#she idealizes her in death she holds her as a messiah basically she thinks she had no flaws

[vaugarde]

sayaka as the one who knows mami best and is the perfect one to free her- what

[rosesandlavendertea]

Relationships in TPN

I really like how Kaiu Shirai has depicted Ray and Emma’s current relationship with Norman. Yeah, they still love him and are glad to have him back, but there is still a certain level of detachment, and the way the author has gone about writing it is amazing.

See, the thing is, they’ve already grieved him. They are ecstatic that he is not really dead, but they’ve had two years to get over this loss. They’ve spent two years going through their own trials together that he is not a part of. They have developed their own views on how the world works because they’ve been in completely different circumstances.

Norman is angry and bitter and has developed quite a messiah complex due to his own experiences since Grace Field. We already saw hints of said complex back then, but nothing compared to now. We also always saw his desire to protect his friends, no matter the cost, but back then, he was willing to listen to Emma’s opinions. He trusted her judgement because he knew she balanced him out (also, he’s in love with her, but we’ll get back to that), but now he completely goes with his own opinions and morals, without even stopping to pay attention to what others may think. Yeah, he already did that back at Grace Field (escape arc), but still: genocide? Seriously, dude? I knew his moral compass was set firmly to to chaotic neutral/neutral good and, but that’s kind of messed up.

Back then, it was Ray going over Emma’s head and Norman being her supporter, but that dynamic has changed. They’ve gone from a group of three close individuals who grew up in the same environment but had differing ideals to two close partners and a close friend whom they’ll never see the same because they spent two years thinking he was dead and when they do see him alive and well, they find out he’s been planning genocide. That kind of changes a person’s perspective on someone. 

Ray was slightly detached from his friends growing up because his experiences were different. He spent his childhood watching his siblings be led to death and not being able to do anything about it. He shouldered the burden of the knowledge of the true nature of their world alone, and while he loved his friends dearly, he matured in a way that they didn’t. When he finally got to go through the same experiences as the rest of his peers,for the first time in his life he got to be on equal footing with those he loved. You can see it with how open he is with his family after the escape arc compared to how closed off and cynical he was before.

And that brings me to Norman’s views about his friends. The thing is, he didn’t get to grow alongside the rest of his family. He didn’t even get to grow alongside his new peers because he set himself firmly as the ‘boss’. He purposefully detached himself from the people surrounding him to create a ‘God’-like image. He isolated himself and didn’t get to experiences any true bonds with anyone for two years. Yeah, he had Zazie and the others, but he was also guarded, even with them. He most likely held onto the memories of his closeness with Emma and Ray, dreaming of the day he can save them all from the hell they are in, but that is also a problem. As he didn’t grow with them and share in their lives for those two years, they stayed firmly in his mind as the children they were back in Grace Field; he didn’t see them as people who had had hardships as he had. He may have had the knowledge of their struggles due to basic reasoning, but never truly reconciled that knowledge with the image of them he retained. That’s a problem because he doesn’t see them as equals anymore; he sees them as two children he needs to protect, going over their heads because he believes that they won’t understand, that they don’t have the same maturity that he does.

Even his feelings for Emma are problematic right now because of that view. To him, she is still that beautiful, bright, innocent girl that he loves and feels the need to shelter and protect. He has spent the last two years loving that image of her, but he hasn’t been with her to let that love grow for the young woman that she is now. His feelings are like food that’s been left out for too long: they’re stale, sour and out of date; they no longer apply to who she is. So, his feelings for her are a little bit toxic because he doesn’t see them as equals, and a big part of relationships is understanding and equal-footing. Plus, she doesn’t feel the same way about him: as I said earlier, she’s already grieved him, meaning she’s distanced herself from him. She never really loved him like he loved her and now there is an even bigger gap between his feelings for her and her feelings for him because of that distance. He spent the last two years being like, 80% sure that she was still alive and holding onto the hope that they’ll one day be reunited and that she may eventually love him the same way (also toxic, might I add), stunting his emotional growth while she was out there in the world creating new connections, new relationships with the people around her instead of holding on to a person who wasn’t there.

So, yeah. I was not intending to write this much, but I get really into character analysis and basically, I really like the subtle way the author has gone about depicting this strain on the Emma-Norman-Ray dynamic, and I hope to see more interesting stuff from an analytical point of view in the future. (Also, firm Rayemma shipper here because I love the relationship built on mutual trust and understanding they’ve built. It’s implicitly known that they are partners by everyone around them and that is so completely awesome. Furthermore, they are the Dumbass Duo and I love that dynamic. That scene where they were seriously talking about breaking Ray’s leg: perfection.)

TL;DR: Kaiu Shirai is a god, Norman can suck my dick, though I still love him, and Rayemma forever.

[aion-rsa]

Dune Trailer Breakdown and Analysis

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This article contains spoilers for the Dune book and probably the movie. You’ve been warned.

The first trailer for Denis Villeneueve’s Dune is here and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Showcasing a spectacular all star cast, truly epic visuals, and a surprising Pink Floyd song choice, this looks like a faithful adaptation of Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi novel.

Well…half of it, at least. Y’see, Warner Bros. and Villeneueve have (wisely) opted to split the book into two films. So everything you see in this trailer is roughly from the first half (or less) of the story.

If you haven’t seen it yet, here it is…

Pretty spectacular, right? Now, let’s dive in…but before I start, a note about spoilers.

Look, if it’s in the marketing material, it isn’t a spoiler. And it’s tough to truly spoil a book that is almost 60 years old, especially when David Lynch adapted this back in 1984, in a version that has been widely seen and is inexplicably beloved. Nevertheless, I’m keeping this spoiler light, and trying not to allude to stuff in the latter half of the book, although you can draw some pretty strong conclusions from what’s shown in the trailer.

My own analysis here is mixed in with quotes from the cast, taken from a Q&A that was moderated by Stephen Colbert.

Paul Atreides

That’s Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides, the protagonist, if not the actual “hero” of Dune, inasmuch as this story has any actual heroes. He’s only 15 years old, leaving his comfortable existence on his home planet, because his family has just won the contract to mine the most valuable commodity in the galaxy, the spice Melange, on the planet Arrakis.

And yes, as you expect, there is more to him than there might seem to be at first. We wrote more about Paul here.

Chani

Zendaya is Chani, a Fremen of the planet Arrakis. Some of Paul’s narration in this trailer seems to be based around prophetic dreams he has had of eventually meeting Chani on Arrakis.

“I think upon their first meeting, she doesn’t … She’s tough,” Zendaya said in a cast Q&A. “She’s a warrior. She’s native to this planet. This is all she knows. And so, this kind of other kid coming in, she’s not really feeling it. And that’s to the Fremen culture, that they have strong culture and bond within and amongst each other…she obviously doesn’t know about these visions and things. And he knows her, she doesn’t know him. And there’s these moments that … don’t want to give anything away, but these moments where she sees something in him that is obviously an indicator of what is to come.”

We have more on Zendaya’s role in the film here.

Speaking of dreaming, here’s Paul in his bedroom back on his home planet of Caladan in the Atreides ancestral home, Castle Caladan. Based on the book, this scene takes place shortly before the Atreides family departs for Arrakis.

For an even more fun detail from the book, the headboard of Paul’s bed is exactly as it’s described in Herbert’s novel.

Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam

This is the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (played by Charlotte Rampling). She reports directly to the Emperor, but was also the teacher of Paul’s mother, the Lady Jessica.

Fans of David Lynch’s film may remember the key role she played in determining that young Paul had an extraordinary destiny, and that scene plays out throughout this trailer.

Notably…

“What’s in the box?”

“Pain.”

This box literally causes pain, but with no physical damage. What’s happening here is the Reverend Mother has summoned Paul to see if he has some of the Bene Gesserit physical/mental control powers. When Paul’s hand is placed in the box, nerves are stimulated causing pain.

In the book the level of pain is described as if the flesh is being seared from his bones, although no actual damage is done.

The Gom Jabbar

Ah, but what’s a test without consequences, right? To make sure that Paul takes this little test seriously, the Reverend Mother holds this nasty little device to his neck.

It’s called a gom jabbar, described in the book’s “Terminology of the Imperium” appendix as “the high-handed enemy; that specific poison needle tipped with meta-cyanide used by Bene Gesserit proctors in the death-alternative test of human awareness.

In other words, if Paul pulls his hand out of the box of pain (please, no Grateful Dead jokes), he’ll be pricked with this extremely poisonous needle and die an agonizing actual death.

Shields

So you know how in Star Wars and Star Trek ships have shields and deflector screens? In the world of Dune, you get personal energy shields!

According to the “Terminology of the Imperium” these defensive shields “will permit entry only to objects moving at slow speeds (depending on setting, this speed ranges from six to nine centimetres per second).”

In other words, no guns or projectile weapons work with someone wearing a shield, making the art of personal combat that much more important in this universe…

…hence Paul training with blades here. And his instructor?

Gurney Halleck

That would be Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), who is responsible for teaching Paul how to use weapons and defend himself. And kick his ass when necessary.

“Gurney is the war-master,” Josh Brolin said. “He’s also kind of a parent of sorts, where Duke Leto is obviously busy, extremely busy, in what he’s doing. And he’s taken a real liking to this kid, and I think he has a real soft spot. So Gurney Halleck is like a great dichotomist character, because he’s this great kind of brave-heart warrior, but at the same time, has a love of poetry and kind of heart, and there’s a softness to him…It was fun to play.”

Duke Leto Atreides

Paul’s father, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) appears to be taking one last look at his home planet of Caladan before departing for Arrakis.

“He’s a father, and he’s got all the qualities of, I think, what the epitome of what a father should be,” Isaac told Colbert. “He’s noble … and under incredible pressure to save his family, save his house, but to adapt to this new existential threat situation, which is moving to this strange planet, and being forced to, and being able to see that there could be a trap, that it could be … there’s a lot of things at work, and yet, trying to live up to those bigger ideals, which is sensitivity and empathy and love and order, and trying to give that and show that to his son, knowing that he’s not going to be there forever, in the hopes that they can use this dark, strange situation to their advantage.”

The Planet Caladan

This is the surface of planet Caladan, the lush, watery planet that the Atreides family leaves for um…dryer pastures on Arrakis.

Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson)

This is the Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), the Duke’s concubine and the mother of Paul Atreides. Don’t mistake her for a passive observer, though. She’s a Bene Gesserit, which makes her something like a combination of a psychic badass and a superspy. She’s absolutely central to the story.

“She’s [Leto’s] dearest partner in greatness, but she has her own weird, Bene Gesserit, prophet, spy thing going on,” Isaac said. “And I think he kind of doesn’t really get too much into what that’s all about. He understands she has this specific role to play. And then he’s got a son that might be the messiah, so there’s a lot going on there.”

“She’s the engine of the family,” he continued. “She’s the engine of the events that happen, and it’s a long game that’s being played, over millennia, and she’s part of that…she’s in a very interesting place too, because she understands that there’s a much greater mission to accomplish, and yet, she also loves her family and wants to protect them in any way she can. So it is. They’re a family in an insane amount of pressure and a lot of conflict. But I think at the core of that, it’s an intense love that they have for each other.”

Timothee Chalamet also sings the praises of both the character and the actress.

“There is no Dune without Lady Jessica,” Chalamet said. “And without giving anything away, although the book has been out for decades, anybody can read it, they … Lady Jessica ignores the order of the Bene Gesserit. She’s supposed to have a girl, and she has a boy instead. And that’s one of the triggering events of Dune.”

The Planet Arrakis

Arrakis, the titular Dune of the film, is quite a change from Caladan, isn’t it? It’s a planet of great strategic importance, with an incredibly valuable natural resource, that powerful factions are willing to go to war over.

So, you know, nothing political about this at all.

Thufir Hawat

I’m pretty sure that’s Stephen McKinley Henderson as Atreides family Mentat (and Master of Assassins) Thufir Hawat visible between Paul and Gurney here.

Duncan Idaho

Meet Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa), swordmaster of the Atreides and one of the most trusted lieutenants of Duke Leto. Duncan was sent ahead to Arrakis which is why he’s so pleased to see everyone here.

Momoa described his character with his typical aplomb as “basically the greatest fighter in the fucking world,” before adding, “he just would do anything to protect Paul…and looks up to all these guys.”

The “these guys” in question are the Fremen, the fierce natives of Arrakis who the charming Idaho is trying to make into allies for the Atreides.

Stilgar

Stilgar (Javier Bardem) is a powerful Fremen leader and potential ally of the Atreides as they acclimate to Arrakis.

“Stilgar is the head chief of the people that live deep in the desert of planet Arrakis, which is also known as Dune,” Bardem said. “He’s a leader, and he’s a fighter. He has a lot of ethics and morals, and he’s taken by the message that the messiah, Paul Atreides, is bringing with him…They are kind of protecting their environment and their planet…So there’s a lot of ethics and morality and also environmental thinking in their ways, which I think is brilliant in the book and in the movie.”

The Harkonnen Homeworld

I’m not completely certain, but I’m pretty sure this is Giedi Prime, the homeworld of House Harkonnen.

Beast Rabban

That’s Dave Bautista as “Beast” Glossu Rabban, the nephew of the film’s nasty villain, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. He doesn’t look particularly healthy, does he?

“I grew up a massive WWE fan, and I’d never met Bautista… let alone Bautista, the real human,” Timothee Chalamet said. “And his excitement being there, having already worked with Denis [on Blade Runner 2049]. And when you see an actor that’s already worked with a director and is more humbled than ever and is more excited to be there than ever…just kind of set the bar on these kind of movies.”

Anyway, speaking of the Harkonnens…

Baron Harkonnen

This might be a completely unrecognizable (and disgusting) Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

“I will say that my secret weapon for that was Stellan Skarsgård, because you put Stellan with the way we designed the Baron and we shoot him,” Villeneuve said. “People will understand right away what his position regarding the Atreides and what is the difference of moral values between the Atreides and the Harkonnens.”

If the above shot is any indication, he ain’t kidding.

I’m not totally sure what we’re looking at here, but the most likely explanation is Harkonnen soldiers.

Liet Kynes

Sharon Duncan-Brewster is Liet Kynes, an ecologist studying Arrakis. In the book and Lynch film, Kynes was a male character, but that has been swapped here.

“Denis was adamant that we just concentrate on what Kynes represents and thematically, the sense of … he’s an integral role,’ Duncan-Brewster said. “He connects all the dots. He connects the Harkonnens, he connects House of Atreides, he connects the Fremen, planet Arrakis, the sand-worms. This is somebody who understands … and moves in between each and every one, seemingly with one agenda. But however, as things go, we start to understand that there is more gameplay-ing or survival or preservation for the good of certain people or individuals or beings.”

Dr. Yueh

This is Dr. Wellington Yueh (Chang Chen), a doctor who works for the Atreides. The black diamond tattoo on his forehead identifies him as a member of the Suk School, the greatest doctors in the known universe.

Spice Harvester

There’s a great scene in the book (and in the Lynch film) where a spice harvester gets swallowed by a sandworm and, well…here it is.

Ornithopters

These weird dragonfly like vehicles you’re seeing here are Ornithopters. They’re man made aircraft that flap their wings like birds.

Sandworms

And there it is, Shai-Halud, the notorious and iconic sandworm of Arrakis. These things can be 400 meters long, are essentially immortal, and unless another sandworm kills them or they drown in water (which isn’t exactly in great supply on Arrakis), they aren’t going anywhere.

The “Terminology of the Imperium” gives an ominous indicator of how powerful these are, with “most of the sand on Arrakis is credited to sandworm action.”

Dune is currently scheduled to open on Dec. 18.

Did you spot anything we missed? Let us know in the comments!

The post Dune Trailer Breakdown and Analysis appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[sheparrrds]

dutch is... yeah he's basically a cult leader. and i don't wanna say when he took arthur in he indoctrinated him but yeah dutch absolutely saw a young impressionable mind who would owe him and exploited that for his own selfish purposes. sure it's not all quite as clear cut as that but yh that's the gist

he absolutely did that. arthur’s entire worldview is this.. existential conflict between what he feels in his heart, his artist’s soul, his softness, and the construct dutch brought him up to believe, the lieutenant dutch formed him into. dutch.. effectively collects vulnerable people. addicts (to both substances and to crime), outcasts, misfits, criminals. folks who don’t fit in with the society around them. 

whether that be because they’re an ex-serviceman struggling with living as a civilian after a life in the navy, not living up to any expectations of himself by his family, and coping with burgeoning alcoholism; the daughter of a freed slave who was kidnapped as a child and brought up as a gang’s plaything until she escaped by murdering her captor;

a clergyman with severe addictions to morphine and opium, both of which have stripped him of his career, his purpose, and his family; another ex-serviceman from an alcoholic family who was dishonourably discharged from the army due to his violent nature and alcoholism, who’s grown into an ignorant racist with a bad temper; a displaced revolutionary mexican freedom fighter who grew up seeing his family, community, and country being torn apart by despots, understanding firsthand what power does to people, an exile from his own homeland;

 a sickly austrian who found himself alone in new york city as a child and used his intelligence to become a remorseless loan shark; the son of a freed slave who saw his father murdered when he was barely a teenager, killed those responsible, and went on the run at 15;

a black native american who has relied on no one but himself in the midst of the white colonialists responsible for the continuing genocide of his culture and people, since the age of 13 when he ran away from his alcoholic father after the kidnap, abuse, and murder of his mother, leaving him with no concept of or connection to his own culture, heritage, and only family;

a conflicted career criminal whose penchant for scamming people was initially borne from his need to survive as a child alone, but since became a weary defeated addiction even lifelong love can’t break him from no matter how he tries; a young woman who so despises the world she lives in and that world’s treatment of women that she despises herself as a result, and turns to crime to punish that world, drinking herself through existence just to cope; a man who was his murderer father’s partner-in-crime all his life and has grown into an angry violent manipulative bigoted psychopath; prostitutes, immigrants, strays with nowhere else to go;

a 12 year old child due to be lynched by farmers in illinois

a 15 year old orphan whose petty criminal father left such a negative impact on him that arthur wishes he’d died years before he finally did

dutch collects vulnerable people. people who have, for one reason or another, failed at living in society. he preaches that there is no place in society for folks like them, and that by sticking with him, they will find somewhere they belong. a family. a safe haven outside of society’s laws and walls.

and because every gang member has.. Something that has made them an outcast in wider society, dutch’s politics and preaching appeal to them. to john and arthur, it goes even deeper. dutch is their only family. the father figure who took them in, taught them how to survive, fed them, sheltered them, supported them.

and at the same time, conditioned them into perfect gang enforcers. dutch took the fears and anger and confusion of two children and played on them, created a worldview where john and arthur would never be accepted outside his hold. in the beginning of the game especially, arthur believes there is no good in the world. he believes people and the lives people lead are inherently greedy, selfish, and violent. he expresses confusion and anger when he meets people who Don’t believe life is just Like That. the bad things they do, the things he knows are wrong, he believes are just part of the fabric of the universe. he’s damned, he’s a bad irredeemable criminal, and doing bad things makes little difference.

that’s the world dutch cultivated for him, in the end. perhaps not at first, when dutch span the tale of survival by any means, but that’s how it is when we meet arthur, and due to arthur’s familial loyalty to dutch, arthur doesn’t question it when dutch becomes less robin hood and more sheriff of nottingham. dutch has created two unerringly loyal soldiers. 

and even when arthur’s true nature conflicts with his hardened worldview, it takes his own impending death and knowing what’s in store for his brother john, for him to truly finally break out of dutch’s conditioning. to finally see the worth in the world around him. the beauty, the kindness. and to realise it does make a difference. that he has a choice, in all things. that being good is less about something innate that he was born with, and more about choosing to do good things from one moment to the next. to be kind, selfless, generous. to love. it won’t absolve what’s been done, and sometimes the world will be unkind and hard and painful no matter what, but good begets good. it does matter.

like.. i believe the events in game were the short term causes of dutch’s descent. but the wheel had been turning for a long while before we join the ride. dutch is a deadly cocktail of greed, anger, a messiah complex, a complete inability to deal with failure.. he was a ticking time bomb, and he always was.

and i believe dutch did genuinely believe in his ideal at first. he did reject society and did believe he could find the promised land and live free and easy, and if he had to steal a few things here and there to survive, that was forgivable, because his end justified his means. and i think it’s a human condition, to be.. unhappy with the world, to feel trapped by ‘society’, to long for some unknown unquantified freedom, the ever romantic ‘simple life’. i think many humans desire that, no matter where we are in history. and dutch managed to exploit that desire in people.

and we see how it ends, when that relatively simple ideal becomes a regime of violence and murder for the sake of violence and murder presided over by a maniacally out-of-touch dictator whose blind arrogance and paranoid hero complex get most of his ‘family’ killed.

[sanctamater]

STUDY: AMELIA COMSTOCK. tagged by: @antialibi​ thank u moisticle bean tagging: u bitch

—    basics

▸     is    your    muse    tall    /    short    /    average ? Amelia is below average height for the time period. The average height of a woman in 1912 was 5′4″,  but the women of Amelia’s generation averaged at about 5′2″. Amelia, at 5′0″, is still decidedly quite short. 

▸      are    they    okay    with    their    height ? Amelia dislikes her height immensely. She loathes constantly having to look up at everyone, being unable to reach things, the fact her husband is a foot and three inches taller than her. She’s got to constantly wear big hats and heels in order to give herself any impression of height: she feels minuscule. 

▸      what’s    their    hair    like ? Amelia’s hair is an extremely dark brown, almost black in most lights; streaked through with the occasional strand of grey. Incredibly thick and thine, with a slight wave to it. She has not cut it since 1893 as scripture forbids it; and it has grown to surpass her in height, and is at about 5′7″ in length. She keeps it up in elaborate styles and braids it for night; choosing to wear veils in church and hats otherwise. It’s incredibly soft; conditioned with oils and a hundred brush strokes day and night, yet very heavy; and Amelia suffers from neck pains and headaches due to the weight of her hair.

▸     do    they    spend    a    lot    of    time    on    their    hair     /    grooming ? Yes. Cleanliness is next to godliness. While Victorian hair was not washed often due to the harsh nature of lye soaps, oils were used to keep it clean and fresh. She oils her hair with rose hip and orange blossom in the nights, and uses a boar brush to evenly distribute it through her hair. She bathes frequently: every two days, with washes in between. Hair removal was nothing new though the first female razor was not marketed until 1915: depilatory creams and arsenic washes were used. Given evening dresses of the era, she removes her underarm hair and keeps her pubic hair neatly groomed and trimmed. Her legs are another story: she doesn’t touch those at all lmfao. Doesn’t see a point to it. She keeps herself neat, clean, and fresh at all times; so... I’d say quite a bit of time is put into her hair and grooming.

▸      does    your    muse    care    about    their    appearance    /    what    others    think ? Of course she does. Not only is Amelia quite vain, she’s also the second of Columbia’s Highest and Holiest; second to only the Prophet for she is his bride. Furthermore, she is the Mother of their Messiah, and the pinnacle of beauty, femininity and motherhood in Columbia: given her station, status, and what she represents she must take care to not have a hair out of place nor a crease in her clothes.

—    preferences

▸      indoors    or    outdoors ?     Outdoors. ▸      rain    or    sunshine ?      Sunshine! ▸      forest    or    beach ?      Beach. ▸      precious    metals    or    gems ?      Gems. ▸      flowers    or    perfumes ?   Flowers. ▸      personality    or    appearance ?      Personality. ▸      being    alone    or    being    in    a    crowd ?   Being in a crowd. ▸      order    or    anarchy ?     Order. ▸      painful    truths    or    white    lies ?  White lies. ▸      science    or    magic ?  Magic! ▸      peace    or    conflict ?  Peace ▸      night    or    day ?  Day. ▸      dusk    or    dawn ?      Dawn. ▸      warmth    or    cold ?  Warm. ▸     many   acquaintances    or    a    few    close    friends ?      A few close friends. ▸      reading    or    playing    a    game ?      Reading.

—    questionnaire

▸      what    are    some    of    your    muse’s    bad    habits ? Wilfully blind, ignorant. Her love is permanent, she believes everyone can be saved. Regardless of deeds, of the atrocities that have been committed: she is incapable of seeing anyone she likes as a monster. She won’t: she rationalises and rationalises and convinces herself they are good and can be fixed. Once she looks kindly on someone, that will never change. She’s smothering, strangling: her love may as well be a noose and she believes her way is the best way. Stubborn; obstinately so; explosive anger that is slow to build but my God, what a fury she rains down when she seeks to destroy everything in her path.

▸      has    your    muse    lost    anyone    close    to    them ?      how    has    it    affected    them ? Amelia lost her mother when she was eight years old. Her mother, though distant, was always a sort of ideal to her. Mother is God in the eyes of a child: Anna Todd was the softer half of her husband; the one who attempted to shape Amelia into a lady that might be happy -- even content -- one day with her lot in life; a moral compass and guiding hand. She felt lost after her mother’s passing; even more so because in spirit, she lost her father alongside her mother as well. James grew distant after his wife’s death: a key, core element in his daughter’s life now missing. When he died when Amelia was 16, she already had accepted that her father had gone long before then. She misses them terribly: they were her support system; now she bases her choices and decisions upon what she thinks would make them proud. Her grandmother died shortly before she met Zachary Hale; a religious woman with zeal who doted upon her favourite grandchild and turned her back upon her when society did. Florence Watson had raised Amelia after her parents left; provided the backbone of her education; when Amelia begged for her forgiveness, Florence told her she would find it with God.

▸      what    are    some    fond    memories    your    muse    has ? Running with her cousins alongside the river banks in the country, weaving daisy chains for her mother, her father, and grandmother. Her mother teaching her piano and filling the house with music. Picking out matching dresses with Catherine, running down 5th Avenue with the Astor boys in tow. Racing horses, racing Model T’s; scraping her knees and falling down the staircase. Her first kiss. Her wedding. The last time she embraced her cousins. 

▸     is    it    easy    for    your    muse    to    kill ? She’s never considered it. She’d never hurt anyone that way. 

▸      what’s    it    like    when    your    muse    breaks    down ? Amelia weeps. She cracks. Breaks like glass. Sobs until she cannot breathe; head to the floor. Lashes out at anyone close to her while yearning for someone to hold her close. It drains her entirely; sends her reeling. She’s raw; like someone who’s had a scar reopened, everything pouring out at once. She dislikes weeping; won’t do it in front of anyone. She’s liable to isolate herself during these periods. 

▸      is    your    muse    capable    of    trusting    someone    with    their    life ? Yes, very much so. She’s too trusting, honestly.

▸      what’s    your    muse    like    when    they’re    in    love ? Swoony; utterly sick with it. Moon-eyed and just dripping with love. Always stealing glances, nudging their feet with hers under the table, twining hands together. Wanting to spend time together, wanting to know everything about them. Just simply wanting to exist. She’s eager to love and be loved. She simply wants to be near her partner and be touched, touch them.