#it's also like. sometimes backstory is a hook. sometimes it's just there to inform the present. it's okay if it's the latter!

[utilitycaster]

Something that I find misses the point so completely it is breathtaking is when people are like "this player hates engaging with their backstory" about the CR cast. It's pretty much never true, and what's worst is that I've seen it the most about Travis and Taliesin, two of the players who I think have the strongest grasp on how to create and engage with a backstory.

The choice to have a character who avoids elements of their past can be a valid, informed, and deliberate character choice. People run from their pasts! People decide not to pursue things for a number of reasons - because it hurts too much, because they're scared to know the answer, because they think the people around them don't care, and because their interests change. Caduceus very much is an avoidant character. He has access to Sending by the time we first meet him, and he never uses it to try to contact his family. That's not Taliesin being stupid or avoiding. That's Caduceus making a conscious choice to not ask the question "is my family dead" because he is terrified the answer is yes. He waits for a concrete sign to go after his family to the point of deep loneliness and self-harm out of this fear. That's a crucial trait that you need to understand him as a character! Ashton is also on some level similar in that he engages in no shortage of harmful, wallowing, and self-indulgent behaviors - and that is a choice. They also have obviously messy feelings about the Hishari and it's pretty plain to see they feel extremely conflicted about their growing bonds with Bells Hells because now they'll feel bad if Bells Hells leaves them. So of course he's hesitant to bring this to Orym, because then he's entrusted Orym with this information, and he has to care, and again, this is a major part of who Ashton is.

The same goes with Fjord and Vandran (and Sabian). One of the core themes of Fjord's story is deciding whether to run from or embrace your past, and which parts of that past you want to bring forward as you change, which means that to explore that, he has to do some running! He makes efforts to learn more about where they are (going to search for Vandran during the Zadash downtime; hiring a bounty hunter for Sabian) but those get interrupted by Fjord's shifting feelings about Vandran, and fact that this is an ensemble and the story naturally shifts.

Which brings us to the practical element. Fjord doesn't want to release Uk'otoa at the time, so it makes sense to return to the mainland and process next steps, and the focus of the story then turns to rescuing Yeza, and then finding Yasha, and rescuing Caduceus's family, and changing Veth back, and brokering peace, and TravelerCon, and Eiselcross. Through this, he still in fact does quite a lot of backstory work (changing patrons and taking a paladin oath, asking Jester to contact Vandran), as well as an immense amount of character growth and engagement with the ongoing story, but Travis doesn't wrench everything off its natural course just to check off every box on Fjord's list, because that would be selfish, obnoxious, and not fun to watch. And Caduceus achieves exactly what he set out to do! He found and rescued his family and found a way to hold off the corruption! Despite his avoidance, he covers all the bases! And as for Ashton...we've had precious little time to cover anyone's backstory in depth other than Imogen's, and we've actually seen a decent amount of Ashton's backstory regardless with their contacts in Bassuras and their interactions with Jiana. There simply was not time in Bassuras to stray from the main objectives and search for the Nobodies, and I think if we had people would be annoyed since that arc already took a very long time (and, for what it's worth, rather like Fjord, Ashton has explicitly asked after The Nobodies. Do not mistake lack of payoff for character disinterest).

It is, to me, incredibly telling this criticism is most commonly seen about the two players who I think also get the most "well they had an central arc/more focus than my fave" criticism.There's no way to make everyone in the fandom happy, and I think Travis and Taliesin are the players at the table who most understand that and give the least fucks about what the fandom thinks, and who (possibly relatedly) have some of the strongest grasps of narrative and what it means to play in an ensemble. Which is in my opinion a major factor in why their characters are so good - even the ones I do not vibe with are fully realized and well-crafted, because the players are not trying to make likeable characters, but rather interesting ones, and they're not trying to take center stage, but rather be generous at the table.

[actionmemeplay]

AMP-GUIDES: GETTING STARTED WITH RPing OCs IN THE RPC

Pointers for new or first-time OC players looking to get the ball rolling with writing original characters on Tumblr.

► First off: why make a post like this?

...Because original characters in the RPC (particularly ones who AREN'T fandom OCs, who instead belong to their own original universe) don't have the starting boost of having an existing fandom behind them. They don't set out already recognisable to other players, so it can sometimes be a little tougher to drum up engagement.

► Tip #1: Make your OC easy to know

Two things to keep in mind when trying to get an OC blog out there: 1: nobody knows your character except you. Ergo, 2: ...it's your number one objective to make your OC knowable and interesting to your hopefully-future-RP partners! People visiting your blog should have a way to quickly find out the basics of your character and what makes them tick. Keep in mind that having too much information can sometimes be as big of a roadblock to interaction as not having enough. Long bios documenting your OC's entire life-story can be useful to have around, but may be better to have in addition to a shorter and more succinct bio that neatly introduces the core concept of your muse. When you go hunting for a new book at the library or bookshop, do you dive into every book you pick up straight from page 1? Or do you check out the blurb first, to see if the plot even sounds interesting to you? Your muse doesn't need fancy powers or tragic backstory to be interesting, but regardless of if your OC is the plainest everyman or a secret superhero, you still have to let us see what makes it worth getting to know them. Make sure your pages contain the most basic of basics, such as name, gender (or just pronouns), age, and basic physical details, as well as where your muse comes from/what their world is like, a cursory introduction to their personality, and what they're up to at this point in their life. Establishing a setting and any goals can offer hooks for interactions with other muses. Other things that can be helpful are rundowns of their likes and dislikes, their positive/negative/neutral traits, and information on their strengths or weaknesses, or even the places you'd be most likely to find them.

► Tip #2: Consider visuals

Faceclaims, icons, and fancy graphics are NOT mandatory to finding your OC's niche and having a good time in the tumblr RPC...but they can be nice to have around, and some players feel they can connect easier to OCs when they have a visual aid to help visualise your character. Even if you don't plan on using icons, having just one good quality image for your OC's bio can go a long way. But again: it's optional, so don't sweat it too much.

► Tip #3: Shop around for fandoms with themes or settings similar to your OC's

Is your OC is from a fantasy background? Sci-fi? From a version of our own world? When you're getting started trying to find writing partners, you may find you're most likely to be successful reaching out to muses from canons that fit together well with what you're going for with your own OC. This doesn't mean you can't also shoot for cross-genre interactions, of course, but seeking out muses from fictional worlds similar to your own can be a good place to start.

► Tip #4: Showcase your OC in action

Even if you're not writing threads just yet, in-character posts, open starters or short drabbles can all be a good indicator for newcomers of how your character interacts with others and with the world. Remember: nobody knows your character yet, so something that gives others a hint of your character's vibe can be useful for sparking interest in them. Writing short headcanon posts can be used to the same effect, as they can be a helpful and fun way to both flesh our who your muse is as a person, and to introduce tidbits about your character that don't necessarily come up in a bio section...which can offer more interesting lore about your muse and help other players identify things your characters might either bond or bicker over.

► Tip #5: Don't forget about your fellow OCs

Don't be a stranger! If you know what a slog it can be to build traction for an OC blog then it makes sense to extend a little energy to your fellow OCs in the community. Take the time to check over other OC players' blogs, see if you might find their character interesting, or maybe even take a chance if you're on the fence...you can always unfollow later if you decide your play styles or your muses don't gel.

► Tip #6: Don't get discouraged

OCs can have a harder time in fandom heavy RPCs. It's just a natural expectation of not having the "brand recognition" and pre-existing affection that canon muses frequently do. Some OCs have an easier time taking off than others, but don't give up if yours comes up on a slow start. If you're passionate about your muse and are willing to be a little patient, you'll find your crowd! If you ARE struggling to find people to write with, maybe shop around different promo tags and fandoms, and audit your OC's pages again to make sure that there's enough to draw folks in and that you're selling what makes them unique and engaging. OCs can sometimes take a little more work than canon muses to get out there, but don't listen to anyone who tells you the RPC doesn't like OCs or that they can't be really successful out here. It's true that writing an OC often necessitates being the one to reach out first, but it's a rewarding experience, and you'll be surprised how many people will be enthusiastic to get to know your muse and will grow to love them in time.

[ellesliterarycorner]

Tips for Underwriters

Last week we talked about overwriters, but now let’s talk about tips for all the underwriters out there. I didn’t mention this in my overwriting post, but whether you’re an overwriter or an underwriter, I definitely would not worry about it until later drafts! As I say all the time, the first draft is a messy, word-vomit baby, so don’t worry about a lot of the problems associated with overwriting or underwriting until your second or even third draft! It’s completely normal to underwrite a first draft, and a lot of times, underwriting your first draft will make it way easier for you in the long run! Laying down the skeleton of the story without a ton of description or other things is a completely legitimate way to go about it! But, once you get onto those later drafts, here are a few tips if you feel like you’re underwriting or your story is lacking! 

First off, I really recommend going through and asking yourself these ten questions for all of your scenes! If you answer all of these questions thoroughly, chances are you won’t be underwriting!

Where is this scene taking place? 

What does this place look and feel like? 

How much time has passed since the last scene? 

What is your character feeling right now?

What is your character’s reaction?

What is the natural, believable way your character should be reacting? 

What is the point of this scene?

What is your protagonist’s goal for the scene?

Where’s the conflict? 

Where’s your opening hook and strong ending sentence? 

These questions are a great place to get started making sure you provide depth for your readers!

But Does The Reader Know??? 

This is one of my biggest problems with a lot of books I have been reading lately. The writer will namedrop something that is clearly important in world, but does not explain it at all. They feel extremely underwritten because the writer assumes the reader has all of this background knowledge that they simply don’t have. I think a lot of it has to do with so many books being written like fanfiction. I’m not saying that in the sense that fanfic is poorly written, but in fanfiction there’s an understanding that the reader already has a decent understanding of the backstory they’re getting into. Anyways I digress into a completely different topic, but not explaining things properly is a problem that a lot of underwriters have. As writers, we sometimes forget that even though we have all of this information inside of our heads, the reader only knows what we tell them, so we have to make sure to give them a solid understanding the world and the characters. I also think that so many writers are scared of info-dumping that they just don’t explain things at all, but if you feel like you’re underwriting, go back and look through your story to make sure anything that needs explaining is explained!

Don’t Forget Internal Conflict!

Despite being my favorite conflict, I feel like internal conflict often gets left behind in a lot of stories. Most characters have one big external problem that they spend the whole story trying to solve, and while that big problem is absolutely necessary to the story, but if there’s only one problem in your story, you might find yourself more prone to having an underwritten story. How does this big problem affect your character internally? Are they super stressed out about it? Does solving the problem compromise their moral code? Do they have to forsake a core value in order to ensure their survival and the survival of their family? There are so many ways for your character to struggle with the main problem that ups the stakes of your story, adds conflict and character development, and can help up the word count as well! If you’re struggling and want a book with well-written internal conflict, see my favorite example the Hunger Games. It doesn’t get better than that!

All Go and No Show

Despite being a chronic overwriter, this is actually a problem that I struggle with as well. I think it’s because I write scenes out of order, and I tend to write all of the exciting scenes first because as a reader and a writer, I really like to jump right in and keep it moving to the last page. I used to get kind of annoyed when I stubble across what I consider a “filler” chapter where it feels like the characters are just sitting around and doing absolutely nothing. However, those less exciting bits are just as important often because they feature the internal conflict and character development mentioned above. If you’re only featuring the exciting parts of your story, it can definitely contribute to underwriting. It can also lead to another side-effect of underwriting: not having as well-rounded and fleshed out characters. Every time some big action thing happens in your story, you probably should include your MC’s reaction to it. How your characters react to things is important to them as a character and to your story overall. Now, am I saying that you need to write a 4,000 word chapter on every single detail of your characters’ feelings? No I am not, but if your MC gets hurt or betrayed or has a friend died, and then the next scene time has passed and they’re absolutely fine, it’s bad underwriting and unrealistic!

[justkending]

Finding Memories. Chapter 1.

Summary: Waking up with little to no memory of her past, and being saved by a group of individuals who call themselves heroes, sends a long time captive for a whirlwind trying to find some form of grounding in this world she quickly learns runs on chaos. But she’s not the only one trying to figure out her forgotten backstory. Bucky Barnes, along with the other Avengers, can’t help but sense that there is a lot more to the whole situation than a diagnosis of amnesia. Her background slowly starts to come forward in pieces of her past and hidden information discovered. Who is she? And why was she in the room they were meant to destroy? 

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader 

Word Count: 2400+

TW: Torture, cussing, and blood. 

A/N: Ok! First off, Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday's lovlies! I'm so excited to share this new series with and also very excited to see what comes of it:) I hope you all are safe, warm, and having some sort of fun during this time of the year. Whether that be by yourself or with friends and family, all ways are just fine and dandy! Anyway, here is my Christmas gift to you! I plan on posting a chapter every other day so I can give myself some time to write in between! Love love love you all! xoxoxo

Chapter 1:

Bucky asked one of the assistants to bring a change of clothes for their Jane Doe.

So far, they did a few more checkups on her, making sure she was ok to be released within the next hour, and Bucky stayed close by.

He seemed to be the only one she had a sense of ease around, as he was the only familiar face in her new environment. They didn't have much outside of that keeping her from completely freaking out.

Though, she seemed more relaxed now that she had been taken care of properly and wasn't in immediate danger like she was used to.

"Thanks, Stark," he replied through the phone before hitting the end and turning back to the girl. "You have a place to stay here if you want," he smiled softly as she fidgeted with the plastic medical bracelet that hung loose on her wrist.

She nodded in response and continued to monitor her surroundings while anxiously picking at the laminated name, Jane Doe, they had put on her.

"Natasha, one of my teammates who helped us find you on that mission; said she's happy to help you get anything you need. We have an extra room down the hall from her and she's already got you set up with all the necessities you'll need until we get you back on your feet," he explained as he watched her zone in on the beeping coming from the monitor still hooked up to her blood pressure. "If you need anything outside of that, just let me know and I'll see what I can do."

She never gave any indication that she acknowledged him this time, but he knew that look on her face. The reality of the situation was setting in and it was harsh drowning waves of flashbacks.

She didn't know her name. She didn't really know where she was. Who knew how long she was at that torturous facility? And they knew nothing besides the little bits of intel they had recovered from the database which they were still trying to hack.

Sometimes you just have to shut down fully to even start to comprehend a piece of it.

"I know this is a lot," he started really soft and carefully as he crouched in front of her making himself smaller to her. "It's a long process of piecing things back together and coming to terms with all that happened and how. But from experience, I can promise you there is a way out of that dark tunnel that feels like it's closing in on you."

She looked at him, eyes still harboring a sense of anxiety, but more so horror at the memories she knew would resurface now that she had to process them.

And she had to process them. That was the only way she knew she could move on from this situation and figure out what the hell happened to her.

Breaking her eye contact from him, she adjusted on the edge of the hospital bed and straightened the hand-me-down sweatshirt she was given for the time being.

"How much longer do I have to stay here?" she asked. Her voice was still raspy, but with time and lots of hydration, she was slowly regaining it.

Bucky was happy she wasn't completely mute. She had a strength in her that he knew would pull through with time. It was all a matter of how much time though.

"Alma said within the next hour if you're still ok, we can go ahead and get you moved. They want to make sure you aren't going to have a reaction to any of the antibiotics they gave you," he replied.

For some reason, she wanted to laugh at that thought. Antibiotics would be water compared to the things she had injected into her in the past. There were going to be no side effects and she knew that.

At that moment, her stomach reminded the two that she hadn't had solid food for the whole time she was there. Who knows how long it had been before then too?

"How about I talk to Alma about an early check out and then we get you something to eat?" he asked, smirking as she self-consciously placed her hand on her stomach. "What's something you like?"

He was hoping the simple question would spark something, but if anything it caused her to give a confused look. Then it slowly saddened as she realized she didn't know what she liked.

"How about I pick a favorite of mine and we see how you feel?" he asked, standing up and placing his hands on his hips.

"Ok," she nodded.

"Ok," he confirmed. "I'm going to go talk to Alma and we'll go from there."

__________________

Figuring it was best to not go out in public just yet, he made do with the ingredients that Stark thankfully kept stocked in the shared Avenger's kitchen.

He showed her where her room was for the time being and introduced her to Nat who helped her get situated and accustomed to the new place.

After a quick shower and a fresh pair of clothes that weren't scrub pants and a sweatshirt some agent had taken from lost and found, she looked like a new person.

The circles under her eyes were still dark and semi-sunken from malnourishment that would take more than just a few days of saline and antibiotics to heal. However, the Y/E/C color in her eyes was shining differently given the newfound security she was being introduced to. Her face no longer held marks of dirt and residue from the explosion and he could see her complexion with more details.

Her Y/H/C hair was washed and he noticed a hint of waves to it as it dried, now that it had been properly cleaned and taken care of.

She came and sat at the island bar, reserved and keeping a high sense of awareness of her unfamiliar and new environment. So far it had proved to be safe, but she never had known a time when she didn't have to watch her back constantly.

"Not sure how you feel about pancakes for dinner, but I know it's a go-to comfort food for me and a few other people I know," he commented, setting a plate of the hot breakfast food in front of her.

He had brought out all the works not knowing what she liked and didn't.

Fresh-cut fruit was in one bowl, nuts and granola in another, chocolate chips and chocolate syrup placed on the other side, and of course butter and syrup ready to be picked if wanted.

"I'm not sure if you eat meat, but I can make some bacon or sausage," he offered as he watched her eyes take in the buffet of toppings. "Or eggs..." he added, not sure what she was thinking.

"What do you usually do?" she asked, looking up at him.

He hadn't expected that question, but he looked at the toppings and thought about it.

"I guess a good amount of butter and some syrup is a classic," he leaned against the other side of the island. "I eat a little more than the average person, so I usually add a protein in there somewhere."

"I'll do that then," she replied. "I'm really not sure what I like." She mumbled the last part, and Bucky could hear a hint of frustration in it.

Maybe the excess amount of choices wasn't the best idea, but he had hoped to spark a memory from it.

"Well, consider it a fresh start. Now you have the freedom to experience things and see for yourself what you like and dislike," he said with hope in his tone.

For the first time, he saw a glimpse of a smile turn at the corner of her mouth. It was a nice look on her.

The two sat and ate breakfast for dinner and he coaxed her to try a little bit of it all just to see what she thought.

She realized she liked chocolate. Quickly after learning that, she had added an excessive amount of chocolate syrup to the remainder of her pancakes and began adding different fruits to them as well. Chocolate and strawberries became her favorite combination, though who could blame her?

He chuckled as she discovered her sweet tooth and knew from personal experience just how euphoric such a simple choice can make someone who has been controlled all their known life feel.

Then slowly she became more relaxed and started asking Bucky questions.

"I heard someone call you Sergeant," she noted, swirling a strawberry that was on her fork through the leftover chocolate on her plate. "Are you in the army?"

"I was," he answered, wadding up his napkin and throwing it on his empty plate. "Not anymore, technically."

"Technically?"

"I'm a part of a smaller group now. But saving people and going on missions to take down some really shitty people is still part of the job," he nodded.

"Does your group have a name?" she asked.

"Hmm mmm," he hummed, turning his body back to her. "The Avengers."

He paused wondering if that name would ring any bells. But her face was blank as if the infamous name had never once crossed her path.

She hummed to herself and placed her dirty silverware on top of the cleaned-off plate.

"Who are you all Avenging?" she asked.

"Depends on the day," he chuckled at the wording of her question. "Here. I'll take those," he reached over, taking the plates and stacking them before moving to do the dishes.

"Thank you for that," she nodded appreciatively at his actions. "Thank you for everything really. I-I don't know what would have happened to me if you all weren't there to..." She didn't finish her thought.

He could tell the topic of that day was a sensitive one, but he was happy that he could be a decent memory in a fucked up situation.

"It's what we do," he replied.

She looked up and that small little smile was back for a fleeting second before she was hit with the trauma that came with the memory.

"Listen, I'd like to call you something else besides Jane Doe. Any chance there's a name you remember that you think could be yours?" he asked, trying to redirect her thought process.

"Right," she said softly, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought hard about it. He could see the recall working through her eyes as she tried to pull it from memories she had most likely tried to erase. "I'm not sure," she finally said, somewhat defeated.

"That's ok. How about you sleep on it and hopefully it'll come back to you. If not, it's just another thing you get to choose," he smirked.

She nodded before a yawn came over her. Her eyes drooped at the motion as her body begged for rest.

"We should call it a night. You've had a long enough day and I think it would be good for your body to get a well-deserved break." He put the last dish away and moved around the corner. "I'll walk you back to your room. This place can be a maze the first couple days here."

She yawned again and turned in the stool and hopped off to the ground in a quiet and careful manner. She was quite a bit shorter than him and it was the first time he noticed. Every time before, she had been in bed or slouched into his side running away from an explosion.

"Um," she hesitated, pausing just steps outside her door. He stopped in his step ahead of her and turned to her. "What do I do if I need help or someone to-," she stopped and he knew where she was going with it.

Someone to protect her.

"Do you want me to show you where my room is in case you need to find me?" he asked, and she looked past his shoulder down the long corridor of random doors. Then she nodded. "See that door on the other side of the hall?" He pointed directly to the other side just two doors down from her. "My door is unlocked most of the time and I'll be in there. Feel free to knock if you need anything."

His look was comforting to her as it held a promise that he would be at her beck and call until they found out more information.

She nodded once again in affirmation and turned to the knob and twisted it open to her room.

Bucky walked to his room but stopped just outside waiting for her to completely disappear behind the door before carrying on with his night.

As she began to shut the door, he turned into his but was stopped at the sound of his name.

"Bucky," she said as a statement. He turned his attention to her. "Thank you. I know I've said it already, but I really do respect all that you've done for me this far."

"It's part of my job," he replied and a part of him wanted to punch himself in the face right there.

A look of surprise passed over her expression as she began deducting that this was just a job to him. Though it had started that way, Bucky had found a form of sentiment to this girl and her background.

It was still part of his job, but he quickly learned that he was a little more attached to this whole case than he planned to be. It was too close to home for him to just be another job. He knew the pain, the trauma, and the sense of constantly having to learn trust with each passing day.

You can't fully do that with someone who sees you as a job.

By the time he had processed how his comment would have come off to her, she was already behind the door giving a quick nod and disappearing.

He shut his eyes in frustration and annoyance at himself. One step forward, two steps back.

He'd find a way to make it up to her and show her this was more personal to him than he was leading it on to be. That kind of connection is the first step in building trust and helping someone like her get out of the hole she's known for too long.

He debated on going and knocking on the door and explaining that second, but he needed rest and so did she. They weren't going to make any progress on exhaustion and weak bodies.

If you would like to be tagged in this upcoming series, please comment on this chapter! Thank you:)

Finding Memories Taglist: (some would not let me tag. so if you see your name but didn’t get the notification, double check if your blog allows tags:)

@tinkerbelle67 @a-beaverhausen @caruhleener

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx @death-unbecomes-you @mythos-writes  @srrymydood @xa-dia @redhairedfeistynerd @morganclaire4 @connie326 @captain-asguard @mollygetssherlockcoffee @teenagedreams-bucky @shower-me-with-roses @livstilinski @basicallylool @starryeyeseunbyul

My Lovelies forever:

@natura1phenomenon @lauravicente @kakakatey @traceyaudette @notyourtypicalrose @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @sandlee44 @thorne93 @thefaithfulwriter1 @essie1876 @greyeyedsmile14 @capsiclehan  @xostephanie @averyrogers83 @awesomenursingstudent @gh0stgurl @cs-please @jjlevin @rainbowkisses31 @deannotmoose @their-bibliophile @kitkatd7 @willowbleedsonpaper @mariaenchanted @snffbeebee @couldabeenamermaid @rebekahdawkins @alyispunk @billyseye @hallecarey1​

Bucky Barnes Tags:

@chloe-skywalker​ @charmedbysarge​ @jbarness​ @bellamy-barnes​ @katiaw2​ @aikeia​ @stopjustlovethemcu​ @enchantedbarnes​

[arcplaysgames]

P3P and P4G done, lets play P5R

Alright, lets at least get started.

Just in case you're new, hello. My name is Archie, and I have now played Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden. My liveblog continues.

My liveblogs are mostly fast recaps of the story with a lot of conjecture and guesses and long diatribes about the veracity of Persona's cartomancy choices. For all the games but P5R specifically, I know pretty much blithering fuckall about the plot and characters, so I enjoy trying to guess what's going to happen and pick up on foreshadowing (and sometimes whine about lack of foreshadowing, looking at you ending to P4G).

In P3P I romanced Akihiko but my life partner was Junpei. In P4G, I played a raging homogay so I didn't get to kiss anybody but harbored one HELL of a crush on Kanji.

Now, we start P5R. /rubs hands together

SO UH GAME IS A BIT ODD FROM WORD GO HUH. Hitting new games starts one of those "this story is a work of fiction disclaimers" but it's narrated very purposefully, refers to "[our] world" and demands I sign my agreement as a contract.

Could be nothing, just a bit of flavor, but this is the first of the games I have played to tap on the fourth wall in this way. Also, the text being blue brings to mind the dude who like set up the Velvet Room who you don't really see in the modern Persona games, which is... Philapome? Or something.

Starting in medias res with what I would say is an overload of information.

Casino heist! With shadows and persona hanging around! And... the weird thing is that it seems to be in the real world??? But our protagonist guy has the power of persona in the real world. Which we haven't seen yet in 3 and 4. Persona abilities was relegated to the TV World and the Dark Hour.

Also, WEIRDLY, this guy is a thief? Like Sly Cooper running along the lights and fixtures, using a grappling hook, the whole shebang.

It sure ain't Tartarus, that's for sure. And we have a bunch of shadowy characters talking over the comms.

GONNA BE REAL this whole intro sequence is a lot? We fight some persona (in the real world??????).

Get a helping hand from some lady with a sword?????

Jump out of a stained glass window with some Cowboy Bebop vibes goin' on.

Aaaaand get fuckin got by a LOT of cops. Oh my god that's so many cops. And we were set up.

A cop beats the shit out of our protag and repeats that immortal recurring line. Well, taking responsibility for their actions killed Reverie 3 while Reverie 4 survived, so we'll see how this one goes.

There was only one option. Reverie Vantas returns.

And we're in a framing device! Sup, Cassandra I mean Sae Nijima. But yeah, this has some Dragon Age vibes to be certain. Sae apparently knows Reverie, but was not expecting to see him, and seems sympathetic but Cop-y about wanting some answers.

I am still concerned about the use of Persona in the real world, that has me very concerned, given how P3 and P4 ended.

Are they bringing back the meaningful butterfly of Palermo or whatever?

Okay Reverie's backstory is laid out:

Dude tried to help some lady who was getting roughed up, but the rougher got injured in the process so Reverie has been expelled and now is facing a criminal record. Which, in Japan? OOF. Not great. Not good. Also, can you have a criminal record as an adolescent in Japan? That's really rough.

So Reverie is sent to I Think It's Literally Tokyo, like this game is not in a fictional location, it's Tokyo, I heard Shibuya get mentioned, what the hell.

boy howdy we got a lot of anime cutscenes

AND WE HAVE PROGRESSED BEYOND YOSUKE'S SHITTY FLIP PHONE ONTO SMART PHONES. Reverie sees a weird app thing on his phone and when he presses it, the world stops and I think he sees his shadow????? I think there's some awakening to Persona happening here.

Fuckin' Izanami is back in Inaba like "aw shit, people got PHONES that DO SHIT now? I can just send the power of persona to people as a fucking .apk file now, I don't need to lurk around a gas station like a fucking weirdo, I'm literally a god, I should be making more than minimum wage, wait'll I tell Nyx"

Anyway. That's actually kind of a fun throwback to....... the original MegaTen, right? Didn't the first major entry in the series revolve about a demonic internet site that let you contact the spirit world and then it took over the real world? Basically.

Reverie is off to find his.... like... probation officer but not, and ooh

wow that's a good voice, hello sir, wait no I thought Dojima had a good voice from the start and I was super wrong about him. I trust no good voices in this game.

I AM NOT 30 SECONDS IN AND ALREADY?????

fuck you and your nice voice I GUESS?

I have no idea what the legal standing here is or if its a handwavey don't-worry-about-it thing but:

Reverie, did a good deed and got expelled over it. His family apparently actively wanted to get rid of him, so they sent him off to Tokyo to live with this cafe owner dude, Sojirio Sakura. He is on a one-strike policy and could lose this lovely and inviting attic space for any reason at all. And this is his probation.

what the fuck, wow, and I was sad when P4G didn't really give me any good friends in the first two hours, now THIS?!

Reverie The Fifth, I have known you for like 20 minutes and I'm sorry? What the fuck.

Anyway, Sojirio is a glorified landlord, is not here to play rehabilitationist, leaves as soon as he can, and Reverie goes to sleep.

And wakes up in the Velvet Room.

And oh boy howdy. Wow. Okay. We're gonna have to talk about the Velvet Room in this game.

Out of images. Next post. /fingerguns

[skaruresonic]

How Sonic 3 Can Fix Shadow the Hedgehog | The Nerd Stash

oh boy!

They brought him back for Heroes and Battle, which released almost simultaneously.

Not sure if I'd call the United Federations the US government, but that's neither here nor there.

Well, at least they've got the basic details right. tfw the bar is so low you're like "kudos" when they relay game information accurately

I feel like I'm missing something because I'm not sure what "Chaos Energy" engine is referring to. The Biolizard got hooked to some kind of life support machine, yes, but does it actually have a name?

Also, if Battle is to be believed, Gerald was researching the Emeralds sometime before Project Shadow, or perhaps in its early stages. The Emerald research was kind of an overarching thread tying all of his research together. It's the only commonality linking Shadow, Black Doom, Emerl, the Biolizard, and the Eclipse Cannon.

Gerald says the colony was shut down under the premise that there had been an accident, implicating an element of subterfuge to the GUN raid.

A line from Doom's Eye in ShTH furthermore suggests foul play with the presence of a traitor aboard the ARK. However, the author of this article tends to discount ShTH on the basis that its Shadow portrayal is bad, so. :L

Cart before horse. The above passage implies Gerald somehow built the Eclipse Cannon before being imprisoned, when in actuality Shadow tells Eggman the opposite. The Cannon was secretly constructed aboard the ARK as one of multiple "weapons of mass destruction" being developed there.

"Darkness and anger are not all the things that make Shadow the character he is." - Coulda fooled me, the way fandom's been treating him lately.

Aaaaand here comes the Sega-bashing.

Also, with no disrespect intended, I somewhat press X to doubt that Pat Casey fully understands Shadow's character in SA2 if he's saying Shadow "will not be moved by words of friendship or compassion," considering it's famously Amy's words which remind him of his real promise to Maria (and I know people still cry bullshit at that, but nevertheless, it is the critical factor in his heel-face turn), and Rouge's words which nudged him along that path to a lesser extent.

Muh Begeta Shadow! Muh mandates!

I... am not entirely sure I would frame Shadow's actions in SA2 as "selfish" so much as deeply misguided.

Eggman's actions are selfish, yes, in that he's using Shadow and the Cannon to "dominate the world and build a legacy of [his] own," but I'm not sure how trying to fulfill what you believe to be your dead friend's wish is inherently selfish?

Also, mandatory nitpick but the Eclipse Cannon was neutralized when Knuckles called on the Master Emerald to stop the Chaos Emeralds. Shadow "sacrificed" himself to stop the Finalhazard, which Chaos Controlled out to the Cannon's barrel and fused with it with the intent to crash the colony into Earth.

(rolls eyes) You haven't explained how Shadow's previous traits were retconned or forgotten. You just recapped the end of SA2 and said Sega's pushing for muh Vegetable Shadow.

Yeah, your bias is showing. Because you think Shadow's quintessential character is confined to SA2 and other games don't count. You haven't said a lick about Heroes or Battle, let alone ShTH, '06, Rivals, or Forces.

Never mind how nonsensical it is to pine for Shadow to return to his SA2 characterization considering that Shadow is all about moving on, not being fixed in the past. And his SA2 self, as you've clearly outlined, was essentially brainwashed. He was never supposed to be that kind of person to begin with.

This is Sonic demanding Eggman go back to being brain-damaged Mr. Tinker levels of "but why aren't you the way I want you to be, though :c"

You'd rather he go back to the way he was when he was at his most vulnerable, and it's all just smoke and mirrors, dude.

No wonder people have been indulging this weird desire to inflict all manner of trauma on Shadow via his backstory lately; it's the only way they can get their hyper-idealized version of SA2!Shadow back.

God forbid he actually does stuff to move his own life forward like a character with agency, instead of being stuck in a phase of his life where terrible things are being done to him, like a passive trauma receptacle.

"Make Shadow great again," that's a new one. Fuck off with your Japanese shit about moving on with your life, SoJ, here in 'murica we repeat our characters' backstories until they become meaningless

[thisworldisablackhole]

Long time no see. I have been extremely distracted by video games lately. Helldivers 2 has consumed the past few weeks of my life, and I also just decided to take another stab at Elden Ring, so this book took me much longer than usual to get through

Hyperion's format of storytelling actually lends itself to longevity though, as it's essentially a collection of short stories. This worked out nicely for me because I didn't have to worry about forgetting any details after not touching the book for a few days in a row. To sum things up quickly, the stories are shared by a group of pilgrims who are travelling to the Time Tombs on Hyperion to request council with the Shrike; the mysterious Lord of Pain and/or bloodthirsty murderer who's intentions are unknown. All the citizens of the Web know is that the Shrike holds insurmountable power and secrets. That alone was enough to hook me in.

Each character takes turns sharing their backstory of why they decided to join this potentially fatal pilgrimage, and it is through these stories that the world of Dan Simmons' immense universe comes to life. Hyperion takes place in a distant future where Earth has been destroyed and humans have officially become an interstellar species. Almost every planet in the galaxy is not only inhabited, but connected by "farcaster" portals (a technology passed down to humans via the AI conduit) which makes access to these planets almost instantaneous. These planets are part of the "World Web", which is governed by the Hegemony (because of course the entire universe is going to be ruled by one totalitarian government). Hyperion is the only planet that sits outside of the Web, and it's incorporation into the Hegemony is highly debated due to the absolutely violent, maniacal God that roams it's plains.

Time is a very important aspect of this book. Not only are the Time Tombs themselves very central to the plot, but there is also the problem of time debt. To put it simply, people who often travel in space ships at a speed faster than light experience less time than those who don't. 9 months of space travel for one person could be 10 years of local time for their family back home. This makes the universe quite unique, because as citizens of the Web experience time at different speeds, the cultures and technologies of past and future begin to bleed together. The result is a book where the exact time period is really hard to pin down. Descriptions of 19th century peasants are contrasted by space ships and laser guns, and it gives the whole book a really special vibe that is equal parts confusing and exciting.

If I have one gripe with this book, it's with the inconsistency of the writing itself. Hyperion often shifts in and out of sci fi genius in one moment, and then eye roll inducing space opera pig fodder in the next. Some of the pilgrim's stories are really imaginative and unique, and then others read like something I would have written when I was 12. I don't fault Simmons for letting his inner child run rampant throughout the novel, but some of the romance and power fantasy action scenes were just a bit too shallow. Regardless, the world building is so fun that even the most shallow stories climax with intriguing information and a foreboding twist that will engage you further in the plot and make you feel more connected to the individual characters.

Overall I'd say this is an essential read simply due to the innovative ideas and masterful storytelling. It's genius is sometimes bogged down by adolescent fantasies, but it's not enough to detract from the central plot, which is definitely meaty enough on it's own to keep you engaged. From what I've been told, the second book doesn't follow the same format of storytelling, so I am really excited to jump into it. As much as I enjoyed getting to know the characters through their individual sub plots, I am looking forward to a more straight forward story arc. I must find out more about the Shrike.

4/5

[casp1an-sea]

Andras Fairchild

Andras is from a universe that is essentially a Parody of the MCU his character’s role is based on both Loki and Wanda

(Age: 27)(Height: 6’2”)(Gender: male)(Pronouns: He/him)(Race/Ethnicity: white)(Role: Villian)

Appearance:

Andras has pale skin and light brown eyes. His hair was naturally black but turned bright red when he got his powers, aside from the roots. He keeps in long and flowy with his bangs falling down in front of his face on the left but slicked back on the right. He also has two streaks of white in his hair one on the left bang, and one on the underside of his hair. These are from the two times that he pushed his powers past their limit. He has a hooked shape scar going across his forehead and right eyebrow. He has very angular and lanky features. He has very prominent dimples. He dresses monochrome with occasional pops of red and he always dresses formally.

Power:

He has the power to manipulate matter. He can shape it into whatever size, material, he wants even change the weight and texture. So far it works on everything but sentient beings like animals and humans. He doesn’t know the extent of his powers. 

⚠️SPOILERS FOR XEN⚠️

Backstory:

TW: Abusive and absent parents, murder

I don’t really wanna go into detail lol. He got powers. His mom was scared of the powers, so decided to trick him into thinking that he couldn’t use them without her instruction. So she could manipulate him into doing things for her. When things didn’t pan out, she killed her own husband and blamed it on him to try and scare him into submission, but he ran away. He came in a legal information broker, then worked for the government agency until he found out that they knew his mom was the actual killer, and hadn’t told him. So we went a bit crazy attacked, then ended up, killing some agents side of self-defense. Then he decided to become what everyone was afraid of him, becoming as kind of a look what you made me do type thing. He went to confront his mom try to scare her or whatever, but she some things that made him angry, and he lost control and he killed her. He then turned all of the family photos into dust ran away and decided that he had stopped too low and could never live a normal life again so he should just embrace it so he tried to take over New York. And field, then got sent to prison for two years. Before he got a vision that set off his powers, causing him to accidentally blow up his cell. He was able to stay out of prison by offering to help the superheroes stop. The aliens that were coming for the germs. But in reality his vision actually showed him taking the gem himself not helping them. But now he’s conflicted, because he kind of like some of the heroes, one of them is his sister.

Important Info:

From his time growing up in London, he developed a British accent

He absolutely hates touching things other people have touched or people touching his things 

Sometimes he does wonder what life would be like if he hadn’t run away. What it would be like if he actually got to know his sister.  He has a half sibling but he does not view them as a sibling or even related.

Has a crush on Yu Jiang AkA Hermes, he is a superhero (basically has Thor’s role) this character is owned by Xen

[backgroundagent3]

for the grishverse asks…just all of them, if you’re okay with that ofc!

Thanks for the ask! This was so much fun to think about. 💙

There's some that I'd already answered, so I tried to give new responses. It got quite long, and there's a lot of spoilers, so keep reading under the cut.

Shadow: rank all the Grishaverse books you’ve read.

Six of Crows. Almost tied with Crooked Kingdom. This is one of my favourite books ever. The characters are some of my favourite characters ever, and the ships are perfect. I love how detailed their backstories and personalities are, it makes them so believable and nuanced. I'm a sucker for heists and plot twists I can barely comprehend, so this is the perfect book for me.

Crooked Kingdom. More of the characters, ships and storylines I've already fallen in love with? Yes please. I ate up all the Kanej content, and I was so sad when it ended, it's such a great duology.

King of Scars. Another great book. Maybe the plot wasn't as good, and it felt a little slow, but Zoyalai? The Grisha Triumvirate? Genya and David? Perfection. Honestly a book can have the most boring plot ever, but as long as I get interesting characters with great dynamics I won't care, I'm here for them and them only.

Ruin and Rising. I remember the original trilogy very vaguely, but I thought this was the best book out of all of them. It definitely wasn't perfect, I found the storyline of the tunnels so suffocating, and every time someone mentioned the Apparat I wanted to throw the book across the room, but overall it was a nice conclusion to the trilogy.

Shadow and Bone. It's not perfect, but clearly good enough to get me hooked. I was instantly amazed at the worldbuilding, and I liked the way we're introduced to the different elements of the Grishaverse. Sometimes it's too much information at once, or you get confused because something hasn't been properly introduced, but Leigh Bardugo did a great job of that, and paces it well.

Rule of Wolves. I liked most of the book and I absolutely loved the moments focused on Zoya, but it completely ruined Nina for me. I loved her so much before, but here I got bored on every chapter that was about her. I think a lot of her character development was ruined on this book, and her ending was so bad.

Siege and Storm. The only reason this book is ranked last is I can barely remember anything. I liked Nikolai, but Mal and Alina were so annoying.

Bone: have you seen the show? What’s the best part of it?

I have seen it, and even though it's far from perfect, it's one of my favourite shows ever. Even though it's hard, I do have to separate it from the books to be able to enjoy it properly though, because let's be honest, it's not a very good adaptation. So considering that, I loved the cast and the times the crows were on screen. I think my favourite part overall was during season 2, when the crows and Zoya went on their little side quest to Shu-Han. I also loved Genya and David, they were adorable, but I'm gonna have to go on to the next question before I start thinking about them too much.

Siege: if you got to kill off one character, who would it be?

I don't know, the Darkling? I couldn't believe he was still alive in King of Scars, and it felt a little forced to be honest. Or Tante Heleen.

Storm: share and tag your favorite fan art.

My favorite fanarts these Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom papercrafts by @rosiethorns88. The level of details is insane, I could look at it for hours. I also really love @kayadraws and @chemdoodles artworks. I couldn't choose a specific one because they're all so cute and fun, and I love the styles in which they draw the characters.

Ruin: favorite character?

Like I said, Leigh Bardugo writes amazing characters, so this is a really tough choice, but overall I have to go with Inej Ghafa. Honorable mentions to Zoya, Kaz, Nina, Genya and Nikolai.

Rising: what’s the best ship? Canon or otherwise.

Again, a lot of amazing ships, but Kanej will always be my favourite, closely followed by Zoyalai.

Six: favorite Grishaverse quote?

I've answered this one here, but another quote I love is this one from the King of Scars duology:

Zoya of the lost city. Zoya of the garden. Zoya bleeding in the snow. You are strong enough to survive the fall.

Both quotes hit really hard as I read them, cause they were such defining moments for Inej and Zoya, where they realise their potential and who they really are, so they were very special to me.

Crow: which crows do you most and least like?

I answered this here, so I'm gonna do my second most and least favourites. My second favourite is Kaz. I think it's really cool how he's such a complex character but in a way that doesn't redeem him, if that makes any sense. Like he might be willing to change and improve himself, but he's still very much a ruthless criminal. I also love how he is completely aware of that, especially when it comes to Inej. As for my second lest favourite, I guess Wylan? Don't get me wrong, I still love him, but the other crows are just perfect to me.

Crooked: if you got to rewrite the first chapter of Six of Crows, how would you do it?

I don't think I'd rewrite it, I'd just have another chapter before that one, with at least one of the crows and an introduction to the plot of Joost's chapter. I remember reading it and being so confused, because it jumps straight into what's a pretty complicated story. If I did have to rewrite it, I would write it from one of the crows' perspective, because it was really confusing not seeing Joost at all during the rest of the book, and I don't think it would have been very hard to have maybe Inej sneak into the Van Eck mansion to spy.

Kingdom: pick a character and give them a theme song.

I've answered this one here, but recently I've been thinking of Jesper whenever I listen to Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons.

King: what’s your favorite idea for a new series in the Grishaverse?

Maybe not for a new series, but I like the idea of continuing Rule of Wolves where they left it, so we could have another heist with the crows looking for Sankt Feliks's heart, which would tie in the Six of Crows and the King of Scars duologies together. I think it would be such a great story for so many reasons. For starters, it gives a reason for the crows and the King of Scars gang to interact more, which I'd love to see. Genya would be able to heal from losing David and maybe get a cool storyline focusing more on her. We'd get to see more of Zoya as the queen, and her relationship with Nikolai. Heist shenanigans. Wesper being dragged into a new mission. Kaz trying to trick the Ravkans. Zoya not having any of his nonsense. Kanej. Inej as Captain Ghafa. Kanej. Tolya and Tamar meeting the crows. KANEJ. And above all else, a chance to fix Nina's ending. So. Much. Potential.

Scars: which character deserved better?

Well on that note, I'm gonna go with Nina. Also Genya and David!!

Rule: favorite book cover?

Six of Crows. I love how the crow's feathers also act as the silhouette of Ketterdam.

Wolves: sort all the characters you can into Hogwarts houses, (or choose to give them zodiacs, mbtis, alignments, etc—).

I'm gonna go with Hogwarts houses because I know nothing about zodiacs or any of those things.

Kaz Brekker: Slytherin.

Inej Ghafa: Ravenclaw.

Jesper Fahey: Gryffindor.

Nina Zenik: Gryffindor.

Wylan Van Eck: Ravenclaw.

Matthias Helvar: Hufflepuff.

Kuwei Yul-Bo: Ravenclaw.

Alina Starkov: Hufflepuff.

Malyen Oretsev: Gryffindor.

Nikolai Lanstov: Slytherin.

Zoya Nazyalensky: Slytherin.

Genya Safin: Hufflepuff.

David Kostyk: Ravenclaw.

Tolya Yul-Bataar: Ravenclaw.

Tamar Kir-Bataar: Gryffindor.

The Darkling: Slytherin.

Ketterdam: change the ending of one of the books.

I think I'd just have something at the end of Rule of Wolves that indicated that there was definitely going to be another book about that heist I was talking about. I also said about how much I hated Nina's ending, but honestly, I don't think that could be fixed by just changing the ending, especially after spending two whole books undermining her character development.

Os Alta: when did you get into the Grishaverse? Tell us all about it.

It was in July 2021, and I went camping with my friends and family. Every night my friend read me and my other friend a bit of Six of Crows, which she had recently discovered and was obsessed with. We got really into it, and she convinced me to read the books. As soon as we got back home I started reading Alina's trilogy, then the duologies. Because my friend had only read the Six of Crows duology, I convinced her to read the rest, so full circle moment.

Djerholm: what pair of characters would you kill to see interact with each other?

Inej and Zoya above all, but also Kaz and The Darkling, cause I just think it would be hilarious. Picture the most powerful man in the world, who's been around for centuries, practically rules over a country and all the magical people in it, and is responsible for the most dangerous and horrific creation to ever exist. Now picture an emo teenager who's into magic and calls the love of his life an investment. The Darkling would not stand a chance.

The Unsea: what type of Grisha powers would you want to have? Or what crow’s skills would you want to steal?

If I was Grisha I would love to be a Tidemaker. As for the crows I think Inej's skills would be fun to have.

The True Sea: rant about whatever Grishaverse thing you want to (a hot take, something that bothers you, something you love, etc).

I think I've ranted enough for one post, and I'm too tired to think right now, but I would love to talk more about any of these things, just pop back in my ask box whenever you want.

This has been so much fun to write, so thanks again for the ask! 💙

[blarrghe]

trying to develop Rune's personality bc my first playthrough of an RPG always feels a little bland as I learn the game mechanics and make too many decisions that are just what seems fun/interesting and not ~roleplay~ so here are some notes to make her more Character so that she can make Bad Decisions. Just rambling. Screenshot of Rune looking derpy at the end <3

--

Race: Mephistopheles Tiefling

Class: Warlock

Background: Charlatan

Using that to inform things I think she needs a backstory of being kind of a long-standing capital A adventurer. She's not a Baldurian but she's been through Baldur's Gate a few times so sometimes she takes those dialogues, mostly when it's like "oh yeah I know that bar" and less when it's contemporary important figures because the last time she passed through was like a decade ago.

No qualms with lying or mind-reading, she's got warlock powers for a reason.

I think she likes to pretend to know things, esp about magic. Maybe secretly wishes she was a sorcerer. Using that one time she tried to magic a lock and then wound up punching it instead to inform the character trait 'full of shit about magic'. She tries, but when all else fails she's just naturally very strong and intimidating looking. She has a secret "real name" but goes by Rune because it makes her sound like a Magic Expert. She's like if a circus strongman left the circus and went around pretending to be a professor and selling trinkets.

Entered into a warlock pact to impress a former lover? And fellow performer? I think maybe she wanted to add some fun fiery devil magic to her act and made a pact and then idk ran away from the circus when shit got real. Yeah let's just say that Rune was a circus performer in her (younger) youth.

Soft spot for kids. She was an entertainer after all, the laughter of children gives her life. Kids love the over-the-top scary devil magic stuff and when she leans into it the response is delighted squealing instead of the more Adult critical side-eye. Super hokey sense of humour too. Had a whole teachable moment with that kid selling rings in the grove.

Tiefling racism mostly just rolls off her like. She doesn't feel a ton of connection to their culture (raised by circus performers, maybe a few tieflings but it was Diverse). But not above leaning in to the rep where it suits her. Just doesn't feel a whole lot of attachment beyond a bit of guilt here and there.

She let the pain guy hit her with the "advanced techniques" at the goblin camp. I do not know if she is precisely Into That but she's got a high pain tollerance and a huge daring streak. Flame swallower sword juggler strongman just wanted to see if she still got it. Also the draw of getting any kind of arcane perk just lights her up.

I haven't picked a romance bc I don't think I've even met all the options yet but I do think she might like to see what tricks Gale has. Asterion clearly thinks she's hot but I can't see her hitting that. I CAN see her teaming up with him for just the biggest baddest cons though. She doesn't mix business and pleasure she learned that lesson ;) so.

I can see her hooking up with Shadowheart but just because she's like, really pretty. Rune is still hung up on her bardic ex-lover from the circus (aka the halfling bard I made in early access and didn't really play) and just sampling the fruit idk.

Fundamentally she's a pretty good person. Squarely in the chaotic good camp. Wishes she were a true chaotic neutral and she'll lie or threaten for profit literally any time but actual death and violence makes her pretty squeamish. It's all showbiz baby!! Little reality denying freak <3

I gave her those gnarly facial scars so lets say she has some deeply burried childhood trauma (so repressed that even idk what happened) that makes her a bit of a danger magnet/risk fetishist, super protective of kids, and rigidly opposed to mass acts of violence.

Ok this is fairly solid (and close enough to my usual archetype to be easy to roleplay lmao) here's my gorl:

every time I catch her in this pose her right eye is just a little squinty lmao. lazy eye resulting from a torch juggling incident idk.

[montammil]

Whumpers and their careers

Here’s some ideas I had for how a whumper’s career could affect the story/plot. These are really cliche and kinda base whumper’s on just their careers, but this was still really fun to make.

CW: Threats, stalking, violence, police officers, framing for crimes, restraints, sadism, noncon touching (not sexual), medical experimenting, creepy behavior, punishments, dehumanization

Mafia!Whumper:

Starting off bold, and I’m sure it’s a common trope, but I need to include this.

Mafia!Whumper who threatens all of Whumpee’s family/friends, because they have the power to, and they’ll make sure Whumpee knows this. 

Everywhere they go, they make sure they at least have two armed guards with them at all times. Maybe they usually have them with them, or maybe they only bring them along when around Whumpee, to let them know that with just a snap of their fingers, they could shoot.

Perhaps they’ll try to tempt Whumpee to come on their own accord, saying how rich and powerful they are and they could just spoil them endlessly. Of course, if Whumpee is opposed, Whumper can just call their guards to do a little... encouraging.

Maybe they’re a little more merciful. Maybe they’ll offer Whumpee’s loved ones plenty of money if they willingly come.

What if there’s a bigger backstory here? What if Whumpee has information, and Whumper ends up enjoying their new little plaything?

...

Police officer!Whumper

Taking a little bit of a different approach

Maybe police officer!Whumper was just interrogating Whumpee, but ended up becoming interested in them. Even better, what if Whumpee was guilty of committing a crime, but Whumper decides to make a little deal to let them keep their innocence in court?

Police officer!Whumper’s who are very trusted. Everyone loves them, and if Whumpee comes out about Whumper’s awful actions, no one will believe them.

Maybe they threaten to frame Whumpee for a crime unless they come home? Well, their home, anyway.

Handcuffs are always at their disposal, so are tasers and guns. Their favorite punishment to hand out is definitely putting that taser to use.

What if Whumper often makes deals with criminals? What if they owe them a favor because they let them off the hook? Well, they could always use that to their advantage when kidnapping or staging Whumpee’s death.

...

Fashion designer!Whumper

The first seemingly harmless one on this group!

They seem innocent and charismatic, but don’t let that fool you, they’re downright sadistic-- they aren’t afraid to use Whumpee as their little pincushion if they need to. Maybe, they just do it for fun.

Maybe they dress them up in all their new outfits like a mannequin, whether they’re designed for them or not. Sometimes, they’re innocent and charming, even stylish... other times they’re awfully tight, uncomfortable on purpose, restricting...

When Whumpee behaves, Whumper will make them a little something. Usually it’s probably a scarf or maybe an adorable little hat, if they’re extra good, they’ll probably make them something much nicer. If Whumpee rejects it in any way, Whumper will be angry.

Sometimes, when they’re extra angry, they also put that tape measure and scissors to use.

That’s only one of their painful punishments. Just wait until they get creative and try to sew Whumpee’s mouth shut, or even put their hand under a sewing machine.

...

Writer!Whumper

Relatively speaking, they’re probably the most harmless on this list, but that’s not saying much.

Probably the creepiest of all of them. They write about Whumpee, whether in a loving and poetic way or in a gruesome way, describing all the horrible things they want to do to Whumpee, maybe even writing their own form of whump onto them.

Since they go out often the least, they get to spend all their time with Whumpee, whether that’s a good thing or not is debatable to whether they are actually kind or downright evil.

Let’s say they are very intimate. They write Whumpee the most creepy things, especially on days like valentine’s day, the anniversary Whumpee moved in (got kidnapped) and maybe the anniversary for the most strange things, like the first day Whumpee hugged them or smiled at them.

Maybe they write horror. Maybe they need a little inspiration for a certain scene. Surely Whumpee is willing to help out, right?

If Whumpee is being too loud and not letting them write, they’ll just tie them up and gag them. Every now and then, after they’d get a few lines to a chapter done, they’d take breaks to give Whumpee some affection, to apologize for tying them up, but they just won’t let them focus.

...

Doctor!Whumper

Another cliche, but I also really wanna talk about this.

A doctor!Whumper who sometimes uses Whumpee as an experiment. Maybe they’re cruel and don’t sedate them, maybe they’re sympathetic and do, and also give them a reward if they don’t fight back. After all, it’s for science sake!

Maybe it’s in an actual hospital setting. Perhaps Whumper took an interest on Whumpee when they were admitted to the hospital, and now they just don’t want to let them go. It’s so fun making them sick and recovering them again, whether it’s because they like taking care of Whumpee just to break them back down, or maybe because of the praise they get from the other doctors and Whumpee too.

When Whumpee gets angry over this when they find out Whumper hasn’t been letting them recover on purpose, Whumper can shoot back with a, “I saved your life, Whumpee. Who knows best here?”

Or maybe Whumper works at a psych ward of some kind. They won’t let Whumpee leave, and marks them down as unstable. They hurt Whumpee, and when Whumpee begs the other doctors for help, they think Whumpee is lying because they’re just unstable.

Whumper maybe convinces Whumpee they’re insane. That without them, Whumpee would be a lost cause, and they need to help Whumpee. Whumper convinces them that Caretaker was a hallucination or a figment of their imagination. They prescribe them drugs they don’t need, and preform less than ethical experiments on them. Mental torture, if you will.

...

Television host!Whumper

They’re popular, they’re rich, they’re extremely good looking. What’s not to love about them? Not only that, but they’re said to be super funny and charismatic, always coming up with something interesting to say.

To Whumpee, they’re only best described as annoying, insufferable, and cruel. 

Whumpee could’ve been another television host, or a guest on their show. Maybe the closest feeling Whumper has ever gotten to love was extreme possessiveness, so it wouldn’t be so strange if the next biggest news headline is that Whumpee is presumed dead.

Of course, they wouldn’t actually be dead. Since Whumper has more than enough money, they could easily hire someone to do the dirty work for them.

Whumper might enjoy tormenting them by propping up a camera, pretending Whumpee is on a game show, when in reality, it’s more sinister. Maybe Whumper asks a trivia question, and if Whumpee answers wrong, they get punished. Perhaps Whumper pretends to film a game on how much Whumpee knows them. Obviously, if they answer wrongly, they get punished probably worse.

The only time they ever let Whumpee watch tv is when they’re on screen. If anyone else is on screen, Whumper will get angry and turn off the tv immediately. Only they should matter to Whumpee.

[learning-to-love-the-novel]

Pinned post v.0.1

Learning to Love (working title) is a gay fantasy novel that I've got like 50k words of notes about and maybe 5k words of actual text for (it's all random scenes from like the middle of the story and I can't fucking post them anywhere but I need to talk about this thing)

Setting: post-apocalyptic. Before the catastrophe it was a high magic society, about as technologically advanced as we are right now, except with magic instead of technology.

Characters: mostly magical academia people (several magical colleges/research institutes stayed fairly intact as social structures throughout the catastrophe). Basically, if you're someone from academia who also likes fantasy and mlm romance, these guys should be up your alley.

Story hook: newly Ph.D. guy comes back home, finds his professor dad a grumpy asshole (moreso than before) who mistreats his live-in maid/Ph.D. student. The student finishes his Ph.D., professor dad seemingly kicks him out, student is bummed, professor's son offers to go on some adventures together with him.

Creation notes (&reasoning behind some tags on this post) and tag list (to be updated) under read more

Learning to Love originally started out as a global AU fanfic for Alfabusa's If the Emperor had a text to speech device video series, itself a fix-it fanfic for Warhammer 40.000. But, as I worked out more and more of the details, I realized that calling it a fanfic is sorta dishonest.

The point of the Warhammer characters I was playing with, their essense, is war. War is their life, their purpose, the source of their tragedies... I didn't want to write about that. And if you keep that out of your wh40k fanfic, is it really a wh40k fanfic? Especially if it's a global AU, set in a world that bears no resemblance to wh40k or any of its versions? Personally, I don't think so.

Thus, Learning to Love is not a fanfic anymore. I changed most of the "inherited" characters to be barely recognizable, kicked out some primarchs from my story, remade others entirely (or maybe rather made up new characters in their place? hard to tell sometimes), put a couple OCs with no wh40k precursors in. But the main pairing started out as Magnus x Captain General Little Kitten (as anyone from that fandom can probably already tell), and their dynamic is still a version of that. (A very optimistic version.)

This is why this post is tagged with If the Emperor had a text to speech device and the several Mittens pairing tags. Don't worry, I'll only tag posts where I talk about Learning to Love's fanfic origins with that, which I can't imagine there's gonna be a lot of.

This change brought a problem: there were suddenly a lot of unnamed characters on the cast, because previously I'd just keep the wh40k names of their prototypes, and now I had to come up with all new names. The main duo is still unnamed as of now. (I might just leave the professor's son's name as Magnus... He's not even one-eyed anymore, I don't think this qualifies as copyright infringement)

Tags:

(I will add on to here as I post)

#Corrinthim lore -- the continent this takes place on is called Corrinthim, so that's just gonna be the lore of the post-apocalyptic fantasy setting

#dramatis personae -- the basic information on my characters will be here.

#story spoilers -- you guessed it, these are posts about what happens later in the story

#backstory -- also guessed it, characters' backstory

#backstory spoilers -- specifically the parts of backstory that are meant to be revealed later in the story

List of character-specific tags: #Alexander Yunt

[melodic-cherry]

Hello, this is going to be a mix of my Dr teeth headcanons and my personal look into his relationships !! **very long ! **

Before I begin sorry for any misspellings and grammar thanks

Headcanons:

• this is just my personal opinion, but due to his personality that we seen in episode six I’d like to say that he has a nerdier part of his personality, but maybe not so much an academic stance? To be fair he is clearly pretty smart more than he lets on, BUT he just strikes me as the kind of person in his free time to have “nerdier” interests and hobbies which is so cool which adds to his cool thing XD

• this boy most definitely had braces growing up at some point.

• growing up not only did he sneak out, I think that he would be a little sneak and hide some kind of small instrument in his room. Mainly during college he definitely try to dabble in music when he had the time, but he did feel guilty for doing so, due to his mother.

• going back to the whole dentistry thing, I think that sometimes he might comments on other peoples habits when it comes to dental care. Not out of like a Judgey standpoint more out of a concern?? Kind of like a automatic response he might have throughout the years.

• as soon as him,Floyd, and animal hit the road with the bus… I think that teeth would party a lot in the beginning which they do but I would assume like 20 year-old man type partying. I hope that makes sense. ( XD )

• throughout the years, he has definitely kept in contact with his mother, a lot of the times just checking up seeing how things are while also getting a lecture.

• I like the teeth and Penny relationship HOWEVER… I really wish that they may be didn’t get back together, so simply?? May be a question on how she felt about him just leaving instead of just anger there was never really a conversation except for “I’ll commit to you.”

** look into character relationships**

• penny x teeth •

- now, I’m not going to get on here and diss on the relationship. It’s a 50|50 thing for me. To bring up the good parts …I do think that it’s cute how he is kind of thrilled by the way that she acts and her interests.. BUT for all we know that she feel towards him was anger in the beginning, and then kind of just attraction ?? Which is completely normal, but I wish that for a relationship that’s kind of talked about there would be more intimacy maybe?? I’m not talking sexual ( like foot fetish stuff ) im talking just a connection for the audience. For me, I think that they added penny kind of for like backstory ( obvi ) , but didn’t explore it in enough depth for it to really stick out to anybody as a fan favorite relationship.. which yeah I bet that wasn’t the point HOWEVER. After all of these years, we’ve never really seen him have an established relationship. Which to be fair, the mayhem was never like a star point of the Muppet show anyway but still, I wish we would’ve gotten more information about positive parts of the relationship on her side??  immediately we see that she’s angry that he left and he didn’t really give an explanation. Then they immediately probably I’m going to have to assume hook up and just forgive each other?? I don’t know I don’t really like that very much. I’m not saying that she isn’t the type of woman that he’d go for physically because that doesn’t really matter. I just don’t feel like her personality is so much healthy for him?? Let me again explain. Obviously I really like penny a lot. I think that she has a very almost mothering like personality from my experience with my mom. As we see an episode six and seven though she kind of has a very direct and it’s my way personality?? at least that’s how I interpret it personally, not that that’s an inherently bad personality I find it attractive, but I don’t think it fits his character. Afterwards his controlling relationship with his mother, I highly doubt that it would be healthy to be in a relationship with a woman similar kind of? Is penny toxic hell no. Is she domineering enough to tell Floyd “Because I said so” and The constant annoyance of people in her personality kind of similar to his mom…yes?? And also no. I just don’t think, Dr teeth needs a girlfriend like penny, atleast not long term. I do however wish it was more explored and maybe my mind would’ve been expanded.

• Dr teeth and his mother | father •

- considering that we barely got an episode full of his interactions with his parents. This is going to be pretty biased. From what I’ve seen obviously, Tina and Gerald only want the best for teeth, but they aren’t doing it in a healthy way. I can definitely tell that Gerald wants his son to be happy, but he never necessarily says anything which lets his wife kind of walk all over their son. you know what?? not even kind of she does!! I have a sympathy towards Tina in the sense that she only wanted to do what was best maybe it’s like generational trauma, however it wasn’t good. Teeth needed POSITIVE someone in his life. Someone who is going to let him openly express who he is and what he believes which it’s good that he met Floyd when he did. I don’t know if Dr. teeth hates dentistry, probably not, but it’s not a career that he wants for himself, though he understands enough to have a doctorate clearly. I really hope that in the future if we get a season two that we see some good Gerald and teeth moments to make up for the mothers, very domineering personality over her own husband. I think that episode six was very good at giving Dr. teeth a backstory even though this is not the first one that we gotten I actually prefer this one a lot more!! it shows that he actually has a more sensitive nerdier side to him… what you wouldn’t assume if you’ve only watched the other Muppet content, because we never really explored the band, we never got the chance. I think making the parents mainly tina emotionally neglectful makes sense onto why well teeth acts how he does. The whole non-commitment thing completely ties in with maybe his fear of being himself, and making other people happy, considering that he felt like he failed his parents.. BUT actually really enjoyed Tina teeth no matter what I said in this I find her to be interesting and complex just because of character has bad morals does not mean it’s a bad character.  we see his parents in the VIP section at their concert so obviously the family made up but I don’t think that a little bit of an apology basically what 30+ fucking years later is gonna cut it ?? I really hope that we get to see more of his dynamic with his parents not only in a good light, but in a negative light to really shed what a bad relationship can do to a child and the relationships with the parent mainly a mother and a son. 

• Dr teeth and Floyd •

- controversial Muppet fandom opinion, but I don’t really see these two as having any kind of romantic relationship in current day. I can definitely see it when they were younger not anymore though. In my personal opinion I think that they had a romantic beginning maybe a couple years into knowing eachother after they left. That maybe it led off into a friendship. maybe being so young, wanting experiences and just possibly two different things in life.?? Which is weird to say considering that they’re both musicians, but just because you’re in a band together, doesn’t mean that you romantically vibe. Ofc im so down with Dr Pepper just not as they are now. ANYHOW… I do believe that they make a very strong friendship and episode six to bring it up again ( I’m obsessed with that episode clearly. ) clearly if it wasn’t for Floyd I don’t think that teeth would’ve ever been happy in his life. Sure he could’ve been content with dentistry, considering that he probably doesn’t hate it, but it isn’t something that he wants for his own life permanently. Floyd definitely was almost like his guardian angel in that sense?? Which is very weird, but I see it as more of a queer platonic relationship. Floyd gave him that push and that drive to actually take a risk and maybe fuck up but end up being happy in the end. I believe that in there early days, they probably had their off and ons , considering that teeth was raised the complete opposite of how Floyd was. ( im assuming ) but in the end, they always came back together, because teeth couldn’t have found himself without Floyd in his life. So naturally, I really appreciate this friendship, and I want more time of these two reminiscing on their past maybe and giving more experience of just these two on their own no band supporting 24/7.  Like, for example, when Janice told Nora about Floyd’s original love interest, I bet you that he was ranting to teeth about it, saying how he’s upset and such….maybe that could be a fun memory in the future!  oh I really enjoyed the end of episode six clearly since I obviously have a strong opinion about these two but overall, I think this is Dr teeth’s HEALTHIEST relationship.

[zealoussy]

THE DOOR - MAGDA SZABÓ REVIEW

General Book Information

Title : The Door

Author : Magda Szabó

Genre : Classics, Historical, Literary

Released : 1987

Book Summary

Narrator is a writer who had just got back her and her husband's (also a writer) writing life after a revolution. As the two are busy with their writing, the household needs to be tended. Emerence is a caretaker that everyone in the neighborhood regards highly. She helps everyone in need, wealthy or poor, men or women, moral or immoral, she is always taking care of people. Narrator hired her. But Emerence is not a caretaker like any other. Narrator can't help but be obsessed pursuing her curiosity in understanding Emerence's character. So the story of secrets, obsession, vulnerability, and love and murder, unfolds.

Likes/Dislikes

The spectrum in which female friendship can fall into –either at the edge of the spectrum where the characters bravely embrace tenderness or at the opposite edge where you can only find vulnerability using obsessive means– always fascinated me. Unique female character like Emerence in this book is perfect for playing a role of friend-interest. The main narrator is undoubtedly showing a great interest in Emerence who is for her, a puzzle that she wanted to solve. I immediately hooked to reading this.

I have a special spot for characters with hard shells to crack. It's an intriguing experience, as a person with the same trait, to follow the author's plan to unravel the fragile core that hides behind the tough fort. As I was learning to begin to understand Emerence, suffice to say I was unconsciously allowing myself into the narrator's indulgence in Emerence's life and person. Any snippets into Emerence's past life, I take a mental note in a form of newspaper clippings pinned on to a big board that contains anything about her.

It is not so far-fetched to connect her backstory to her present attitude to the world. Yet, I feel that the unfolding of her motif is sometimes irresolute. The narrator had to dig her past life stories by putting herself in more often than not, inconvenient circumstances. Yet as she learns what kind of lives Emerence had lived in the past, the narrator only observes, as if those snippets are only film trailers she doesn't bother to give attention to make an understanding. I think the author is lacking in building a strong perception about the connection between Emerence's past and her present attitude by the narrative from Lady Writer.

While I understand that the format of the story is a recounting of events leading to Emerence's death by the narrator, the time jump does not bode well for the development of the plot. I'm just not a fan of the narrator interrupting flashbacks without hinting that this will be a common occurrence in the story. I won't comment much on the historical context of the plot because I barely have knowledge in that, but I would say that the historical plot is just in the background, the focus is on the happenings in the characters' present time, kind of a slice of life in the Hungarian neighborhood during that time.

Even then, I appreciate Szabó's skillful writing that can induce frustration, confusion and exasperation throughout the whole book. By God, this is one of the most frustrating books I've ever read in my life. But I am as curious as a cat, so I keep going till the end. And yes, I did get killed at the last page. I don't even remember how many WTFs I have mentally uttered when reading this. In a good way or bad way, I can't even decide. I thought at first that this is going to be darker than I expected, because it has the gothic suspense feel at the beginning, but I guess it wasn't written in that direction. A little disappointed in that aspect, but I get that the turn of events is more focused on working the emotional sense of it.

All in all, I did not regret reading this book, albeit not overtly awed, but I'm not that disappointed either. This is a book written not like any others you may have read. That being said, I'm interested in reading other Szabó's works.

Would you recommend this book?

Yes, for people who like character study or enjoy My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. Not only is the writing style accessible, it is not boring either. The pacing is good. Lastly, it's got your feelings in a roller coaster.

Favorite Quotes

"It's just that, as well as love, you also have to know how to kill."

"... And you haven't been able to find anyone you can bear to have near you, because you aren't looking for just anyone, you're looking for the one person you will never be with you again."

"What does a dead person know, or see, or feel?"

"Who isn't lonely, I'd like to know? And that includes people who do have someone but just haven't noticed."

[nebmia]

Common RPG advice is wrong, actually, part 1: metagaming

Everyone knows metagaming is bad wrong and the worst thing you can do. Everyone is also wrong. Metagaming is actually unavoidable, necessary for the game and sometimes even (shockingly!) good. The fact is that the metagame exists whether you like it or not and it simply isn't possible to not engage with the metagame.

The general definition of metagame (as given by wikipedia) is:

"An approach to a game that transcends or operates outside of the prescribed rules of the game, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the supposed limits or environment set by the game"

And under that definition it should be clear why the metagame always exists. Your in-game actions will always be influenced by external factors. Your actions will change because you know that its nearly the end of the session, or under the influence of genre conventions, because of the direction you are interested in seeing the game going. But for RPGs metagaming is usually thought of more narrowly as: 'Acting on out of character knowledge', set against the ideal of perfectly embodying a character. With the usual examples being:

Exploiting a weakness of a monster that your player hasn't previously encountered.

Using information from reading ahead in the module. (Hint: This is more simply termed 'cheating')

Acting on information from a scene your character isn't present in.

Of these I only think the second is a serious issue (and it's not because its metagaming). If you want the characters to not know monsters weaknesses then... just use a monster that isn't really well known. Everyone spending multiple rounds pretending they don't know trolls are weak to fire just isn't fun (and is also actually still metagaming because you are changing your behavior to deliberately avoid doing what would be seen as metagaming).

Using information from scenes your character isn't present for can be good or bad. Using that information blatantly to gain an advantage is probably not good, but using it to make narratively interesting choices is good (and still metagaming).

And that's our first example of metagaming-for-good, something I think gamers could do with internalizing. Being aware of the metagame and metagaming with good intentions can improve your game.

A well known problem can be solved with metagaming is when a player acts in a way that is bad for the game and justifies it with the classic line 'Its what my character would do'. In some cases this behavior is just because the player is being a dick and no level of ~appreciation for the metagame~ will help and you need an entirely out of game solution. But in other cases It will be because the player believes that acting in character is what you are supposed to do, and this is what their character would do so they should do it even if it causes problems. In that case, a consideration of your action on an in-character level and a meta level would help.

Other examples of good metagaming include:

Not splitting the party (Good in-character because it makes safer, good on a meta level because it means the game runs faster and people don't spent ages sitting out the action)

Taking the adventure hooks the GM gives you, even when your character might not be that interested.

Sharing the spotlight.

Acting in a way to set up narrative involving another PC's backstory, which you (the player) know aboutbut your character doesn't.

Now, a lot of people already instinctualy understand a lot of these examples, but don't realise that what they are doing is metagaming!

I think the message of this post is mostly aimed at dnd players and other 'traditional' gamers. The metagame is something that has been thoroughly embraced by more narrative games, with some of what was previously metagame even being brought into the game proper

Anyway, I hope I have convinced you that 'metagaming' shouldn't be the dirty word it is in the ttrpg world. The metagame is just another part of the game and it is there whether you like it or not so you may as well engage with it in a beneficial way.

[cindymoon]

Did it ever occur to anyone that Wanda’s Roma background in the comics was BUILT on racist stereotypes? Similarly to M’Baku but also several others. And maybe that’s why the show runners stepped away from that..?

okay, so i think what we have here is someone who skimmed the original post in question (paragraph 2) and likely didn’t ready any of the links attached because that first message has been addressed already... but for anyone else in the same boat:

from gavia baker-whitelaw’s article:

Wanda and Pietro's Romani heritage was canon for decades (including in their non-mutant backstory), although this depiction often had problematic undertones. Wanda is literally a mysterious foreign witch, a damaging stereotype that acquired more nuance in later comics. But instead of updating Wanda and Pietro as modern Jewish/Romani superheroes (much like how Black Panther's charismatic M'Baku started out as a villain named "Man-Ape"), Disney whitewashed them. This casting choice was divisive in 2013, when The Atlantic highlighted the negative connotations of casting a white blonde actress as Scarlet Witch. Roma people are a marginalized ethnic minority, and Disney chose to erase their presence from the MCU.

...This rewrite was rather tone-deaf, because it involved Wanda and Pietro volunteering for neo-Nazi experiments. In the comics, their original parents were Holocaust survivors. Whedon also ignored the most obvious solution to Wanda and Pietro's non-mutant backstory: Django and Marya Maximoff, their Romani parents from the comics.

white washing characters is never the best solution. it doesn’t address the issue in so much as it just sweeps it under the rug. as well as perpetuating the idea that white is some unproblematic neutral that ppl can just default to. like can you imagine if in an attempt to “fix” how m’baku is portrayed in the comics, they just...put a white guy in the role? you can’t just remove a characters racial or ethnic background. no one is saying that her comic background hasn’t been problematic, but this isn’t the way to remedy that.

@scarlet--wiccan has an amazing post about the erasure of this whole family’s ethnic identity in the fox x-men films (x).

@villyns also has a good post outlining some examples of the mcu white washing rather than actually fixing the problem (x).

and here’s a decent article on white washing in media and why it’s a problem (x), quote from this article below:

Making a movie is not an easy feat; there are many things to take into account and even more people that you have to please, but there are also standards and morals to uphold. Whitewashing, blackface, brownface or yellowface is not just about denying jobs to minority actors, appropriating the stories of these groups, perpetuating stereotypes or keeping them invisible, it is about undermining their value as human beings and turning them into stepping stones, props, for white artists.

as for the second part. i think that’s entirely possible, actually. it’s done a lot to characters, where they won’t explicitly state their ethnicity but give them attributes from one (often stereotypes) and make them a caricature without making it, like i said, explicit. take the concept of jewish-coded villains in media. no one from disney has ever said that mother gothel in tangled is jewish, but it’s been pointed out by everyone that she’s jewish coded through stereotypes, ones specifically often used for “evil” witch-type characters, which is no coincidence: large, hooked nose, curly hair, greedy, etc. edit: hollywood uses coding like this often for racial/ethnic groups and the lgbtq+ community.

the maximoffs in the mcu and xmcu have never been explicitly made romani, with disney going so far as to change their parents romani names (django and marya) to oleg and irina. the name changes were unnecessary, except to distance the maximoffs from their original romani identity. the mcu changed their origins stories and cast non-romani actors to portray the maximoffs, and considering they went as far as to remove their jewish heritage as i mentioned before, it’s not a stretch that this is all an attempt to veil their romani background too. while they often joke about stealing and fortune tellers and poverty (the wv halloween episode really put it all in one place, but they’ve been doing it forever in the xmcu and mcu), i wouldn’t say this is an attempt to make them romani as much as it is to use a romani-esque caricature, to use it as a sort of “aesthetic” for the twins without acknowledging that it’s an ethnicity. the aspects they choose to keep are often either negative or painted in a negative light. i think the fact that el*zabeth ols*en continuously uses the g-slur to talk about wanda and costume design, speaks to that. 

and even if the mcu came out and said, “oh, our wanda is romani,” that wouldn’t change the fact that she’s played by a non-romani actress (who continues to use anti-romani slurs, despite knowing she shouldn’t) and that so far, they have not explicitly stated in the mcu that she is.

from gavia baker-whitelaw’s article:

Wanda and Pietro's whitewashing feels like an attempt to "neutralize" them. It frames their ethnicity as a problem to be avoided, rather than an opportunity to celebrate an under-represented group. This also meant that Marvel could cast famous white actors instead of sourcing an unknown Romani actor, during a period when the MCU was visibly uninterested in racial diversity.

But Marvel Studios wanted to have its cake and eat it, too. While Wanda is now white and Sokovian, her role isn't completely divorced from its Romani origins. It can't be, because everything in the MCU is informed by the comics. That's how we end up with El*zabeth Ols*n describing her Age of Ultron costume as "kind of this g*psy, vagabond feel"—terms that usually wouldn't come to mind for a simple black minidress and maroon jacket. Wanda's Romani heritage remains visible through veiled references and superficial costume choices, sidestepping any hint of meaningful representation.

from jessica reidy’s article:

Today, some Roma do call themselves witches, and serve as healers and spell-casters in a community, but make no mistake, being a witch is a job like any other. I was trained by my grandmother, I studied hard, I started a business, and I take bookings in my Google calendar. This is the context that most people miss when creating (or, in this case, adapting) Romani witch characters like Wanda Maximoff, and while the Scarlet Witch has plenty of magic, she does not need to fall into the stereotype, nor have her identity erased.

Representation matters. Wanda’s Romani ethnicity has been well-stated in the comic books, sometimes capturing the discrimination and violence that Roma face, and other times falling flat and stereotypical. Marvel also owes us, as Roma are often rendered as mentally unstable thieves, such as Dr. Doom, Wanda and Pietro’s community, and Wanda herself, and the entertainment giant capitalizes off of these stereotypes, reinforcing them all the while.

Every opportunity we get for accurate and positive representation is essential to us because it shapes the way people understand us.

linking the post i made again, because it has a list of articles and posts i’d recommend really taking the time to look through and engaging with them, as well as following folks like jessica reidy and @scarlet--wiccan​ on social media for more info from romani folks.