistic for his own benefit. whether that’s to hide from akito, or to avoid providing additional stress to his father, wracked with guilt over abandoning his son for his wife and daughter, or merely to get closer to a girl he likes (trying to share a bed with tohru lol); it’s an effective strategy, and there are definitely cracks in that cutesy armor that we can see throughout the story. the first major moment we can see this: when he first tells tohru that his mother doesn’t remember him. in this scene (which is HEARTBREAKING--i cried when i saw it in the anime (every momiji scene i’m going to mention, i’ve definitely cried about)), momiji stays smiling the entire time, up until the end. he talks about how difficult things must have been for his mother, about how he’s resolved to never forget a memory, no matter how painful; he glosses over the actual events of his childhood, hiding them from tohru. but she sees through it, and empathizes with how horrible his childhood must have been (spurred in part, perhaps, with her childhood fears that her mother was going to ‘leave’ her to follow katsuya); tohru bursts into tears and wraps him in a hug, and only here do we see momiji’s bunny face crumple and shed a single tear. i really suspect this is the first time in momiji’s life that he has allowed himself to honestly think about his family situation and acknowledge that it was a really fucked up thing to put him through. this is the first time he is able to think ‘no, the adults who have power over me were wrong, and my pain is justified.’ it’s an obvious mindset to us--of course that was a fucked up situation--but it’s not something anyone in momiji’s life has confirmed for him before. the only person i would imagine might validate his concerns would be hatori, who we’ve seen kind of acts as a foster father to momiji, but hatori is the one who wiped his mother’s memories. despite any words hatori might offer to reassure momiji if he asked, momiji was never going to ask because his actions show support for the sohma family and his parents’ decision. however, tohru’s support and empathy has given momiji grounds to doubt his family situation, a reason to allow himself dissatisfaction with the status quo, and that moment spurs leaps and bounds of character growth for him.

the next scene that pops to mind when i think of momiji growth is, of course, the end of the beach arc and the confrontation with akito. tohru, the very person who reassured momiji that his pain was valid, and who has been a constant friend to him for a while now, is threatened by akito, the ultimate representation of The Sohma Family who has brought everyone so much pain. he fears for tohru, and refuses to let akito see her, despite a direct order from his symbolic god; i don’t know how long he would have been able to hold out without tohru’s own interference, but the fact that he was able to speak against akito at all speaks measures to momiji’s growth away from the sohmas and the zodiac curse. once tohru steps in to protect him, however, he is unable to do much more directly; we see his anguish over his inability to do anything over tohru’s shoulder, as he’s forced to watch akito say horrible things to tohru and claw at her face. eventually, though, momiji is able to step away from the situation and find the adults (hatori and shigure), who can help more than he can. after akito leaves, we clearly see momiji’s frustration that he couldn’t do more, and tohru comforts him as he cries. this is the first time he has completely, out in the open, rather than in tohru’s shoulder as she cries for him, expressed frustration, fear, anguish--all the bottled up feelings he’s had to hide under ‘cute’ for so long. this is a frustration, however, that he uses proactively to spur him into action in the future.

obviously, this weeks episode is the next important momiji moment: when he deliberately helps tohru sneak through the sohma compound. in this whole chapter/episode, there’s a subtle theme of momiji trying to help tohru as much as she has helped him; verbally, he offers to play a violin concert just for her in thanks for the news that momo is truly interested in momiji and wants him to be her big brother. helping tohru speak to kureno is also an act of thanks, i believe: in this, he is trying to make up for his perceived ‘failure’ at the beach house with akito. and we can see his growth in this scene as well: he first states that it will be difficult to see kureno, but then realizes that it may only be zodiacs who see things that way, and admits that his perception may be flawed and that things may be easier than they seem. he tries to convince tohru to let him come with her, and failing that, tells her to give anyone who catches her his name. later, when tohru is caught by kureno, we find that momiji followed her anyway, and he drags he away from kureno (a member of akito’s inner circle who, to momiji, is a big representation of the sohmas and the curse) very protectively. we’re left with the impression that if kureno had been inclined to lock up tohru or take her to akito, momiji would have fought him every step of the way, and that resolve, bravery, frustration with the status quo and doubt of those in power is representative of how much momiji has grown by this point.

and the next major moment for momiji is the breaking of his curse. after demonstrating tremendous personal growth (emotionally, but also by this point physically (and of course his height is symbolic of his emotional growth as well)), all for the sake of protecting tohru, and spurred by her faith in him, momiji’s curse breaks. breaking the curse is the furthest thing from his mind at the moment, of course; momiji relies on the bonds with the other zodiacs more than anyone else, barring akito, and the end of his curse brings him very bittersweet feelings. but his curse is broken, and it’s thanks to tohru :,)

#it me #fruits basket #fruits basket spoilers #meta #momiji sohma #tohru honda

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bellemorte180 · 4 years

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If I Die Before I Wake: Chapter Five

Vengeance is defined as punishment or retribution for a wrong committed against another. A single curse could derail and weaken the most powerful being in the world. A single massacre could take the entire world in one go; but it could centuries to execute the perfect vengeance.

Chapter Five

Mystic Falls

April 2010

The morning of the full moon greeted Bonnie as any other day. She had spent the last four days doing nothing but studying that spell. She knew it backwards and forwards. She missed school and Freya told her to take today to rest and prepare. It was a major spell and it would be taxing. Bonnie remembered how the spell she and her Grams preformed to open the tomb was exhausting. She was unsure if she would be able to succeeded; and the consequences if she did not were massive.

Bonnie pulled herself from her bed, dressed and made her way downstairs. She made a quick breakfast and opened her front door only to be greeted by Freya and another man who clearly was a vampire. She startled slightly because she had not expected to see the witch today; and to be honest, it was the only part of the day Bonnie was looking forward to. Bonnie found Freya to be demanding, bossy and more like a general commanding an army than a mentor.

“I thought we were not going over the spell today. You told me to rest.” Bonnie bit out.

“We're not and you will rest. I am here to make sure you do that.” Freya eyed the bag in her hand. “Going to school does not include resting. I am also here to ensure that you don't accidentally get yourself killed between now and when the full moon rises. Now. Invite my brother inside.”

“What?! No!” Bonnie's eyes flashed to the vampire. He was taller than Freya and had spiked brown hair. He was thin and lean. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sleeved white shirt. His brown eyes looked her up and down and it made her feel as though she wanted to vomit.

“Come now darling, you don't even know me. Spend a little time with me and you might even like me.” He did a small bow with a smirk that caused Bonnie to want to punch him. “Kol Mikaelson at your service.”

“Answers still no.”

“Look, invite him in and once this is all said and done, I will do a spell to remove any invitation to any vampire from your home.” Freya offered with a small smile. “Besides, Kol knows more about magic than any vampire you'll meet. Any question you have he can answer.” Bonnie looked him over and against her better judgment decided to agree.

“Fine. Come in Kol.”

“Thank you darling, who knows after today, you might even be begging me to stay.” His eyes trailed her body again and it disgusted Bonnie. She narrowed her eyes and Kol let out a yell of pain. His hands went to his head and he squinted his eyes. “Freya! Make her stop.”

“You earned that Kol.” Freya replied, rolling her eyes. She pushed her way past Bonnie and stepped inside the house, looking around. For the past few days, Freya met Bonnie at the boarding house and not at her actual home. There was nothing special about it and that surprised Freya. She knew many witches and most had a mystical feel to there home, but not Bonnie Bennett. “If it was me, I would have snapped your neck with click of my fingers.”

“How rude.” Bonnie stopped and tossed Kol a nasty smile before turning and going back inside. Kol followed Bonnie in and stood in front of his sister, with his hands on his hips. “Is this how you repay me for digging you out of that conclave in Italy?” Kol smirked at her. “I broke many nails doing that and it took an entire coven to break those enchantments that protected you.” There was a smirk playing on his lips

“Wait, what?” Bonnie looked between the two of them. She was beginning to realize she knew nothing about Freya. She never asked her questions regarding herself, only the spell. In return, Freya never asked about herself either. Bonnie realized that she knew nothing of Freya outside of the fact she had several brothers and one sister who all were vampires. “You were stuck in a conclave in Italy?”

“Yes and it is a long story.”

“Not really.” Kol plopped down on Bonnie couch and smiled at her. “You see I was searching for a way to wake Caroline and to pull my psychotic brother from his doom and gloom. I came across a sleeping spell made by a witch named Dahlia, who just happened to be the long lost sister of my evil mother. I also then learned that the older sister we all thought had died before we were born was in fact alive and victim of a sleeping curse. I searched for her body, found it in the conclaves of the Vatican, clever hiding place by the way, and pulled her out. All the while hiding it completely from by hybrid brother.” Kol appeared to be way too smug and Bonnie found that she wanted to knock him down a few pegs.

“You were the victim of a sleeping curse?” Bonnie asked Freya who wouldn't look at her. Clearly it was a touchy subject. She felt bad for asking but given the fact that her brother kidnapped her best friend, did something to Stefan were he pretty much refused to leave his bedroom and spent the majority of his time in Mystic Falls so far torturing Katherine in the tomb, Bonnie felt she deserved to know. “If you already broke one sleeping curse, why haven't you done so with Caroline?”

“Different spell Darling.”

“Don't call me that.”

“You like it.”

“Kol, knock it off.” Freya said exasperated, already regretting allowing him to come. She would have preferred leaving him at the manor but he said that it would be torture to listen to Rebekah cry, deal with Elijah's indifference, the doppelganger and Marcel's stellar tactics to avoid Rebekah. He begged Klaus to allow him to tag along and torture the other doppelganger but he flat out refused-still angry at him for the events of 1914. “The spell that was cast on Caroline used a different type of magic. The spells were similar but not the same. While Dahlia's death was enough to break my spell, Caroline's was more complex.”

“Yes, lets see...” Kol held up his fingers as though he was beginning to court. “One, we need a piece of the sleeping beauty, ie her blood, check. Two, pull of the full moon, almost check. Three, the normal essentials, candles, herbs and salt, check. Four, blood and magic of a Bennett witch, double check. Five, birth place of the slumberer, check. And finally, a magical anchor in the form of my lovely sister Freya. Check.”

“How has no one killed you in the last thousand years?” Bonnie asked.

“What can I say? Most would rather love me than kill me.”

“Ugh.” Bonnie gave him a disgusted look and looked back to Freya just in time to see her roll her eyes. “Okay, question. I didn't think of this before but Mr. big head over here made me realize something. You said that the spell can only be broken at Caroline's birth place?” Freya nodded and that baffled Bonnie. “So you're saying that Caroline was born in Mystic Falls over a thousand years ago?” Bonnie sat down on one of the living room chairs at this point.

“Why do you think Katerina was here in 1864? The spell needed to be casted here and it needs to be broken here. The plan was that once we found the Bennett witch, we would drag her here to do the spell. Yet, even when we searched here, no Bennett witch could be found; even if they were standing in plain sight.” Freya replied. “A basic cloaking spell was for anyone who was purposely seeking them. However, Rose-Marie wasn't looking for you and that is how she found you. Loophole.”

“I just can't get over the fact that Caroline was born in Mystic Falls, or whatever it was a thousand years ago.” Bonnie replied.

“We all were, well except Freya, Finn and Elijah. They were born in what is now considered Norway.” Kol turned to his sister his sister and stuck his tongue out at her. “Once Freya over here 'died of the plague'” Kol stated using question marks with his hands. “Our parents didn't want to loose anymore children. So, they packed up Finn and baby Elijah and moved to the promise land of magic.”

“Promise land? Really?” Bonnie asked in a sarcastic tone.

“Mystic Falls at that time held a strong tribe of werewolves and the falls around the village was promised to have magical abilities. Our parents brought their remaining children here.” Freya stated in a matter of fact tone. Bonnie suddenly felt that there was much more to her story but didn't want to pry. Freya seemed cold towards the subject.

“So, your family originates from Norway but immigrated to Mystic Falls long before it was officially discovered. What about Caroline's family?”

“England.” Kol replied. “William Forbes and Elizabeth Forbes fled England when William's preferences became known and he nearly was hanged for it. So he packed up his pregnant wife and fled to the Mystic Falls hoping that the people here would be more understanding. They weren't but thats neither here nor there.” Bonnie looked at him confused. “He was gay Darling. Had a male lover when he lived in England. Big no no back then.”

“Oh.”

“They landed in Mystic Falls in just enough time for Elizabeth to give birth, thus making Caroline's birth place this lovely town.” Kol replied with sarcasm in his tone. Bonnie could tell that he hated Mystic Falls and after the last few months, she could relate. “Ah, good old Bill Forbes” Kol turned and looked at Freya. “Did you know that Caroline's dad was Klaus's first kill?”

“Really?” Freya asked surprised. She didn't know that. Although, Klaus's long list of the people he killed was never something she went into specifics about. It was long and there were many people he killed that asking who is first kill was, was not something Freya ever thought to ask.

“Klaus murdered his father-in-law?”

“Yeah. It was how he triggered his werewolf curse.” Kol replied in a nonchalant manner while Bonnie just looked at him like he had three heads. “I suppose you want more context. Well, lets see. After we were turned us into vampires, Caroline actually adapted pretty well. She was sad and went through a bought of depression but I think we all did. I lost my magic for example. Anyway, Caroline was always a control freak so mastering her bloodlust was easy for her and she grew to love being a vampire. Her father accepting the monster she became, not so much. She went to visit one day, he tied her down with vervain and tortured her for a few hours. He thought he could fix her.”

“Nik never talked about this.” Freya asked as she sat down on the sofa beside Kol. “I've listened to him talk about Caroline until he was blue in the face but he never once mentioned that her own father tortured her.”

“I don't know the full story behind it but just that Liz Forbes came screaming Klaus's name as though her life depended upon it. The rest of the village shunned us by this point so someone seeking one of us out was noticeable. When she found him, she just said that Bill had her and that she was in trouble. Nik vanished in the direction Liz told him to go and the next thing we all knew was that Klaus ripped Bill's heart from his chest in a blind rage and pulled the vervain off of Caroline.”

“And he triggered his werewolf curse.” Freya said in a voice full of gloom and sorrow. “Falling down a rabbit hole none of us can dig out of.”

The sun set and darkness fell upon them all. Bonnie, Kol and Freya all made their way to the Boarding House. Bonnie was confused as to why the spell was being done there but all Freya would say was that Klaus wanted their manor to remain cloaked for the time being. Caroline would need some time, a few weeks, to gain her strength back and he wanted no interruptions. When they reached the boarding house, it was Stefan who opened the door.

He looked stressed and hassled but the fact that Damon was in the background with a tumblr of bourbon could possibly be the reason why. Both Freya and Kol pushed their way in while Bonnie hung back to check on Stefan.

“How are you holding up?” She asked in a concerned tone. Bonnie wasn't a fan of vampires in general but Stefan did save her and she could respect that. That and when she compared him to every other vampire she has met thus far, he was like a bunny compared to the rest. “We will get Elena back. I can do this.”

“Yeah. Yeah we will. I have faith in you.” Stefan replied and Bonnie looked at him strangely. Something was going through Stefan's mind and Bonnie couldn't pin point what it was. She wanted to inquire more but Kol cut her off.

“You're Stefan? I heard you had a wonderful time in the twenties.” Stefan said nothing but instead held the vampire's gaze. This made Kol smile widely and hold out his hand. “Kol Mikaelson at your service.”

“I thought you had a dagger in your chest.” Stefan replied in a stilled manner. Bonnie looked between the two of them. Damon moved between them as though a fight was about to break out. For the first time in eternity, it appeared that Bonnie and Damon were on the same page; both were completely lost. After a tense moment, Kol laughed and slapped Stefan on the shoulder. “Welcome to the family, that is until Nik decides to rip your liver out for touching our sister.”

“Want to share with the class little brother?”

“Not really.”

“Does this have anything to do with why you have been sitting on your ass for the last few days instead of searching for Elena?” Stefan only looked at Damon but still said nothing. Damon raved and yelled at him to do something for the woman he professed to love as he had done in the past but Stefan did nothing. Damon thought that Klaus had done something to him but now he wasn't so sure. “Well?”

“Silence.” Freya chimed in. “Bonnie?” The other witch nodded and moved towards Freya. With a flick of her wrist, Freya completely cleared the sitting room of all its furniture. The sofas and chairs magically pushed themselves against the walls. The carpet folded itself and tucked itself away. Freya then magically moved the dining room table to be stationed in the center of the sitting room. Bonnie pulled out a container of salt and began to pour a circle around the table.

“Whoa whoa whoa. What the hell witch one and witch two?!” Damon cried out. “You seriously cannot be thinking of doing this here! Isn't there somewhere else!? Like. Anywhere else!” Freya just looked at him and then his neck twisted and he was out cold.

“Impressive.”

“Well I work better with quiet.”

Bonnie pulled out a few candles and placed them around the circle but didn't light them. She pulled a pillow from one of the couches that had been pushed to the side of the room and placed it on the table. Kol grabbed a smaller table, cleared it of its contents and placed it outside the circle. He grabbed the grabbed the bag from Bonnie and placed a grimoire in the center with a clay bowel beside it. Finally, he sat a silver knife on the other side of the book. Stefan just looked on, standing beside his brothers incapacitated body, watching them work until he felt someone else approach.

“Hello Stefan.” He turned and saw Rebekah standing there. Her hair was down and hung just below her shoulders in waves. Her black top and tight jeans made Stefan pause. She was still beautiful and he wondered how he could forget her. It only registered seconds later that she was holding a teenaged male in a tight grip. “Nik and the rest are not here yet. He asked me to make a pit stop.”

“Wait. What is he for!?” Stefan hissed. He recognized him but couldn't place his name. He had seen him around the high school but never spoke directly to him. He was so focused on Elena that he did not get to know those who had nothing to do with her.

“Caroline will be hungry when she wakes.” Rebekah replied before turning to the boy. “Go sit over there on the chair. Say nothing. Do not make a sound. Do not move until I tell you too.” The boy echoed the instructions back to her and went to sit down. Stefan wore a furious look upon his face. “Oh do grow up. If it makes you feel better he was trying to take advantage of a teenage girl in the back of her car.” Stefan raised an eyebrow at her. “Caroline has a thing for breaking rapist in two.” She then turned and moved toward Freya.

“Rebekah wait.” She looked over her shoulder. “Can we talk? After?”

“Don't you want to talk to Elena?” She replied and turned away from him completely. Freya reached out her had and held her sister's. They shared a small smile. It wasn't long before a car pulled up outside and doors slammed. Elijah appeared in the doorway, gently guiding Elena into the house. She immediately ran and wrapped her arms around Stefan. Rebekah turned her head and saw that Kol looked murderous. “Don't. Please Kol. Not now.” Elijah moved towards his siblings and placed a hand on Kol's shoulder, whispering something to him. It appeared to appease Kol as Rebekah whispered a word of thanks to Elijah.

“Oh my god. Damon!” Elena fled Stefan's arm and crouched down by Damon's body. “What happened?!”

“He got on my nerves.” Freya replied as Klaus and Marcel started to carry a coffin inside. The two sat the coffin down in the entrance way. Marcel gave Klaus a meaningful look before leaving him with the coffin. He saw that Rebekah was seated with Kol, their eyes met and Marcel quickly moved towards the other side of the room, and took a seat beside the motionless boy. Rebekah rolled her eyes.

They all heard a loud breath of exhale and their eyes turned towards Klaus. The hybrid bent down and opened the casket completely. Gently, he reached it and pulled Caroline's lifeless body from it. He cradled her to his chest as though she was the most precious being in the world. As he made his way to the center and placed Caroline on the table, propping her head up with the pillow. He caressed her face and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

“Soon my love. Soon.”

The room was still and all eyes trained on Klaus. The look upon his face was one of many emotions. Unconditional love mixed pain and hope. Yet, there was fear there also. He was putting his heart on the line. If this didn't work, the little bit of humanity that he was hanging onto would slip away and there would be nothing left. Elena stood and moved to stand beside Stefan. They linked hands. The rest of the Original vampires sat motionless. Bonnie picked up the silver knife but Freya held out her hand and shook her head no. She took the knife, grabbed the clay bowel and looked at Klaus. His eyes flickered to knife in her hand.

“We need some of her blood.” Klaus accepted her words, knowing this because he read the spell many time since they discovered Emily's grimoire. Freya took Caroline's hand and sliced her palm. Freya curled Caroline's fingers and squeezed, causing blood to coat the bottom of the bowel. When Freya placed Caroline's hand back down, the wound was already healed. Freya handed the bowel to Bonnie and stepped outside the circle; taking her place beside the other witch. “The moon is full. It's time.”

Klaus nodded and kissed Caroline's forehead one last time. He stepped outside the circle but did not move far from it. He stood at its head, his eyes never leaving Caroline's sleeping face. He wrapped his arms around his chest and bit into his thumb nervously. Freya snapped her fingers and all the candles that surrounded Caroline illuminated.

Bonnie took the same knife and cut into her own palm, wincing. She squeezed her own blood into the bowel and linked her free hand with Freya's. She turned her eyes to Emily's grimoire and began chanting the words that she had practiced over and over the past few days. Then she felt it, magic more powerful than she ever felt before. It was like a surge of energy that flowed through every ounce of her soul. It was darker than anything she ever tried before. She felt the pull of the full moon. She felt Freya's magic mixed with her own, anchoring hers. She felt every ancestor of the Bennett line touch her. It was as though they all were standing behind her.

Wind blowed.

Candles flickered.

And then it was over.

Klaus felt the magic in the room leave. He waited. His eyes were trained on Caroline. He did not acknowledge Marcel standing and then falling to his knees. He did not acknowledge Rebekah's silent tears or Elijah's worried gaze. He did not hear Freya's whispered words to Bonnie and Kol. He just could not look away from Caroline, waiting for her to move, to speak; to do something other than lie there motionless.

She didn't. Caroline did not move.

It was like his soul was once again ripped into a thousand tiny shards. He howled from the pain. Tears streamed down his face and he screamed louder than he ever had before. It was the sound of a wounded animal who was dying. Yet, death would be easier. Klaus flashed and took ahold of the first thing he found, tearing it to shreds. He destroyed everything in sight. It was like a hurricane of complete destruction and not a single person got in his way. Soon the entire bottom floor of the Boarding House was destroyed; but it wasn't enough.

“You!” Klaus flashed to Bonnie and flung her on the table in front of her. Elena screamed but it was Kol who moved quick enough to hold her back. Stefan tried to pull him off but Klaus tossed him across the room as though he was nothing. “This is your end. You are mine until you are able to do this spell correctly. You will bend to me until I deemed otherwise. Do you understand me?! And then I will remove your head from your spine.”

No one said a word. No one moved.

Not until a soft voice rang through the room.

“Nik.”

New Orleans

October 1864

“Happy birthday love.” Klaus's voice whispered in her ear. Caroline smiled wildly as she felt his arms wrap around her middle as she looked out the window. She turned and placed her hands on his chest, looking up at his eyes. He leaned down and took her lips into his. It was gentle and small. When they broke apart, Klaus placed his hand on her cheek and stroked her cheek bone. “I have never loved anyone as much as I love you.”

Caroline smiled widely and kissed him. Klaus could feel her smile through her lips. He turned her around and pressed her back to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. She loved the feel of him. Centuries of marriage could never be enough for her. Klaus was no longer the man she married just as she was no longer the young girl he fell in love with; yet their love still held strong. Through the turmoil and the bloodshed, Caroline knew that she would never leave him.

“Thank you. For today.” She looked up at him and smiled. It was late. Very late. The full moon hung in the sky and it was only a few hours from dawn. Another birthday after the thousands she already had. Klaus wasn't one to celebrate his own birthday, unless there was alternative motives behind it that normally ended in a massacre, but he refused to go a single year without celebrating hers; even when they were on the run from Mikael. She argued with him once about how he didn't need to throw such lavish parties.

That only made him throw an ever bigger event.

This year was tame in comparison. Of course all the vampires and werewolves of New Orleans attended and even a few witches but it didn't have the over the top atmosphere that he normally had at her birthday soirees. Perhaps it was because she didn't complain or try and force the details out of him. Her birthday was the one party she was not allowed to plan and that Klaus had complete control over; and that drove her mad. The more she complained, the more he became obnoxious with the party. The less, the more it suited her and would appear to be something close to what she would have planned. Klaus knew that Caroline thrived on control but could not help but enjoy when she was forced out of her comfort zone.

“It's your birthday. I love birthdays.” That made Caroline snort because it was the farthest thing from the truth. Klaus loved her birthday; everyone else's didn't matter. She didn't say anything but instead just smiled at him. Klaus pulled her closer to him and began to sway. “It's true. When it comes to you.”

The musicians left hours ago and there was no music but that didn't matter. Since the first night he really saw her, centuries ago near the flames of the fire pit, Klaus loved to dance with her. He loved seeing her smile as she enjoyed herself. The dances changed but the partners never did. Caroline's laugh rang out and echoed off their suite's walls. He spun her and dipped her until her ice blue eyes shined brightly.

“I love you.” Caroline whispered. Klaus smiled, his dimples becoming extremely pronounced. He leaned down and picked her up by her hips. Caroline squealed as he spun, the white fabric from her pantaloons swayed. Her chest heaved, the restrictions the corsets caused her breasts to be more pronounced. Klaus held her tightly in the air, his arms wrapped around her rear and his eyes trained on her breasts. He leaned in and kissed her cleavage, his tongue tracing the center of it. Caroline moaned. “Niklaus.”

He chuckled against her skin and sat her gently on the ground. She ran her hands over the fabric of his shirt until her hands reached his breeches. Slowly she popped over the buttons but took it no further. Klaus grabbed her wrists and brought it to his lips. She narrowed her eyes at him, knowing that he was enjoying teasing her; he always had. In eight hundred years, she never told him that she enjoyed it to; but he knew.

Klaus leaned in and meshed their lips together. Caroline pressed her body as close to him as she could while their lips fought for dominance. They broke apart and Klaus spun her around. He pulled her tight against him, her back against his chest. His lips kissed her neck creating a trail down her skin. Caroline's head leaned against his shoulder as she panted. Her eyes fluttered shut as she enjoyed the feel of his lips against her. His hands went up to cup her corset covered breasts and moved her hands upwards to weave her fingers through his blonde hair.

“Niklaus.” The first time it came out as a moan but the second time was different; it was hoarse and pained. Caroline stilled in his arms, as though she was frozen. Klaus knew her body and knew her reactions. He stopped kissed her shoulder and lifted his head. Before he could ask her what was wrong, Caroline slumped against him. “Something is wrong.”

“What? Caroline? What is it?” Her legs slowly gave out and Klaus wrapped her arms around her as they sunk to the around. Her breathing grew heavy as though she was gasping for breath. As he cradled her in his arms, he saw a trickle of blood come from her lips. She raised her hand and pressed it against his cheek. “No. No. No. You can't. Please. Please. Elijah!!”

“Nik.”

“No. Don't leave me. Please.” Tears began to flow freely down his cheeks. The door burst open and Elijah, who was still fully dressed from the ball, rushed in. Rebekah and Marcel followed quickly behind, hearing the distress in Klaus's voice. Their eyes turned towards Caroline, who was still struggling to breath and the blood seeping from her mouth. “I love you. Please. I need you to stay with me.”

“I love you. Know that.” Caroline breathed out. Marcel dropped to his knees beside Caroline. He took her hand and brought it to his cheek. He was speechless, not knowing how to process what was happening before him. Tears flowed down Rebekah's face and she latched onto Elijah's arm. She was sobbing, unsure of what to do or how to feel. She had never seen her brother in such a state. Her eyes looked at Caroline as her last words left her lips. “Thank you, for loving me.”

“No. Caroline Mikaelson. Don't you dare leave me. You promised to never leave me. Always and forever. Please. Please. Please. Come back. I love you. Please.” Klaus begged but Caroline's eyes shut and went completely limp in his arms. The hand that Marcel was holding slipped and rested on the ground; unmoving. Klaus crushed her to his chest and pressed his face into her hair. He screamed and howled until the walls shook and mirrors shattered. It was sound that could be heard all across New Orleans. It was the sound of a wolf whose heart was ripped from his chest; it was beyond pain and beyond misery. It was the sound of pure darkness.

“Niklaus.” Elijah said his brother's name but Klaus didn't hear him. The older of the two crouched down and placed his hand on Klaus's shoulder. He didn't push Elijah's hand away but instead continued to rock Caroline in his arms. “Niklaus, she isn't decaying. “

“What?” He hissed out. He shifted Caroline and looked down at her face. The blood was dry on her lips and cheeks but she looked peaceful. Yet, this wasn't how Caroline slept. She was always moving; she was never this still or this frozen. It was unnatural. It wasn't right. “I don't understand.”

“Her skin isn't grey nor is rough like vampires who decay.” Klaus didn't care about other vampires and Elijah could see that his brother was about to lash out at him. “She isn't dead brother. I think she was cursed; a sleeping curse. We can get her back.” Klaus didn't look at his brother but his mind reeled. Elijah had an affair with a witch named Celeste a few decades ago. He supposed that Elijah would know if Celeste ever casted such a spell. Either way, it sparked a hint of hope and rage inside of him.

“Wake Kol. Pull the dagger from his heart and have him find me a witch that will wake her. He always had a way with them.” Klaus hissed, plots and schemes ran through his mind. “And find them. Whoever dared take her from me, find them. Do not kill them. I want to take their hearts from their chest myself.” Klaus stood, lifting the lifeless Caroline in his arms. “I will make them pay Sweetheart. I'll bring you back to me.”

#klaroline fanfiction #caroline x klaus #klaus mikaelson #caroline forbes

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mayonakazkrazy · 4 years

Text

Soooooooo I wanna talk about an Animated Movie

One night recently, I may have been watching a show that started giving me too many... ‘too real life’ vibes, when what i needed in the moment was ‘taking a break to mentally and emotionally recharge’ time. SOOOO to redirect my overstimulated brain I changed over to a ‘safe’ non threatening movie, Monster House.

Spoilers below the cut in a sort of review as well as some random details that i noticed that make me go ‘... well that got real fast...’ and one tangent/character dive i been wanting to get into toward the end.

Also fair warning about my run on sentences... they’re not going anywhere

Monster House is... a CG movie that oddly enough gives off Claymation vibes... at least to me from certain style design choices. I honestly feel that sort of works in it’s favor since the CG of the mid 2000s was.... terrifying if care wasn’t take in the process. Not good if you want you film to be taken seriously, buuut this movie manages to tow the line because a) it IS supposed to be at least a little scary to kids... haunted house? and b) even though the characters take things seriously enough the writing itself doesn’t try TOO hard to pretend it’s more than it is.

As it stands, the movie is Ok - in the best possible vein of ok. Not some epic, groundbreaking thing but I think it warrants being on people’s list of fun movies to play on Halloween. Visually interesting and funny, you can tell that the people who made the movie at least had fun working on it; and cared more about the project than some other kids’ movies that get put out purely for the easy cash grab via paint by numbers. (I found out that this movie was nominated for Best Animated Feature apparently?! like... i like this movie but... i don’t know, i’ll have to see what other movies came out that year cuz while i like it i’d like to reiterate that i don’t know if it’s BEST (animated/kids) movie of the year material...)

I can honestly say that it was at the Start if not ahead of the ‘remember the 80s?’ fad in movies. Again, not to the film’s discredit. It’s less concerned with smacking you over the head with ‘EIGHTIES!’ and is more set in the time period to make things more plausible. Ya got kids running around unattended for hours without parental guidance, and a number of other 80′s tropes that are, easily ignored at worse and make story elements more believable at best. I mean... .when ELSE would you believe that kids could run around basically unattended for HOURS just before Halloween....hell one kid ACTUALLY STEALS an amount of cold medicine that would have you on MULTIPLE investigative lists even 15 years ago. And NOT just because “the parents are just bad parents”... there’s arguably only one ACTUALLY bad parent in the film who’s only mentioned off-hand but i’ll talk about in a little bit. The rest are parents with semi justifiable reasons for either not believing their respective kid about the haunted house or not thinking they’re NOT unattended (ie. someone’s supposed to be babysitting one of these kids but SURPRISE! she’s in the “selfish teen is a disinterested babysitter spending more time talking to or about boys than ACTUALLY doing the job she’s paid to do” trope)

TLDR on that paragraph, this movie spends so little time being WE”RE THE 80′S! that i wasn’t even sure WHEN it was supposed to take place if it wasn’t for the lack of iPhones and the stationwagons all over.

ANYWAY. some details that tend to stand out to me with this movie tend to be the things that we just get to hear about briefly and are arguably meant to encourage conversation if someone NEEDS to know more about it rather than just getting EVERYTHING explained for no good reason. So enjoy me conversing with myself here.

First up, Chowders family life is kind of sad. Like i said earlier there’s only one or two parents to the three main characters of the movie that people would likely consider ACTUALLY bad.

The lead’s, DJ’s, parents go out of town at the start of the movie and could reasonably be expected to think that their kid was being watched by the babysitter (see trope rant above).

The mother of the token female character (Jenny) is Maaayyybe a bad parent but that is to be argued as we only have a few reasons to believe so and some can be explained by the aforementioned 80′s era lack of parental awareness. All we really know is that, this girl is walking around selling candy on her own, gets nearly eaten by the Monster House, and when she calls her mother to tell her about it, the mom doesn’t believe her as no parent ever does about monsters. Sooooo while she does get points off for her kid not even having someone with her during the candy selling, we also don’t hear from or about her again for the rest of the movie until just, coming to pick her up at the end. She get’s a *shrug* on the scale of good or bad parenthood.

Then there’s our secondary male character, Chowder The Dumb One Comic Relief. He’s the one with arguably the most complicated family that we get any insight to. and it’s pretty much just from his off-handed comments on it and a single snipet of a phone call we get to overhear. Literally, what you are about to read, my brain managed to over think from these freakin context clues... SO, it WOULD be SUPER easy to miss what we get about this family and just chalk it up to ‘OH those kids movie parents and their rampant absenteeism and DEATH’ but no. Chowder’s family life is... a little sad if i’m honest. we only hear about 2 calls regarding these kids and their parents. One is when Jenny calls her mom to try to tell on the House for eating her and the other is when Chowder’s dad calls looking for his son. NOW, Chowder himself tells DJ (and the audience) that his Dad is working at a Pharmacy the night Chowder goes over to DJ’s house and nearly gets himself eaten by the Monster House. The boys end up spending the entire night after that, watching the house to see if anybody or anything else gets attacked. Chowder’s dad doesn’t call DJ’s house to find out where his kid is until morning, so we’re lead to believe that his lack of knowledge about the boys’ impromtu sleep-over because he works the graveyard shift (or at least late enough that he would assume Chowder’s in bed until waking the next morning).

The somewhat sad part comes with the second bit of information we get from Chowder after he tells DJ that his dad is at work that evening and it’s, “Mom is at the movies with her personal trainer”. 0.o ooooooh the scandal... i mean, yeah in general cheating spouses isn’t exactly the most uncommon occurance....anywhere. but isn’t it just a little sad that part of the reason that this is not only the reason that Chowder is home alone (making it SUPER easy for him to just leave when DJ calls). But she’s also apparently gone long enough to ALSO be out so late as to not notice that her kid is GONE all night. Looking at it nowadays just... reminds ya WHY there were ads in the 90′s asking parents where their kids were at 10pm.

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE

well not about the cheating Chowder’s mom part.

More like the WHOLE thing that got me wanting to type about Monster House in the first place.

A sad story with more potential doom than maybe even the film intended.

YOU SEE

A major plot twist of the movie is WHO is possessing the house. DJ and crew initially believe to be the someone they kind of know - the house’s owner, Mr. Horace Nebbercracker. At first glance, Nebbercracker is obsessively protective of his house, literally the first scene of the film is him SCREAMING in a little girl’s face and confiscating her tricycle when she accidentally ends up on his lawn (again, where are her parents?). He’s literally Mr. “Get off my lawn”.

So it’s not difficult to imagine that he’s the one haunting the place when the house seems to come life immediately after his sudden heart attack. (PS. WTF to the writers cause we AND THE TWO TEENAGED LEADS see the heart attack happen real time and the boys may have even contributed to it!! THERAPY FOR EVERYONE) Especially since Dj’s babysitter invites over her.....boyfriend? maybe. who reaffirms that Mr. Nebbercracker has been screaming at kids and confiscating toys for YEARS. yeah, super easy to see this dude sticking around after death and continuing his time honored tradition of AGGRESSIVELY dealing with trespassers. Only now as a house that WILL eat you just for stepping on the grass.

So as you may have already guessed, this later gets proved to NOT be the case. As Horace ends up returning in the climax alive and well (enough to sneak out of the hospital and steal an ambulance LIKE A BOSS).

Throughout the course of the movie, we and the kids find out that this creepy old man once had a wife but not only is she not around, rumor has it that he ATE her. for some reason. When the kids go into the house to try to ‘kill’ it and stop the house from eating people, they find a bunch of old pictures inside that at least confirm there was a wife at some point. When they end up in the basement among the piles and piles of stuff that’s landed in the yard over the years, the ALSO find a shrine to Mrs. Nebbercracker. Which is also her final resting place (a spot where she was apparently covered completely with cement).

DJ puts 2 and 2 together pretty quick when Mr. Nebbercracker returns and starts trying to calm the house. Mrs. Constance Nebbercracker is the one haunting the place, not Horace. That’s when we unlock Horace’s Tragic Back Story:

Sometime in the 1930′s Horace (a former demolition man) fell in love with Constance. Constance was being exploited as an “attraction” at a circus/freak-show at the time (during the height of just being abnormally tall, short, or obese made you a relevant ‘freak’). This place made her sleep OUTSIDE IN A CAGE and you know people were happily entertaining themselves by throwing things at her and laughing at both her weight ‘freakishness’ and helplessness.

So to follow a simple love story, the sweet skinny boy sneaks her away, his feelings are reciprocated, and the two start their life together. They’ve gotten to that nice, building their own house stage when everything goes terribly wrong.

For me, this is sort of the start of my opinion that... things for the Nebbercrackers weren’t likely to go well anyway. Like we got the impression from their wedding photos that they managed to have SOME normalcy in their honeymoon phase but when we see the beginnings of the house, Horace is JUST THEN taking apart the cage/cart that Constance was kept in. i’m presuming he was originally gonna use the various parts in the house but dear christ that means that not much time may have past between leaving the circus (guess they at least didn’t care enough about her ‘as property’ to keep the couple on the run?) to getting married and going on a vacation to buying the land and beginning construction.

That said, the mid-twentieth century isn’t exactly known for it’s forwardness on mental health, and oooooohhhhh boy, if this poor couple aint a fitting example that “and they lived happily ever after” doesn’t happen often. Halloween happens to come around and kids get up to their traditional mischief by, what else? Egging what little of the Nebbercracker house existed at the time.

(Disclaimer i am an expert in nothing so i may get somethings wrong here but this IS just me hashing out an idea i have) When we first see Constance, we see someone actually throwing food and trash at her while she’s “on display”. And when we see her at the skeleton of the Nebbercracker house, she get VISIBLY upset at the children throwing things at the house, she seeks out her husband telling him that those monsters ‘are attacking [their] house and they’re hurting [her]’. In my mind, she and Horace likely haven’t really dealt with her trauma from the circus. Yes Horace removed her from the bad situation and stopped the trauma, but as of good ole 1935, i doubt they really talked about it much, let alone saw a therapist. Both likely just trying to power forward INTO their future.

Horace’s confusion when Constance becomes triggered by the children throwing things and laughing like assholes shows us that he likely hadn’t seen or had to deal with a situation like this before. He does try to get her to focus on him and remind her that she’s with him and not back at the circus, so maybe he’s had to reassure her (like after a nightmare or maybe he got small panics when in more crowded areas - thus the house that’s likely on the edge of town since they don’t have close neighbors). But the course of events indicates that he’d never seen such a STRONG episode from her.

Perhaps she’d just finally gotten comfortable with being truly free since they could build their own home and so the perceived ‘attack’ on her home became an attack to her safety and happiness. When she goes to her husband, her savior, and (in her eyes) he doesn’t fix it/ he doesn’t get the chance to. When that egg hit HER BODY. it was game over.

Constance tried to take matters into her own hands, remove the ‘threat’ herself.... with the axe Horace was holding. Now it’s a kids movie so no children come even close to getting hurt, but one could take this to mean that, if constance had lived, she may have only gotten more violent as time went on if she didn’t get the help she needed... help Horace may not have been able to give or get for her.

We’ll never know since the way you get a haunted house is... pretty obvious. In a desparate attempt to stop Constance from likely maiming some kids or hurting herself, Horace causes constance to fall into their uncovered basement. As she falls, she tries to grab the cement mixer for stability and ends up dumping the load on top of herself in the basement (making for a VERY creepy site for a shrine). Horace’s guilt compels him to finish the house and he stays there.

Now such a violent, angry moment right before death MEANS THAT SOMETHIN’S GETTING HAUNTED. SO Constance’s spirit possesses the house and begins “defending” itself from the people of the growing town that happen to get too close. ESPECIALLY on Halloween... ya know one of the nights where EVERYBODY goes out and willingly approaches people’s front doors.

Throughout the rest of the flashback we Mr. Nebbercracker trying to keep people away with more and more desperation. Likely because DJ and Chowder haven’t witnessed the first of Constance’s victims. As the movie’s climax pics up we see how Horace talks to the house, trying to placate the angry spirit by taking care of the house and trying to be the first responder when someone enters the lawn before Constance gets to use HER WAY.

From here, Horace’s relationship with the House begins to look...pretty abusive actually. When he gets back home from the hospital he’s grumpy to the kids, but then we see him pause, he’s apprehensive as he turns to get back to the house. From the expressions the house is given and the way Mr Nebbercracker responds, it’s TELLING him to get HOME NOW. He’s timid, and fearful, and the kids begin to get the idea that if he goes into the house now, he may not come out again. And when the house LITERALLY GETS UP AND STARTS CHASING PEOPLE, he’s desperate. He tries soothing her, he tries to redirect her away from the targets of her anger - the kids.

Can you just imagine the 45 years leading up to this? Horace having to isolate himself from the whole town until it’s just him and this angry house under the pretext of “IF YOU DO NOT DEFEND HOUSE THEN THE HOUSE WILL DO IT”. He even get’s the heart breaking line of “then i’ll have nobody”. Like so many victims that feel they CAN’T leave their homes. I like to imagine that the house is PRIMARILY motivated by the rage and fear that was driving Constance in her final moments but like... what if she hadn’t? Even if she didn’t kill those kids from 45 years ago, would they have been able to get her the help she needed? Like so many back in those days, Constance and Horace likely would’ve only had the option to self medicate or get her institutionalized (ie. Imprisoned again). Would that have devolved into Constance manipulating Horace with things like “i won’t make it without you” and similar tactics. Would have maybe gone the other way? with Constance still not technically being free because Horace would (intentionally or unintentionally) encourage her dependence on him...

Anyway, when pleading to the house to just leave the children alone fails, he makes the decision to stop her. with dynamite from his Demo days.

Constance does not take this well.

From there we get the exciting confrontation where the main characters destroy the house WITHOUT the self-sacrifice that Mr. Nebbercracker may have been planning. We even get a nice little moment where constance’s spirit (unattached to the destroyed house) get’s to move on after a quick goodbye to Horace. And now we get our kids movie happy ending with DJ, Chowder, and Jenny helping Mr. Nebbercracker begin redistributing the pile of toys still in what’s left of the basement to trick-or-treaters and the living things that the house ate somehow climb out of whatever pocket dimension they were trapped in. Nobody seems to question why Nebbercracker’s house is just a crater now....and that this old man that left the hospital without a discharge is now homeless....

Buuuuuuuut i’ve been typing for like 2 hours now. I still have thoughts about other side characters and maybe more exploring the dynamics of technically being in a relationship with a haunted house. buuuuut i need to sleep.

Stay nerdy fellow overthinkers.

#Monster House #movie rant #overthinking to the max #long #rambly

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justsomerandomweebo · 5 years

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An AU I Think (Side Effects)

Alright so I've never done one of these before but this has been haunting me for days now. So here's the thing: what if the ninja (and by extension all elemental masters) suffered side effects from their powers?

Starting with our fire lord Kai:

The drawback for him is that his fire makes him have a short fuse so to speak.

Like it could be something as passive as a leaf falling in his hair just after he did it and he will freaking explode (not literally of course).

"What the hell?! I spent an entire hour doing my hair and this stupid freaking leaf just-" *cue massive flame up* (The Bounty almost gets burnt down a lot)

He hates it though because he knows it's usually nothing big and he shouldn't even be mad in the first place but he can't let things like that go, no matter how much he wants to. Not without throwing a fiery tantrum first that is.

This of course makes it soooo hard for him to even be around the others or anyone for that matter because he lives in constant fear that his explosive and uncontrollable anger towards the simplest of things will result in someone being seriously hurt.

He avoids Zane like the plague outside of missions because of this. (You'll see why)

Speaking of Zane, our beloved snowflake, the boi is as cold as ice. In more ways than one you see.

Not only does he have a hard time connecting with anyone (humane, mechanical and otherwise), but he is plagued with a feeling of deep, freezing cold.

No matter what he does, he can't warm up and because of this, he often wears a lot of layers.

To everyone else though, he's average in temperature.

He gets along well enough with plants and animals since they don't require conversation or too much attention.

The never ending cold really gets to him though. If he isn't monitored, he will do things like sticking a limb in a flaming hot oven or worse- purposefully make Kai flare up.

*pushes Kai* "You should really watch where you're going." *Kai does the big snap*

Jay has to fix and replace parts on his person due to direct exposure to Kai's intense fire while Kai holes himself up, swimming in guilt with Cole trying to make him feel better.

And when that fails, he often lowers the temperature in their entire base so they can feel as cold as he does too. He usually feels a flare of guilt a few minutes in and stops.

Jay, the lovable cinnamon roll cannot. Stop. Talking.

His mind goes a mile a second and he just. Can't. Stop.

He tries to lessen his time with being around the others because he knows he's annoying, jumping from one topic to another in the span of a few seconds to the point where it's impossible to keep up a conversation with him.

Be careful when touching because he's always charged up. He zapped several of the ninja and innocent bystanders on accident.

Sleep is so hard for him because he can't get his mind to shut up long enough to fall asleep.

On bad days, he can be found on the nearest roof, digging into his scalp until it bleeds and muttering to himself. Aside from Lloyd, Nya finds him most of the time and help bring him down enough so he'll stop trying to scratch his brain out.

Dearest Nya. After unlocking her true potential, she becomes so mellow. Absolutely nothing phases her.

Kai's having an explosive episode? That's cool. Zane nearly melts his arm off? Radical. Jay spent three days doing half projects without a lick of sleep? Neat!

She. Freaking. Hates. It.

But like everyone else, she can't do anything to stop it. Deep inside, she just wants to scream because she can't show that she actually cares properly.

Which makes her ideal in getting Jay to calm down because he could talk for days about 100k things and it wouldn't phase her. She would just nod and sometimes interject to show him a cool water trick.

Despite that, she just can't seem to take anything seriously, despite how desperately she wants to. Part of this is the reason Cole tries to keep his distance.

Precious rock boi Cole. Everyone thinks he has it easy. He doesn't have fiery tantrums or can't connect to people or can't stop thinking or can't take things seriously. But that doesn't mean he doesn't suffer still.

His problem is stubbornness. Once he sets his mind to something, that's it.

"What time is it Cole?" "It's 1am." "I think you mean 1pm." "No. AM." "Dude, the sun is out." "Which is exactly why it's AM and not pm!" "No dude. You've got it wrong-" "Think what you want to but it's freaking AM and that's that." *stalks off, ground rumbling with each step* (an actual conversation with Nya)

He knows he's wrong about most things (because first thoughts/impressions stick) but he just can't admit it for the life of him. And what makes it so much worse is that when he gets into one of these arguments with the Ninja and he decides he's going to be mad at them, he can't not be mad at them ever since.

He's reluctantly furious with Nya because she doesn't give in like most of the others do to spare him. She keeps going, proving him wrong when he knows he is but can't utter a word to say he is.

The only ones he can still talk to without being mad is Wu, Jay (he isn't able to stay on topic long enough to prove Cole wrong), Kai (who does everything in his power to avoid arguments) and Lloyd.

LLOYD MY GOLDEN CHILD. Oh boy, he does the big suffer. So, Lloyd's problem is having. Too. Much. Energy!

He feels like he's on a sugar rush 25/8.

He has to keep moving, has to keep burning energy or else his energy will build up and his powers will go haywire. (Last time, his powers blasted the mast clean off the Bounty and it landed a few yards away from the ship. Luckily, they were docked.)

Morning, mid-day and nightly runs are a thing when they're on land.

Insomnia. Panda eyes. Jitters. The big depression he hides from everyone.

He just keeps going until he passes out. All the ninja take turns carrying him to bed when he does. (He once fell asleep half over the railings on the Bounty. While they were flying.

Some flare-ups are the result from his frustration. He can't even play videogames because they aren't engaging enough! He can't do anything that requires staying still for more than two minutes and it makes him so sick and tired he just- may have accidentally destroyed one of Jay's half projects laying around. (Luckily he doesn't mind)

Avoids sweets like the plague, despite his longing to have even one. He doesn't need any more energy. In extension, he sometimes purposely misses meals.

Despite his problems, he tries his best to help the others out. He doesn't talk much around Cole but he listens and while he couldn't go near Kai during his flare-ups, he does invite him to train or go running with him to take his kind off things. He knows Nya really cares and makes sure to let her know he knows that. He brings Zane small cactai and other small plants as well. He also lets Jay talk his ears off and while it does get confusing, the challenge of keeping up with his conversations takes a lot of his focus and energy (which he's grateful for).

He also helps them all pull it together for a mission where they can remind themselves why they go through the things they do instead of passing their powers over to someone else and being free of it all.

In return, they do everything they can for him and while he appreciates it, some things restrict him and cause energy build up. (ie, doing laundry for once puts a huge hole in his messy schedule to keep him moving.) He encourages them not to most times.

Bonus:

Our favorite Sensei. Garmadon (sorry Wu ily2) has to destroy things. Not as often as he needs to with the evil gone from his body but it's still a need to prevent his powers from building up.

To solve this without causing actual damage, he brings bubble wrap everywhere. Everywhere. He stashes them all over his monastery too. There's even some in his staff.

When he runs out (he never does but if he should), he takes to crushing pebbles instead.

Wu can't help but laugh seeing his brother so focused on popping individual plastic bubbles but also makes sure he never runs out as well.

Now our just as favourite Sensei Wu of course has the reverse problem. He needs to keep creating.

This is where the Tea comes in. He creates several different blends done several different ways so he's never drinking the same tea done the exact same way twice.

If he can't do that then his Nin-Jo (his staff) also doubles as a sort of puzzle. (Half of it at least). It has several tiny sections you can twist and turn to create different clicking sounds and combinations. He hasn't run out of combinations yet but he only uses it for emergencies.

As for his students, he has already gotten a gist of what the previous elemental masters went through (getting them all together for the first serpentine war was hell!), so he knows how to avoid certain incidents. Alas, he is only one old man (a very, very old man) and he cannot stop everything. He does have a special tea brew that calms their emotions enough to help prevent a flare up (but they can only have one cup a day else it represses their emotions completely and the effects only lasts about 4-5 hours. He calls it ClariTea) and a reverse version to increase emotions for Nya (He calls it EmotionaliTea). He's still looking into a tea that'll help Zane get warm as he is the only one who he hasn't been able to help (since ClariTea would make him even more distant and EmotionaliTea would most likely fuel the side of him that wants others to feel what he feels and that would be very bad).

He does have difficulty sleeping but not because of his powers. It weighs on his conscious heavily that his students have to suffer for Ninjago to be safe. How can he sleep peacefully while his students suffer after all?

He soon recruits Mistaké's help in curing the side effects of their elemental powers but nothing is forthcoming so far.

That's it for now. It's not the best but if you guys have questions, feel free to let me know and I'll answer as best as I can! If you have additions, I'd love to hear them too!

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moiraineswife · 5 years

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Ep 55 Caleb Meta

Warning: This post will contain a)- Spoilers for episode 55. If you haven’t seen it yet BEGONE. b)- Angst. Bc. Caleb. c)- yelling. if u haven’t worked out already: these posts are not planned. these posts are not thought-through. these posts are not edited. these posts are a stream of consciousness shrieking at the void that is u lot. Enjoy.

So. Uh. That episode was like..................A lot. Lots to unpack. LOTS. So I’m just going to touch on Caleb and the very specific niche deliciousness of him being completely and utterly retraumatised in that episode and how it may or may not pan out in future.

Meta under the cut bc it got Long.

So, DIVING IN: the nature of trauma in itself is repetition. Nightmares, flashbacks (of all their various forms) are ways in which the trauma itself repeats. Basically your brain Cannot Cope with what’s happened so it tries to just put you through the same thing over and over again like process this please.

Caleb has been dealing with that for at least a decade since the original trauma took place. Then we pile on the (highly symbolic and super-interesting in a really fucked up way bit of magic that is Modify Memory (i assume) which I have to meta on more in future) which is effectively a false memory that was removed (that his parents were guilty/in his twisted-logic mind deserved what they got) which makes a very interesting mirror for suppressed memories (again: big trauma thing. In which your brain Cannot Cope so hard it just blots the bad memory out of existence entirely) so he’s a whole mess of being trapped in an endless cycle of his horrible past (PTSD is a Trip, y’all).

This is...An echo of that but it’s something new. It’s very much the same KIND of thing, so it plays in to the trauma-repetition, but it’s a new incarnation of it. History repeating itself, etc, etc, delicious irony, all that great stuff fiction-creators live for.

It’s going to be deeply upsetting for Caleb. (No shit, Taryn). But it so beautifully, and terribly, feeds in to his deep-rooted fears that he is a toxic person, and that those around him are destined to get hurt (by him, not by him, it doesn’t really matter to the guilt brain, it’s all just fuel for that fire).

For example: Liam spoke on Talks about how, regarding Molly’s death, Caleb almost expected it because yup, that seems about right, par for the course. It’s one of the big reasons he’s been extremely reluctant to let the Mighty Nein get close to him (he’s directly said this in canon at this point, in his conversation with Beau).

He feels dangerous. He sees himself as dangerous. Partly because he sees himself as being constantly in danger, and by extension, those around him are also in danger. That’s external.

The internal part of him has been screaming ‘you killed the two people who loved you the most in the world in an unprovoked attack because you’re a monster’ for over a decade at this point. Not only does he not deserve any of these people, he feels like he’s destined to hurt them, no matter what he does, or how hard he tries.

This, uh, reinforces that in a very deep, obvious, and painful way. Not to mention the fact that, not only did he hurt them he hurt them with fire. Again. So it’s almost exactly the same pattern of shit coming back to haunt him for a second time:

Trent: Mental manipulation magic - fire - dead loved ones Demon: mental manipulation magic - fire - nearly dead loved ones.

It’s Bad. It’s Real Bad. That boy is going to have the panic attack of his life when he recovers from the immediate adrenaline rush of the fight. It’s not going to be pretty.

It’s going to drive home everything that little voice inside his head that sounds like Trent has been telling him since he joined these people. It’s going to undo all the struggle it’s taken to ignore that voice up to this point because don’t you see what happens when you get close to people? They can be used against you. You can be used against them. They become your weakness and you become weak because you care. Because this hurts. And if you were stronger, and smarter, then it wouldn’t... etc etc etc. *insert emotionally manipulative bullshit here*

BUT!

I actually think this could actually be good for him in a really weird way?

Hear me out:

Caleb has been living in a trauma loop for over ten years at this point. He’s been going over the same memories again and again and again, but he hasn’t done anything with them. He hasn’t actually fully processed what happened to him. And, and this is the biggest part: he hasn’t had anyone to push against.

It takes a lot to recognise abuse. It takes a lot in the modern world when there are phones, helplines, the internet and, let’s be honest: awareness. There are words for these experiences and there’s more chance of, accidentally or deliberately, stumbling across help out there that can look at a situation from an outside perspective and go: this is fucked up.

This is what Caleb needs.

On his own it’s almost impossible for him to recognise what was done to him and fully process it and begin to heal from it in a healthy way. Caleb has not actually started the process of recovery for anything that happened to him yet because Caleb does not yet recognise/understand what there is to process/recover from.

In Caleb’s mind, he is a monster. He did an unforgivable thing because he believed his parents deserved it as they were traitors. He broke because he was not strong enough to handle what he’d done. He was sent to an asylum and since escaping he’s just been afraid. That’s the only emotion he’s got towards Trent right now: fear. And it’s suppressing all logic, self-awareness, and the ability to think rationally about what went on.

Caleb was abused. Caleb was manipulated, mentally, emotionally, and magically. Caleb was a vulnerable kid who was deliberately chosen, carefully groomed, and then skilfully brainwashed by a figure with an enormous amount of literal and emotional power over him. Caleb was abused.

Caleb does not see this.

Caleb does not recognise that he was abused.

And I think this is where a lot of issues with Caleb kinda stem from in fandom? Because people look at him and just...How can he NOT understand that he was manipulated. Huh. Maybe he wasn’t. Because it’s just that damned obvious how could he not understand this?

Abusers rely on that. Abusers rely on their victims not understanding what they’re doing to them. Particularly when their victims are young, with relatively little real-world experience, and absolutely no grounding/preparation to recognise or combat any of this, in a society that is more accepting of the kind of teaching that radicalised Caleb than most are.

Caleb needs an outside perspective to look at what he went through and go ‘you know that’s fucked up, right?’ He’s kind of had that from Beau and Nott but not enough. Someone has to sit him down and go through every piece of what happened and be like ‘this is not okay’ ‘what he did to you was not okay’ ‘this is called abuse’ and then consistently validate those experiences until he understands.

Caleb has over ten years of trauma to process and unlearn. That...That does not happen overnight. That does not happen because your new friend looks at you and goes ‘yeah that was fucked up, dude’ and suddenly it all crystallises in your mind and becomes clear. That takes work. And effort. And a willingness to feel something beyond fear for your abuser and Caleb is Not There yet.

What this last fight does, though, is open up the possibility of Caleb starting to accept this a little bit.

Jester: “What the fuck, Caleb?”

Caleb: “I am sorry...They got inside my head.”

This is actually....Kinda huge for Caleb? Actually it’s kinda massive. This is Caleb experiencing a trauma incredibly similar to what he went through when he was younger (but on a much smaller scale, with far less dire outcomes) and being able to look at it and, still apologise, but explain that he was not in control of himself, and that ‘they got inside his head’.

This is the step he needs to take with Trent, too, this is the same admission that he needs to make to himself, and this is the first step that has to happen before he can even begin to start processing and healing his trauma. And he needs help with that.

This is not the part where I say I expect the mighty nein to become Caleb’s therapists. But they can be friends, they can be a support network, but most importantly: they can be an outside perspective.

They can’t process his trauma for him. They can’t work through his issues for him. They can’t take away any of his grief, or his guilt, or his pain, or his PTSD. They can’t make what Trent did go away. But they can point it out.

They can raise a red flag. They can point it out and say ‘this is not okay’. They can put a name to it. They can validate it. They can do the things that Caleb cannot do himself, which is look at what happened and be able to acknowledge, without the burden of guilt, and the fact that it’s so much easier to blame, and hurt, and punish himself than a figure he’s terrified of, and say that it was not okay, and explain to him what happened.

They can help him acknowledge his abuse and then he can start to help himself heal from it.

But this fight is, essentially, a microcosm of Caleb’s past. And I hope that if (when, please god when) the mighty nein, who were all either a)- directly charmed themselves, or b)- resisted the effect but were aware of its intentions and capabilities, do not react the way Caleb expects them to react (ie: the way he reacted to himself) with anger, and hatred, and blame, that’s going to start unlocking things.

I don’t expect a massive breakthrough next episode, don’t get me wrong, this is going to be a long, careful, painful process. But I think even the acknowledgement that someone affected that way by magic, or by emotional abuse, is not themselves, and is not, ultimately, to blame for what they may have done (or weak/somehow complicit in ‘allowing’ themselves to be targeted/victimised) is going to prove a really big thing for Caleb in the future.

Just that acknowledgement that they don’t blame him for what happened, that they understand he wasn’t himself, and that it wasn’t within his control to stop what was happening could, I think, prove huge in terms of his recovery further down the line...

TL;DR: Caleb experienced his past again on a much smaller scale with this fight, but having the party around him to react to him/it and reach out to him, and tell him it’s okay and that they don’t blame him will do A Lot for unlocking his potential recognition of abuse and recovery down the line.

#caleb widogast #critical role #critical role spoilers #liam o'brien #cr spoilers #cr2 #cr2 spoilers #meta #critical role meta #caleb meta #my meta #imma just leave this here #long post #text post tag #abuse tw #emotional abuse tw #trent ikithon #is a trigger warning all of its own

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codakilled-a · 6 years

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Is your child rebelling against authority? Have their grades suddenly dropped? Do you fear they may be dabbling in drugs or alcohol? Then Oak Ridge School for Troubled Teens is for you. Oak Ridge is a school designed to reform your children and give them a quality education while helping them through their troubles. No matter the teen, we’ll do our best to help them to become the best person they can be, all while still giving them freedom to explore the campus and socialize with other students.

rules.

- general stuff. don’t godmod, try to be active, no ooc drama. - please follow me. mutuals is preferred, but i’ll allow some non - mutuals too. - this verse is very triggering. players should tag all triggers. - students should be 13 - 18 (or older if they failed any years), teachers can be any age. - use actual fcs. no cartoons / drawings. if you want a duplicate fc check with the other mun. - you can have multiple muses in this verse! it’s preferred that you have at least one staff member, but it isn’t required. - tracking the tag: group: troubled teens. - when accepted post a short bio about your character / why they’re at the school.

application.

submit here.

[ NAME ] is an [ AGE ] year old student at oak ridge. [ PRONOUN ] has/have been at oak ridge for [ LENGTH OF TIME ]. they’re said to look a lot like [ FACE CLAIM ]. they’ve chosen to take [ ELECTIVE ONE ] and [ ELECTIVE TWO ], they also play [ SPORT ] OR they don’t play a sport. they were sent to the school because [ REASON ].

[ NAME ] is an [ AGE ] year old staff member at oak ridge. [ PRONOUN ] has/have been at oak ridge for [ LENGTH OF TIME ]. they’re said to look a lot like [ FACE CLAIM ]. they teach [ SUBJECT ], they also coach [ SPORT ] OR they don’t teach any subjects, but they coach [ SPORT ] OR they’re a [ ROLE - ie. principal, janitor, administration role, receptionist, etc. ].

current student : staff ratio - 12 : 8

students, staff, classes, sports, & important info below the cut.

students.

@codakilled // BETHANY GREENE is an EIGHTEEN year old student at oak ridge. SHE has been at oak ridge for TWO MONTHS. they’re said to look a lot like EMILY KINNEY. they’ve chosen to take RELIGIOUS EDUCATION and MECHANICS, they also play BASEBALL. they were sent to the school because of DEPRESSION, DRUG & ALCOHOL ABUSE AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR. roommate: alexandra grimes. @unheroc // STILES STILINSKI is an EIGHTEEN year old student at oak ridge. HE has been at oak ridge for THREE MONTHS. They’re said to look a lot like DYLAN O’BRIEN. They’ve chosen to take DEBATE and MECHANICS. They also play LACROSSE. They were sent to the school because of ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, SELF - HARM, VIOLENT BEHAVIOR AND FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA. roommate: dustin sterling. @daughtergrimes // ALEXANDRA GRIMES is an EIGHTEEN year old student at Oak Ridge. SHE has been at Oak Ridge for ONE MONTH. They’re said to look a lot like CRYSTAL REED. They’ve chosen to take MUSIC and ART. They DON’T PLAY A SPORT. They were sent to the school because of SELF - HARM, SUICIDAL IDEALIZATIONS AND BULIMIA NERVOSA. roommate: bethany greene. @biblicle // KATE FULLER is an EIGHTEEN year old student at oak ridge. SHE has been at oak ridge for TWO MONTHS. they’re said to look a lot like MADISON DAVENPORT. they’ve chosen to take DEBATE and RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, they also play VOLLEYBALL. they were sent to the school because of PTSD, ANXIETY, AN UNSPECIFIED DISSOCIATIVE DISORDER AND ALLEGED STOCKHOLM SYNDROME. roommate: cheryl blossom. @wasomething // DUSTIN STERLING is an EIGHTEEN year old student at oak ridge. HE has been at oak ridge for ONE MONTH. they’re said to look a lot like JOE KEERY. they’ve chosen to take MUSIC and MECHANICS, they also play BASKETBALL. they were sent to the school because of DEPRESSION, ALCOHOL ABUSE AND VIOLENT TENDENCIES. roommate: stiles stilinski. @worldfathered // CARL GRIMES is an SIXTEEN year old student at oak ridge. HE has been at oak ridge for ONE MONTH. they’re said to look a lot like CHANDLER RIGGS. they’ve chosen to take PHOTOGRAPHY and MECHANICS, they DON’T PLAY A SPORT. they were sent to the school because of GRAND THEFT, SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR, ANOREXIC EATING DISORDER AND DISRESPECT FOR AUTHORITY. roommate: lucas bennit. @blsms // CHERYL BLOSSOM is a SEVENTEEN year old student at oak ridge. SHE has been at oak ridge for ONE MONTH. they’re said to look a lot like MADELAINE PETSCH. they’ve chosen to take ART and MUSIC, they’re also in DANCE. they were sent to the school because of DEPRESSION AND PTSD. roommate: kate fuller. @wallwolf // LUCAS BENNIT is a NINETEEN year old student at oak ridge. HE has been at oak ridge for ONE YEAR. they DON’T HAVE AN FC. they’ve chosen to take ART and PHOTOGRAPHY, they’re also in WRESTLING. they were sent to the school because of ANGER ISSUES, CRIMINAL CHARGES, AND ON COURT ORDERS. roommate: carl grimes. @druggmakerr // GETHIN LAWLIET is a SIXTEEN year old student at oak ridge. HE has been at oak ridge for THREE MONTHS. they’re said to look a lot like ASA BUTTERFIELD. they’ve chosen to take ART and PHOTOGRAPHY, they also play LACROSSE. they were sent to the school because of VIOLENT BEHAVIOR AND SUPPOSEDLY CREATING DRUGS IN A SCHOOL BATHROOM. roommate: duncan haynes.. @shehclps // ENID is a SEVENTEEN year old student at oak ridge. SHE has been at oak ridge for TWO MONTHS they’re said to look a lot like KATELYN NACON. they’ve chosen to take ART and MUSIC. they also do TRACK. they were sent to the school because of DEPRESSION, SELF HARM, ACTING OUT, DITCHING SCHOOL AND DISRESPECTING AUTHORITY. roommate: rachel “raven” roth.. @variantsurvivors // DUNCAN HAYNES is an EIGHTEEN year old student at oak ridge. HE has been at oak ridge for THREE YEARS. they’re said to look a lot like COLE SPROUSE. they’ve chosen to take MUSIC and CHEMISTRY, they also FENCE. they were sent to the school because he CHOKED OUT HIS MOTHER AND ATTEMPTED TO POISON HIS NEIGHBOR. roommate: gethin lawliet. @zinthatic // RACHEL “ RAVEN ” ROTH is a FOURTEEN year old student at oak ridge. SHE has been at oak ridge for ONE YEAR. they’re said to look a lot like TEAGAN CROFT. they’ve chosen to take ART and RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, they also do TRACK. they were sent to the school because SHE KILLED HER STEP - FATHER, ASSAULTED A POLICE OFFICER, ESCAPED POLICE CUSTODY, SELF HARMING AND ATTEMPTED MURDER OF A CLASSMATE. roommate: enid. @mechempathy // EMILIA MATTHEWS is an EIGHTEEN year old student at oak ridge. SHE has been at oak ridge for FIVE MONTHS. they’re said to look a lot like SOPHIA BUSH. they’ve chosen to take MECHANICS and ART. they also play SOCCER. they were sent to the school because of ALCOHOL ABUSE, MISSING CURFEW, DEPRESSION AND ANGER ISSUES. roommate: patty bladell. @payreality // PATTY BLADELL is a SEVENTEEN year old student at oak ridge. SHE has been at oak ridge for TWO WEEKS. they’re said to look a lot like DEBBY RYAN. they’ve chosen to take CHEMISTRY and ART. they DON’T PLAY A SPORT. they were sent to the school because of ANGER ISSUES, ASSAULT, ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING AND ACCIDENTALLY KILLING HER STALKER EX - BOYFRIEND. roommate: emilia matthews.

staff.

@sxperflxity // DARYL DIXON is a FORTY year old staff member at oak ridge. HE has been at oak ridge for FIFTEEN YEARS. they’re said to look a lot like NORMAN REEDUS. they teach MECHANICS. @tophct // MADISON CLARK is a THIRTY - NINE year old staff member at oak ridge. SHE has been at oak ridge for THREE YEARS. they’re said to look a lot like KIM DICKENS. they’re a GUIDANCE COUNSELLOR. @suitedblue // TEDDY LUPIN is a FORTY year old staff member at oak ridge. HE has been at oak ridge for FIVE YEARS. they’re said to look a lot like MATTHEW GOODE. they teach ENGLISH, and they also coach SOCCER. @decompanioned // INARA SERRA is a TWENTY - SIX year old staff member at oak ridge. SHE has been at oak ridge for EIGHT MONTHS. they’re said to look a lot like MORENA BACCARIN. they teach DRAMA. @payreality // CHRIS DEMARAIS is a THIRTY year old staff member at oak ridge. HE has been at oak ridge for FIVE YEARS. they’re said to look a lot like ANDY SAMBERG. they’re a SECURITY GUARD. @withumans // RAIN MARS is a TWENTY - FIVE year old staff member at oak ridge. SHE has been at oak ridge for ONE YEAR. they’re said to look a lot like JOSEFINE FRIDA PETTERSEN. they teach MUSIC. @vanishcng // KATIA LIONE is a TWENTY - TWO year old staff member at oak ridge. SHE has been at oak ridge for FOUR MONTHS. they’re said to look a lot like DOVE CAMERON. they teach SCIENCE, they also coach DANCE. @treespoke // LEAF “ TOMMY ” COLLINS is a TWENTY - FOUR year old staff member at oak ridge. HE has been at oak ridge for ONE YEAR. they’re said to look a lot like ANSEL ELGORT. they are a GROUNDSKEEPER.

important info.

- the dorm rooms aren’t huge but have enough storage. two people per dorm room, separated by gender. dorm room layout. roommates are assigned randomly. staff have separate housing which looks the same but single person rooms. it’s against the rules for girls to be in boys rooms and vice versa, though that doesn’t stop students from sneaking into each others rooms. - there are stalls for the toilets and communal showers, again separated by gender. - uniforms are to be worn in class hours, but outside of class hours students can dress however they’d like. since i’m lazy uniforms are the uniforms from house of anubis. - therapy and rehabilitation is offered to students.

compulsory classes.

- english, taught by teddy lupin. - mathematics, teacher tba. - science, taught by katia lione. - history, teacher tba. - physical education & health, teacher tba.

electives.

- photography, teacher tba: carl grimes, lucas bennit, gethin lawliet. - drama, taught by inara serra: students tba. - art, teacher tba: alexandra grimes, cheryl blossom, lucas bennit, gethin lawliet, enid, rachel “raven” roth, emilia matthews, patty bladell. - music, taught by rain mars: alexandra grimes, dustin stirling, cheryl blossom, enid, duncan haynes. - religious education, teacher tba: bethany greene, kate fuller, rachel “raven” roth.. - debate, teacher tba: stiles stilinski, kate fuller. - mechanics, taught by daryl dixon: stiles stilinski, dustin stirling, carl grimes, bethany greene, emilia matthews.. - chemistry, teacher tba: duncan haynes, patty bladell.

sports (optional).

- basketball, coach tba: dustin stirling. - american football, coach tba: students tba. - soccer, coached by teddy lupin: emilia matthews. - track, coach tba: enid, rachel “raven” roth. - baseball, coach tba: bethany greene. - netball, coach tba: students tba. - swimming, coach tba: students tba. - lacrosse, coach tba: stiles stilinski, gethin lawliet. - wrestling, coach tba: lucas bennit. - volleyball, coach tba: kate fuller. - fencing, coached by inara serra: duncan haynes. - dance, coached by katia lione.: cheryl blossom.

#group: troubled teens #hhhh lets see how this goes #honestly? this is gonna be a pretty chill verse in terms of activity like no one is bein forced to be into it daily #just like? try to do stuff every now and then #↳ troubled teens verse

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artemissarrows · 5 years

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Sweet Combat: Gender-bending, delightful, and queer-adjacent, but not actually queer 🥊🥊🥊

So aside from BTS, another K-pop/C-pop celebrity I love is Luhan, formerly of K-pop group EXO. (If you want to learn about why he left, I recommend the Contract Disputes episode of the podcast “Ask Me About Kpop,” I love digging into those details and such!) He’s now an independent artist/actor/general celebrity promoting in China.

Luhan stars alongside his real-life girlfriend Guan Xiaotong in Sweet Combat, a sweet rom-com centered around a school that trains women in MMA. Luhan’s character is the first male to attend and he ends up being trained by three seniors—including Guan who is the best fighter at the school--as a first-year. I really loved it and totally miss it now that I’ve binged through all of the episodes. Some mild spoilers, but nothing related to the last few episodes, and also this is a rom-com, it’s pretty easy to decipher who will end up with who after the first few episodes ^_^

This show has such a good heart, and celebrates gender diversity.

By and large, this show comes down on the right side of things: people should help each other, bullying is bad, manipulating people is bad, and celebrates chosen family. Luhan’s character is poor, has to take care of his two small siblings though he’s still only college-age himself, and has to work 2 jobs to support them while he’s in school. His friends all pitch in to help make sure he’s OK and his kids are OK when he has MMA practice and cook him food. It’s super sweet! We also see one character who starts off bullying Luhan begin to change for the better and understand that bullying people to hide your own insecurities isn’t the way to be truly strong.

It also does generally deviate from strict male/female gender norms, and appropriately punish characters who don’t approve of people crossing gender norms. That being said, it does all of those things within a decidedly heterosexual context, where actual queer relationships are seen as outside the bounds of “normal” society (ie, we don’t see any). If this were a real girls’ fighting school, I can guarantee you that there would be a LOT of queers there.

Fang Yu, the lead female character, was forced to be a boy before her brother was born by her grandfather. Grandpa’s also a sexist jerkwad, and we all see it.

Fang Yu comes from a wealthy family, and her parents died when she was very young (absent parents is definitely a theme here). Her family owns a big corporation, and her grandfather is extremely concerned with succession. To that end, he forced Fang Yu to wear boy’s clothes and to be a boy before her brother was born—and then made her switch back once her younger brother came into the family (Fang Zhou is one of my fave characters in the series!) When she came back to school as a girl, all of the other kids in school called her a monster, which deeply scarred her. She also recalls looking at girls’ clothes longingly and not being able to wear them.

This whole situation is super interesting to me, although I wish I knew more about the cultural context under which it operates. Grandpa is clearly so concerned with who’s going to take over the company, and it must be a boy—how could a girl be as good at business???? We really sympathize with Fang Yu and her desire to prove herself through her MMA. She’s better than most of the boys, and she knows it. It’s also an interesting twist on the enforcement of gender norms. Instead of forcing her to be ultra-girly or something like that, Grandpa forced her to be a boy—thereby show that he knows she can be good at business, but only through the performance of masculinity. Wow, dude’s got some issues.

There’s another rich kid and business partner of the Fang family who tries to woo Fang Yu, and he was one of the kids who called her a monster as a child, and still thinks she is one (he literally said so). I have to wonder if that’s connected to her prowess in MMA, which is less common as a pursuit for girls, stereotypically.

Luhan (uh, Ming Tian, I guess) exudes positive, non-heirarchical masculinity.

Luhan’s character is a really positive version of what masculinity can be, in strong juxtaposition to Fang Yu’s grandfather, who uses his power to abuse and bully others (bullying’s a strong theme here, which is cute). Luhan and his two little siblings’ parents are gone, but he is so tender toward the little ones and takes care of them so well.

He’s perfectly content for three senior women to coach him in MMA. He’s also just a kind person who doesn’t want to hurt anyone, sees the best in others, and is extremely smart though people sometimes underestimate him. He turns into the senior women’s coaches as the show goes on, and excels in both his analytical approach to improving their skills, as well as that balance of supporting and pushing.

And he always considers Fang Yu his equal (if not his superior in martial arts!) and treats her as an equal co-partner in their relationship. He’s perfectly willing for his feelings to be squished on her behalf and I sometimes wished he would be more honest about his desires—although this *is* a rom-com so if everyone were honest about their feelings we’d have no more show. Anyway.

I find it so telling that folks were criticizing him for being too feminine after seeing the show trailers. Absolutely not, he’s an upstanding dude…..even if he occasionally wears his own Luhan Studio merch on the show, I can forgive him.

Fang Yu’s best friend is butch AF and she’s soooooo hot

Fang Yu’s best friend is Cheng Yanan, the head of the boxing club at their university and all-around badass. She’s also butch as hell, and everyone’s 100% accepting of it in the show. Literally no one says anything. This makes me incredibly happy!

She’s not gay, though. There are straight butch women for sure—and her love interest is incredibly sweet and another character I really like—but that’s maybe a bit unrealistic. But there is a scene where a girl at her school writes her a love note after seeing her on a run which is played for laughs….but seriously, Yanan is the shit.

Ugh, stop.

Queer adjacent thing 1: absent parents and chosen families

This isn’t an exclusively queer things, but felt like it was getting close. There’s a distinct lack of two-parent families in this show—we actually don’t see any on screen at least. Everyone has at least one parent who is absent or deceased. Instead, the friends all rely on each other for support, childcare, and general camaraderie. It’s also a college age thing I suppose, but also feels like a queer thing. Queer young people learn to rely on one another when our families don’t accept us—or even if they do, we recognize and support members of our community.

Queer adjacent thing 2: Sun Hao buys a suit from a gay store

Sun Hao, the second male student in the MMA school after Luhan, accidentally buys a suit from a gay kink store—it’s very flamboyant and played for laughs. I’m a bit sad about that, but so it goes. Gender diversity is apparently OK but sexual diversity isn’t? Or also, it’s fine when women are butch because masculinity is better, but when men act femme they’re stepping down in the world so why would they do that. Sigh.

Hello, gay panic!

Non-queer thing I also loved: Sun Hao and his mom

Sun Hao’s mom runs a noodle stall, and she and he have a really wonderful and close relationship—they talk all the time and support one another. It’s extra-cute and I love it.

My only gripes: anime-styling in live-action & copious Adidas product placement

This show is apparently based on a manhwa or Korean comic, and unfortunately it shows sometimes and not in a good way. The director can never decide whether to make the MMA realistic or whether its magical realism MMA/normal life + magic, and it switches back and forth between things that look very naturalistic and weird-looking SFX. There are also some characters who are a little too stereotypically anime-y (looking at you, Song Xiaomi!) But since these moments were occasional and not all the time, I could live with it.

Also they must have signed something that says that Luhan always has to wear something with the Adidas logo on it….because he literally always does. Okay, we get it.

But those are small potatoes. This show is great, go watch it for its cuteness, great character relationships, and enjoy that it’s reasonably progressive on gender stuff.

#sweet combat #LuHan #exo luhan #guan xiaotong #mma #c-drama

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biserker-kadan · 6 years

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yoooo, list some facts (and pics/faceclaims if you have them) of your new OC bro!

Baaabbbeee, yes! So I have a few new OCs so I'm not sure who you're askin' about but I'll do Riddick and Bren cause they're kind of a package deal!

Riddick | 35 Yrs. | Rogue | Dual Blade | Pan

- Riddick is actually based like nearly 100% on Riddick; as in 'Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick, Riddick (2013), Vin Diesel' - RIDDICK. So I guess his face claim would be Vin Diesel but they don't look super similar? Oops.

- Considering how heavily influenced Riddick is from Richard B. Riddick, it's not that surprising that he's got very much the same kind of abilities; above average agility, strength, stamina, high tolerance to poisons, high tolerance to pain, very high intelligence, sensitivity to light, increased hearing, excellent strategist and very observant. He's kind of like my own super-hero OC.

- He's got some pretty shitty flaws; murder - for one - although he never 'kills' intentionally (only attacks after being attacked). He's kind of isolated, of his own accord, and beyond stubborn. He's a dick, like really kind of mean without a reason and he pushes people like nobodies business. He's also a tad cocky and arrogant but he's also always one of, if not the, smartest person in the room so...¿?

- He's Pan! Headcanon, but because of his sensitivity to light and poor eyesight, he doesn't really care what someone looks like? He's attracted to things like the sound of someone's voice, the way they think, how well they fight. He doesn't really care all that much about what they look like because he finds other things much more interesting and attractive.

- He wears protective glasses, or goggles (welding goggles) over his eyes to protect them from light. Riddick has silver eyes, they're pretty and useful at night but during the day they burn if they look directly at light (aka. Everything). So, he wears the goggles during the day/outside so he can see well enough to go about and at night he takes them off so he can see perfectly.

Brenash'va 'Bren' Lavellan | 18 Yrs. | Mage | Bi

- Bren is a very young and very adventurous little troublemaker. She follows her curiosity wherever it takes her and this causes her to get into all kinds of situations. She's kind of like the kid!quisitor I always wanted to make but never did? She doesn't really have a face claim or inspiration, she just...is?

- Bren's a fairly talented Lightning mage; sparks just kind of zap off her fingertips pretty easily. She loves practicing her offensive spells but also is a really talented healer. She finds medicine and healing to be interesting and practical to know as she's always hurting herself (so why not actually learn all about it?) but in the play thru, the closet to Bren's style of fighting/defending is Knight-Enchanter.

- Bren's still very much a young adult (a kid!) at the start of Inquisition and being forced into such a large and unforgiving role gave her a lot of anxiety and cause numerous panic attacks. She struggles with decision making and the consequences of her choices. As much as the advisor's tried to help her, everyone put such huge expectations onto her that eventually she broke down under the pressure and begged for more help. When they refused to do 'What the Herald must', Riddick ended up taking over for a while, whilst she just focused on herself and closing rifts.

- Bren can't remember her mother or father but has a necklace and a bracelet from them. She's been wearing both pieces since she was a kid and when she's anxious or worried, she'll run her fingers over the engraving on it. It's Elven, so she can't understand it (fully) but it calms her down even so.

- She's Bi! Everyone's so pretty, so so pretty that she just falls into hopeless attraction at the drop of a hat. Of course, attraction isn't like or love or even lust at all, Bren can appreciate what someone looks like aesthetically but she's a little cautious when it comes to actually dating and being with someone. She gets so flustered when anyone shows an interest in her and her cheeks go bright red!

Bren and Riddick!

- Riddick found and accidentally saved Bren when he was around 24 and she was 7. Her magic had only began sparking up and her parents had died a while back. She was covered in dirt and blood and Riddick wasn't going to let some assholes hurt a kid, so he stepped in. Of course, he hadn't really thought about what to do with the kid afterwards so he just started walking - she could either run off, or follow. Bren was 100% overwhelmed and scared and hungry and thirsty and here was this big person who saved her. She was weary of him but he saved her, so she followed him. Of course, he had to earn her trust and for a long time she threatened him with sparks, but he earned it eventually.

- Riddick has a soft spot for kids but he doesn't care all that much about them, he's kind and protective but he doesn't go out of his way for them - except for Bren, cause she's his kid and he protects his family. He teaches her how to read and hunt and fight and escape so that she can defend herself because he wants her to survive, because he cares.

- A lot of the time on the road, people would give them both very weird looks; an old Qunari and a young Elf walking together? People often got the wrong impression, but Riddick nor Bren cared what other people thought because they were family. They were always happy to put them in their place.

- Because of her magic, Riddick eventually tracked down a Dalish Clan passing nearby, he and Bren 'stumbled' upon them and whilst the Clan wasn't happy (ie. not at all), the Keeper asked to speak with Riddick in private, leaving Bren to interact with the Clan on her own. She found them to be odd but was in awe of the way the other mages where being taught. Riddick explains to the Keeper that Bren needed to be taugh how to hone her magic as her own, how to strengthen it and safely allow it to grow (never control, never control). The keeper was curious and intrigued by the pair but not willing to put the safety of the Clan at risk. However, the Keeper didn't quite understand how proficient she was and when the two returned to Bren, the Keeper was surprised at the fast pace way Bren was picking up the training. She was, of course, invited to travel with them but Bren was unwilling to leave Riddick. The Clan didn't trust Riddick but surprisingly, the Keeper allowed him to stay and trail along. Neither Bren nor Riddick ever discovered why.

#dragon age inquisition #ts dragon age ocs #dragon age #bren lavellan #riddick 'adaar'

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