#that really fits her character. curiosity is one of the many facets that make up her character that don't get explored much and i think its

[queen0fm0nsterz]

Reading my fave thin man and lady fic. Kicking my feet a lot because tbh. Sometimes a sad man really is just a weird woman's science project in a way that is so homoerotic

[theggning]

I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on Curie, if you have any.

Sure thing! Apologies in advance if I get any of this wrong, I don't personally hang out much with Curie so I had to do a bit of brushing up on her.

Curie's key role in the meta is another facet of the theme of "what makes a person a person." She single-handedly displays the differences between robots and synths and through her we get a lot of what we know about the nature of synths and how it feels for her to become one.

But before Curie becomes a synth, she's another example of a rather unique robot. She starts off quite sophisticated and unusually intelligent-- though unlike Codsworth, her unique personality and knowledge were programmed into her, not developed over time. The Vault 81 scientists loaded into her all of the great academic works they had on hand (she lists Kant, Einstein, Born, Darwin, Curie, Faraday, Turing, and Braun) along with her initial capabilities as a medic and a doctor. Also unlike Codsworth, she hasn't become accustomed to the wasteland, nor traumatized by it-- nor does she even have the capability. Curie has spent the past 210 years trapped in the secret section of Vault 81, and since the deaths of the scientists, she has been completely isolated from human contact. Thus, she is incredibly booksmart, while being... quite unprepared for the horrors that greet her in the wasteland outside.

My favorite description I've ever seen of Curie is "a doctor coming to the slow, horrified realization that nobody washes their hands." She has a picture of the world in her mind that's dictated by science, math, logic, reason, and ethics-- and as a still, quite basic robot, she's baffled when reality doesn't match up to this. Just like Sole, she emerges in a world that resembles what she knows and yet is completely strange and oftentimes very hostile-- she's just doing this with the capabilities of a robot reconciling observations against what was literally programmed into her.

I think there's a fandom tendency to infantilize Curie to some degree, or to play up her naivety to the point of farce. But Curie isn't clueless, or stupid. In addition to her scientific knowledge, she has a very firm set of morals and ethics and will speak up or push back if she feels the Sole Survivor is behaving poorly. She is one of the "good" companions who approves of kind acts, and she is a pacifist, if she can help it. She's philanthropic, but also more scientifically-minded than the other "good" companions-- notably, her approvals all lean in favor of helping scientists and supporting the advancement of knowledge. She supports the Minutemen and the Railroad-- but also the Brotherhood of Steel, since their knowledge and preservation of technology strike her as more important than their feelings on synths. She is pro-synth and disapproves of the enslavement or mistreatment of synths, but when the Institute is destroyed, she chiefly expresses sorrow for how much knowledge was lost. She disapproves of Dr. Chambers' cruelty, but dislikes it if you kill her-- cutting short any contributions to science she could have made. Curie is kind, but she's also ambitious, logical, and values "big picture" scientific advancement.

Really, if there was any companion besides X6-88 who could fit an Institute mindset, it's Curie. She has more compassion for people than anyone in the Institute does, but it's interesting to compare her logical, pragmatic beliefs to the faction that has taken them and twisted them to evil purposes. (Am I saying that Curie would make a terrifying villain if she were to slip too far down that road of logic and pragmatism? Maybe I am...)

This pragmatism extends to her desires to become a synth. Curie comes up with the idea mainly because she feels her scientific ambitions cannot be reached unless she feels inspiration, which she's not capable of as a robot. She insists that her new body will allow her to do good for humanity, and to her, this justifies any ethical problems around transferring her into the braindead G5-19 (Curie doesn't understand Glory's hesitation to let her friend's body be used in this way-- because as a robot, she's literally incapable of empathizing with her.) It's only after Curie opens her eyes in her new body that we understand what a stark difference it is, and how many new and frightening things she's feeling for the first time-- emotions, wayward thoughts, urges to breathe and eat and sleep-- hell, fear is a new concept for her. Her robotic brain worked in numbers and data and programming, and all of a sudden she's capable of all these other things that could never be replicated by data. Curie's transition clearly illustrates the difference between a robotic brain and a synth brain- a human brain, for all intents and purposes.

(I've always thought it takes a special kind of dingus to travel with and befriend and even romance Curie and yet still proclaim that synths are "just machines." You'll see PLENTY of them, but boy oh boy, that's quite a load of cognitive dissonance going on there. Or creep, depending on the argument.)

Which leads me to one of the hot-button topics when it comes to Curie: the romance. While Curie's romance does fall under the umbrella of the "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope, I think this aspect of it is a bit overblown. Like I said, there's a real tendency in fandom to infantilize Curie, or make her seem more clueless pwecious uwu cinnamon roll than she really is. But the difference between Curie and most of your standard issue Born Sexy Yesterday waifs is that Curie isn't helpless, nor childlike, nor incapable of standing up for herself. She's both extremely intelligent and fully confident in her morals and beliefs. She asks for the Sole Survivor's support with her emotional transition because she already trusts them as her friend, not because she has no one else or can't handle it on her own. From early on in her affinity convos, Curie expresses attraction to the Sole Survivor, and approaches learning about these new feelings with the same enthusiasm and curiosity that she does everything else. It's her attraction, not begun by the Sole Survivor manipulating her or tricking her into it. I feel like a lot of surface-level descriptions of the romance disregard Curie's agency, as though she's a bubble-headed innocent who's completely vulnerable and clueless about the mere prospects of attraction, romance, or sex.

Now, that said... did Curie have to transfer into the body of a conventionally attractive woman for her plot to work? No. Does her romance scratch the itch for people who like Born Sexy Yesterday? Yeah, probably. Is she designed to be Prime Waifu Material*? Undoubtedly. Is it my cup of tea? Nah. But different strokes for different folks**. I don't think Curie's romance is inherently bad or anyone should feel bad for enjoying it, or her as a character. She's extremely intelligent, cute, and wholesome, and if that's your type, then embrace her!

* Like oh my god, this is video games, Curie's entire character and romance could have been done so much worse.

** And seriously, I'm not about to judge someone for falling in love with the cute waifu-bait romance when I'm over here lusting over Strong Flawed Sad Tragic Himbo Whom I Can Save With My Love.

It ain't like they didn't cater to my tastes, too.

[heroquills-a]

s1lentsnip3r replied to your post: hmmmmmmmmmm……….. i feel like doing a random mun...

bet

cracks knuckles.

@s1lentsnip3r @chaosmixed @metallumdash 

words can’t describe how impressed i am by how much you bring your muses to life bwaze. i used to like, not really give a darn heck about metal sonic at all? but after that first thread we had where sonic and proxy got into a fight, i was immediately hooked. you just do such an incredible job at fleshing out characters that i otherwise wouldn’t have really thought much of before and you just have this unique and interesting spin on them that feels fresh. i love the way you play the chao and whisper’s wisps and atia is just a little gremlin but i love them so much, and i’ve literally never seen anyone play chaos before. you just have this way of utilizing that potential that your characters and concepts have and it’s just really awesome to watch. i love it. absolutely a stellar roleplayer. absolutely stellar mun!!

@skyfcx @masterprotector @cosmcther

ties you to a chair. listen here little mister. youre probably one of the OG ppl in this rpc that i’ve lowkey looked up to since first joining. you’ve already heard it plenty of times already but your writing is just ?? stellar ?? from the way you use colorful idioms, expressions, metaphors, to how you capture movement and action in such an engaging way. it’s always a treat to read. the way you portray your muses is just always spot on and i love how seamlessly you capture their mannerisms and speech patterns. your headcanons for tails and knuckles just make me so giddy they just feel so right for their characters, and as far as rosalina goes--- while i know next to nothing about the mario franchise or this character in particular i’m still intrigued enough to peek in on what she’s up to every now and then. over all, you’re a rad roleplayer and a fun person to chat with ooc !! 

@chaosbcrne 

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again. i adore how you write shadow. i’m constantly blown away by how authentic he always feels and how realistic you write him while still remaining accurate and true to his character. like i legit cannot even think of any other place or media i’ve seen besides the games themselves (before sega started botching up his character anyway) where he’s portrayed as accurately as you write him. you manage to balance the serious, aloof, hostile side of him with his playful, competitive, smug side AND the inner naive, almost child like side almost perfectly. and then there’s more, because you add so much depth to him and realistically expand on so many unexplored facets of his character and his roots !! you can just tell this is a character who’s endured so many hardships and is still trying to recover and move on, and despite everything that’s hardened him into the person he is today he still has that innocent curiosity about the world and it makes me so emo every. single. time. you just put so much work into him and it shows, from your icons to your headcanon posts, to even the most minute detail. even when you host events you just go So Hard at it you’re literally out here setting the standard dude. and don’t even get me started on your writing style. i was hooked by the very first thread we did, i felt like i could never hold a candle to it honestly. just. the way you narrate shadow’s feelings and thoughts, how you capture his actions, his movement, his speech patterns, is just so good. and your vocabulary is so colorful and rich. just. hgnfhg its top tier content ALRIGHT you inspire me to push myself and to keep improving all the time and i have to say i couldn’t ask for a better writing partner. i love you so much eph 💕💕💕

@1110-01111011

hello yes trikey i love your omega so much. i’ve never really thought much of the death bot before but seeing all the headcanons and fleshing out you do for him just makes him so much more interesting and fascinating. down to the most intrinsic detail you put in for him it’s just really cool to see and adds so much to him that just !! i love it man. every time i think abt omega now my mind just automatically goes back to your portrayal because he is Just omega. i appreciate all the depth you add to him and his relationships to the rest of his team, it’s so pleasing to see and really helps solidify how strong team dark’s dynamic truly is..... not to mention your art is hecking gorgeous??? like damn dude, goals. anyway,, thank u for the blessed omega content. absolutely 10/10

@coolxnxblue @oforbis @hcrofraid @mastcrplanncr @powderbluestreaks

toxi i immediately fell in love with your sonic the first time we ever interacted. you just capture his sass so well, i just could not stop giggling that first night. he’s still my favorite sonic in this rpc, to be honest. and don’t even get me started on your other muses. it still baffles me how you manage to take on such a huge raster of characters yet manage to flesh them out all so well. every one of them feels so evenly developed and solid and just like bwaze you make me care about characters that i otherwise wouldn’t have before. i feel like i have a huge newfound appreciation for eggman bc of you and unsurprisingly he’s now my fave eggman on here hands down. and it goes without saying your writing is just, phenomenal. you capture dialogue so beautifully, the way you narrate on the feelings your characters are experiencing is engaging, to the point i’m lowkey intimidated by it sometimes LMAO. also your AUs are just rad as hell? and rlly interesting?? and your art style too ????? 10/10 roleplayer, i just think youre neat.

@antibadnik @godcontained

hey you? yes you. i love your muses so much. i especially love how you write amy, to be honest. she’s been my favorite character since forever and like?? you do just such a good job with her? i appreciate that you choose not to erase her intense affection for sonic, because more often than not i see people tone it way down to almost non-existent and it really is just such a big part of her character. i like the way you delve into that mindset of her’s, and expand on it and how it affects her. i also just. love your writing too. you just have this way of conveying feeling in your writing that’s always a punch to the gut you can feel it that hard. your headcanons for elise are really interesting too and definitely nothing i’ve actually seen before, what with how her powers work and how having to go emotionally dormant has effected her after all this time.  also, i love ava. she is baby. it’s so cool getting to see a mute character!! all in all, its just good content man. god i love football.

@team-phantom @heartfelt-silver

pandaaaa i adore you !!! you were like my first friend in this heckin rpc. all of our dash shenanigans always have me wheezing and i just love your boys so much. i can certainly say without a shadow of a doubt that zero is one of my favorite takes on infinite. its hard to believe that he’s the same jackal who almost completely helped eggman take over the world--- he’s just come so far, he seamlessly fits into the rest of the cast. i adore how he works off of his team, and all their own unique little quirks that set them apart from each other. your headcanons and lore for your muse is just so sweet. and god i can’t get enough of your art?? your doodles always are a blessing to see ;-; i always appreciate you youre just such a sweet and kind mun, you’re so welcoming of ppl here and have this way of making ppl feel at home in this community. it absolutely wouldn’t be the same without you. keep it up <3

@lightdash @heartlop @enrichedheart

YOU. yes you. ame you’re so freakin’ cool and sweet. you’re always so nice and welcoming to people in the rpc it’s always a treat getting the chance to talk to you !! you’re another one of those peeps i look up to in this community TBH and youre muses are just portrayed and written so well!! i can just tell you’ve poured many years of thought, consideration, and work into your muses to the point that they’re just so finely tuned. i love the aesthetic you utilize for you blogs, from your icons to just the way you go about formatting your threads? and not to mention, your art style ??? is just so cute ??? ngl i lowkey wanna collab with you one of these days bc i just adore how you draw the sonic cast ;_; thank you for being a part of this rpc !! you’re wonderful !

@projectlightfox

moggg you’re so nice and chill to talk to. i love volt and harmony so much... they fit in really good with sonic world and mesh well with just about any characters i’ve seen them interact with so far--- even if its someone they don’t get along with. i’ve said it before but theyre just a really charming little duo and im always happy to see them on my dashboard. i love the overall aesthetic they got going, two travelers roaming the world from dimension to dimension. harmony is just a little bundle of precious fluffy joy and her interactions with sonic always make me cry. and volt--- he’s such a good dad !! he’s a really neat character and i’m certainly interested in learning more about the both of them. and as i said, you’re a rad person to talk to, i appreciate how welcoming and supportive you are of people. and your art style? absolutely adorable. thank you for being in this rpc ;-;

@dieviskais @solfading 

king!! i’ve never seen anyone write the way you do, choosing to shift the view point onto the reader as if they themselves are the muse. it’s such a unique and interesting way to look into your muse’s mindsets and express how they are feeling and what they’re doing. your take on silver is very fresh compared to the way he’s typically written. i appreciate you don’t take the baby silver uwu route like don’t get me wrong he IS baby but he’s not a baby. you certainly have really neat headcanons surrounding his backstory and how he grew up, it’s nice to see the grim reality of his harsh bleak life being represented. it’s good !! your other muses are intriguing too and i’m eager to learn more about them. i love auburn?? he’s a really cool oc dude his aesthetic and powers are A+. and you know, i may be terrible at expressing it but you’re a delight to talk to!! never feel bad or discouraged for popping into my dms i honestly appreciate the company ;-; thank u for being u

@orbviously / @cubeviously

THESE TWO BOTS. i love them so much. literally every time i see orbot or cubot now in any context i just think back to your portrayal of them hebby, they’re just so dang spot on and good. i love how you go about interacting with people with these two tbh it never fails to make me giggle. i love your art style too it’s just pleasing to look at! you have so many creative AUs for these bots i’m honestly impressed by how much you manage to create with these guys man--- from their human/bot designs to their mobianbot designs theyre just so cool ?? even your other muses are always entertaining to watch regardless of what fandom theyre from youre just so fun to interact with. and just, you’re always a pleasure to talk to ooc, youre always putting a smile on my face! youre awesome hebby 

@fishing-purple-cat

yes hi. sunny your take on big is so blessed. you’ve done so much justice for him. i’ve always really liked big tbh but i just love how much depth you put into his character, his backstory and his mannerisms. i love that you like,, actually give him a personality outside being a slow thinker. i can tell you’ve really developed your writing style with him, it speaks volumes about how much work you really put into writing him and it shows? heck, you even go the extra mile to draw your own icons and hang on i need a second to gush about your art because holy DAMN dude. your anatomy and painting abilities are nothing short of impressive--- especially your nack for painting backgrounds. i srsly gotta commission you at some point when i’m able to, heck. anyway, the rpc certainly wouldn’t be the same without you here

@lnfinitc

dude i love your take on infinite. he’s just about everything he should have been in forces, and even more. i love how malicious and intimidating you write him and your take on his speech patterns is just straight up eye-candy. i love your writing style, its so flavorful and rich--- your headcanons and lore on how infinite works is just astounding. and i like how you incorporate your drawings into your replies or threads too like even if its just icons your style is so heckin pretty ?? gosh dang. i’m definitely looking forward to interacting more in the future bc ur muse is just really fun and you seem like such a rad person !!

@pistolbitten

uhhh hello yes... while we haven’t interacted very much so far i JUST GOTTA SAY, i super enjoy your take on fang. from what i can tell he’s very well-rounded and fleshed out and a really interesting villain. i may or may not’ve been lowkey paying attention to that angel’s thesis thread you were doing w bwaze and aaron and i gotta say. holy damn. fang just done FUCKED UP. im certainly looking forward to him and shade interacting lmao. your writing style is so good too hh... just yeah i don’t have a whole lot to say if only because we haven’t interacted as much as i have with some of the other ppl on here BUT i certainly am looking forward to bc you seem cool. i’m loving what i’m seeing so far. have nack shoot sonic. DO IT.

@mobian-merc @funis-infinite 

duuuudeeee. i’ll be honest i was super intimidated by you at first asdkjsah i don’t even know why i was ??? but like. you’re so hecking nice and fun to talk to ;_; scourge is an actual literal dipshit yet you manage to make him very likable and you have such a fun take on him. i’ve always been a little conflicted on the character tbh because of how popular he is and he seems like the type i’d like but i knew nothing about him and was kinda put off by the over hype sometimes, but honestly? your portrayal won me over. i love him now. he’s so stupid and hE’S GREAT. your infinite also seems so cool too i gotta hecking respond to that starter you made me when i get the chance, im looking forward to infinite & sonic just. talking and sassing eachother probably. i really like your writing style too!!! and your icons are absolutely gorgeous ok. alright, that is all.

@flyinginfreedom

uhhhhhhh hello i love your rouge so much ???? she’s literally so cool... you capture her aesthetic and over all mysterious yet cunning vibe perfectly and it’s just always a pleasure to see her on my dash. i loved her interactions with sonic during eph’s roadtrip event so much. your headcanons just feel so her and spot on, and you still manage to add so much depth and personality to her i just love it so much. i love your blog’s aesthetic down to the icons, and even the way you format your threads. over all just a stellar rouge blog and a really cool & chill mun!!

@rosehammcr @antihedgehog

hi rosie uhm i love your amy so much ok. she’s such a sweet heart, i love how you incorporate her tarot cards ?? it’s literally so cool... and the accuracy on those readings is shocking. she’s just such a sweet heart god i’m getting emo thinking abt her tbh like amy is !! one of my fave characters and !! you write her so well !! and your eggman too, god he’s incredible. i love how sinister yet goofy he can be he’s just a perfect combination of intimidating and silly. your takes on orbot and cubot also bring a smile to my face and i love how you incorporate them into your interactions!! you also just seem like a rlly rad person and i’d love to interact more !! yeah !

@a-wind-of-freedom

yuniiiiiiIII !!  you’re such a sweet heart and your sonic is too. i’ve never seen someone play sonic the way you do before and it’s certainly interesting and unique !! you’ve got so many neat an thought out verses and AUs too, theyre all really intriguing !  our interactions with our sonics are always rlly blessed tbh starlight is just precious. i always appreciate getting to work with you as well for commission stuff, you’ve really been helping me out in that regard. plus you give me something artistic to work on and the chance to push my talents ! ;-; all in all you’re just a really sweet person and have a kind aura about you ! ;;

@champiionic

clears throat. hi yes you’ve been one of my fave sonics since day one. you’re just so creative with your muse its honestly impressive how many things you’ve able to come up with for sonic. from the portrayal you bring to the table down to your muse aesthetic its always just spot on you’ve got the blue speedster’s whole vibe down to a T. and your writing is just ? kisses my fingers. beautiful. your sonic is just so dang authentic, seeing him on my dash is always a pleasant sight. and i know this post is namely about sonic rpc muns & muses but i already love bubbles and blossom. i used to watch powerpuff girls when i was rlly little so its a real nostalgia trip to see them on my dashboard.

@hcpebloom @rcsebloom

bunny !! ur heckin sweet.. i love ur amy so much HSDFHDJ she’s just so soft. and unique too!! your headcanons for her are just so cute and make her stand out in her own way and i just appreciate that yo. and i admittedly don’t know a whole lot about cosmo since i havent really watched that far into sonic x but you’ve certainly got my attention with her. we just gotta interact more man ur muses are so precious !! ;_; 

@fortruechaos 

you !! your shadow is so good dude ! your portrayal of him is just so hecking accurate,, i highly appreciate how noble you write him to be. he’s serious, he’s prickly, but he’s got the world’s best interest at heart and it makes my heart do the fluttery thing. your writing is so good too gosh. no to mention youre just so hecking nice ??? youre just overall a rlly sweet mun & i appreciate your presence here in the rpc

@glittcrngcld @livelifc

hey fretcher ? ily. your muses are just so good from your canon characters to your ocs, i just love them sm?? and your ART? i swoon every time i see your doodles on my dash i’m still not over those doodles of lilly and azure ;-; not to mention your edits are scarily good like shit dude teach me your ways. your takes on your muses are awesome man i love ur sonic he’s such a MEME. and elise !!! she makes me so emo god. thank u for your blessed portrayals of these characters ! @elektrisch-felidae​

YOU. precious is just, precious?? HAH. i love her, she’s so cool tbh. she’s so chill and laid back and seems like the kinda cool cat sonic can totally vibe with. you yourself are also rlly chill and fun to interact with--- even if we haven’t much so far. its no secret i just love sonic ocs so much and precious is just awesome. i love the idea of electricity powers. absolutely need to have sonic hang with her more ;;

@coldheartbeauty 

SPEAKING of cool cats with cool powers, i love raven. her sass is just super entertaining to see on the dashboard tbh. i have to see her and sonic get into a sass off one of these days. her powers are also really cool too ? she reminds me of blaze in a sense, but just completely different in her own right. i also just hella love your art style its so cute, your doodles are always adorable to see!! 

INHALES. ok. im done. if i missed anyone i am so sorry i ran out of steam. thank you all so much for making this rpc such an entertaining, dynamic, and creative place to be !!! 

[hollowedrpg]

CONGRATULATIONS, BEC! — You’ve been accepted for the role of Alastor Moody. To be honest, I was so so so worried about applications for Alastor. Frankly, with a character as multi-faceted as Alastor, there were so many ways it could have gone wrong, but reading your app was like a giant sigh of relief. Not only did you completely understand who Alastor is, but you even convinced me into parts of your app with your characterization (I never thought Alastor could have been a Hufflepuff, but boy was I wrong.) Do me a favor and keep convincing me into things; you’re right on the money. 

Thank you so much for applying. Please create your account and send in the link, track the right tags, and follow everyone on the follow list. Welcome to Hollowed Souls!

ooc.

Name: Bec

age: 26

preferred pronouns: She/her

timezone: EST+10 (AEDT)

activity: Ok, so I do work fulltime and often that entails 10 hour days but I’m often able to get on when I get home for a couple of hours. I might not be able to get on every single day, but I should be able to remain within the activity requirements!

are you applying for more than one character?: Nope :)

how do you feel about your character dying?: I mean it’s definitely plausible when it comes to Alastor considering how headstrong he is. He would absolutely die for a cause that he truly believes in (getting the fuck rid of Voldemort is certainly one). Let’s hope I don’t regret saying so in the future, but I think I’d be okay with him dying. I generally love causing my characters pain (I know), I basically breathe for in character drama.

anything else?: I just wanted to say that this place is beautiful, and I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on here whether I get accepted or not! Thanks for the opportunity!

ic details.

full name:  Alastor Moody

date of birth: July 19th, 1947.

former hogwarts house: Hufflepuff

There is no question that Alastor could have fit in at any Hogwarts house. Sure he’s ambitious and some would say that he would just about do anything to achieve what is necessary. However, Alastor lacks the need for notability as a direct result of his actions. He carries out what is necessary because it is simply that, necessary. There is no doubt that he is clever, but knowledge is not something that he seeks merely for his own desire or curiosity. Frankly, he would have had no joy in solving that silly riddle each and every time he had to return to the common room, far too impractical for his liking. He was almost placed in Gryffindor. He’s certainly brave and determined, but once again, his actions are never designed to seek his own means. He’s brave because the situations he’s placed in simply demand it, in his eyes, he has no other choice. Despite what many believe, Alastor  lacks much of the impulsion that other Gryffindor’s harbor, instead he’s much more calculative. That left him with Hufflepuff. A house that helped level his impatience over the years, and establish that good does exist. Being placed in Hufflepuff is largely what saved Alastor. A teen who was so fragile when he first stepped into Hogwarts that it took him years before he started to open up.  

sexuality: Heterosexual

gender/pronouns: Cisgender male. He/him

face claim change: Michiel is a God.

more.

how do you interpret this character’s personality? how will you play them? include two weaknesses & two strengths.

It’s probably safe to say that Alastor, he’s had it tough. Growing up he was always told that emotions were not made for wizards like the Moody’s, that they’ll only make him weak. And weakness is not something that a great Auror can afford to have. Despite now knowing that this is not always the case, Alastor’s always been a little silent. As a teenager his silence often came across as brooding, as an adult it’s matured with wisdom. He’ll only speak when necessary, not the sort to fill the air with words of flair and uncertainties. While Alastor does know how to smile, his need for constant vigilance often means he’ll be the last one to loosen up at a social gathering. He possesses an inflexible will, ever pushing forwards with what must be done, his purpose always clear and forever at the forefront of his mind. This might mean that he may be a little brash with you at times but you can’t always take his curt mannerisms to heart as he only does so with no partiality and only when necessary. He possesses a zeal so great that his actions are often misdiagnosed as those of impulsiveness, but he is anything but. Every action has been carefully premeditated.

+ Pragmatic: At his very core Alastor is a pragmatist. He doesn’t allow himself to wander too deep into ideals and what might be as this leaves him open to the possibility of failure. At this point in the war, failure is not an option. His pragmatism is largely attributed to his upbringing. Gone are the days of believing that fairytales exist, that someone else will come in and save the day. While he certainly doesn’t believe himself a hero, Alastor is a firm believer that only he can shape his own future, and perhaps the future of their world too.

+ Committed: Alastor has already sacrificed so much to the order and has every intention on continuing with the same zeal. In his opinion, it’s not sacrifice if the cause is one that is a necessity to fight for. If they stop fighting who will take their place? He spoke an oath, wand to the sky, hand over heart. An oath of the aurors that he does not plan to break. He won’t rest until their world is exonerated by the evil that threatens, he won’t hide away as thousands of muggles, half-bloods and their defenders are slaughtered.

- Distrustful: After years of emotional and physical abuse alike, it’s hard to not let some of that filter through. When the two people in the world who you’re supposed to be able to trust wholeheartedly betray you beyond repair, how are you supposed to have faith so easily. Alastor has a hard time trusting people. The easiest way to judge a person’s character is to not let them close enough to find out if they have good or bad intentions. Perhaps this isn’t a healthy train of thought, but for the most part it’s kept heartbreak at bay. He’s managed to find methods of coping with what some would call an issue, and that is with keeping himself occupied. Alastor’s almost always constantly busy, on his toes working, a rather well welcomed distraction if he’s honest.

- Guile: Alastor knows how to navigate a bad situation to make it the very best that he is able to. Sometimes his methods can erre on the side of manipulation but he will usually try and avoid as much collateral damage as possible. He’ll only use his guile methods when absolutely necessary, and in situations when he’s got to think quick on his toes.

how has the war affected this character, emotionally and otherwise?

Alastor feels as though he’s been in a constant war almost all his life. He’s been involved in this particular war since the very beginning and has since allowed it to consume every aspect of his life. He’s never had a serious romantic relationship, despite often receiving interest from various women over the years. It’s not that he’s oblivious to the attention, but more so that he believes that there are higher things at stake. Is there really a point in getting attached to someone when the future’s so uncertain? When tomorrow may not even be an eventuality?

Alastor has become particularly good at mastering his emotions. It’s perhaps the one skill his parents taught him, for better or for worse. It’s made him function under pressure better, hard decisions are made by him with more ease.

where does this character currently stand? with those who wish to hide in godric’s hollow until the war ends, with those who wish to rebuild the order and continue fighting the war, or on neither side? Why?

He knows that they’re currently sitting ducks just waiting to be fired at one by one. That they must act sooner rather than later. Hiding doesn’t fix anything, hiding doesn’t reverse the lives lost or guarantee that no more will be lost. In fact, hiding in Godric’s Hollow means guarantees that thousands, if not more, innocent lives will be lost. They’ve already wasted far too much time in Alastor’s opinion.

extra.

Mock Blog: https://amoodymood-mock.tumblr.com

Character questions:

How have the setbacks the Order has faced affected Alastor?

Alastor already feels as though they’ve wasted time. He’s truthfully disappointed in many of the members in the Order who are happy to take a backseat. He believes that no matter what they believe, pretending that they’re in a safe bubble doesn’t change the reality that the more time they spend at Godric’s Hollow twiddling their thumbs, Voldemort is only re-charging his strength and gathering his forces. Each minute they spend in hiding he only grows stronger. With each day his patience wanes, and with it he’s losing more and more control over keeping his anger at bay. His irritation is becoming more evident with the occasional unwarranted snipe at the wrong people. He can only hope that they understand, but only Merlin knows how much of it they’ll be able to take.

What does he think the Order should do next?

Alastor wants to continue with recruitment. He also wants to continue gaining intel from his internal informants amongst Voldemort’s ranks.. He also wants to attack. Moody knows that now is the time to strike, the Death Eaters are at their weakest point too. They also has those Order members still in captivity and those that are missing on his conscience. Alastor knows that they’d been far too careless the first time that they’d gone in, with more wands ready to fight, they might have a better chance at saving their fellow members. That is, if they aren’t already too late.

[ambwimagines]

BTS and Black Cinema

Inspired by @takanoriwatas.

A lil twist on movie night

First up Namjoon:

Being that you both are Intellectuals and that this movie resembles you guys relationship all too closely. You were pretty excited when you unveiled your movie choice for tonight. "Babe I got Love Jones Starring Larenz Tate and Nia Long" a few minutes into the movie you guys have a deep interesting conversation about love and how it could go and connection on a soul level and not just a physical manner. "Hey babe Nia Long looks just like you""I wish I could look as good as her.

Jung Hoseok

A mood lightener so obviously it's kinda funny but it also has a message. It was his turn to pick from your cabinet so he picked a Tyler Perry Play Madea goes to jail. He found it funny how boisterous and outspoken the character was he laughed and really listened to the things that the play was trying to convey. "So things like that really happen to people ? to little girls""Well there are thousands of children in the US who go through and age out of the foster system and who knows the kinds of people they're born to, thankfully she had a mother who was focused on her and when she got out she was set on making things right for her and her child unfortunately all cases don't end that way." It's great to laugh with Hobi and really talk a bit about some stuff with Hobi. Its just always fun and fulfilling with him

Kim Seokjin

Jason's Lyric is such an understated peice of black cinema like so many more people should see it. And that is why you brought it for the both of you to watch as a couple. From a mother's love to a lover's touch every part and facet of this movie is filled with love even if it is a tougher version of it in some instances. The underlying message of it is love and he caught on to that pretty quickly "I don't understand why she had to die I mean he didn't have to shoot her." Jin says sniffling "I don't know either but it's such a good movie" you try your best to enunciate through your crying. You both lean on each other with tears streaming down your face as the screen fades to black and the credits begin to roll.

Min Yoongi

Typical action guy, You couldn't sneak a chick flick in on him if you tried. And since you picked the movies consecutively over the past weekend you figured you could compromise tonight and let him watch his action movie. He pulled Takers from the bottom shelf and took one look at the cover and said "Now this is my kind of movie, where have you been hiding this" Just an entire evening of crashes explosions and gunshots on surround sound. Yoongi almost knocked over the entire bowl of popcorn. "oooh babe did you see the way he jumped over that car!? He's so cool" "Yeah baby I saw it" you say rolling your eyes.

Park Jimin

"Baby let's watch this" he says holding up a copy of Think like a man. He puts in the DVD and you both begin to watch it. The scene with Gabrielle Union and her man comes on "babe do I act like him?" "No baby of course not." You assure him." You're just short like him""Yeah wait til this goes off I'll show you how short I am." Jimin says tickling your sides. He rests his head of fluffy hair back in your lap and you two enjoy the rest of the movie.

Kim Taehyung

"Tae Tae bay bay what you wanna watch tonight love" you say energetically, He slides out your favorite movie from under the cushion."FRIDAAAYYYY" you quietly scream. Taehyung knows you so well. He puts in the DVD and his eyes go back and forth between the screen and your face. He watched a little bit of the movie but really he was waiting for the part. The part that cracked you up every time. The part where Smokey was running up and down the street in his underware and ended up in a chicken coup. Your let out the ugliest laugh you even snorted in front of him which is something you vowed to never do. He just smiled because he loved to watch you thoroughly enjoy yourself. You could laugh your real laugh and just be yourself with Taehyung. He loved you and all that it meant to be you. " You got knocked the fuck out" you both screamed to the top of your lungs before bursting into a fit of laughter. Being interrupted by the loud banging of your elderly next door neighbor signaling you to quiet down. You two quietly laughed some more. "I love you so much Taehyung."

Jeon Jungkook

"What's Baby Boy about? Is it about babies?" Jungkook asked about looking at the cover curiously sounding like a 1st grader. " In a round about way" you explain. He pops in the DVD out of curiosity and the movie starts "There's this psychiatrist, a lady named Frances Chris Walson. She has a theory about the black man in America. She says because of the system of racism in this country, the black man is meant to think of himself as a baby. A not yet fully formed being, who has not yet realized his full potential. To support her claim, she offers the following: First off, what does a black man call his woman? Mama. Secondly, what does a black man call his closest acquaintances? His boys. And finally, what does a black man call his place of residence? The crib." By the end of the movie Tyrese is Depicted playing cards with his wife Yvette and then there are these other scenes of people getting their lives together. You look over at jungkook and he's so confused. "But I don't get it." "Okay so....." You begin to explain "The title baby boy is a metaphor basically for immature guys who can't grow up and own their responsibilities." "Like in the beginning Jody had a baby by Yvette and wasn't nessecarily there with his child all the time and by the end he basically realized it was time for him to grow up and be a man and that's what he did. And certain things will make you come to that realization." "You know who did that for me Y/N?" Jungkook asks "Who?"

"You" he says

"Awwww baby" you say kissing his cheek and hugging him.

"One day I'll be there for you and a ra and I'll protect and provide for you both, you guys will be my motivation and the thing that pushes me forward and most importantly you'll be there." He says grabbing your hand and kisses it

"I'll be your Jody"

"You better not cheat on me"

"I can't make any promises" he says laughing as you play hit him several times with limp hands.

Jody Your Jody

I hope you guys liked it cause I spent alot of time making it. If you wanna see more stuff like this request it and I will surely work on it Love and Peace

~Kayla ✌

[aimeesuzara]

Questions from Maiana Minahal’s Students in English 272, “Filipino Women Writers”...My Responses

Dear students and readers,

I’m honored that you’ve read my work and are interested in these facets of my life and craft as an artist. I love the challenge of being given questions to write about. So, here goes!

1. What is the best thing that writing, performing, creating, etc. provides you? It seems you have many talents, how do each contribute to the person that you are? What do you love about each?  

I’ve combined a couple of similar questions here.  First, thanks to whomever has said that I have many talents; I’m flattered.  I do believe I was blessed with a variety of areas of interest and natural “talent” that I got to explore and develop in different phases of my life.  I even felt split about whether to respond to the questions in writing and using my voice and image (because I love storytelling and the voice).

First, what do I love about writing?  And perhaps writing, as opposed to performing or creating other kinds of multidisciplinary art (plays, collaborations with dance, music, etc)?  

Writing is most private; it’s also a place for confession because in many ways, it’s hidden, is behind a mask.  Writing can be on one hand too analytical, but when it’s the most powerful it can also be magic-making, enabling a metaphor to be developed and breathe, an image to vibrate and have scent and color; a scene and characters to come alive with dialogue, backstory, and motivation.  It’s a place of invention, slower invention that has no immediate impact except itself on the page - as opposed to live performance which is more of an improvisation and collaboration together with an audience.

Performance, then, is that other thing; I believe performance happens on the page, in that invention, as well, but if we’re talking about performing on the stage or at a microphone, it’s a collaboration among many elements: space (architecture, weather), time, other people / audience, circumstance.  It’s also very natural, an ancient throwback to the griots and oral historians and singers and spiritual leaders making incantations...it predates writing.  The body is a vessel with so many faculties, and this is the most exciting set of possibilities.  Should this line or this word be whispered?  Yelled?  Projected on the body?  Who is my audience when I perform?  Are you my audience?  Is my audience in the past, present or the future?  Am I in the past, present or future?  What am I able to bring to life right now, and even co-create with you a new circumstance within the present moment?  In theater and in poetry, even if it’s the same exact play or the same poem, each rendering is unique.  Did someone laugh at a different part?  Did someone cry?  Am I feeling the spirit of my grandmother that day?  Or my future child? Also, the voice is vibrational.  There’s a way in which, when we perform, we are contacting others through the voice, through the heat of our bodies; we share a space and time that never occurs again.

Creating multidisciplinary work - I’ll differentiate as projects that are collaborative, that may involve production elements such as video-poems, dance theater, or collaboration with musicians and filmmakers: this takes the Performance and the Writing to another level.  Now, let’s add other people who are experts in their own fields: choreographers, dancers, composers, emcees, filmmakers.  I have had the opportunity to work with a variety of these, in making projects such as a “Tiny Fires” poem collaboration (click for excerpt) with San Francisco State University’s Dance Theater, in which my poem was translated into choreography and the dancers learned all of the lines; a recent collaboration with Alayo Dance Theater called “Manos de Mujeres” in which I researched, interviewed and wrote about the lives of Cuban Women and the dance company danced and choreographed to my words; a recent project called “Water and Walls” (click to watch) in which we all wrote verses to music about a shared theme and a filmmaker worked with us to produce a video. These are all exciting ways for the writing to live and breathe and thrive in different ways, through different mediums.  When it comes to plays, I do not even perform in the work, but get to see talented actors bring the stories to life, with directors at the helm and production crew helping execute a vision.  It’s like giving birth...and seeing someone grow up beyond you, doing things you could not do...

2. What are some influences on your poetry/work? (I reworded this one somewhat; I hope it is still fine!)

I think I’ve answered some of this in the above, in a way.  I am influenced by many art forms, and can’t see it any other way. I’ve never sat well with only poetry or only words, which can be limiting, and often, as referenced earlier, can become too cerebral.  Words are meant to be released, like songs are meant to be sung.  I am influenced by my early exposure to playing piano and dancing ballet, and later playing percussion and dancing West African and Afro-Cuban and Salsa and a slight bit of Filipino movement.  I am influenced by the work I love to watch - other theater-makers, poets, dancers.  Music influences me deeply, and often I hear poems come to me like strains of music, with melodies and rhythms.  The natural world influences me.  And history. As you have seen in my book, I can get nearly obsessed with history.  The way it was written, the way it omits, the glimpses it gives us into the minds of people.  Who is heard and who is not; who is rendered silent in the writing; who needs to be heard, if even in imagination.  History excites me and leads me to get possessed.  Lastly, change-makers and activists, because I came out of that.  I first wrote most fiercely and performed my first spoken word poems because I wanted to tell the story of a little girl, Crizel Valencia, who died at age 6 of leukemia after growing up on a toxic wasteland left by the United States military.  I lived in her community and in her home and we drew together.  When she died, after making dozens of drawings of herself envisioning her community and her own survival, I felt possessed to write, and speak. So, spirits influence me too.

3. About the book, SOUVENIR: What was the inspiration behind the layout and style of your poems? For example, the use of different fonts and inclusion of outside texts like in your poem "Manifest Destiny 1980."  I really liked how you wrote and organized your book by using exhibits (like in the museum, there's a story for each object or subject) I find it very creative. What gave you this idea or how did you think of it?

Each poem definitely has its own inspiration, but I can focus on the one you mentioned, first.  In “Manifest Destiny 1980″ I was basically writing parallel realities - one in 1980 (my own personal story of migration across the country) and the one in 1803 of the Lewis and Clark Expedition - both which moved from East to West.  In mapping out my own family’s road trip from New Jersey to the small Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland) towns of the Pacific Northwest, where I remembered growing up with stories about Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea, I found that we followed similar route as Lewis and Clark. But, while our trip and our experience was about immigrants and their daughter adjusting and assimilating to White America, Lewis and Clark went to study and exploit the knowledge and resources, and the environment, of Native people.  We were subjected to being analyzed and studied and ostracized; they were, as well, but in the end were in the position of power linked to the destruction and removal of local people.  The parallel in the layout was meant to enable the two readings (top to bottom) and also one interrupting the other.

As for the exhibits: as you probably know, the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair (Louisiana Purchase Exposition) celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, which followed the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  In the 1904 Fair, Filipinos were displayed in living exhibits, forced to re-enact rituals (at far too many intervals, unnaturally, for show and even competition), eat, sit, and interact in the public eye, as the living conquests of the US Imperialists.  I realized that so much of our lives was and is performance as well - my parents needing to demonstrate their ability to work and function within the American context; my striving to fit in, disappear, or perform as the rare Filipino girl in often non-diverse environments.  Without being too literal, I was interested in how we can see our lives on display, and what is lost or gained in that performance.  And objects - what are the objects that are collected as treasures of war - including our own bodies?

4. In the poem, "My Mother's Watch,” did that situation really happen to you? If you do go back to the motherland regularly, does the profiling still happen to you today?

Yes; that poem is actually pretty true to life.  I wouldn’t have called it “profiling” in that I think that term carries meanings of power within a racist context such as the United States.  In the Philippines, it was more of curiosity, more of realizing that you could never really “go back” in a way that is simply nostalgic or “authentic” -- that once the departure from the homeland, and the living within the United States context occurs, we may appear similar in skin and features, we may be 100% the same as our relatives in some ways, but we are not because we have lost our native tongues, or cultural norms, or gestures.  And also - that I felt so much bigger and taller than other Filipinos speaks to the fact that many of our own relatives or people just like us back “home” had access to fewer resources and nutrition, whereas we were able to grow up on milk and in my case, packaged and microwaved foods.  Even in our bodies, we are altered forever.  There was an article/ interview about this poem here that may be of interest: http://www.lanternreview.com/blog/2011/05/31/process-profile-aimee-suzara-discusses-my-mothers-watch/

5. What was the hardest part of the book to write?

The whole thing was hard to write, but it was actually harder to write the “colonizer”/white man/government/military and scientific voices because they were so emotionless at times, so declaratory, and in many cases, so condescending, if not overtly racist.  To dwell in the language in which Filipinos were called “niggers” and “rabbits” and that torture of Filipinos seemed to be so much fun; or that Native and Filipino and Black people’s skulls and genetics were inferior (according to the scientific racism of the time); and also that so much of it seemed to ring true to today.  It’s much easier to write personal narrative, lyrical narrative.

6.  What do you hope for readers to remember the most?

I hope that readers can see themselves reflected in the glass of the museum exhibits.  That regardless of their background, they see how Filipino-American History is American History and not some niche piece of history, but actually demonstrated some of the most egregious cases of scientific racism and exploitation, the epitome at the end of the 19th century, of colonialism and imperialism.  I hope readers check out more of the history, and also reflect on themselves and where they come from.

7.  What is the most nerve wrecking thing about becoming a mother for the first time? (Congratulations by the way!)

I put this at the end because it feels, in a way, like a bonus question, but also something very relevant to our lives as artists.  Becoming a first-time mother involves putting everything aside - my writing, my teaching, my projects - in service of my health and the health and protection of the child I am going to birth.  I have birthed many other things: projects, plays and poems, but a human being -- this requires the most sacrifice and faith I’ve ever had to summon.  At the same time, I think it’s very important for you, readers, to know that as artists, our lives are our art, just as art is our life.  We never stop being one or another (people, mothers, playwrights, performers).  If I believed I would stop being an artist, I could despair, but if I were to stop being an artist, what kind of mother would my son have?  He deserves my full self.  So, while our time becomes more limited and we have to focus on the child, we do not lose ourselves; we simply change.

Thank you for your interest and I hope you’ve enjoyed my answers!

[icharchivist]

What is Granblue or what you are into now Icha? Actually curious about it since I see the posts you make about it and all. Sorry if I messed up on the name of the thing but I wasn't sure how it be spelled or said.

omg that's so very sweet thanks for the curiosity!

Granblue Fantasy is a gacha mobage turn-by-turn RPG/Visual Novel that can be played on browser (here)

I've actually been playing this game since 2019 and talked a lot about it way back when, but i took a break from the game a while ago because i was invested in others things - and recently an event focusing on my fav characters dragged me back in and revived the love i had for the game so now i'm back playing it a lot, and i would say it's pretty much the big thing i'm into at the moment.

a while ago i posted a rundown of the major stuff to know about the Main plot here, if it can serve as a starting point.

The very short story is that, in a world of magic and floating island, our main character is set on a journey as the captain of a flying ship after they saved the life of a young girl with blue hair called Lyria and had their life linked to her. Together they are set to visit island to island in order to find their way to the Island of the Astrals, enigmatic Godlike beings their father had been looking for so much they abandoned MC to go and find it, and the place which would hopefully give answers about the reasons of Lyria's existence.

A pretty classic beginning to a story like this, this serves as a set up to have MC and their crew travel across different island and meet different characters who'd join your crew.

The story is divided that way with The Main Plot, which are following the major lore bits to know and the journey to the Astral Island, and the diverse Side Stories which are basically time spent on specific islands/with specific characters. As a result you may find a lot of interest in many of the Side Stories's saga.

Personally i have a major soft spot for the Dragon Knights saga, which loosely use knights from the Arthurian legend to explore thrilling stories of loyalty and betrayal, and i just adore the characters from this saga. Another saga i really love is What Makes The Sky Blue, a saga of world-ending cataclysms, doomed love, and tragedy. Or you can go and explore the Summer Events Saga with their flying sharks and oysters and the whole zombie event that occured because of that, as one does.

Outside of the story the game runs like an old final fantasy game (fitting since the devs do come from final fantasy), turn by turn, with specific skillsets to attack boss fights (which you can fight together with multiple players). To form proper strategy you need multiple characters and that's where the gacha enters into consideration, with characters met from various stories across the game and them joining you to fight by your side (each unit also come with a special story about the character you unlock). Of course, any of the warnings that come with playing a gacha game applies there.

In order to move on with the main story you must work in getting stronger, and some specific stories and characters are locked behind harder content. So as a result the game also encourages you to get stronger and there's a lot of events that are just fighting focused where you have to test your various fighting strategy.

(For exemple currently is the big event that put players against one another in huge battles that gets a lot of rewards. Some events that matter only if you really thrive power. Which is my case lol)

So yeah, basically, a Fantasy Visual Novel with a lot, lot, LOT of stories and characters, (so if needed to expend on any facets do ask, i just can't really go off about it just like that), there's a bit of everything for everybody in it, light hearted stories, serious stories ect. With a side of old-school turn-by-turn gameplay with raids you can play alone or in multiplayer.

i don't know what to say about it more - the post i linked will give you a vague idea of at least the beginning of the Main Story if it's a starting point

else i should just add that on top of that the artstyle is gorgeous and always gives me goosebumps. Those are various promo arts but the art in game are really close to this standard:

(else you can check the other post i made which has art from the game)

or, if that speaks to you as something you'd like to check out, that the soundtrack is fire and i love it so much, it's honestly bewildering how good it is for a mobage, from background music (if you want to make yourself an idea, this video has multiple of the background music you'll hear during the game, you can jump around and figure out if you like this type of music.) to Boss Music (My personal favorite is Zero, which is SUPER LONG BUT WORTH IT I SWEAR but you MUST have listened to Paradise Lost before it first. In another style that i love a lot, Small Fish in a Small Pound is one of my fav.) to character songs (i'll recommend The Soiya Gang's song because it SLAPS, but some of my favorite involves Nier's song, the Lowain bros's song, Beatrix's song, and those i'm biased as hell about because i love the characters, The Dragon Knights's song, and Sandalphon's song. Though i cry hard on Sandalphon's and it has some spoilers to his story, is it worth posting it-)

The game also have spin offs and adaptations but i admit i didn't get into it a lot. There is a Manga and an Anime that covers a bit of the Main Story (not further than chapter 50 i'd say), there's a spin off manga adapting the first two Dragon Knights's stories (that is NOWHERE to be found unless you buy the Japanese manga themselves. Wasted.). There's a fighting game (Granblue Fantasy Versus) that serves as a bonus story to the mobage but also an introduction to get to know some characters (though they are doomed to be less developped there), there's a Gag Webcomics in the mobage that had some of its gag adapted in anime form, and there's currently a Triple A RPG game being developped for Playstation 5 called Granblue Fantasy Relink.

but personally i'm a mobage purist and mostly have only read into this. I always find this game impressive considering the amount of content there is for a free mobage. Between the fact almost everything is voiced or the fact we keep getting new and incredible music it's just muah i love this game.

this sounds a little overwhelming i'm sure DLKJFDLKF so if there's anything you want me to expend on i'd be glad to ^^ i really love this game a lot and i have a ton of fun playing it.

Take care and thank you for your sweet message <333

[fuckthe10essays]

Iago is a likeable villain: he cannot be blamed for making the most of his opportunities.

‘Likeable’ and ‘Villain’ are not often words associated with each other, but Othello’s resident ‘bad guy’ uses a selection of Machiavellian tactics to bring them closer together than ever before. He is the embodiment of a ‘hate to love’ character. He is most obviously the villain of the story, but he just does it so well that it’s difficult to not appreciate the nuance and layers he brings to the typical villain character. This is in no way a defense of Iago as a character. He is a murdering, racist, misogynist who absolutely deserved his fate at the end of the play. This is instead an explanation as to why he is a ‘likeable’ character despite all of those condemnable traits.  

Unlike many of Shakespeare’s other plays Othello does not have a true hero. In plays like Twelfth Night there is a clear distinction in who we should be rooting for and who we shouldn’t but in Othello that line is blurred. You could argue that the play’s namesake is a tragic hero, but Othello is no hero at all. That’s not to say that Iago is in any way the hero of the play but if it’s not obvious who to root for and who to hate the strongest, most interesting character is usually the one who people are drawn to. Othello is incapable of being a hero in his own play. The only time where he could have been considered heroic is at the beginning. Where he is a lauded general in the Venetian army ‘Valiant Othello we must straight employ you against the general enemy Ottoman.’ But his wartime prowess does not last long, as soon later he succumbs easily to Iago’s lies and insinuations. He would believe Iago instead of simply asking his wife. The sharp contrast from the capable man in the beginning to the broken one in the end is too great to ever consider Othello a hero. You cannot root for the ‘good guys’ in this play because there are hardly any. Othello is too pathetically soon under Iago’s spell to warrant being admired; Desdemona is so naïve and sheltered in her beliefs that you being to consider whether or not she’s a credible character and Emilia is obedient to her husband until it’s too late so we cannot root for her. With no one to actively support we begin to see just how easy it is for Iago to manipulate these people and begin to side with him. He is likeable because who else is there to like?  

Whether you believe that Iago is a likeable villain or not you cannot deny that he executed most his schemes with such skill and craftiness. Up until the very end, when he chose to not kill Cassio, everything else worked out really well for him. In fact, it worked out so well for him and he so expertly manipulated so many people that it was really only himself that could have brought about his downfall. Which is what happened. But there is no other character in this play who showed such talent at anything, than Iago had at manipulation. He engineered Othello’s downfall and his descent into paranoia, making him question everything about his relationship with his wife without a shred of evidence. ‘Make the Moor thank me, love me and reward me for making him egregiously ass and practicing upon his peace and quiet even into madness.’ He got Cassio drunk and blamed him for the riot ‘I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth than it should do offence to Michael Cassio.’ and then told Cassio to ask Desdemona to plead to Othello for his job back, knowing that he was going to insinuate to Othello a relationship between Cassio and Desdemona. His ‘friendship’ with Rodrigo was solely based on money, but yet he convinced Rodrigo that he could procure Desdemona to have sex with him. He so carefully played every other character that none of them stood a chance. He saw an opportunity to enact his revenge and gain more status, it wasn’t like it was a difficult thing to do. Everyone else played so easily into his hand that it would have been a wasted opportunity to let go by for someone as skilled as he was.

Quite possibly the most successful of Iago’s schemes was Desdemona’s handkerchief. He used this innocent, unassuming piece of strawberry embroidered cloth so beautifully it is no wonder that it was the straw that broke Othello’s proverbial back. Even though the events surrounding it were largely controlled by fate Iago still managed to use it to his advantage, once again showing us just how good of a ‘bad guy’ he is. Othello had asked Iago for evidence of Desdemona’s infidelity and it literally walked itself into the room. This was just after Othello’s epileptic fit, which Iago used to make Othello look weak in front of Cassio. Bianca, a prostitute Cassio had slept with, strolls in and confronts Cassio about the handkerchief she found in her room. ‘This is some minx’s token.’ Othello and Iago see this, and Othello is now convinced of Desdemona and Cassio’s affair. Othello asks Iago ‘How should I murder him?’ meaning Cassio. Iago sees how this development works wonderfully for his plan and says that he will take care of it, and tells Othello to strangle Desdemona ‘Do not do it with poison, strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated.’ Iago is quick thinking and knows how to make situations work for him and his end game. His skill and ability in manipulation is interesting and admirable. Who doesn’t like a competent character amongst others who certainly aren’t?

Othello may be name of the play but without Iago nothing of interest would have happened. He is the catalyst who the events of the play stem from. He is the sun, and every other character revolves around what he says or does. Yes, he is the villain but without him there would be no tragic tale of Othello. He makes it interesting. His motives, actions even his limits, sparse they are, combine into a tale of intrigue which controls the people are around him. We like Iago because he’s clever, sly and just too good at what he does. Besides what other character can we admire? It is Iago making the most of his opportunities that makes this a play worth reading. His desires for revenge and status drive him to terrible but intriguing things. In his own famous words, ‘I am not what I am.’ He’s right. He is painted as just a villain in Shakespearian play trying to get one on the protagonist, but his character is much more than that. It is his actions that the story revolves around. It is his motivations that drive the story forward to its unfortunate end. Simply without Iago and his villainous ways of making the most of his opportunities there would be no Othello.

As a reader possibly the most likeable aspect of Iago is his unpredictability. If there is one question that constantly surrounds him it is ‘what will he do next?’ No one knows. It is interesting and so fun to watch what he’ll do next. To see how far he is capable of going. Because he bends all the rules and has no discernable moral compass there is an ever-present question mark over his head. He is likeable because he’s unpredictable, he keeps people on their toes. No one knows what he’s going to do next and therefore he always has an element of surprise around him. There is no other character in this play that keeps you guessing as much as Iago does. It is the sense of disbelief that comes after everything he does that makes him such a dubious but broad character. He is crafty, sly and a master manipulator. A sort of renaissance man of all things Machiavellian. Him keeping us guessing allows us to appreciate the nuances of his character and the questions he allows us to ask about ourselves, such as how far would we go in the same situation?

Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not Iago himself is a warning. A warning about what happens if we let ourselves be completely devoured by greed and jealousy. At his core Iago is a reflection of truly the worst of human nature. He embodies all of the emotions and feelings that can make anyone do incredibly harmful things. If he was not spurned by a need for revenge on Othello would he still have warped his mind. If he was not driven for the status of Cassio’s job would he still have gotten him drunk and framed him. Iago as a character is both a question and an answer. What could happen if we let the worst facets of our personality overcome us? He IS a likeable villain for he lets us have a glimpse into the thoughts and actions of someone who is entirely overcome by hate. He makes us question are own abilities to do wrong. How far would we go if we were as driven by jealousy and greed as he was. That’s not to say that every person is secretly deep down an Iago, but that we are all capable of truly awful deeds. He allows us a taste of the worst parts of ourselves that rarely let out and curiosity just gets the better of us. No one can be blamed for that it is simply human nature.

In conclusion Iago is likeable villain who certainly makes the most of his opportunities. He manages to become the character who overshadows the ‘main’ one because the ‘main’ one isn’t up to the job. Iago succeeded in many things; warping Othello’s mind, embarrassing him, convincing him of a nonexistent affair and being the most interesting character. With the characters we’re supposed to like not up to scratch Iago steps in and does a wonderful job of taking over the helm.

[nanowrimo]

Road Trip to NaNo: Finding Magic in the Mundane

NaNoWriMo is an international event, and we’re taking a Road Trip to NaNo to hear about the stories being written every year in our hundreds of participating regions. Today, Laura Cerrone, our Municipal Liaison in the USA :: New York :: Nassau County region, talks about using your surroundings to create multifaceted characters:

A twenty minute drive, and I can plant my feet in the spot where Fitzgerald stood nearly a century ago, imagining Daisy Buchanan’s pulsing green light over the Long Island Sound. 

With the skyscraper shadows cascading over the Western region, and the Eastern areas opening up to our more rural sister region, Nassau County is easy to miss on a map. Tucked in between our county lines is the simplistic suburban living that is often taken for granted. It’s not seen as trendy or mysterious as a city, or as bucolic and charming as the countryside. Suburbs are just ordinary.

In my corner of the world, ordinary can be peeled back to reveal a kind of surreal magic, such as the gilded Gold Coast mansions on the North Shore and the sandy beaches to the south. Even our strip malls and neat rows of houses with manicured lawns possess a very different, but still remarkable kind of magic. While Fitzgerald likened the glamorous West Egg and flashier East Egg in The Great Gatsby to the affluent areas of Great Neck and Manhasset Neck, President Theodore Roosevelt once stated, “There could be no healthier place to bring children up." The Nassau County region with its layers of magic cannot be pinned down to one stereotype––and you might be surprised at what you find in your own region when you peel back the curtain to the seemingly mundane around you.  

My home base straddles these dichotomies. I am enamored by the daily routines my neighbors partake in each day: running to the dry cleaning, or picking up their children from lacrosse, or going for an early night stroll on the Long Beach boardwalk. But I also have neighbors who remind me of Jay Gatsby, winding down the Long Island Expressway in their beautiful and expensive cars. Many of the characters in my stories have manifested qualities akin to both of these kinds of people. Some of these characters can even espouse the entire history of the rise and fall of an industrial area, just like the curators at the Cradle of Aviation tell the stories of Long Island’s rich aviation history. 

“For this upcoming NaNoWriMo, I challenge you to think of each of your characters as multi-faceted. This includes thinking of your settings as a character in itself, because a town or a city can have a plethora of its own personalities and moods.”

Sitting on a bench at my local strip mall can provide me with enough inspiration just probing for the deeper stories behind passers-by. There’s the young woman in leisurewear, popping in and out stores to get her chores done in a timely fashion; there’s the new dad, loosing a public battle with his toddler throwing a temper tantrum; and there’s also a child, little fingers wrapped around her occupied mother’s hand, observing trash on the street that would otherwise be boring, reminding me of the openness and innocence of curiosity. I look at all these people and think about their stories. Are they from here? How did they get here? Are they struggling to pay their bills? What secrets are they hiding? Digging a little deeper cuts out the stereotypes we are predisposed to think and makes for a richer character and body of understanding.

For this upcoming NaNoWriMo, I challenge you to think of each of your characters as multi-faceted. This includes thinking of your settings as a character in itself, because a town or a city can have a plethora of its own personalities and moods. Whether you pants it or plan it, pull inspiration from your neighbors, the places you really love to visit in your backyard, or the ones you can’t even stand. Writing about your own roots can be a test in itself because too often we overlook the beauty in the minute detail. Step aside from the computer screen or your pen and paper and observe, critically think, and be curious about the people around you and their stories.

Laura is a first year Co-ML for the Nassau County region of New York. She’s lived here her entire life (except when she went away to college, although she remained loyal to her native region of New York). She’s a biography writer by day, an entertainment/pop-culture freelancer by night, and somehow fits in the time for all her NaNoWriMo endeavors.

Top photo by Laura Cerrone.

[rheanimalsachikokassielynn]

Major Essay 1

Rheanne Harkness

Professor Timothy Greenup

English 112

25 October 2017

All Sides of the Characterization Spectrum: Evolution Verses Devolution

 In the event that the average college student has taken even the most basic literature course, he or she should at least be somewhat familiar with and be able to tell the difference between three-dimensional characters, two-dimensional characters, and stock characters across a variety of different narratives - graphic novels being no exception. Three-dimensional characters (or “round characters”) may be traditionally thought of as the most important asset that a work of fiction has other than an engaging plot, atmosphere, or tone. After all, they by default, end up being portrayed as the most like real people, and as such, have the best chance of connecting with the reader on a deeper, more personal level, and audience identification can often be an essential part of what makes a story truly impactful to those who read it. No matter how much water this way of looking at round characters happens to hold though, that doesn’t mean readers of a particular work should entirely dismiss the roles stock and/or two-dimensional (or “flat characters”) play in strengthening its content as a whole - even if those roles are seemingly limited to serving as stepping stones that guide a potential round character as he or she goes through change. This begs the question: If both the flat and stock characters in a simple, straightforward comic like “Batman: Year One” only exist to help round characters in their development, are these same types of characters tailored to that same purpose in the more complex and formally depicted graphic novel that is “From Hell”?

To begin answering this question, there must be some semblance of comparison between the two pieces’ main characters and how interactions with other less imposing characters affect their motivations in the long run. In “Batman: Year One”, almost, if not every other character that Jim Gordon has ties to (particularly the few female characters) can be considered as more of a catalyst for change in his character than anything else. Take Gordon’s wife, Barbara for instance, throughout the comic, the reader never gets to learn much about her apart from the fact that she’s the supportive, pregnant housewife of his. Because Barbara is kept at arm’s length from so much of her husband’s troubles within the force until the very end of the comic and we only hear brief mention of the couple’s marital problems from Gordon’s perspective, Barbara represents nothing more than a stereotype, and thusly cannot be described as anything more than a stock character. But both her and Gordon’s unborn child are important nonetheless since Gordon’s desire to protect them is established as the driving force of his character from page one onwards. Sargent Essen is a representation of the “Femme Fatale” stereotype that’s seen so often in Film Noir; and again, the only bit of backstory we get from her is told to the reader from Gordon’s perspective in a single panel. She gives Gordon internal conflict to work through that works in tandem with the external conflicts he’s already facing. Three-dimensional characters are expected to have moments of weakness in their convictions. So, by having Essen as the vehicle through which Gordon deals with that weakness by having him torn between two places, (his obligation to his family and his newfound feelings for her) it makes the reader want to keep following him on his “Hero’s Journey” as well as call into question just how far he’s willing to go in order to do what’s right, as he himself isn’t so sure anymore - much like an actual human being might feel in the same situation.

If Lieutenant Gordon is the most prominent three-dimensional character from Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One”, the most prominent round character from Alan Moore’s “From Hell” would be Doctor William Gull. Gull by contrast, doesn’t let other characters define who he is as one could argue for Gordon, (unless of course, the historical figures that Gull reveres so much - like William Blake and Nicholas Hawksmoor, are taken into account). It is seemingly established just how deep-seated Gull’s lack of empathy towards his fellow man really is from the first moment we see him purely out of plot convenience without any residual reason for it that wouldn’t have to be inferred by the readers on their own. To this effect, the essence of Gull’s character could simply be chopped up to his profession, in that many doctors do experience a loss of empathy while experimenting on human bodies for medical benefit; on top of which, he’d taken to dissecting animals (as is elaborately showcased in several disjointed panels with a mouse on the grounds of Beaumont Rectory) out of mere curiosity long before becoming a doctor in his adult life (Campbell Ch 2 p 6).

This aspect of Gull’s identity is significant and does give the audience some insight as to why he might and would eventually take on the “Jack the Ripper” persona. However, I don’t think that just being an emotionally detached doctor is enough to account for every facet of Gull’s character as much it sets the groundwork for those facets overall. Considering Gull’s long-dead heroes to be actual characters doesn’t feel terribly practical. So, it’s probably safe to assume that Gull has been shaped as a person by what he’s been exposed to more than who he’s been exposed to. The only time Gull lets others influence his actions at all is when they come into conflict with what he believes or stands for - like the whole reason he is committing these murders in Whitechapel to begin with. Gull is a firm proponent of the notion that men are superior to women, so the closer he gets to disposing of all these filthy prostitutes and by extension, fulfilling what he feels to be his divine purpose in life and throughout history, the more savage and less methodical the killings themselves become. It’s only when Gull briefly travels to the future a second time (in a purely non-character-driven plot point) and is so disillusioned by what he finds that he begins to lose heart with what he’s done. Up until then, though, Gull knew exactly who he was and what he wanted. Any other character who observed him (round, flat, or stock) could only do just that, observe and offer nothing (even unconsciously) that could sway him of his convictions whatsoever.

Conversely, what puts a major rift between “Batman: Year One” and “From Hell” in terms of how the protagonists can be thought of as round would be that Gull does not evolve as a character so much as he has devolved by the time his role in the story finally reaches its end. Nowhere does this erosion become more apparent than directly after Gull travels to what would have been the present day at the time this novel was written. More specifically, at the point where Gull takes the heart of the women who may or may not have been Mary Kelly out of the fireplace hearth and watches it burn on the tip of his surgical knife, a look of wistful melancholia has dawned his face, as if to say that only for a moment, even he realizes how empty and fruitless his endeavors toward any sort of divinity through murder truly were on principal. Although, of course, Gull would never dare admit it to anyone - least of all himself (Campbell Ch 10 p 29). This single panel image is made all the more telling when one pairs it with what Gull declares to Netley across a middle row of panels a few pages later as most of his face is eerily covered in shadow, but with an air of resignation about it: “I‘m finished. I have been climbing...all my life, toward a single peak. Now I have reached it. I have stood and felt the wind. I have seen all the world beneath me. Now there is only descent. Only the valley. Would that I had died there...in that light above the cloud line.” (Moore and Campbell Ch 10 p 33).

The icing on the cake and its effectiveness at cementing just how far Gull has fallen afterwards is really dependent upon whether or not one believes that he truly did come close to ascending to Godhood just before death in an insane asylum at the apex of chapter twelve. Being that Alan Moore leaves the answer widely open to interpretation, I personally would pose the argument that his apparent journey through time and space was merely a series of fragmented illusions that play out similarly to the concept of a person’s life flashing before their eyes as they’re about to die. Only in Gull’s case, his life wasn’t flashing before his eyes, but rather his abstract ambitions and ideas of what moving on to a higher plane of existence might be like were. If there is indeed a grain of truth in Gull’s last words to Netley the night he killed “Mary Kelly”, then the image of a poor old man mumbling incoherently within the walls of an asylum and never moving past his unhealthy obsession with achieving historical/spiritual greatness fits much more consistently with someone who both literally and figuratively has nowhere left to go but down.

Ultimately, I feel that the secondary characters in “From Hell” did not aid in developing Doctor Gull as a character in the way that they did for Jim Gordon in “Batman: Year One”. This is because, unlike Gordon, Gull never really forged any deeply personal relationships with others that were impactful enough to dictate his actions. His life experiences as a self-righteous doctor as well as a time traveler deprived him of the ability to genuinely empathize with the people around him. Thus, those experiences were consequently the only thing left to propel him through his journey and eventual derailment that awaits Gull at the end of the story. Every action of Gordon’s by contrast was performed for the sake of the people he cared about. Regardless of how uninteresting these flat and stock characters may have been to the audience, it’s no wonder that their existence as Gordon’s driving motivation made for such a relatable protagonist who we want to see rise above the challenges his environment has set for him by the time his story concludes. As far as Gull is concerned, he isn’t meant to be a relatable protagonist as much as the complete opposite. So, if the flat and stock characters aid him at all, it’s to mirror the audience members’ impressions of him (which are mostly rooted in fear, intimidation, curiosity, respect, and annoyance). I suppose in this way, if some characters need not be three-dimensional to be effective, one could also say that they need not be at the forefront of the round character’s main concerns for he or she to go through intended changes set in place by the author of the story either - still being just as effective, but in a different way!

Works Cited

Hamilton, Sharon. “Characterization.” Essential Literary Terms, Second Edition. Norton, 2017, p. 136.

Miller, Frank and David Mazzucchelli. Batman: Year One. DC Comics, 2005.

Moore, Alan and Eddie Campbell. From Hell. Top Shelf Productions, 2014.

[ganymedesclock]

Character Analysis: Lance

[ Shiro ] [ Hunk ] [ Pidge ] [ Keith ] [ Allura ] [ Coran ]

Next up on character analyses: Lance, a pretty cool guy figuratively and literally. Let’s check this hotshot out.

We actually have a fair amount of information on Lance’s background, but, specific details are something that needs to be intuited. When he’s missing Earth, he names Varadero Beach, in Cuba, specifically- and, as we see in the mind-melding exercise in s1e2 we see that he has a large family. Considering the presence of very young children, it’s likely that he’s a middle child in his family, though he could be the eldest or youngest (with the children being cousins, or possibly even nieces/nephews)

Lance’s recollection of his family is also very warm. He talks about his mom’s hugs, and seems to worry or think about them a lot. This suggests that his family is very close-knit and loving, and that Lance’s childhood has overwhelmingly, been kind. It established a precedent of closeness that he seeks to repeat with the teams he finds himself part of. 

As the Garrison is in the US, this would suggest that either Lance’s family immigrated, or Lance attended the Garrison with a student visa. (Also possible in Voltron’s hypothetical future, political lines have shifted).

We also see that Lance, at the beginning of the show, is in a very small class. There are not many simulator teams at all. This suggests, even though Lance seems to struggle (he mentions always crashing the simulator) he’s in rather prestigious company- even if Keith wasn’t aware of him, Lance wasn’t kidding when he claimed to be neck-and-neck with Keith. The fact that Lance was bumped to the fighter class in Keith’s absence would tell us that Lance was, possibly by an impressive margin, the best pilot in the cargo class. 

And seemingly, without much outstanding “natural” talent.

Overshadowed

The scene in s2e10 where Lance frets that he’s a fifth wheel for team Voltron shook up a lot of people but it’s not really out of left field. As early as s1e1, a lot of what’s presented to us on Lance is how, for all his achievement- the class he’s in- it’s still held over his head that he can’t be Keith. Iverson’s harsh comments suggests he doesn’t want to lose Lance to a discipline issue- but it also suggests, in effect, that he’s bothering with Lance because Keith is inaccessible. Lance is just a replacement.

It feels like Lance has spent a lot of his life being outshined by other people. Lance interacts closely with people who are considered prodigies one way or another- Shiro is his idol, and he butts heads with Keith in a way that tells us more than anger, Lance is envious of Keith, big time- but he’s not a prodigy himself, and that stings a lot.

Because Lance is good. Lance is very good- but he gets there by effort. He doesn’t have the instinctual talent Keith does, and that’s not something that can be developed. His obvious accomplishment- making fighter class- is framed as replacing Keith.

I think this is the significance of Allura not mentioning the Blue Paladin’s virtues. Because Lance’s biggest problem is, he’s struggling to define his own unique talents, separate from what others contribute. And at least where he starts out- at his core, he’s afraid that his contributions are actually worthless, and around that he’s built up a layer of defensive hostility and jealousy that tends to stab outwards when he feels threatened. 

It seems the main thing that really sets off his temper tends to be feeling like people are mocking him, but he can also get angry at situations or decisions seem unfair. His particular hostility towards Keith seems to be an intersection of a person he’s already envious of, who is on his level and thus more “accessible” to argue against, and exacerbated by how Keith was used as kind of a symbol of everything he couldn’t be. We see this hostility start to deteriorate as Lance gets a better sense of Keith outside of his reputation as the Garrison’s golden boy.

As the show progresses, we see that Lance is starting to actively work on this on his own. Trying to define marksmanship as “his thing”- and he’s quite likely onto something there, considering one has to be pretty familiar with a gun to stop their hands from shaking. It’s very likely that Lance has been practicing with his bayard on his own time, if he didn’t have any familiarity with firearms before leaving Earth. 

But it’s rather significant that Lance’s overtures are tentative, and more or less isolated, as quickly as Shiro picks up on it. Because it tells us that a lot of this is more or less a game of cognitive solitaire.

Sincerity and misdirection

A very interesting and somewhat contradictory facet of Lance’s character is that Lance is a very good actor. As insecure as he is, he can very easily come across as cocky- though part of this is another element of his personality entirely.

Lance is very attentive of other people, and very good at reading them. He’s also very motivated by understanding people. This is something we see big time in Lance’s initial interactions with Pidge at the Garrison- Pidge puts up a very cold shoulder, but Lance is basically undeterred, and more interested in what it is that’s eating Pidge and making her snap that much.

And part of this attentiveness is that Lance tends to choose what he lets people see.

In contrast to many characters who are a little deceptive, Lance’s dial is tipped very heavily towards sincerity. It’s his general inclination to open up to people- even when this potentially leaves him hurt, as it does in his interactions with Nyma. Lance actively wants to believe the best in people, to connect with them. It takes relatively little concern or prompting from other people to get Lance to open his heart, even about his insecurities or loneliness.

This ties back to what Lance is used to- a big, loving family. Considering some of the defensive or even fearful ways Lance responds sometimes (“Is this a game? I hate games!”) and how quickly he accepts that Nyma tricked him and calls for help, it suggests that Lance’s sincerity has gotten him burned more than a few times before- but the majority of his experiences, or at least those that were the most formative on him, have been positive, and that drives Lance to keep putting himself out there.

While Lance can seem fearless or even a little gullible with people- this is contrasted by how terrifyingly perceptive he can be, as he noticed the bomb drone in a matter of seconds. It suggests that rather than someone who doesn’t see warning flags, Lance is someone who acknowledges them- but wants to try and believe the best because hopefully it’ll work out.

And a surprising amount of the time, it really does.

Go with the flow

I think there’s something very meaningful to the fact that Lance was the one to get his Lion first. Because the Lions are large, daunting mechanical creatures- they’re alien war machines, as Keith points out. Furthermore, unlike any craft the team would be used to, the Lions have a will of their own, and one of the first things Blue does is waltz right into Lance’s mind and then take them all on a wild, breakneck joyride.

Lance’s response? Is to hold on for dear life and see where Blue is going with this. If Blue says she’s “going home”, Lance doesn’t really ask where that is- he trusts Blue, trusts that it’s important, and relays that information to the team.

This is a bit of the metaphor present in Lance’s role as a leg. The legs of the body have a twofold purpose- they hold the body up, but they also carry the body forwards. Lance, I think, leans heavily on the latter purpose- he is not simply an open person himself, but someone who opens the whole team to new possibilities.

And part of that is, Lance is the best suited to jarring and unorthodox developments. This is something we can see in the aftermath of s2e8- when the addition of the Marmorans and their plan to take down Zarkon, and the simultaneous reveal of Keith’s heritage, shakes the foundation of the group, Lance is the one who is actually excited by this situation, explaining the plan to Hunk and talking up a storm about how this is the “best plan ever!”

We can actually see this factoring into how Lance fights a brainwashed Hunk in s2e2- Lance can’t overpower Hunk or outrun him, nor does he really want to hurt him- so he ends up hooking the antidote fish with his foot and kicking it backwards into Hunk’s air bubble.

This also touches a bit on the fact that Lance is a support role in the team. While Lance can strategize on his own, he also fits rather easily into following someone else’s lead. He’s the first one to defer to Shiro, and this seems to suggest he has a bit of discomfort making big decisions for a group- he didn’t want to just toss Blue into the wormhole on his own faith without knowing if everyone else on board the Lion was okay with it.

Inter-connectivity and curiosity

So why is Lance so heavily motivated to figure people out? After all, his general defensiveness would suggest that he’s had a fair amount of people just go throw it right back in his face, to the point that Pidge being hostile towards him doesn’t even really faze him.

Lance is more or less intrinsically motivated to understand people along two avenues- the pursuit of understanding, and the pursuit of closeness. He actively seeks, and creates, situations to get people to open up and show themselves more (“Oops, sorry Shiro, I was trying to hit Keith,” says Lance, who is an excellent shot and Shiro was nowhere near Keith) and while part of it is a kind of detached desire to know- this is actively tangled together with a desire to feel close to people.

As seen with Laika, it’s more important for Lance to feel connected with people than it is for him to practically know things about them. Combined with his tendency to go with the flow and hope for the best of a situation, we see how his first response towards Klaizap the Arusian was that he wanted to make Klaizap a sweater.

Lance is something of a diplomat, but an unorthodox one- he’s the type of person who can more or less waltz into situations and make friends easily.

Of course, Lance also has the capacity to raise some hell when he wants to. New experiences and people are a much stronger motivation to him than the letter of the law, and especially in the presence of authority that seems unyielding (Iverson and the Garrison, mostly) a lot of how Lance copes by feeling trapped is to push out and do something on his own, and his ability to read people and adapt to situations makes him quite inventive at breaking rules (how many people can attest to sneaking out of their military-run astronaut school?) or subverting them (distracting Iverson’s attention off of Pidge).

Ironically I would say that it’s a measure of respect that when Lance disagrees with Shiro, he confronts him directly on it- it suggests that unlike with Iverson, Lance trusts Shiro as someone who will actually hear him out. 

Desire to help

There is an inherent motivation that holds Lance to Voltron, even as much as Earth and his family means to him. While Shiro operates more according to justice and responsibility, I think that Lance’s motivation has more to do with his sense of compassion.

Lance doesn’t want people to suffer. As seen with the mermaid civilization, even if Lance may not have a lot of faith in his abilities alone, he’s committed to try if he feels like he can help. His desire to connect with people does lead him to sympathize with their problems.

It is, in some ways, a very pure and simple motivation. Pain is bad, loneliness is bad- if there’s something he can do he wants to try and he’ll see where that takes him. It takes very little time for him to think of someone as a friend, and once they are- he wants to protect them. Sometimes this can come out as endearing, heartfelt statements, and sometimes it’s more things like the way he snaps at Pidge to buckle her seatbelt when she falls out of her chair. 

In the mermaid civilization he talks about people being grateful and thanking him- but that’s not something he actually demands to happen and is actually caught off guard when Plaxum does kiss him. It suggests Lance does fantasize of himself as someone widely adored, but it isn’t a driving motivation that he actually demands of people.

Flirting

So the thing about Lance and flirting with people seems to be a joint function of his insecurity and desire for validation, and his natural curiosity for people. What we see is interesting is when it seems to be reciprocated positively, Lance doesn’t really try to leap on it and turn it into a longstanding relationship.

It feels basically like Lance wants people to find him charming and likable, and also wants to use it as an avenue to connect casually with the person.

In Summary

Lance is a somewhat insecure and defensive person stemming from self-worth issues, but also someone who is highly motivated to connect with people. He is very interpersonally perceptive, good at adapting to unorthodox situations and driven by a basic desire to help. He hides his issues to a degree, but can be motivated to open up fairly quickly as long as it seems like someone cares.

Overwhelmingly, though, Lance is optimistic and has faith that things will work out, though he is very aware of, and has probably in the past had that faith exploited by others. 

[yon-nyan]

Cowboy Bebop (1998) - Anime Review

Nineteen years ago, during the year 1998, a Space Western anime was released by the name of Cowboy Bebop, an anime that would go on to become one of the finest pieces of animation ever made. Adapted and completely redesigned from its manga counterpart, with direction by Shinichirō Watanabe, this 26-episode long, seinen neo-noir anime series would continue to astound fans of the medium for decades to come.

While this is going to be a review on the anime series in its entirety, I want to point out that this may not be like my other reviews. I don’t just want to prattle about how good the animation is, or how fantastic the music composition is. I may briefly touch on the standard characteristics that usually go into my reviews for the medium, however, today I want to discuss with you guys a few of the facets that truly makes Cowboy Bebop an astounding artistic masterpiece; a true classic for even more decades to come.

Cowboy Bebop follows the exploits of a ragtag crew of bounty hunters that end up coming together through various circumstances on the ship known simply as Bebop. We get to watch them manoeuvre their way through a mine field of galactic criminals that are ripe (and occasionally not so ripe at all) with woolongs (currency), awkward interactions with each another as well as blasts from their pasts, and plenty of blazing space and bullet-infused battles.

The episodes for the show tend to be very episodic in nature, usually in two-parts, with stunning fluidity from one space romp to the next. Even though most of the episodes are unrelated, there’s never a disjointed feeling of randomness, or having any kinds of fillers simply to bulk out the serial. It all fits wonderfully. Everything just belongs, nothing more and nothing less. When we do have story-specific arcs, they are laced with emotional intensity and the complexities that go with having a past you’re not so fond of. There’s so much grey in between the black and white that each character is portrayed to be multidimensional and so much more than a pretty face, or an intellectual genius.

The chemistry between all of the members of Bebop is one of my absolute favourite elements. They are flawed as fuck human beings, with quirks that cause a lot of grating disagreements and vexing (for them, not the audience) interactions. Nonetheless, they all have a key component in common that holds them together like a dysfunctional family. No matter how many times they try to walk away, eventually they find themselves back home. This is realistic. It’s believable. It’s something to connect with. Some will have a much more intimate relation to it than others. It’s comforting.

As I mentioned earlier, the animation, regardless of being almost 20 years old, still holds up really damn well. The power is in the details, literally. There are so many details that went into establishing the environments within the series that the best way to describe it is breath-taking. Whether the setting is the interior (or even exterior) of a ship, space itself, planets with crumbling or bustling cities, the characters themselves and the expressions that they make—it’s all extremely astounding. These little soft lines and harsh curves with unique shades of red, blue, and orange all create the mood and tone for which makes Bebop a bonafide neo-noir experience.

Even with all of these awesome traits, none of it really means anything if you can’t look beyond the animation and the cast to see just how far ahead of its time Cowboy Bebop truly was.

It’s 1998 and gender roles are getting less defined. This show broke gender moulds back then, and it continues to do so in the modern age. You have women, beautiful women and average women and women from all walks of life in regards to race, ethnicity, etc., who are never judged for being just that. They are portrayed as very strong, independent ass-kickers. It didn’t matter if they were criminals, heroes, or in between somewhere. The women in the show are some of the most intelligent people, and it’s never questioned or treated like it’s some kind of phenomenon. Good examples of badass ladies include Faye Valentine, Julia, and a very special bartender who’s a good friend of Spike’s (name’s not given to avoid spoilers).

One of our main characters, Edward, is a teenage girl, but it’s rarely brought up. Hell, her name is Edward. People don’t really care if she’s a she. Ed is a genius and eccentric as all fuck, and quite androgynous. Her brilliance is what makes her a compelling character. Yes, some people do gander at her gender, but it’s more of a passing curiosity. Her ability to do what she does is never doubted or questioned because of her being a girl. Most of the doubt stems from her sensationally unique persona and young age. We have another character in one of the episodes that’s a hermaphrodite. While it’s a bit uncommon, it never becomes the focal point of who he is or what he does. He’s just another person in the galaxy who’s got his own burden to bear.

So, yeah, gender roles and our ridiculous pre-conceived notions of what gender means doesn’t mean shit in this anime. I fucking love it.

A more common motif in the series is the belief that you are always a master of your own choices and leader of your own fate. Life is something to do with what you will, which is clearly exhibited by the decisions taken by our motley crew of criminal hunters, especially as their pasts begin to surface and reveal itself. Allowing yourself to be held back by some predetermined ideals that you may not even believe in isn’t living. The idea of having “obligations” and that there’s always an inherent “right” and “wrong,” is utterly false in the grand scheme of things and don’t account for jack shit if you’re going to be miserable in the end. This motif is beautifully complimented and further ingrained by the music…

Something else that gives the series loads and loads of depth is… the music. I’m sure that anyone reading this review that’s already had a chance to watch this anime was probably wondering when I’d bring this up. Well, here it comes. Hold on to your butts, my friends.

Yoko Kanno is quite possibly one of the most brilliant composers of the modern age. Her work has made appearances in many anime serials across the board from Wolf’s Rain to Terror in Resonance and a few others; each one a magnificent and stellar feat of musical capacities. Yet, I don’t think she can ever really top what she’s accomplished with Cowboy Bebop.

The Seatbelts is the fictitious Japanese space jazz band led by Kanno. The name derives from how the performers wear seatbelts to be safe as they participate in some serious hard-core jam sessions. This band, put together by Kanno, is responsible for all of the music in Cowboy Bebop.

The styles of music utilised is enthrallingly diverse and ranges from straight big band jazz to blues, acoustic ballads, hard rock, and country to funk and electronic. Hip-hop and experimental compositional elements also make their appearances. Aside from sounding extraordinary, the music in and of itself speaks volumes of what the show is about. If you look at most, if not all, of these genres, they began during periods of history where a voice of rebellion needed to rise. It was a means for people to expel their frustrations at life and all of the bullshit that they had to endure. Blues is a very depressing genre, originally created to voice the hardships that came from slavery and oppression. Jazz became a significant boom during the 1920s when war was looming and young folks were forced to fight or choose a side; when a passionate desire for independence was boiling to its peak. This included the rise of women’s empowerment and freedom of choice.

Every genre used to create the tunes began as a fight against being oppressed and having severely limited rights, if you had any to begin with. The music was about growing up and facing your fears and your monsters, to make life what you wanted of it. These genres were all born out of necessity to have something powerful and positive to believe in; a way to share the pain so you could stop it from continuing onwards.

As I mentioned earlier, this theme is apparent in all four members of our cast—Faye Valentine, Jet Black, Spike Spiegel, and even Edward. They all had something they were fighting for and some strong personal beliefs that drove them to become the people that they became; changes that needed to be made so they could be the stronger, better versions of their old selves.

Cowboy Bebop has so much more to it than the few things I’ve mentioned in this insanely long ass review. To be blunt, I wish I could talk about all of them because that’s how much I loved this series. I’m so passionate about it and what it means and what it stands for. But if I chat about everything, then you guys may not want to pick it up (if you haven’t already). I know that hype can have a negative effect on me; look at how long it took me to pick up the series.

While I do regret not picking it up sooner, I’m supremely satisfied with the fact that I waited so long. The world is a terribly different place now than it was in 1998. Not only was I just a child, there honestly wasn’t much that I could’ve related to the show back then as there is now, at least for me as an individual watcher. Maturity aside, I feel like the messages that are shared so passionately and so brilliantly in this anime are far more superior and relevant in 2017 than they would’ve been in 1998. But the fact that is was made 20 years ago, just goes to show you how far ahead of its time it truly was, which further intensifies my love for the science-fiction genre, no matter the medium.

In conclusion, I want to make one thing very clear: Cowboy Bebop is what it is, is as powerful and as remarkable as it is, because everything fits together so nicely. If you remove even one small facet of the show, it would’ve fallen completely apart. The music, any one of the characters (including minor ones), the animation, the motifs—anything at all and it wouldn’t be a work of art. It’s complex and intricate because every single piece makes it so; they’ve all got their place. Lose a single one and you’ve got nothing but a mediocre space western. Details are what create a masterpiece, especially when they’re subtle and natural.

10 cigarettes outta 10!

[xseedgames]

Question Extravaganza Blog #2

Hi there! Remember, back in December, when we had an “End-of-the-year Question Extravaganza Blog”? And how there was going to be a second part? Well, FINALLY, here it is! Round two of our answers to the questions that you sent to us via Twitter, so long ago.

Who’s playing this time:

Tom – Localization Producer

Brittany – Localization Producer

Junpei – Assistant Product Manager/XSEED’s Garbage Disposal

Ryan – Localization Lead

Nick – Localization Editor

Alyssa – Product Associate

Liz – QA Tester

Danielle – QA Tester

 WARNING: Spoiler alert, just in case! And maybe some language.

 Question: which character from Senran Kagura New Wave would you most like to see become playable in a future game

Liz:

There are so many! Kasumi, Kumi, Fuga, and Bashou     Kasumi - shy girl that can code her way into your heart? aw yuss.     Kumi - ngl I like foxes. I'm also hella curious what her animations would look like...     Fuga - dude it's fireworks coming from a shamisen who doesn't wanna SEE THAT. AND THOSE PLATFORMS. DAMN.     Bashou - paintbrushes: creation, destruction, or the beauty that comes from their combination? tune in next time on quiet girls that can artfully kill you

Brittany:

Fuga. I've loved her design ever since I first saw it and I've actually begged Takaki-san in person to put her in one of the core games.

Alyssa:

Picking just one is hard, so these are the ones are the top of my list:

Meimei – She fights by throwing bombs shaped like steam buns. Just. Yes.

Ukyou – For some reason, I really like the idea of a machine gun shaped like a bass guitar. She’s also a cutie, I like her design.

Seimei – I like the fact that she rocks pajamas. I wish I could wear pajamas all the time…

Question: What is your most favorite game that you have localized And why?

Brittany:

Trails of Cold Steel II. I cried so much while working on it, haha. It was the game that made me feel like I was really growing up as a writer, and I was so proud of the effort I put into that during every step of the process. Everyone knows I love the series, but for now, that game has a particularly strong place in my heart because I feel like I grew as a person together with those in Class VII (is this too cheesy? lol).

Junpei:

Definitely the EDF series. I’ve been a big fan of the series since the first EDF came out in Japan, but also I learned a lot from the producer and the dev team. It was a very exciting to work on, and luckily, EDF2: Invaders from Planet Space was selected as a D.I.C.E  Award nominee.

Also, Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity was a favorite, too. The game is very fun and pretty. I didn’t really know about the Touhou series at first, but this was a good title for Touhou beginners like me to learn what Touhou is. The dev team is very passionate and professional. I was always impressed by them while working on this.

Ryan:

I have a few personal favorites: Estival Versus because I love the character banter, Deep Crimson for the same reason, and Suikoden V because it was my first real localization project and I still have a soft spot for it.

Alyssa:

I have a soft spot for Ys: Memories of Celceta. It was published before I started working here, but was the first XSEED game that I played.

Even though we didn’t really localize it (just published it physically), I’m a big fan of Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. Working with WayForward was an absolute treat and I’m so glad that we have a chance to do something with them.

Tom:

I think anyone who knows me knows my answer to this, but in case you don't: RETURN TO POPOLOCROIS, BABY!! ;) The very first game script I ever translated was part of the script to PopoloCrois Story II on the PS1, which I translated in play-script format and uploaded to GameFAQs as a translation guide. After that, the very next thing I translated was all 51 episodes of the two existing PopoloCrois anime. I am a PopoloCrois super-fan, and when the opportunity came along to work on a PopoloCrois game, to say I was ecstatic would be an understatement. Getting to officially write English dialogue for Prince Pietro Pakapuka, Narcia the forest witch, the White Knight, and the GamiGami Devil was an absolutely amazing experience, and getting to sit in on voiceover sessions and help shape the way they sounded in English was the icing on the cake.

Corpse Party is a close second, though, because I was able to get much more graphic than I'm used to, and it was a bizarre amount of fun describing some of the most horrible acts of mutilation and torture imaginable. It was weird working on Corpse Party and Fishing Resort at the same time, as I had to keep stopping myself from inserting extremely graphic language into the Fishing Resort script.

And Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed gets an honorable mention, as the three weeks spent in voice-recording for that game may be the most fun I've had in my seven years at XSEED.

Question: Where do you face the most unexpected challenges during the localization process?

Nick:

The thing about unexpected challenges is that they're...well, unexpected. The things we run into the most frequently are things we know to be watchful for based on past experience (which is why we usually catch the major stuff). A good example of an "unexpected challenge" would be realizing partway in that we don't actually have all the text files for the game, even though the developer said they gave us everything. Working on games that are still in production also has the tendency to turn up a lot of unexpected issues, particularly when the developers change things and neglect to mention that they were changed. If you learn that a localization was being worked on while a game was still in development, know that it was probably a huge headache for the translators and editors compared to working on something that has been finished and more or less finalized.

Sometimes it's because there's an honest mix-up and they thought they'd given us everything. Other times there's a breakdown in communication along the way, as can occur when information has to pass through too many hands. So...ultimately, miscommunication is where we stand to face the most unexpected challenges. It varies from project to project, and we know to be mindful of it, but we can never fully predict when this sort of issue will pop up.

Question: Where do you try to draw the line between remaining loyal to the original and changing to fit the region you are localizing for?

Nick:

Every editor will give you a different answer for this, so I can only speak personally, but here's where I stand on this issue. When I localize a game, I absolutely want the intent of the original to come through. That's what people are coming to the work for - what they want to experience. However, sometimes, truly conveying the spirit of the original work necessitates departing from the exact language of the original.

If one facet of my job is about accurately conveying information and character relationships, another facet is to ensure people who buy our games are entertained and engaged. That happens best with a script that feels fairly natural in its English phrasing. A quick example is how, if you listen to people converse, most people make frequent use of contractions. They’re a natural linguistic shorthand for English, so it feels natural to make broad use of them in character dialogue. But I often see dialogue written without them (like, where it doesn’t strike me as an intentional editorial choice). Without contractions, at the most basic level, you'll get dialogue that sounds wooden and has less flow to it (Tom and I often compare it to the speaking style of Data, from Star Trek: TNG), but in some cases, using or not using contractions can subtly alter the way we perceive a line, especially if there's no voice-over to clue us in. "I cannot believe he said that about me" carries a bit more of a testy tone than "I can't believe he said that about me."

There are also cultural differences that, when translated over on a 1:1 basis, won't elicit the same response from an international audience, so some tweaking is necessary to make sure Western players of a game experience enjoyment similar to what Japanese players would've felt. This is admittedly a touchy issue, since a lot of this involves getting a good feel for the characters' personalities, and so is inevitably colored by an editor's own interpretations of them. In a blog I wrote before the first Trails of Cold Steel was released, I laid out some cases where I basically felt that the characterizations provided in some places by the original script were lacking, so Kris and I embarked on a mission to strengthen characterization not through any sweeping gestures, but just by bringing certain traits more clearly to the fore in scenes specific characters were in. It's something you might notice if you had the Japanese and English scripts side by side, but it never stood out to most players, and from anecdotal accounts I've read many places online, I think this initiative of ours was very successful. Certainly, I think it brought a lot to Rean's character in particular.

Ultimately, I want a localization to keep all the information the original script gave, but sometimes I re-frame how that information is conveyed because I value entertaining/engaging writing and want our games to feel, as much as possible, like the English scripts could just as well have been the original scripts.

“So, where do I draw the line? As someone who always wants to push for better writing, I generally won't make an edit - even if it would sound great - that would result in dropping factual information conveyed by the original. Not necessarily on a line-by-line basis, but definitely on a scene-by-scene basis. Ultimately, I want a localization to keep all the information the original script gave, but sometimes I re-frame how that information is conveyed because I value entertaining/engaging writing and want our games to feel, as much as possible, like the English scripts could just as well have been the original scripts.”

Brittany:

This question is too broad and no one should have one answer for it. It depends on the game itself, the context, the importance of the topic in question in the scope of the story, the emotional impact it's supposed to make. The most generic answer I can give is that we should always remain loyal to the spirit/intent of the original game, and if anything comes under question, we should consult the dev team and get their perspective on it.

I guess an example that's happened a few times throughout Trails is one where Japanese honorifics are dropped as people become closer. A big deal is made out of it, but that sort of thing doesn't exist in English. At the same time, there's no reason to force it in the English version because the name-dropping isn't necessarily the focus--it's the result of characters becoming closer. The intent is the bond, and as long as you write the scene so that English players understand these characters have become closer thanks to what's going on, then I believe we're still loyal to the Japanese while still properly localizing the scene.

 Question: outside of trails in the sky sc what was the hardest game to work on you've released?

Brittany:

It's a toss-up between Unchained Blades and Rune Factory 4. RF4 was a joy to work on because I'm a big fan of the series, but it also contains so many complex algorithms that even the Japanese version of the game occasionally had random bugs that just couldn't be reproduced. Those were everywhere during QA, and then we also had had all that text that needed to be checked for context...

Unchained Blades is far shorter with less text, but it was plagued with bugs during QA to the point where I once ran to the bathroom to cry from losing my save data for the umpteenth time. We had no debug mode for that one, either, so anything I had to test, it had to be done by playing through like a normal player. Hopefully the effort was worth it. I don't think I've ever heard of players experiencing the issues on that game that I had!

Ryan:

Probably Fate/EXTELLA, which had a lengthy, lore-heavy script with a long history behind it, plus a writing style that was both abstractly poetic and strictly technical.

Danielle:

I would say the Story of Seasons series, mostly because of the sheer volume of text and variables to test.

 Question: which sort of cultural references do you try to keep rather than rewriting for localization?

Tom:

Generally, all of them. It's always better to keep a reference, and just maybe insert a brief explanation, than to get rid of it. People who play our games know that they're playing Japanese games, so I figure, why try to disguise the Japaneseness of them? Better to celebrate it.

Ryan:

Depends on the medium and context. Fate, in general, is known in part for drawing lore from all over the world, so we did our best to keep its references to world history and literature intact. Akiba's Trip was chock full of Japanese-language anime references, some of which had only unofficial translations, so we did our best to cobble together appropriate translations from Japanese and English fan sites. SENRAN KAGURA drops references to well-known anime now and again, well-known enough that we can keep them intact, with an English take on their wordplay (such as when Katsuragi's play on "a great era of sexual harassment," referring to the "great era of piracy" from One Piece, became "a great invasion of privacy.") Occasionally, we'll run across Japanese proverbs that don't have direct translations, so we'll do our best to find English proverbs or wordplay that match the general sentiment of the original.

 Question: What was the situation in a game that gave you trouble? Joke? A conversation? Interactions? Items? Names? Tell us the worse!

Tom:

Shiawase no Sachiko, in Corpse Party. To this day, I'm still not 100% satisfied with my translation there.

See, in the Japanese, there's supposed to be a distinction between 幸せのサチコ ("Shiawase no Sachiko"), which roughly translates to "Happy Sachiko," and 死合わせのサチコ (a different way of writing "Shiawase no Sachiko"), which roughly translates to "Sachiko Aligned with Death."

The English I came up with for this is "Sachiko Ever After" vs. "Sachiko in the Everafter." And even that vaguely acceptable solution took far, FAR too long to come up with.

Sometimes, Japanese linguistic references are just really tough to work with!

Ryan:

The first example that comes to mind is a certain "My Room" conversation from Fate/EXTELLA, where Nero and the Master have a back-and-forth conversation about different kinds of bathing. The original Japanese script had an entire conversation tree about misreadings of kanji, which had no direct translation. This is one of those rare times where we were tempted to, as we sometimes call it, "Go full Samurai Pizza Cats," after the old anime dub where the American dub team never received the original script and had to make up a whole new one, but we stuck with it, and eventually came up with some reasonably close wordplay in English.

 Question: Do you have friends in other localization teams/companies? What could you learn from them? Do you reach out to them?

Brittany:

I'd love to hang out with some of the localization people I've interacted with via Twitter, because I'm actually pretty ignorant of what goes on in other companies. I'm pretty much XSEED only, but I'd love to learn the process in other places or just bond with others who do the same work that I do.

Tom:

Absolutely! Other companies are "competition" to an extent, but they're also colleagues, and we've met with people from numerous other nearby companies for lunch, karaoke, etc. many times since I've been working here at XSEED. I don't know that we really learn much from them, nor they from us, but we always "talk shop" when we meet up, discussing localization challenges we've faced, fun stuff we've done recently, etc. It's just good to sometimes talk with other people who fully understand what we do.

Ryan:

We're good friends with the Aksys team down the street, a lot of our staff have Atlus experience, and most of the original senior staff came from Square-Enix. For Fate/EXTELLA, the Aksys guys were kind enough to share their notes and script from Fate/EXTRA as references. One of the best bits of advice I can give people looking for work in the industry is "Make friends wherever you go," and that's as true once you're in as it is when you're getting started.

[vieuxnoyesrp]

Sally. We were afraid it’d be a while before there were any takers for our teenage rebel, Jeremy Gilbert. But after reading your application, we were of the unanimous opinion that it was well worth the wait!  Your passion absolutely shines through this application, and we love how deeply you dive into a character’s story and head-space; a fact we are fortunate enough to know given your astounding portrayal of Malia Tate. But even if we hadn’t had that exposure we would’ve come to the same conclusion a few answers into your app. You bring a magnifying lens to the subtle points in Jeremy’s personality, leaving no stone unturned. Also, you ask all the right questions that arise from the snapshot of him that we gave in the bio, which tells us that you’re ready to explore his character in all the creative directions that we’d hope to see - and that we can’t wait to read on the dash!

Sally, thank you very much for applying. As for Jeremy…

               ⚜ ~ WELCOME TO VIEUX NOYÉS!!! ~ ⚜

Wondering what to do next? Click here and let the good times roll!

⚜ Roleplayer:

⤜ Name/alias: Sally ⤜ Pronouns: She/Her ⤜ Age: 24 ⤜ Timezone: CST ⤜ Activity:  I’ve been pretty consistent with Malia so far, I’d say maybe a 7?!?! I have a lot of school work to do because it’s my last semester so I really shouldn’t be thinking about another character to be perfectly honest. But Jeremy’s bio s p e a k s to me and I think that I could keep up a good and balanced activity level with him along with Malia. I’ve wanted a second character for a while it’s just been a matter of finding the right fit and getting Malia to a place where I felt comfortable picking up a new character. Because as you guys know I’m obsessed with her and I didn’t want to take any mental time away from her. But now I think that I am ready, also again, I can’t ignore Jeremy’s bio and how much interest I’ve garnered in playing him. ⤜ Best form of contact: Through my Malia account works fabulously. I would make Jeremy a secondary account on my Malia account if that’s alright with you guys/if I get accepted. ⤜ Any Triggers? No triggers. ⤜ How did you find Vieux Noyés?  Originally I found it through a recommendation by Kelly! ⤜ What drew you to the RP? Lolz, could gush forever. But you guys run such an amazing place. The intricacy of the the bios though, coupled with your leadership skills and all the fun exciting events we get to do. It’s just fantastic. I love it ⤜ What is one subplot/element from the Plot page that you are particularly looking forward to seeing in this roleplay? I can’t wait to see what happens with the harvest coming down the hatch. Also just generally all the changes and developments that each character will get a chance to grapple with.

⚜ Desired Character: Jeremy Gilbert

⤜ Why do you want this character? 

I want this character because I apparently love characters who are children with dead parents. JUST KIDDING. I thought it was funny that both characters that caught my attention had that in common. But no, I really want this character for a multitude of reasons. For one, I love the connections that Jeremy has. I love that he has his drug friends. I love that he has the Salvatore brothers breathing down his neck in the facet of, oh you’re Elena’s little brother so I must protect you, but oh also Jeremy knows that you two are vampires now who follow my big sister around and who I blame for killing Vicki Donovan (as if Jeremy needs a reason to dislike people). But that’s just a few the dynamics I love. I also love that he’s into drugs and substance abuse. I think that that is going to be a bit difficult to write, but I’m interested in the challenge that writing a drugged up or drunk character can present. I love the tiny details in this bio and just SING to me. For example, his blacklist? Like where does he keep this blacklist in his room and like how does he know when to add to it? Also what does he mean to do with it? LOVE IT. Also, I love that he draws, but shhh not anymore bc no, can’t give any of the people who want to ‘help’ him in his life something to hang there hat on. But lastly, I love the person that he is. I love this sad boy nature he has that is so stubbornly engrained in him. I feel like, if he doesn’t cling to this anger and sadness, then he’ll feel that he’s doing wrong by his parents passing. Especially since the beginning of his bio has this push and pull about how life moved so fast beyond their passing and how the people of Mystic Falls could so easily move past their memory. I think that driving force in him is SO powerful and one that he has yet to talk about with anyone because he is locked that part of himself away. There’s so many things I love you guys. This bio amaze balls. ALSO NOT TO MENTION THAT HE’S RECENTLY FOUND OUT ABOUT VAMPIRES. THAT’S HUGE. LOVE IT.   

⤜ What are your future plans for this character?

As far as where I see Jeremy going within this rp, just because of the fact that he is so stubborn and angry at the world, I think that gives him a huge amount of potential for growth. I think Jeremy is going to have to find something in this NOLA world that means something to him. Obviously you’ve got the doppleganger, Elena, Klaus situation happening that he doesn’t know about yet. You’ve also got him interested in weapons. I think that the weapons aspect of it is going to become a real serious thing for him as he starts uncovering the veil of the super natural despite the fact that he doesn’t want to. Jeremy finding access to these weapons and also maybe finding mentors to help him use them, will give him a way to feel like he is doing his part in avenging deaths of innocent people. Vicki Donovan being one of them obviously, in regards specifically to vampires. I think that will be a way for Jeremy to channel his sadness and guilt over his parents passing into a more healthy and productive manner. He’ll be able to satiate his anger in a way. While I think its harder to pull from him just yet, Jeremy does /really/ care about Jenna and Elena. So I think that their being in danger at any point will present moments for him where he will have to release real emotion. I think the rp generally will push him to feel that sense of responsibility in very real ways, which will inevitably develop his connections and understanding of the world. You’ve also got his connection to Sabine and her drugs causing him hallucinations, along with his realization of the super natural world. Obviously learning about the super natural world is going to force him to grow in new ways and despite the fact that he is staunchly against learning about it or knowing about it, it’ll become a reality for him either which way.   

⤜ Put yourself in your character’s shoes. Give us a few lines to describe a day in the life of your character... Where do they live? Where and how do they spend their time? 

I see a day in the life of Jeremy Gilbert as him sleeping in till about ten, maybe noon on a good day. I would imagine that Jenna would try to get him to go to school. It’s possible that she gets him out of bed but if that is the case then he blows right past her out of the house and gets into his car. On a general basis Jenna probably won’t see him until he shows back up in the house, in which case he’s likely to go back up to his room and lock the door so as to avoid fielding any kind of annoying conversations about his whereabouts and such. When he is out of the house, I think he’s looking into archaic weaponry. Jeremy likes to remain in this facade of not caring about anything or anyone. But I think he does have intellectual interests that are currently being geared towards how to protect him and the people he loves from super naturals as a human. But if he was pursuing that interest, it would be a particularly good day for him. Because other than that I think he’s trolling the Quarter for a good laugh or a good party. Of course, before he does any of that he’ll get himself a good little high off a perfectly rolled joint of which he took great pride in creating. If anyone questions him or looks at him funny, depending on his mood, he may be inclined to start a fight, especially if your name is Tyler Lockwood. On the more rare occasions that Jeremy does make it to school, he is likely under the influence there as well as it’s the only thing that would get him through that. Though Jeremy’s tolerance would be high enough at this point that he’s able to handle himself well enough. Of course, he wouldn’t use the hallucinogenic drugs that Sabine provides him with on these particular days. At school, unless provoked I think he just rides under the radar with a few unnamed stoner buddies he gets along with. If he does get provoked for any reason, Jeremy will be inclined to start a fight and not back down. He has a lot of aggression to get out and has no problem doing it to someone who decides to step in his way. Although, I don’t think Jeremy would hit a girl. I don’t think that Jeremy has ever experienced any consequences that have been too intense, or at least more intense than Vicki’s death or his parents. So I think because of that it’s become easy for him to rationalize such rash behavior. I think that because Jeremy is able to shirk so much responsibility, he’s also able to go out on any night he pleases, which he does please to do. Going out and partying allows him to will his entire world away with such ease. Often times I think he finds himself rolling (no pun intended) with Josh and Sabine. Though he’s just starting to question this motley crew due to the fact that Josh is less affected by substances and Sabine’s substances take him to a whole other level. But because I think in the back of his head he knows the answers will lead him to places he doesn’t want to go, he’s also subduing some of that curiosity in a way. Finally, somehow someway, most nights, he makes it back to his own bed when he passes out and repeats till the next day. The boy rarely goes to sleep without toking up first, and never wakes up without a good baking.

⤜ Give us three headcanons regarding your character of choice. (If your character is from one of the tv shows, please come up with a headcanon that is not explicitly stated on the show, but is rather based on your own imagination.)

So this list! So I think Jeremy first made this list immediately after what happened with Vicki Donovan. I think he was not sobered, but obviously very 'sobered up’ by what he’d witnessed. The images were just flashing through his head, all the horrors that he learned about seeming to come to life before his literal eyes. And he knew it wasn’t Sabine’s drugs in this case too. But the second he was all alone, his mind would’ve just been racing with such anger and fear. I think he pulled out a piece of paper and pen and began to write out this list of people, Damon at the top, then Stefan, then Tyler. I think this list made him feel slightly better, like he had /some/ control over the shit that goes on in his life, or could have control over it. And I think this list works in conjunction with his new found affinity for weaponry. Again, him needing to find a teeny bit of control.

 I don’t think Jeremy has completely given up on drawing. I imagine that he doodles to his hearts content in class, hood up, arms covering up the work. It’s very personal to him and something he wants to keep a secret. Think it would be cool to have someone accidentally discover his doodle notebook one day. 

Jeremy loves coffee. He is coffee connoisseur and enjoys trying all the different drinks the town has to offer in regards to it. I think he runs on coffee and drugs every day, sometimes staying up into all hours of the night. If he gets really inspired he might’ve even go on a drawing spree, though you can be sure the drawings will be kept well hidden away from Elena and Jenna. 

⤜ What are some plots you'd like to explore with your characater?

Plots that I’d like to explore with this character–so many. His new found affinity for weapons and how that might connect with the Argents. Already Allison has noticed his interest in weapons, so building off of that will be super interesting.His connection with Bonnie and how that will allow him to grow and develop since she has a specific little hold on him that he can’t seem to shake in regards to being just a tad bit more open. I want to see where Matt and Jeremy go. I think that the two of them have the potential to develop in similar ways. Which could allow them to befriend one another in this mission I see him having of wanting to protect those who can’t protect themselves.I’d love for someone to find his doodle notebook. I’d love to see what happens when people try to discipline him, or tell him that he is immature and childish (which he obvi is).I’d love to see how his and Sabine’s friendship progresses and how that pushes him to break more into the super natural worldI think Jeremy also has an affinity for beautiful women, of which there are an abundance of in NOLA. I could see him developing a flirtation with any number of women, at least those who find his immaturity tolerable. 

⤜ Para sample: 

(Retained for privacy.)

⤜ Would you like to be considered for another character if not accepted as your primary choice? Nope, I’d love to play Jeremy though. And If you guys need more from me, I would love love love to know about it so I can get on a page with you guys about how you see Jeremy. If I differ from your ideas or haven’t built enough on certain aspects of him, I’d love to do more work in that regard because I already LOVE THE INSIDE OF HIS HEAD.   

⤜ Have you read the rules?: I have read the rules!   

⤜ Anything else?  Oh man, so many other things I’d like to say that I haven’t already, but I think I’ll leave it there for now. Again, if there’s anything you’d like to discuss with me beyond what’s here I would love to talk about because eeeee I’d really really love to get a chance to bring him to life on the dash!