#the other route focusing on the families would do better as a series

[kahluah]

Bro, the original storyboard are still up. Chelsea being Nerissa was a last minute change , which is why the twist doesn't make much sense. If you watch directors interviews you'll find that they intended Chelsea to be a Regina George mean-girl. Also they describe the twist as fun lmao.

Look, I understand there are storyboards. I also understand that stories can change while they are in production. I'm not doubting the storyboards exist and that an initial draft of the movie at some point had them as two characters.

There are interviews where they discuss how the story was still open for input, so, you know, suggestions, changes, alterations, all that good work currently in production stuff, when the studio opened back up with the hybrid set up about half way through the development. Just because some of the storyboards in the beginning had something does not mean it will always be there in the final product. Things change. "You'll find they intended Chelsea to be a Regina George mean-girl" fine, but it obviously didn't stay that way. And, as I've said before, there is enough information in the movie for the reveal to be guessable. I'll say once again, I figured it out when "plan get the Trident" was suggested by Chelsea. I'm sorry if you feel it makes no sense, but like I've talked to multiple people that were able to predict the twist so idk what to tell you there.

But, I am also just dubious of how you guys keep pushing this whole "last minute" change thing. In the storyboards I saw, even as separate people, Chelsea is still evil and turning into a giant fucking mermaid to enact revenge. Other than the name of the character, and a portion of her motivation being that she was avenging her mom (with the whole other bit still being the whole "becoming ruler of the ocean and taking over everything" thing), the overall reason for the end fight is the same. Chelsea would have still been manipulating Ruby for that goal of getting the Trident, killing the krakens, and becoming Queen herself. The only thing that would really truly change with these storyboards is her age, so to me it sounds like this "it's a last minute storyboard change that makes no sense!" is some form of excuse/denial so that people feel alright to ship them again and write good end fix it fics.

Also to be a bit more snarky here...

If you watch the directors interviews, you'll find that they say that Ruby is a character "stuck between really strong women; amazingly strong women... and a lot of people have a lot of ideas about how she should be living her life, and this journey she goes on is figuring out how she wants to... because her heart's in the right place in every frame of the film; she has no ulterior motive, and she's so empathetic to her friends and everyone around her. I think that was really the sweet spot that we, working with the animators and with Lana - You know we love that you're doing that because that was really the goal in an idea about this coming of age story." Gee that kind of sounds like what I've been saying this movie is about; her relationship with these women. Multiple other interviews also put emphasis on the relationship between Ruby and her mom, Her mom and Grand Mama, Ruby and Grand Mama, Ruby and Chelsea. You know, the people I've mentioned in my other posts. It's clear that by the time production was wrapping up that this was the direction and intention of the movie.

To be fair I've also seen where they describe Chelsea as a Regina George type mean girl, and it really fits the high schooler vibe she has going on, but it's clear that not all of that stayed through till the end of production.

I can also imagine a version or original idea for this movie being one where the kraken family and the mermaid family were supposed to be foils of each other, but to be fully fleshed out we would have needed more world building and the plot would have had more focus on the war itself since that would have been the ideal point to sure how these two families diverged from each other. They would both have the starting point of the end of the war, and a broken relationship between mother and daughter (one because the mother was killed and the other because Agatha left). But from the multiple interviews I've seen where they wanted the focus of the movie to be on Ruby herself and how she interacts with the other women in her life during this coming of age story, that plot wouldn't do it justice. There is too much background information that you would have to supply to showcase both sides of the story and Ruby's personal journey would suffer for it.

When talking about production of the film, multiple interviews also talk about how they developed the feel for land/the town vs under the water, the humans vs the sea creature, and some of the actual character design elements like Nerissa's water hair. I haven't seen one where they talk about the lore of the war and how they fleshed out how the under the sea politics work and how those were a super important part of developing the story and production direction of the movie... At this point who knows how much of that they had ideas for, we would have to wait for more storyboards or an art book, but my point is that it isn't what they wanted the focus of the end product to be about.

Those storyboards were ultimately changed and by combining Chelsea with Nerissa and having her be an adult, it tightened up the core of the movie being Ruby and her relationships with women in her life (since one was no longer a peer). The story of Ruby growing into her own was able to have the sole spotlight rather than having to split it between two different family stories.

A lot of people who work on and promote things in interviews will describe it as fun. It is a very easy way to get across "I enjoy and approve of this thing we did". What do you want them to do? Break the flow of the interview and take up all the remaining time by explaining in exacting detail when and why the change happened during the development, and their exact thought process in doing it, and who exactly suggested it, and who supported it, and how much of the story that they had at that point in time of production was changed by it? Like I'll admit I'm curious to when it changed, but when I'm watching a 10-20 minute interview on YouTube I would rather they cover more than just one little thing.

[musicalmoritz]

Could you do more of the kids/ parenting head canons??? Can I ask for like Aoiaoi, Natsuteru and Kounene also yamabuki lemon as a single parent and whoever else you want??

Another one let’s gooooooooo

AoiAoi

• Out of every couple these two are the most likely to get married and have kids

• They would have an insane amount of kids. Like they’d be on the news for how many kids they have. Poor Aoi

• Buuuut she’s just as eager to have a house full of kids as Akane is. She gives them flower names and they probably have at least one Harry Potter ass kid who’s named smth like “Teru Nene Aoi.” She doesn’t have to be as strict with them bcuz Akane takes over most of the parenting, trust tho she’s still very involved in her kids’ lives. She probably has a binder to keep track of what’s going on with each of them

• I mentioned before that I see Aoi becoming a florist in the future, I see Akane becoming a therapist. He uses a bunch of psychology tricks to parent their kids, but he has a habit of using too many technical terms when he gives advice. “No honey, you just need to develop an internal locus of control.” The kids and Aoi are both very tired of it. He would absolutely love being a dad tho and be the biggest family guy ever

• They have a sign on their front porch that says smth like “Home of Aoi Aoi Aoi Aoi Aoi Aoi Aoi Aoi Aoi Aoi Aoi Aoi Aoi Aoi & Aoi❤️”

• Their home life is very chaotic and stressful at times but it’s built on so much love and dedication. Akane and Aoi are both living their dream lives (likely with a lot of nannies) (or with Akane quitting his job to be a househusband after him and Aoi rock-paper-scissored over who got to do it) (Aoi didn’t speak to him for a week after he won)

Natsuteru

• Oh wow it is hard for me to imagine them as parents

• I say they would have two sons (I’m loosely basing this off a series one of my moots @/teru.kisser made on TikTok)

• No matter who he’s with, Teru is gonna be a helicopter. His parental instincts come before anything else in his life so he fully dedicates himself to the kids. He either has some cool ass job like a private investigator or he’s a stay at home dad, no in between (no he’s not an exorcist in this I’m letting him be happy). He dotes on the kids all the time but can be overly strict in order to keep them safe

• Natsuhiko tries to be the fun dad but he’s so aloof that the kids don’t know much about him. Some kind of super secretive job. His and Teru’s parenting styles tend to conflict so they essentially parent separately. They argue a lot bcuz of their differences but they manage to make it work because both of them are deeply in love with each other. Their kids frequently question how they ended up together

• They take the boys to amusement parks a lot

• While the household can be a bit tense and they could definitely use some family counseling, they all love each other a lot. None of them know how to express it bcuz they’re all so secretive in their own ways but they care about each other more than anything. It’s a weird life but a charming one

Kounene

• Old married couple Kounene save me…old married couple Kounene…save me old married couple Kounene

• Two sons and a daughter. That’s the vibe I’m getting

• Kou has some deep-seated issues he’s unwilling to address but he makes up for it by loving his wife and kids Gomez Addams style. Mans is fully devoted to his family and he makes sure to tell them that every day. I might let him go the exorcist route bcuz I want to see him suffer a lot little. He’s there at every sports game his kids have yelling at the ref. He makes Nene breakfast in bed every morning. One thing abt Kou is he’s gonna spoil the ppl he loves

• Writer!Nene is still a thing in this universe, she has her own trauma and writes to make sense of it. She’s a bit better with the kids because when they need her help, she focuses more on understanding why they’re upset as opposed to Kou who solely focuses on solving all their problems. She has a hard time keeping up with all their extracurricular activities but she supports them nonetheless

• All of Kou and Nene’s friends admire them for being high school sweethearts

• They’re a stereotypical sitcom family. Corny life lessons at the end of each day. The kids get into shenanigans. They probably have a dog too, a golden retriever. It’s a whole bit

Single Dad Lemon

• I love this one, we need more single parent rep

• I’m gonna say he has a son

• I really want to go with some tropey story of how he was living a rough lifestyle and found a troubled kid that he had to look out for and eventually he had to fix up his life to adopt the kid bcuz they changed each other’s lives but would that be too corny?? Maybe he just up and decided he wanted to be a dad someday. Maybe his baby mama left him. You decide

• He would be one of those dads that acts like an older brother at times but in a good way. Instead of rising to his rebellious son’s bait, he meets him halfway, confronting him abt his bs without putting up with it. One of those parents you can swear around but he will throw in a half-hearted “Language.” It’s rocky at first but they end up super close, a rare instance of finding a parent who is genuinely your best friend

• Their house is a mess but it’s a home <3 Similar to the Kounene family they’d probably have a sitcom type lifestyle, the Boy Meets World to Kounene’s Full House. The kid throws a party while Lemon is a way and they have to have a heart-to-heart about it. Cue the tears

I hope you enjoyed these, I had a lot of fun making them!! I’m pleasantly surprised I’ve gotten so many asks about this, I thought most fans hated fankid stuff so I’m happy to see I’m not the only one who like to imagine what these characters would be like in the future

[connoisseursdecomfort]

The problem of normality 1 - Yor’s insecurities and her assassin job

Yor is the most controversial character within the Forgers. The problem is this - what people expect to see is an assassin, what the show gives you is a woman who seemingly is constantly failing unless she’s assassinating but she’s not assassinating enough. People want to see girl-bosses being absolute badass kicking asses 24/7, and no, instead they see a normal woman with deep-seated insecurities.

To be honest, I appreciate Endo taking this route, just because he decided to flesh out Yor as a human rather than making her just a superwoman (but I mean, she kinda is). He took the hardest road. He made an assassin who’s actually trying to live a normal life when she’s not assassinating. She wants to be “normal”. 

Wanting to be “normal” is a problem. I also see how others are upset because she seems to have a (high-paying?) job and her own space - basically symbolisms related to an independent woman - before becoming a mom/housewife. On the very surface this seems to be reversing what women have been trying to do over the years - until we realise what being/becoming an assassin has cost her.

The manga has been very open about what being a spy means and how much Loid loses just to be a spy. This is because the series is named Spy x Family  A. the family is basically forged because of a mission and is therefore very much focused on it; and B. let’s be real - writing a spy is probably easier, with solid political systems, sets of ideologies and tonnes of research to back your writing up. 

It is less fun to write an assassin. It doesn’t require a heart to be an assassin. Heck, it’s better if you have nothing but money in your head. No dreams, No relationships. No ideologies. Nothing. You go in and kill a stranger with exceptional skills and maybe also cool ass tools. You leave with cold hard cash. A professional assassin would make an excellent video game character if you are just in for gore, but it would really make a terrible character in a story, because there shouldn’t be emotional motives involved. And I think that’s why Endo did not really go really deep into it before he came up with the next arc, because stabby stabby is fun, but it’s also only stabby stabby. It doesn’t add to Yor as a character.

A character only becomes interesting when it has a human side we can understand and even relate. So what kind of person is Yor? Yor is a very sweet person who would even apologise before assassinating someone and tries to lessen their pain when she kills them, but she is also extremely shy and awkward. A lot of people see her as autistic, but a friend of mine said Endo probably didn't intend to make her autistic. That is a fair point. So what did Endo intend to write her as?

An introvert who is literally killing it in her profession but severely lacks socialisation and recognition all her life.

Yor, like other assassins, are in for the money (at first). Unlike other girl bosses and superheroes who most likely join in the business at least when they are mid to late teens, she was most likely a child or an early teen(*), having to take care of another much younger child. She desperately needed money to support her family. Her country is in war, meaning that the welfare system, if there had ever been one, was most probably wrecked. She didn’t really have a choice when she decided to become an assassin.

She became an assassin (or at least, started training) in such a young age it was almost impossible for her to continue her studies, if she had ever studied in a school at all (female attaining higher education remained to be uncommon until the 70s), meaning that she probably lacks proper education. Not being able to study in a school means she also misses important stages of development as in to socialise with others. But let’s say she did, it is also impossible for a young child to balance homework, housework, parenting AND assassin work. (1) Having extraordinary strength most probably didn’t help when she tried to make friends, if she had the time.

Before having this office job in the City Hall, Yor’s cover was being a massage therapist. That is not really a respected job judging from how people just assume that she is a sex worker. And of course she has been assassinating since a very young age. It is all waku-waku until you realise she gets no recognitions, other than maybe her “colleagues”. The outside world, outside of her assassin organisation and her home, has not been kind to her. Imagine that the only emotions you get from interactions with people other than your sibling and a small circle of “colleagues” are basically just fear and scorn.

She doesn’t really form meaningful bonds other than her brother and maybe some of her “colleagues”.(2) I would imagine that she has been marginalised so much she has formed codependent relationships with both Yuri and the Shopkeeper (and the whole organisation behind it) before she even became an adult. We know how obsessive Yuri is, but we seldom discuss how much control the Shopkeeper has on her - the Shopkeeper knows everything about her, and she had to ask for the Shopkeeper’s permission to marry. The two people are pulling her towards different directions, but don’t leave much room for her to be herself.(3) 

In a sense I would argue that Yor has never been independent. Unlike Twilight, she's never had a grand dream. She didn’t afford to have one. She only had a purpose, until that purpose no longer seems that important anymore as Yuri grows up and has his own job.(4) But then I would still not call her submissive. She didn’t have a choice when she became an assassin, and you can’t really blame a child making this decision, trying to survive and support her family at wartime. And I assume that every assassin who belong to an organisation probably doesn’t have a high level of independency - the more organized the group is, the more secrets their members know, the more eager the organization would be to keep them in check.

How her relationships with Yuri and the Shopkeeper can be contrasted with her relationship with Loid and Anya is quite interesting, but this is probably already too long for one read so maybe next time.

(*) The memories of their mother’s stew show both of them as children. Yuri most likely was only a toddler. Yor is seven years older, so most probably she was 8 to 11? I don’t really think she looks 12 in that memory though. Anyway.

(Explanations that include manga spoilers) *MANGA SPOILERS* *THE KEEP READING FUNCTION DOESN’T WORK UGHHHHH*

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(1) She admitted that she never had that much time for herself in butt-shot date. Her only reason then was that she’s busy taking care of Yuri. But one would also imagine her assassin training could take up much time too, as shown in both manga and anime, Yuri remembers how she used to come home late with blood all over her.

(2) To be honest in the manga only the Shopkeeper and the Director are introduced, and they are both father/mentor figures for Yor.

(3) Yor did contemplate on leaving the Garden, but the Shopkeeper doesn’t really seem to show signs of letting loose. Should we trust Yor when she says it can be her last mission when she decides so, or would there be complications? It is interesting how Nightfall describes Twilight to be this sharp weapon, but Twilight never aims to kill; on the other hand, Yor IS actually a weapon of the Garden, and the Shopkeeper is actually keen on keeping her sharp all the time. 

One thing that is extra curious is that usually assassins do it for money, but the Shopkeeper seems to always explain the reasons why Yor’s job matters. It is not made clear if the Garden is actually political or not, and therefore we won’t know how politically involved the other members of the Garden are. Is this a method to brainwash Yor in order to keep her on board or is it just a common belief all members share?

(4) Actually I feel that this is probably one of the main points in the cruise ship arc. I will most probably analyse it in part two.

[highfantasy-soul]

NATLA - Episode 4: Into the Dark (1/3)

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

An explanation of what I'm doing here and my history with ATLA.

Of course, full spoilers ahead.

<previous/next>

This completely picks up from last episode, so no chilling with the Gaang at the beginning. I know missing out on those hang-out sections of each episode was frustrating to some people, but honestly, I think the way they restructured the story makes sense. Combining elements from season 2 as well, to enhance the themes we're focusing on here, was a great move too - putting the Cave of Two Lovers plot in this episode and focusing on familial love was much better than pushing a Katara/Aang relationship right now. It's also a continuation of the theme of how people handle their trauma from the war and how they're finding ways to fight back. Add to that the idea that in a war, there are no easy choices - you have to compromise and do things you wouldn't otherwise do to survive and the Gaang is going to have to grapple with that (and grapple with the fact that everyone who HAS made compromises they wouldn't isn't necessarily their enemy).

I like that we get to have Aang and Iroh meeting again so soon - both imprisoned now. I think it was a good idea to quickly introduce the audience to the idea that Iroh may be fire nation, but he's got other stuff going on than just 'Capture Avatar to let firelord win the war".  It also seeds his and Zuko's relationship which I think was a great idea to flesh out in flash-backs. Seeing how they interacted before the events of the series makes their pairing feel more thought through than just Iroh tagging along for no apparent reason.

Love too, how we open Sokka's POV with him listening to Katara's warning and immediately questioning Sai and not going easy on him just because he identifies with the Mechanist. It builds on his and Katara's relationship that yes, they bicker and always argue over who's right in a situation, but they DO respect each others opinions in the end rather than being forced to confront reality when its shoved in their faces. And oh my gosh, Sokka's little voice shake when he tells Sai "Anything can be turned into a weapon in the wrong hands" - both he and Teo are so disappointed in Sai and the betrayal they have to feel knowing exactly how awful the fire nation is.

Bumi, I think, was the biggest swing the live-action took with re-interpreting a character. At first, I was skeptical as it's so different from the animated version, but I think with the themes we're looking to hit and the demographic who's watching the live-action vs cartoon, it does fit. Animated Bumi is….boy is he a cartoon character. I honestly think they could have toned down his cartoonishness in the live-action more and it would have felt better to me. I know everyone loves the iconic crazy king vibes, but it's just a lot for live action. I've also seen a comment about how they combined aspects of Jong Jong into him and I can really see that. In the animated series, he's a kooky king and there's no looming danger from the war - unlike in season 2 where everywhere in the Earth Kingdom, you see evidence of people struggling. I think bringing in that struggle already makes sense and is more consistent with the world building than pretending a century long war hasn't affected Omashu, the people, or the king in any way.

In the animated series, Bumi's job was to make Aang look at obstacles in a different way - none of his challenges were straight forward, but honestly, that's how Aang has always thought? Aang's whole deal as an airbender (as Toph explains in Bitter Work) is that he finds another way, an alternate route, not the straightforward one. It's a bit pedantic to outright tell the lesson that…is already shown through Aang's actions. (Yet again, I'm slamming my head into a brick wall at people complaining that the show 'is telling when they should be showing' and then complain that they don't tell something that's clearly shown through the whole series).

Bumi does give Aang that lesson real quick: "The right path is not always the direct path" but in the live action, Bumi is also teaching Aang another lesson, one that Aang doesn't already know - that of having to make difficult decisions and fight even when you don’t want to. Such a character choice in the animated show would have scared children and they probably wouldn't have understood the nuance of Bumi's argument, so the writers made it digestible for kids - a lesson that they can extrapolate on as they grow older. The live-action's more mature take on how war affects even fun-loving kids after a century adds to the urgency of the plot and seeds some level of dread at how the war will eventually influence Aang, our current fun-loving kid.

I think nixing Katara and Sokka from this plot and giving them other things to do was a good choice - in the animated version, they do literally nothing but stand there and get covered in rock candy, so giving the characters a journey of their own to complete while Aang takes care of the stuff with Bumi - and having them come in and save the day at the end - actually make's Bumi's assessment to Aang that "I think you're in good hands" actually make sense (as in the animated version, Bumi hasn't seen Sokka or Katara help out at all, again, they just stand there because this is Aang's episode for development). In the end, Aang and Bumi do get to share more than just the fun ride in the delivery system of Omashu, the addition of the bison whistle Aang uses for Appa being something Bumi made for him (reminding Bumi of his past and how important their friendship had been instead of just a random thing Aang bought at a random shop - which in hindsight is a really weird thing for a random shop to have - being a specifically bison-shaped whistle and all) deepened the lesson of 'you can count on your friends, and here's me calling on mine'.

In the first part of season 1 in the animated show, it's very, very easy to forget that the basis of the way the world is now was the genocide of Aang's people. How that trauma affects Aang comes and goes, with many episodes seeming like Aang has forgotten it entirely - which makes sense for a kid's show with so many episodes. You can compartmentalize a lot in that format and only bring back the trauma when it suits the plot for the current episode. The live-action sought to make Aang's trauma ever-present, at odds with his fun-loving and optimistic nature. While he feels the trauma deeply, he believes he can bring back the world he once knew and doesn’t want anyone to give into despair. I think keeping that through line helped make the live-action cohesive and form the foundation of Aang's character so it makes sense that there wouldn't be a solidly silly plotline in the live-action like there was in the animated show with Bumi.

While it can feel like people are being hard on Aang about him running away from his responsibilities when we know he didn't intend to run so far, imagine you're one of the people who expected the Avatar to show up and he just…didn't - for 100 years. It doesn't matter the 'reason', what matters is that he wasn't there and people suffered for it. I think it narratively still makes sense that people accuse him of running away even when that's not technically what he intended.

It's fun to see how, even in Bumi's case, the reappearance of the Avatar makes him fight again. From all accounts, he was neglecting his duties, just coasting by, and had given up and become jaded. He spent 100 years making impossible decisions and he was done - hence how he was willing to let the boulder crush him. But Aang's sheer presence gave him a bit of fight - he needed to say his piece, he didn't just listlessly let Aang go, he finally showed some more spirit - misguided though it was. His ending speech really turned the tide for me in my feelings about this interpretation of Bumi - and the message that 'we have to fight even when we don't want to' is much more important to teach Aang throughout the series as he has no issue looking at things another way, but his refusal to fight is a constant (that actually has inconsistencies in the animated version that people point out which weakens his final stand against killing Ozai) so I think making that the central message was good.

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

Summary: Din gives you a brief layout of his home.

A/N: Hello lovelies,

Another week, another chapter. It's funny as I'm editing, the story keeps getting longer. Lol.

Just want to remind everyone that the Razor Crest story is going to be a series of short stories dealing with the life of the Razor Crest Ranch, Ann's past and their future.

Once one series is done, there will be a two to three week break before the next series is posted. I hope that made sense.

Love oo.

Due to the past history of the OC there will be discussions alluding to past domestic abuse, please note that as it could be a trigger for some.

Warning: feelings of safety, discussions of comm connections, mentions of protection, family endangerment, feelings of mistrust, I think that's it. If I miss anything please let me know.

AO3 Link |   Words: 1,038 |   Previous -> Next

Main Master List   |  Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

THE RAZOR CREST SEVEN

CHAPTER SIX

The way she looked around the room, made Din pause for a brief second. He couldn’t help wonder what exactly had she gone through. Yet, at the same time he had no right to inquire, it wasn’t any of his business to know about her past. 

He pushed the thought aside, as his mind focused back on showing the room.

“There’s a closet right here,” Din motioned to the door to his left, “it’s not very big. There’s some extra blankets and pillows if you need in the bedroom bench” he opened the end-of-bed bench as he spoke, showing off the various blankets and their varying thickness. 

Camilla was an avid blanket aficionado and adamant when it came to blankets, stating over and over again whenever she walked into the house with a newly purchased one, they were a necessity. Each blanket was unique and served a different purpose, just because you might use one in winter, doesn’t mean you would use the same one in spring, and having just one blanket for each season was never enough.  

As I stood in the room, this feeling of complete safety washed over me. I finally felt safe. I’m not sure if it was because of the remote location, or due to the man I met not even an hour ago who was willing to take the chance on me, or because I had an escape route with Cobb and Fenn if I needed. 

For the first time in a long time, I finally was able to let out a breath of relief, tears were welling up in my eyes as a lump formed in my throat, which I quickly tried to swallow down. I didn’t want to cry.

Din watched her not quite able to understand what she was thinking or feeling. There was just a blank expression on her face as she glanced around the room, he couldn’t tell if she was upset or pleased with the room, however, he figured it was better to play it safe and assumed the former, “I’m sorry it’s not more, but feel free to make it your own after you complete your three months.”

“No” I shook my head, turning to look out the window as I discreetly wiped a tear, “No, it’s great. Cozy.” I cursed myself as my voice trembled. I took in a deep breath turning to look at Din, “Thank you. It’s quite lovely.”

The expression on her face stunned him for a second, her face bloomed with joy, the only way he could describe the radiance she seemed to have was that she finally found hope. It made her look enchanting, he glanced around the room focusing his attention elsewhere.  

“I’m glad you like it,” he nodded. 

“Oh, before I forget,” he continued, “personal comms sometimes have a hard time working out here. We have internet which technically should be harder to get out here, but nope that’s easy to access.” He shrugged as she tilted her head at him as to ask why, when he held up his hand, “Don’t bother asking why one and not the other. I have spent a lot of time trying to fix it, so my personal comm could work, but I’ve finally given up. I think it has something to do with the minerals in the mountains that are at my door step. Anyway, there’s a landline in the kitchen, in the bedrooms, as you can see from the one in your room” he motioned with his head to the non-portable comm, “There’s also one in the study, living room and barn. If you ever need to use the phone, you can use one of those, just not the one in my bedroom. After three months, we can talk about getting you a private line, if you wish.”

I nodded in agreement, but really who was I going to call. I couldn’t call any of my friends or family or it would put them in danger, learned that after the first time I tried to leave. It was better not to make deeper connections with anyone, yet Cobb and Fennec both said that now things were different. They’d be able to watch out for me, and provide me a layer of protection I didn’t have before, there was a hope things would be getting better. I still wouldn’t be able to reach out to my family, at least not until they’d be able to set up some way to contact them discreetly, the sheer idea of having that option weighed heavily on my heart. However, it wasn’t important to focus on that, especially since that was not a guaranteed possibility. Instead, what I needed to focus on was the here and now. 

“Appreciate it. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t be entering your room unless it’s to clean or grab the laundry.”

Din simply shook his head, “Not even then.” There was a quizzical expression on her face, ion response to his statement. 

“You don’t have to clean my room, I’ll do it. You can simply leave the fresh bedding on the chair in front of the door to my room. Anyway, laundry room is off the back entrance, and I have a laundry shoot that goes directly into that room. You may find on occasion some dirty clothes or towels in the mud room which is beside the kitchen and in front of the laundry room. We have a storm cellar, filled with essentials for the occasional tornadoes, the entrance is in the kitchen. There’s a faux pantry door, which leads you down there, I’ll show you when you’re ready. It’s also where I keep the wine and liquor.”

“How long could someone stay down there for?”

“Depends on the amount of people, but if it’s two or three people, I would say about four to six months. If there’s more, we’ll go through our rations a lot faster.”

My eyes widened in shock, “How … how big is it?”

“Big enough to house, two bedrooms, washroom, living room, kitchen, study, rec room/work out room and storage room.” Din chewed on the inside of his cheek wondering if maybe he made a mistake revealing too much too soon. 

AO3 Link |   Words: 1,038 |   Previous -> Next

Main Master List   |  Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

@littlemisspascal@sprout-fics@liadamerondjarin @badbatch-simp24 @spicymcnuggies @lady-ren @firstofficerwiggles @darkangel4121 @discofern @kavecika @monako-jinn-stories @ladykatakuri @avathebestx @theroguesully @furyhellfire66 @carodealmeida @ciramaris @twinkofthedink @dindjarin-mandalorian @tortor-mcgee @sarcasmismyonlydefense24 @chiyo13

[thatscarletflycatcher]

"You think shipping a victim with her rapist is better than the character being disabled for a while"

Look, if you cannot escape the level of the plain text of the novel to address the meta level that all that happens in the novel are choices the writer made, and you cannot ask why he made them, then you and I are not speaking of the same thing, and will not understand each other.

When you are adapting a text, you need to stick to at least the main plot points of the story. Jonathan Harker goes to Transylvania and becomes the count's prisoner. The count goes to England. Jonathan escapes and marries Mina. Lucy is attacked, killed and turned by Dracula despite the efforts of Van Helsing and the suitors. The suitors kill the bloofer lady. The gang gets together, Mina gets bitten, they destroy the boxes, Dracula flees, the gang pursues him, [redacted].

The fact that Mina gets turned cannot be avoided because her bond with Dracula is what allows the gang to know what he's doing. Bram chose to write it that way. Any of us could have chosen 100 different ways in which Mina doesn't get nerfed the way she does, but then either the plot (not the characterization, the main beats of the plot) changes significantly, not allowing for the ending as-is on its bare bones, or you are left with a character that serves no narrative function.

Characters with little or nothing to do in a plot can be fine in a book, if their inaction is the point because it is telling us something about the character's situation or personality. Lady Middleton in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility is such a character: her whole point is that she's little more than a sexy lamp, insipid and empty.

But inactive characters in movies and series tend to exist only for comedic effect. Unlike in a book, where such character's presence is only noticed when the narrator is focusing on them, in a movie you cannot remove them from the scene. If you are adapting Sense and Sensibility and keeping Lady Middleton, you will have to place her in every family scene, but give her no reaction, no lines, no action, because she doesn't have any in the source material in those scenes. Your only other choice is to change her characterization so as to give her something to do that doesn't disrupt the plot as is. This second route is taken every time Margaret Dashwood appears in an adaptation of S&S; she's given lines and very minor things to do, perhaps something symbolic representing the desires of other characters, but nothing that can change any of the basic plot happening.

Now, here you have Mina. Mina is a crucial character in the first half of the story, a very active character. Reached the end of September, Bram has been left with no idea as to what to do with her because the book cannot end just yet and he cannot bring himself to kill her because of many reasons. So he breaks the characters figurative arms and legs so that she can get bitten and turned and taken off the action (as a side note, I know spoilers and I don't think that justifies or changes it) and then he can manufacture delays to make the action last till November.

You are an adaptor of the book. You are working on a context where emphasizing the purity and fidelity and Victorian sex mores of the work would be read as repressed. The book makes it so that the attacks on Lucy and Mina are about Dracula destroying the morale of British men and taking their women, the ones that can bear children and therefore the future of British culture and society, to destroy it. Dracula himself says it in a line. But that is VERY xenophobic and antisemitic and that shit won't fly on a post wwii world. You cannot make Dracula really the foreigner coming here to rape women and destroy England.

But you also cannot have Mina not being turned and keep the original plot, because then she will be chilling in the background for half the movie with nothing to do, and that creates comedic effect and you need horror and suspense.

Your options are very limited unless you are making an adaptation in name only. So you think:

Oh, I can make at least one of them a reincarnated love of Dracula! I have solved the xenophobia-antisemitism problem (mostly), AND I have removed the implication that Mina's assault is all about getting at the men in her life, AND I have given her the current acceptable version of "she's a white wealthy woman and therefore delicate and in need of being protected at all costs" which is "she's experiencing romance/sexual attraction beyond the constricting barriers of her time and place."

I have said it before, I will say it again: I'm not saying it is a good idea, I'm not shipping it and I'm not saying is unproblematic. What I'm saying is that the mechanics of it make sense, and that the idea doesn't come out of the absolute nowhere, it isn't random and it isn't necessarily about romanticising rape or machismo.

[lovetransaction]

Happy Wincest Wednesday! Not sure if you participate but if you do: How do you think John finds out about the boys and how does he react to/feel about it? Does he support it, does he try not to think/talk about it? Does he feel guilty for playing a part in creating their relationship, or is he glad about it?

I ALWAYS participate in these things so thank you lovey Dovey <3

Probably I've answered this in some form but idc because I like the question and there's infinite variety.

Okay so I'm gonna take it this time from a John who ISN'T fucking Dean (i know, what point does he serve, but this is a thought exercise):

he finds out because the boys stop trying to hide it ie Sam stops trying to hide it. Before that, John was willing to just let the uber-closeness and even the hushed fumbles in their bed in those motels fly under the radar; his boys have no other outlets, he knows it, and in a messed-up way he thinks well, if they're fingering each other and not random hookups, at least they're safe. Sam, though, as his resentment over Dean's slavish devotion to Dad grows, thinks this is the perfect way to let John know that his influence doesn't extend to that, to fondling and kissing and sucking and swallowing. John's pretty fucking aggravated that Sam chooses this route, leaving hickeys and being really obvious when he's staring at Dean, but it's just Sam trying to get under his skin. Until one time on a hunt Sam thinks that John's being paranoid about the monster so he kinda whine-bullies Dean into giving him a handjob but the monster gets the jump on them and they could've been seriously hurt and John picks Sam up and shakes him like a dog shaking a fox and when he throws him down in disgust Sam jumps right back up and pops John one in the nose and John roars at Sam to keeps his fucking depraved shit to himself and Dean tries to intervene and John takes off for like. Three weeks. Nobody talks about it when he comes back but the boys don't do anything in front of him again ever

John had been fine with turning a blind eye to the boys getting it on right up until it messed with their safety and their work. He was willing to reframe it as a means of making them a closer and better-functioning family unit, but Sam made it into a pissing contest so John decided to shut that shit down. I think this John would be so far deep into his own stuff, the journal and his hunting and lore-gathering and obsessing over Mary, that he'd sort of fetishize family above all else, and wouldn't be as conflicted over it as another version of him might. Boys mess around, and his boys aren't like other kids. They're extremely special and specialized. It's not out of the realm of the possible that they only find their equal in each other. That makes a sort of sense to John, almost a relief; Sam and Dean know each other, they know the rules, they know how the family works. Nobody else is entering their closed loop. He absolutely doesn't feel any guilt! The way they live is a matter of necessity and there's not any other options, so he's kind of proud that the boys found a way to fulfill their growing sexuality. It SHOULD have made them more focused on the job, but John didn't count on Sam wanting to love/fuck Dean for entirely different reasons not just as a matter of efficiency.

btw this John doesn't have sex he has a series of elaborate masochistic masturbatory techniques he's sorted out for himself and he's like hey! the boys are lucky they have each other, I have nobody except my sainted dead wife and the bizarre effects that fixating ENTIRELY on her fiery bloody unnaturally murdered memory to the exclusion of all else has had on my psychosexual makeup hah hah let's not talk about Daddy's private time okay

[milliebot-rambles]

January 2023 Reading Wrap Up

Feeling like I was off to a good start with my reading year!

Books read: 8 Pages read: 1,884 Average pages per day: 61

Finally picked up Route of Ice and Salt, which I funded via Indiegogo. Turns out it was not at ~all~ the book for me, but I'm still happy to cross it off my TBR.

I'm getting back into reading some books for review, which is where Pinata comes in. Again, it was not a hit for me - I may do an actual review here on why. In short, I think it would be better suited as a movie.

Spy x Family is bae.

Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series is bae - Lost in the Moment in Found is a solid entry to the series; I only wish it were longer.

True Grit is a re-read for me, though because I read so much and my brain is soup, I'd forgotten all but the bare-bones plot. I buddy-read it with my partner as well and we were having a great time laughing together over it. I'd forgotten how funny it was, given it's a revenge tale.

In addition to getting back into review books, I'm also making a point to read more non-fiction this yere. I started with Martin Short's memoir, which was funny, and charming, and unexpectedly sad. I loved reading about his genuine friendships with other celebs though, like Eugene Levy and Tom Hanks.

Gracekeepers is another re-read for me, and part of my initiative to pick at least one book a month from my re-read pile. I've given myself a rough TBR for the year, based around wanting to make sure I re-read certain books or series. This is a sort of quietly magical tale of found family and it's fairly grim at times too. Very character-focused and I really enioyed revisiting it.

I did not count The Art of Cult of the Lamb as a book I read, or added to my page count. I just wanted to highlight it because it's wonderful - definitely worth checking out if you like video game art books.

Overall, high enjoyment of what I read this month and I'm hoping to keep up the renewed focus on making time to read!

3-3-23

[mustlovemustypages]

Yuletide 2022 Letter

Dear potential writer,

I hope this letter finds you well, but if not, then I hope this year’s Yuletide gives you an extra dose of happiness to diffuse these chaotic times. A great story can be the simplest way to turn around someone’s day and make life just a little bit brighter.

Thank you so much in advance for even taking the time to read this and consider writing for me. Due to the new requirement this year of opting in with treats, know that I am open and grateful for any that you may choose to write.

Below are my desired fandoms/pairings and story ideas, but please don’t feel stifled by the prompts. I’ve also listed my general likes and dislikes at the very bottom if you decide to go a different route.

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs:

Characters: Leah Cornick and Bran Cornick

The world Patricia Briggs has created with Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega is ever-growing and continues to astound me with its complexity. It feels so real and has such a lush history that every surprise revelation is both shocking and simultaneously feels very organic to the story. I think the urban fantasy/paranormal aspects are handled very well, especially the werewolf dynamics and rules that Briggs has created.

One of the biggest shocks to me from the Alpha and Omega companion series is how much I’ve come to love Leah. I, like most readers, absolutely hated her when she was introduced in the Mercy Thompson books. But as we’ve come to learn more about her backstory and her relationship with Bran, I have a new level of understanding of why she is the way she is. She is so much stronger and more nuanced than I would have ever believed her capable. And while I still like Bran, he’s also a much more flawed person than I'd originally thought. I realize there are a lot of books in this world, so don’t worry about spoiling anything with your potential story. You can include as much or as little of the newer books as you’d like. I’m also going to keep my prompts relatively simple for this pairing. I only ask that Leah and Bran are not broken up. If you’d like to just write them in an adventure story without any romantic elements, that’s totally fine. I would like them to remain together, though.

Story ideas:

What are the dynamics like between Bran and Leah now that he knows more about her past? How has his understanding of her personality and actions changed with these revelations

For a long time, Bran and Leah were together without really being “together” in the emotional sense. I’d love to see them learning more about each other and falling in love all over again.

Leah is constantly full of surprises. What is something that she does that surprises Bran and/or the pack (preferably for the better), and how do they react?

While some of the more recent books have focused more strongly on Leah and Bran than in the beginning, I’d still not consider them the main characters so we don’t always get to see the full fallout of all their storylines. Taking any of the major plots involving them and giving their perspective or showing what happens later would be wonderful.

Becoming Elizabeth (TV 2022):

Characters: Elizabeth I of England and Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester

There is so much that we don’t know about the inner workings of the Tudors. What we do know, though, is absolutely riveting. Who doesn’t love stories of royalty and betrayals and struggles for power? In a world that was dominated by men, Elizabeth I being a queen in her own right is part of what makes her so fascinating. Her refusal to marry just adds to the intrigue of what was going on in her mind during all of these important historical events that we only get glimpses of in books.

Becoming Elizabeth is the first show I’ve seen that dedicates so much story to the early years before Elizabeth even takes the throne. From feeling estranged from her only remaining family to being emotionally manipulated by a man twice her age, she is portrayed as such a flawed yet sympathetic character. The only ocassions where we see her actually act her age and be herself are when she’s with her friend, Robert Dudley, the only one who was truly on her side. We don’t know exactly what happened between the real life Elizabeth and Robert, but with the fictional show versions I wish circumstances were different and they could have found a way to be together. If you prefer them as just very supportive friends, most of the below prompts should still work, I would just ask little or no focus be placed on Robert's two marriages.

Story ideas:

I'm crushed we won't be getting future seasons to see Elizabeth take the throne. I'd love to see a story exploring the progression through her brother's death and sister's ascension to her finally becoming queen. How does Robert support her during any/all of these moments?

Even though I knew she was going to decline him, I still wanted to reach through the screen and shake some sense into our future queen when she turned down Robert's proposal. We know from history that Queen Elizabeth was plenty successful without a man at her side. But it doesn't make someone weak to want to be loved. What could have happened if the proposal was accepted?

I found the scene in episode 8 where Edward Seymour apologizes to Elizabeth for not stopping his brother's inappropriate actions very refreshing as we so rarely see in historical dramas any acknowledgment that these predatory behaviors are wrong. We even got an indirect acknowledgment from John Dudley when he was reading Kat's account of Elizabeth's treatment. It would be interesting to see how Elizabeth's perspective of Thomas Seymour and what he did shifts over time. We can assume that Robert knows some of what happened, but his realization that he may have gotten some of it wrong, reaction to the truth, and support to Elizabeth's emotional recovery would be a nice addition as well.

Political machinations and all of the scheming are part of what make these dramas so fun to watch! Departing from some of my more serious story ideas, I want to throw in a suggestion of just something bantery and tropey. Fake dating for political gain with ultimately friends to lovers! Throw in humorous exasperation from Edward Seymour and John Dudley who don't know how Elizabeth and Robert are so oblivious.

Fate: The Winx Saga (TV):

Characters: Riven and Musa

Despite this show’s flaws, I became instantly enamored with it. Season 2 was an improvement over season 1 in some ways, and a regression in others. One of the main positives that came out of the second season was more interactions between Musa and Riven. I was sold on them from their single (I think?) scene in the first season, and even though they still didn’t have a lot more screen time together, what they did have was *chef’s kiss*.

These two are so natural together and you can see that they genuinely enjoy being in each other’s presence. In season 1, they gave off more enemies-to-lovers vibes and I expected more of the same this season, which we got with their banter and butting heads over Musa’s specialist training. However, I was shocked by how soft Riven could also be with Musa from their discussion of Musa’s lost powers to the image of Riven carrying her prone form after battle. I’m so hopeful for another installment so we can get more relationship development and more of their insane chemistry!

Story ideas:

Episode 5 was a gift sent straight down from heaven. From Riven's pleased expression when we "saves" Musa from Terra's ministrations, to him trying to figure out what's bothering her when they're fighting, to him sitting down with Musa when she's stuck on the track and having a heart-to-heart... I want more soft Riven protecting Musa from her well-intentioned friends and having the serious conversations that need to be had. Whether it's about her not wanting her powers back in season 2 or her learning to cope with them next seadon (or something else entirely!).

It was no mistake the way the ending scenes of the second season were set up, with each fairy being comforted by a loved one. And of course Musa's comforter was in the form of Riven bring her the magic-supressing bracelets and them practicing together. We see you writers... Training sessions are practically their love language at this point. As they start to recognize their feelings for each other, what sorts of conversations do they have and what issues do they work out in the middle of a session?

I like to imagine Riven being the proud boyfriend when he hears of Musa's fighting skills coming in handy when reacuing Flora, while simultaneously being angry that she didn't have any back-up in a dangerous situation. Except, maybe as Sky has to remind him, Riven isn't Musa's boyfriend and perhaps he needs to stop being scared and avoiding the inevitable. This could even be set past season 2 when the gang getting Bloom back. There are a lot of opportunities for Riven to be the doting and overprotective not-quite-a-boyfriend.

Any type of enemies-to-lovers story you want to write would be welcome. There is so much potential here for some wonderfully angst-filled scenes! It could be reluctant allies as they work toward a common cause, fake dating to get information on someone, their friends trying to pair them up despite their protests, etc.

The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (TV 2022):

Characters: Elrond Peredhel and Durin IV

To get this out of the way first, no, the first season was not perfect, nor was it even "good" at some points. There were many missteps with pacing and characterization. Still, I found myself sitting down each week to watch the newest episode, and I did become increasingly invested in the characters. In particular, I loved when the episodes focused on the dwarves. Durin was an immediate favorite of mine as I found him to have one of the most compelling storylines.

One thing I did appreciate with the direction the show took was the focus placed on Durin and Elrond's friendship. The actors were absolutely convincing in their portrayls of best friends that had been apart for years and were seeing each other again with a lot of history behind them. They were simultaneously heartwearming and hilarious together. Almost all of my laughs and cries were during their scenes, and each week my main wish was just to see more of their interactions and to hope they didn't become estranged. Durin and Elrond have so much going against them, but I think their bond of friendship is strong enough to prevail. I personally only see Durin and Elrond as friends so would prefer nothing overtly romantic between them. If you want to include a romance, I like all of the canon relationships (both within the show and in general Tolkien lore). I just ask that the main focus is on Durin and Elrond's friendship.

Story ideas:

All the backstory! How did their first meeting really go? It seems that Elrond was actually the one to save Durin, but the tale of the trolls sounds like a wild and hilarious time.

Durin was a better friend than I with how quickly he forgave Elrond for missing his wedding and the births of his children. I would have required a lot more groveling. Show me a Durin that is a little slower to forgive and makes Elrond do some crazy things to earn that forgiveness. Or if you want to go really off path here, change up history and have Elrond and Durin reconnect much sooner than two decades (late to the wedding perhaps?).

I truly have no predictions of how closely the show is going to follow canon given the contents of season 1. That being said, I think it would be interesting to see Durin's reaction to the rings being created, his conversations with Elrond about the rings (and perhaps Sauron), or just in general a scene(s) of Durin and Elrond conversing about the events that just took place. If you are familiar with the Tolkien canon and where the story may go, feel free to include pieces as you see fit without fear of spoiling.

All the times Durin and Elrond have supported each other over the years and have been more like brothers than just friends. Could be funny, serious, or both!

Things I don’t like:

Non-Con/Rape/BDSM/Sexual Violence/Graphic Sex – I like my characters to be happy and everything within ships to be 100% consensual, no question about it (mentions of non-con if it occurred in canon is fine). I also prefer plot over porn, especially with one-shots.

OT3s – Two people per romantic relationship, please. Any more than that makes me uncomfortable.

Character Bashing - Unless a character is a bad guy in canon, I don’t want to read hundreds of words about how awful they are, especially if they are one of the characters that I requested. Don’t take it out on the characters. If you hate my pairings, just write gen.

Things I love:

Hurt/Comfort – There is nothing I love more than one character comforting another. The hurt can be physical, psychological, or both.

Happy Endings – I’m all for the realistic endings… but if they could be plausible AND at least happy-ish, that would be amazing.

Expanded Scenes/Contorting Canon – Feel free to expand scenes and change up the canon to your heart’s content as long as it makes logical sense.

Humor/Banter/Snark – I thrive on this stuff.

Bonding/Building Relationships – Whether it be a friendship or a romantic relationship, I adore reading about two people growing closer together. When characters know each other so well that they can have conversations with just their eyes or anticipate the person’s next move (especially if it’s to the surprise/confusion of everyone around them), my shipper heart is thrilled.

Dark to Light - Seeing a character come out of a bad mindset or situation and get better is so satisfying.

Happy writing and I hope you get the Yuletide gift of your dreams!

- Maddy @mustlovemustypages (on Tumblr, Ao3, and FF.net)

[sealofreconciliation]

Fates: was the story as bad as people say? a response/debunk (finale part 1: Themes)

Link to original post here.

Before anyone asks, yes, the original post is enough of a shitshow to necessitate me having to split this response into multiple parts; blame u/Odovakar, not me.

> The reason why I didn't discuss themes in the main story is simple: it's subjective. Now, you might argue that everything I've said is subjective but for the main routes and DLC campaigns you've at least got to base the discussion on the script.

Wouldn't everything in this series, including discussion of themes, have to be based on the script, due to being where someone would have to get evidence for their claims from?

Also, if you're trying to argue that most, if not all, of your arguments in the main posts were written on the basis of you talking about the internal consistency of the script, which is the only thing i can gather from this line and the rest of the post; lol no. You're so far removed from that standard of discussion it's insane to even imply you were basing your analyses on that.

To give some examples, let's take a small look at the kind of “tangible”, “script-based” criticisms you made throughout the posts:

Complaining that Corrin didn't stay and ask Azura or Yukimura for more information on the Yato or the dragonstone, not because it would make sense for them to do so (it would be a massive character assassination for Corrin to do that, as a matter of fact), but because you personally wanted more of an expostion-dump on those things than the game gave (prologue); assuming developer intentions in order to accuse the game of “forgiving” Corrin of their moral wrongdoings (prologue and part 1 of Conquest); criticizing the game for the cast being “Corrin-centric” without giving any in-universe reasons as to why that's illogical or bad (prologue); criticizing the way the game was *sold*, proceeded by immediately conceding that said criticism has little to do with the game's writing and that it was only brought up due to a personal dislike of the split (ending of prologue); criticizing the Hoshidan/Nohrian siblings for talking about Corrin in their battle/defeat quotes during the route split, which MUST be personal bias against Corrin given how obvious the counter-argument of “Corrin literally just betrayed them, of course they're still going to be thinking about them and being upset about their treason a few minutes after the fact” is (part 1 of both BR and CQ); saying that Xander's obedience to Garon being more understandable if you look at it from the lens of how japanese parent/child relations work is a stupid and silly argument because Xander's from Europe, giving no evidence whatsoever that Nohr shares it's child-raising culture with that of medieval Europe (BR part 2); criticizing Corrin for not killing themselves trying to fight Hans's troops and their own for no other reason than because he found it personally distasteful for someone to let bad things happen (part 1 of CQ); criticizing Corrin and Azura for being happy that the royal families negotiated a temporary ceasefire instead of whining 24/7 about a war that hasn't started yet (part 2 of CQ); dedicating roughly a fifth of part 3 of your Conquest analysis to addressing defenses for why the Nohrian siblings, especially Xander, are loyal to Garon, with all of the responses boiling down to “yeah but we're not shown Garon being nice to his kids, therefore all the plentiful evidence people have found for why the Nohrian sibs would have a strong emotional attachment to him are automatically null and void, also them being afraid of him is invalid because the game portrays them as heroes”. Which is not only pathetic, given how much time he's had to formulate counter-arguments, but also has nothing to do with the script. (CQ part 3)

Tl;dr you should have read your own posts better before claiming they were focused on the story and/or were “tangible”.

> Pointing out that Corrin should logically ask Azura more questions about the crystal ball, for example, has a basis in something very tangible.

The only basis it has is that it's something that happens in the story and can be discussed about, in the exact same way that estabilishing a theme and discussing whether it's well-developed or supported by the plot is based on the fact that said examples show up in the story through various ways and can be discussed about; you really don't understand thematic analysis or discussion, don't you?

Also, the crystal ball point sure as fuck doesn't have a basis in logic or character consistency, if that's what you were trying to imply; Azura uses it immediately after bringing it out and it breaks as soon as it's done showing Corrin Garon's true self. It's use case is obvious, and Azura already explained who could and couldn't use it; at most, it's weird for Corrin to not ask Azura where the ball came from, but she'd already told them they couldn't talk about Valla in the outside world; assuming that they'd already guessed that it came from Valla and, as such, that it'd be a bad idea for them to talk about something so heavily related to the place when they don't know the full extent of the curse, coupled with the fact that they're going to be busy thinking about the new information they just got and contemplating the fact that they'll have to join the war in order to dethrone Garon, it's pretty reasonable for them to not ask Azura for more information about the crystal ball.

> Themes, on the other hand, seem to mean whatever is convenient for the person arguing about something.

> This is a pretty straightforward definition of what a narrative theme is and yet there's so much room for people to say basically whatever they want without technically being incorrect, and therein lies the main problem.

It means a repeated message that a story is trying to estabilish, develop and talk about. It can be estabilished by how many examples of it there are throughout a story and how relevant it is, which can be debated about by people with differing viewpoints, much like the kind of narrative analysis you've been trying to make. Someone trying to claim something is a theme in a story without any evidence to back that up is likely to be ignored, just like when someone tries to claim something happens in a story without providing any evidence to back it up. Isn't it fun to learn about a narrative concept you should have already known since grade school?

> Even so, I figured I should at least give discussing the themes of Fates a shot since using themes to defend a work is very popular because it's easy. "I think it's about this and that's fascinating to me" is simple to say and hard to dispute; the debate has by that point already devolved into vague, subjective interpretations, and even if the theme in question is only tangientally relevant, you can't convince someone to feel a certain way about something.

It doesn't seem too hard to dispute; just provide counter-arguments as to why something isn't like that, which you should be able to do if you think they're wrong with their stance.

Also, stop trying to pretend like your analyses are any different or have any more depth to them than some random fuckwit on the internet saying something is good because it made them feel good; as i've already proven, large portions of your criticisms are just cleverly-worded ways for you to say that Fates is bad because it made you feel bad.

> If you've read my previous posts you'll probably not be surprised when I say Fates doesn't handle its themes well at all. Why? Well, first, let me ask a question: what would you say Fates' themes are? Family? Anti-war? Finding the truth?

Birthright is trusting in your allies, Conquest is finding what justice is and what must be done to achieve it, Revelation is being true to oneself, and the main theme of the game overall is cooperation and setting aside differences for the sake of the greater good. You managed to go 0/4 on Fates' themes; that's morbidly impressive, i must admit.

> The theme of family is undeniably heavily pushed by trailers and really the game itself, but I'd say Fates actively works against that theme at every possible opportunity.

It was pushed by the trailers, not the game. I want you to give me a single instance of family being a theme anywhere in the game, let alone a big enough one for you to claim that it's the major theme of the game overall.

> First, the big one: Corrin can S support all the Nohrian and Hoshidan siblings, as well as their own cousin. Being able to S support every single character in the game seems to have taken priority over letting Corrin find out about the lie that they're not related to the Hoshidan siblings, as the protagonist never once reacts to this in the game. In Revelation, Corrin says nothing about this, while in Birthright, should you S support a sibling, they're just happy to be able to have sex without people raising an eyebrow.

Corrin doesn't care about their relation to the Hoshidan siblings and barely sees them as family already, which is why they don't care about the revelation. The only reason they side with Hoshido in BR is because they know Garon needs to be stopped, and are willing to side with a bunch of strangers they don't know or even particularly care about in order to do so. What does it say about a theme when it's existence is never estabilished, developed or supported by the game?

> However, that's not all there is to it. Azura routinely gets ignored by the Hoshidan siblings despite growing up with them. Even though the "betraying your family aspect" is played up a lot with Corrin no matter the route, I'm not sure Azura doing the same in Conquest even gets acknowledged outside of optional battle dialogue.

The Hoshidans don't care as much about Azura as they do Corrin, plus the “family betrayal” aspect is mostly relegated to Birthright, since the Nohrians are the ones with an actual relationship to Corrin, not the Hoshidans. The Hoshidans barely try to use the “we're your birth family” argument anywhere in Conquest, mostly guilt-tripping them for siding with Nohr in the first place, and it shows up again for a *very* short amount of time in Revelation as part of Xander and Leo's character arcs there, which is resolved by something that has nothing to do with family (Garon telling them he wants to burn Nohr).

> What does it say about a theme when a character whose backstory mirrors the protagonist's is all but excluded from it?

That said character has a different theme in order to differentiate them from the protagonist due to their being wildly different people.

> And then there's Lilith, who's *technically* Corrin's *real* half sister, but this is relegated to a snippet of a DLC campaign and is never made relevant or acknowledged outside of it.

Anankos made Lilith out of magic; this is the equivalent of claiming that a desk is someone's half-sibling because their father was a sculptor and made said desk.

> You have to pay for this information, but what does it add to any character,

It adds to Lilith's character by expanding on her motivation for protecting Corrin.

> and to repeat a similar question asked above, what does it say about a theme when it locks something like this behind a paywall?

That the theme was developed further later on in the story in paid content. These little gotchas aren't nearly as smart as you think they are.

> Speaking of not adding anything, as /u/Warlord41k put it in an earlier post of mine, the twist that Corrin's biological father is Anankos has no bearing on anything. Corrin's draconic powers are never made relevant in the main story

Their draconic powers and/or heritage are the reason they're able to drive the Vallite army and Sumeragi out of Hoshido, the reason they're able to visit Valla in Conquest, kick-starting the rest of the plot, the reason Anankos tries to corrupt them into becoming his new vessel throughout Conquest and Revelation, and is the reason why they can transform into a dragon despite the royal bloodline being so dilluted they can't even remember the last time someone could do that. It's pretty fucking important.

> This might have been to give Anankos a more sympathetic backstory, and if you're being *very* generous you could see this as Corrin's true parents not mattering and that the family you choose is the one that matters.

It's there to add tragedy to Anankos by having him have a child he's never going to be able to properly meet and that will spend the rest of their life thinking he was nothing more than some random evil dragon, along with providing an explanation for Corrin's draconic powers. Why should it be anything more than that, and why is it bad that it isn't?

> However, for that to make sense or have any sort of impact, I think Corrin themselves would have to acknowledge that fact, as well as the lack of any blood relations with the Hoshidan siblings. Corrin doesn't do that, however, and these things become mere setpieces for fanfiction authors.

Explain why Corrin not caring about their blood family needs to be spelled out to the audience to make sense (?) or have impact, and especially explain how you're not being hypocritical for making such a request and still daring to criticize Fates for apparently not having any subtlety.

> All of these points lead me to believe that when the theme of family isn't ignored, like with Azura, Lilith, and Corrin's lack of reaction to finding out the truth about not being related to the Hoshidan siblings, Fates is actively sacrificing the theme in order to appeal to certain players by allowing you to marry the siblings and Azura.

It could also mean that you took the trailers way too close to heart, internalized that as the main theme of the game, and failed to realize that pointing out the multiple ways in which the theme doesn't exist in the game proper is you debunking yourself. Just some food for thought.

> This is without getting into the utter lack of chemistry between the Hoshidan siblings in particular and how they remain strangers to Corrin in all routes, including Birthright.

Seriously, how in the actual fuck do you not realize that maybe, *just maybe*, the fact that there's little to no evidence to support family being a theme in Fates means it isn't a theme, especially when, by your own admission, Corrin's relationship to one of the two families in the game is, at best, them being respectful allies to each other, even in the route where they spend the most amount of time together? How can you write this and not realize how easy this is to debunk?

Also, nice to see you being as tangible as ever. “I don't personally see chemistry between a group of characters” is absolutely not a vague, subjective and undefined point that's going to be very hard to properly discuss, unlike estabilishing what the themes of a story are with evidence; bury the thought.

> You could argue that the important theme isn't family, but rather loyalty vs. justice in the form of Conquest and Birthright respectively, but that carries with it its own issues, chiefly that Revelation merely existing renders that theme completely moot.

Firstly, while justice is basically the reason Corrin chooses Hoshido, they choose Nohr due to a combination of not wanting to kill their own family and friends plus wanting absolute confirmation that Garon was responsible for the attack on the Hoshidan capital. If anything, i'd say that their reason for choosing Nohr is more out of hopefulness.

Secondly, Corrin's initial reason for picking a side isn't a theme of the game at all; It's Corrin's motivation for choosing their side in the first place, but they are never developed, estabilished or mentioned nearly as much as either of BR or CQ's actual themes (“trust” and “where justice lies” respectively), therefore it can't be considered a theme, or at least not a major one worth mentioning in this post.

Thirdly, why does Revelation render that moot? The Corrin from BR and CQ couldn't have known that refusing to take sides was the best option and, as such, chose either justice or hope; why does the fact that a better option existed render different thematic explorations null for a Corrin that didn't know that?

> There is a right choice to make here, but even if Anankos weren't a thing, the game is so heavily morally in favor of Hoshido that Corrin going back to Nohr *should* be portrayed as a strictly selfish and stupid choice, but the script goes out of its way to forgive the protagonist for everything they do.

I already debunked the “muh forgiveness” point in my Conquest responses more times than i care to count, so instead i'll ask you to explain what about Corrin's choice to go back to Nohr was stupid or selfish, especially when they had every reason to believe they'd be rewarded for their stellar performance, no real proof Garon wanted them dead, and a dream that they'd be able to stop the war from ever even happening by changing Nohr from the inside.

Also, how very tangible of you; “yeah, maybe the theme is something else, but they're still broken because the game doesn't portray a character as being solely stupid for following their heart instead of their head in one of the stories and a tiny minority of characters forgive them for their actions, therefore it's not about loyalty”. Not only is this a complete non-sequitur, not only does it blatantly not make any sense on it's own merits, this is very clearly based on your own personal feelings, not the story; why did you ever think it would be a good idea to try and claim that your posts are mostly based on what happens in the story at the start of these posts?

> It becomes less about loyalty and more about "Corrin can't make a wrong decision".

Going back to Nohr is the worst choice Corrin can make, but that doesn't mean they can't try to fix their mistakes or make something good out of the bad situation they put themselves in, which is the entire point of their monologue at the end. Not only is it still very much about loyalty/hope, it's also about “some choices are better than others, but that doesn't mean you can't at least try and make the best out of a bad situation even if you make a mistake”.

> I find the argument for this being a central theme interesting, because Fates is in no way more anti-war than any other entry in the series. It is astoundingly easy to include lines that the vast majority of players can agree with, like "killing is bad, peace is good", or "don't steal from poor old people", but the inclusion of such lines doesn't mean there's a deep theme there.

I don't see what it being deep or not has anything to do with it being a central theme of the game. I could write a story that had all the characters say “war is bad” every five paragraphs and never delve into the inticracies of that, and it'd still objectively be the central theme of the story. This is a massive non-sequitur.

Also, where did the “Fates is more anti-war than the other games” argument come from? You just proposed that it was a central theme of the game, not that it did so more or less than other games; is there some argument you had that i'm not privy to that would explain this bizzare leap in logic?

> Here is the problem: Conquest goes so far out of its way to forgive Corrin for their role in the war that they even get absolved from the guilt they're meant to feel by characters who've already died.

No they don't; Azura was the one to comfort Corrin and convince them to keep fighting after they had a mental breakdown after witnessing Ryoma kill himself, and Ryoma had already told them he trusted them in his dying moments. The Ryoma, Mikoto and Takumi pep talk was entirely centered on telling them to not give up now that the war's basically over, which would make their sacrifices all be in vain, along with upgrading the Yato so they could beat Takumi.

> We're told over and over again that Corrin is basically a messiah who will bring about a new era of peace, and Corrin keeps saying that they're doing this for everyone's sake. After sacrificing Hoshido and killing off the evil leadership, all problems are swept away.

Because they're going to change Nohr from the inside and bring everlasting peace by killing Garon and (accidentally) Anankos; the war was just a means to an end, not the end itself.

Besides, Hoshido would have lost the war no matter what Corrin did; they spared the nation a worse fate by at least minimizing the bloodshed. Saying that they sacrificed it is a gross misrepresentation of their motivation for joining the war.

> There's a peace treaty and Hinoka and Sakura still love Corrin and will work hard so that they can visit Hoshido whenever they like (Hinoka says she'll address "misconceptions about Nohrians").

Firstly, the Nohrians line is a fabrication from Treehouse; in the original jp, she just says she'll try to get her people to stop hating Corrin and Xander.

Secondly, prove that she succeeds at that. Someone trying to do something is not proof that they'll succeed at it, let alone something as difficult as trying to amenize tensions between victims of war and the people that conquered them; if anything, due to the tone of that conversation, it's pretty clear that Corrin's never going to be welcome in Hoshido again after what they did, which seems like a pretty big consequence to me.

Thirdly, i'm not so sure the peace treaty was by choice; Nohr just finished effortlessly bodying Hoshido while it was in it's own home turf. Hinoka probably just accepted the fact that trying to fight back at that point, or ever, given the strength of the Nohrian military, would be a terrible idea and just counted her blessings that Xander regretted the war and wanted to make amends.

> Basically, Conquest portrays the war as a necessary sacrifice for peace.

No it doesn't; Corrin joining the war was a last resort after their original plan to gain enough favor with Garon to change Nohr from the inside fell through, a plan that would have very likely worked and led to peace in a non-violent way were he not possessed and wanted nothing more than to watch the world burn. Even when they join, they don't say that the war is necessary, only that Nohr winning is a foregone conclusion and, as such, the only thing they can do to help Hoshido at this point is try and minimize the collateral damage of Nohr's victory by trying to spare as many Hoshidans as they can during the war, which they can only do if they're in a leadership position. This is a massive strawman.

> Am I saying that Fates is pro war? No. But I am saying that arguing there's a deep anti-war message is giving the game too much credit.

Again, who said anything about a central theme needing to be deep to be a central theme?

Also, Fates is lot more anti-war than you're trying to portray it as being, not that it's a major theme of the game anyway; both countries have pretty reasonable reasons for engaging in warfare (Nohr's land is infertile and they would all starve to death if they didn't do it, and Hoshido, being an isolationist paradise, doesn't care to try and understand the issues plaguing Nohr, leading to them having to defend themselves after Nohr finally goes after them directly after centuries of letting the country starve while they hoard all their plentiful resources for themselves), but the conflict is still portrayed as a terrible thing for all the people involved that's only solved by achieving a mutual understanding between the leaders of the two countries, allowing them to work together for the sake of a brighter future (which happens in all the routes).

It's still more subtext than actual text, therefore i wouldn't argue it's a major theme of the game, but there's more depth there than you're giving it credit for.

> If I were to choose a Fire Emblem game which really managed to sell the theme of war being bad it'd be Radiant Dawn, as it focuses on the plight of civilians and the losing side of a war through Daein, and demonstrates how keeping the peace even after a victory is difficult but worth the struggle through Crimea. Fates lacks any of these nuances.

Stop dickriding Radiant Dawn and talk about Fates. Those two games are so wildly different there's basically no point in comparing the two, even if this was a sensible comparison, which it isn't; if you're going to analyze a piece of fiction, do so by it's own merits, not by complaining that it's not another piece of fiction you like more when the first one probably doesn't even want to be like the second one.

> **Finding the truth**

> Like I've said, this is the argument I've seen the least, and I think there's a good reason for this. Why? Because Azura already knows everything worth knowing about the conflict. You've just got to pay for the right version and she'll let you in on the secret.

In truth, Corrin just needs to appeal to her emotionally and earn her trust in order to be let in on the secret, but yeah, “finding the truth” isn't a theme of the game in any way. Glad you could at least see it that way, unlike your other two examples.

> And really, how is this portrayed in Revelation? Corrin spends 10 chapters running around the entire continent flailing their arms around and that manages to convince their siblings to jump into an abyss with them.

Bullshit. They spend 10 chapters going around convincing people that there's more to worry about than their petty grievances, which convinces their siblings after they're given ample reason to believe in their claims and follow them; anyone can make any story in existence sound stupid when they reduce it down to such a basic level and remove so much of the nuance and context of said story.

> “Finding the truth" sounds good. It sounds deep, like you've grasped what Fates is *actually* about.

Yet again, explain why a central theme needs to be deep to be a central theme.

> It's also completely defeated by the payment model of the game so that even if it *were* expertly written, it would be seen as a cash grab to sell you the right answer as an extra DLC route which you can't buy on its own anyway.

Irrelevant; i don't give a fuck about how a piece of fiction was marketed or sold in relation to it's content, and neither would anyone actually interested in analyzing Fates purely based off it's writing. Just say that there's not enough evidence to support truth-finding being a major theme of the game and prove it with examples, of which there are plenty of, and leave it at that; there was no reason for this section to have gone on longer than it's first paragraph, and it's all the worse for trying to stretch it out like this.

> I don't think every game needs themes, or at least ones present in every facet of the story.

The vast majority of games with even the barest hint of a story have themes, and even some that don't have a story have themes explored through their gameplay.

> However, a game that does want to really convey something likely makes its message more obvious and prioritizes trying to make it resonate with the players. If players can barely even figure out what the themes of a game are, or if themes are sacrificed in favor of something more superficial, then they were never important to the game in the first place, and using themes to defend the game is giving it more credit than it's due.

It's not the game's fault that you're incapable of picking up on themes as on-the-nose as “whether or not to trust in your allies”, “what justice is”, or “staying true to yourself”, decided to make up new themes that the game never had any intention or promise of exploring, then called it badly-written for not doing what you wanted it to do.

Also, “theme didn't resonate with me/was hard for me to figure out/wasn't spelled out/wasn't important, therefore bad”; regretting your opening statement yet?

> Fire Emblem is also extremely character focused. The units have names and a unique portrait to make you care about them. Support conversations are there to deepen your understanding of the character and make you like them more. This doesn't mean Fire Emblem can't have themes, but given the way Fire Emblem is structured, the story and characters making sense takes priority.

Not necessarily; which aspects of a story take priority are entirely dependent on what the writer wants to do when writing said story. I fail to see the correlation between “characters in Fire Emblem are given depth” and “the most important thing for any FE story is the plot and characters”; this is another non-sequitur.

> I think this is an important point that is often ignored by people who value themes above all. Themes may convey something the writers want to tell you, but they are still a narrative tool.

Without themes, there wouldn't be much of a point to story-telling as a concept; it's extremely easy to argue that a thematic throughline is one of the most important aspects of a narrative, if only because of how heavily integrated it always is into a story.

> What I mean by this is, for example, the Nohrian siblings' loyalty to Garon. They seem to be loyal to someone we rarely see them interact with and never hear talk about positively. This could be boiled down to "he's their father!" which is what they say at the end of Conquest, but nothing has been done to earn that reaction; Garon is ostensibly the symbol of everything the Nohrian siblings hate about Nohr.

What the fuck does this have to do with themes? You're talking about characterization right now; the Nohrian siblings liking Garon isn't a theme, it's a fundamental aspect of their characters that drives the plot forward.

Also, Elise praises pre-game Garon as a kind and wise man in Birthright, there are multiple lines throughout all the routes of the Nohrian siblings excusing his increased temperament as his old age getting to his head, Camilla says that none of them can afford to disobey him if they want to live, and Xander tells Slime Garon to his face in Chapter 27 of Conquest that he's nothing like the man that raised him and his siblings and that he only obeyed for as long as he did because he held out hope that Garon could return to his senses one day and they could go back to being a happy family; the game beats you over the head with the fact that the Nohrian siblings are obeying him both out of sentimentality/wishful thinking and because they're not strong enough to stop him from doing what he wants. Your ignoring important story and character details to push an agenda of Fates being poorly-written isn't the game having bad writing, it's you being disingenuous.

> Leo executes two people for being blemishes on Nohr's "grand legacy" and earlier in the game talks about how often and skillfully he and the other Nohrian siblings undermine Garon's authority by limiting the damage caused by his evil orders.

The “grand legacy” line was added in the localization; JP Leo only says that it sickens him to think that someone like Zola was a part of Nohr's military, and tells Iago that he's a disgrace to Nohr, not it's legacy. Even going with the localized script, what's wrong with him thinking that Zola and Iago's cowardices are blemishes on Nohr's legacy, which would be winning battles via direct confrontations?

The undermining point is completely irrelevant; just because they disagree with Garon's actions doesn't mean they're going to dislike the man who raised them and who they have a bond with.

> I'm not saying they have to be thrilled over killing Garon, but I am saying that the game using "he's their father!" to excuse their lack of spine isn't just unearned, but also reflects poorly upon how the Nohrian siblings are characterized.

I'm incredibly curious about how much of a spine you would have if you were forced to work for an all-poweful tyrant under threat of death if you ever disobeyed even the slightest order, especially when said tyrant is someone you have a deep personal connection with.

Also, explain how it reflects poorly upon the Nohrian siblings' characterization.

> The game hasn't earned using the theme of family as an excuse,

It doesn't use the theme of family as an excuse, because it's not a theme of the game; it uses the characters' estabilished relationships and history with Garon as an excuse for why they remain loyal to him.

> and all of these theories about the mental state of the Nohrian siblings have practically zero basis in the main story.

Xander's cutscene confronting Slime Garon begs to differ, as does my rant a few paragraphs ago. Stop dismissing well-supported theories solely because they cause you to look stupid for being wrong about a game's story and characters.

> Simply put, themes shouldn't be something you use to defend a game's writing with, but rather something which enhances the overall experience. That takes skill and effort and requires prioritizing on the side of the developers.

Does it? What authority do you have on how game development works to make such a claim, especially game development as it pertains to adding themes to a story?

Also, explain why people shouldn't be allowed to care more about a theme than about the plot or characters.

> There is no hidden theme or subtle brilliance which turns everything on its head which only a handful of enlightened people can understand and appreciate; themes just weren't a priority for the developers and they didn't have the skills to pull off a thought-provoking narrative.

Funnily enough, this entire response is me proving that you fundamentally misunderstood what Fates' themes were, so yes, there unironically were hidden messages and brilliances in Fates that you simply weren’t enlightened enough to understand and appreciate. Hubris before a fall, i suppose.

[fireball-me]

The Midnight Club: Not Quite a Recommendation

The Midnight Club is a TV show on Netflix. It is primarily three things: It's a teen drama, it's an anthology series, and it's a ghost story. How? Well, I'll explain by giving a synopsis of the show, something Netflix failed miserably at.

The Midnight Club follows a group of terminally ill teens at an institute for kids like them. During the day, they get to know each other and learn to respect what everyone else is going through. Every night at midnight, they wake up and meet unbeknownst to the adults running the place. They drink and tell somewhat spooky stories to each other, one each night, one each episode. And one more thing: the place is haunted.

It's written and produced by Mike Flanagan, a name some might recognize: He made The Haunting of Hill House, as well as Midnight Mass. What this would tell some about the show is that it's a borderline family-friendly scary story that's not super scary. It's a mysterious show that focuses mainly on the relationships between the characters until the last few episodes. It's pretty good.

Now, for the weird, sort of preachy part where I recommend it. I could go the route that most users take and talk exclusively about its Representation. There's definitely something to be said about representation in The Midnight Club; all of the main cast is disabled with a terminal illness. It's done quite well; the individual experiences of each person are shown in no small part, talking about the medical aspects, how it influences the characters, and the people around them. Another Representation in the show is the fact that one of the characters has AIDS. This is talked about often within the show; taking place in the 90s, it showcases the characters unlearning their judgement, and their pity, of this gay kid.

I do want to stress that media is more than its representation.

The Midnight Club is about the value of life and the meaning of death. It's about respect, understanding, and bonding. It's about fear of the unknown. It's about a different thing for each different story told by a different kid each night.

I'm not begging anyone to watch it. I mainly made this post to log my thoughts on this show. If ghost stories and spooky mysteries are your thing, then go ahead and watch it on Netflix (or, you know, other methods). It's definitely one of the better shows I've seen recently. It's fun, it's scary, it's empowering, it's perspective-altering.

If I had one negative thing to say it's that the "horror" parts aren't very scary at all, but of course, that's subjective, and it's clear the ghost happenings aren't exactly the main focus of the show anyway.

So yeah, that's The Midnight Club.

[xaracosmia]

ꕥ — WELCOME TO NEFE COSMIA, FELIX HUGO FRALDARIUS. 🌓

ꕥ — OOC INFORMATION;

name / alias: Owl age: 18+ pronouns: ? ooc contact: @/owthepen on tumblr and twitter other characters in xc: Estinien Varlineau, Alfred, Eunwol

ꕥ  — IC INFORMATION;

name: Felix Hugo Fraldarius age: 22 pronouns: he/him series: Fire Emblem Three Houses canon point: Crimson Flower Route app triggers: Patricide, War, Mass Death, Depression, Implied Suicide

personality: Blunt, harsh and serious. Felix is known for lacking no tact, calling out what he views negatively. His pride stems from hard work; a massive disliking for the elite is deeply ingrained within him. Felix’s care for his friends extends beyond as well despite his embarrassment, resulting in more often than not him lashing out angrily. Despite this, his temper is not so easily lost. Those truly close to him would have him dropping what he’s doing to help them out should they ask, despite much grumbling. His devotion to swordplay however, has resulted in Felix becoming careless, though he accepts mistakes in stride and works on them on his own. something your muse struggles with: Showing how he feels, communication, temper your muse’s greatest strength: Physical prowess, battle, anger, determination

history / background:

Felix Hugo Fraldarius.

A man who betrays his kingdom and his family for another, because he could not see how the goals of his friends and family could make a better Fodlan. A man who watches his friends die, who cuts them down because they were in the way of his Professor's goals.

He is but one man, amongst the many soldiers, who follow along the path under the leadership of Byleth and Edelgard, who sought to liberate Fodlan from Crests and Those Who Slither in the Dark. He believes in what they believe in, it's true, but at the cost of what? He had to fight against former allies, former friends, people he had grown up with. Sylvain, Ingrid. Cut and left to die. The boar- No, Dimitri, killed by his own bloody hands when he rages against him, and then Dedue, his loyal retainer, killed as a Crest Beast. The worst possible death, he thinks. His hands are stained red. But his biggest sin yet, is when he faced down his father, and felt his sword drive right through.

Felix doesn't have a father any more. He was disowned, wasn't he? Or orphaned by his own hands. Whatever. His feelings have grown numb, he had to see it through. He fought with Edelgard and the others, making new people who saw right through him. People who clung to him and made him feel less alone, but when all is said and done, and Fodlan was united under Edelgard and the rats that ran around in the darkness were killed, Felix became- Well. He just threw himself into battle again and again, until he too became unable to battle no more, and left to the mercy of the enemies descending upon him. That's fine. That's his karma.

powers / abilities:

Major Crest of Fraldarius: Increases his strength during battle for an attack. Also increases his effort when doing daily tasks.

Magic: Felix is able to use both Reason and Faith spells. He mostly focuses on Reason, with spells such as Thunder and Thoron, but also has a single Heal spell.

inherent abilities:

Sword Proficiency: Felix is able to handle swords with relative ease, and is able to use them almost effectively immediately.

Weapon Proficiency: While not as good as his usual skill in swordsmanship, Felix is able to adapt to various weapons easily.   items / weapons: Silver Sword: Regular Sword. 

Aegis Shield: A shield that takes on half of the damage Felix has, and heals him a little after each battle. starting ability: Major Crest of Fraldarius starting item: Silver Sword extra: Sorry he grumpo... discord id: swordandshield

[quarthly]

Twilight characters as random animals that I think are oddly fitting

(Also yes, I am roasting the animals as well)

Edward: He would be a Cheetah. Now I know, seems like a cop out just because of his speed but hear me out. Cheetahs are, at face value, pretty cool. They used to be my favorite animal as a child, but then I grew up.

Cheetahs, through no fault of their own, are severely inbred. Now thats mainly because of poaching, but the cheetas anxiety also comes into play. In captivity, cheetahs are usually given emotional support dogs. I will admit it is cute but it negatively affects the population. Excluding one in the wild, cheetas can be to anxious to breed and thats not good for conservation efforts.

Cheetahs can hit up to 80 miles per hour in a couple of seconds. They are designed for fast running and agility. Their claws are similar to that of a dogs for better traction and they have elongated spines for longer strides. They have a thin build, long legs and a long tail for balance.

This has downsides though. Many times after making a kill, it will get stolen for them by larger predators. Thats right, they get absolutely bodied by the other animals. I should probably make these shorter but I'm on a rant now, so I guess this will be semi educational.

Throughout the series, we see Edward over estimated his abilities and value, constantly getting bodied by others. He's essentially a perfect mormon, though thats on S'meyers. He constantly judges others, dehumanizing them to their baser flaws, without doing any self reflecting. Him viewing himself as a monster doesn't really count to me. While he definitely hates himself, the only thing he is truly demonizing is being a vampire.

Bella: Picking up from Edwards, Bella is a Chocolate Labrador. Yes, she is his therapy dog. I feel like this is really fitting for her. I know Golden retriever would make more sense, as thats the most common breed for service animals. However, I kind of focused on her appearance. Only at first though! I just know that Edward raved about her human qualities and that would pass over as animals as well. Her chocolate eyes and brown fur, very average and boring. Thats essentially Bella. Even Edward wasn't into her until he got a wiff. Labradors a very loyal dogs and while they have more personality than Bella, I just couldn't shake it. Their also very stupid. Ok that's kind of mean, they're not stupid but when it comes to love, then yeah they are stupid.

I used to have a lab, loved him to death, but god he was something else. Very much danger prone, from their own stupidity or their lack of survival instincts. I know that labs are almost aquatic. They love water, swimming, all that jazz. We can just say that bella has a few screws loose in her dna and is just "not like other labs."

Rosalie: Now she was hard. There are quite a few animals that I think would fit for her. I'll list the other ones, but that one I went with is the Swan. Like Edward, seems a little on the nose, but I have my reasoning.

I was going to pick a predator for her, as she is shown to be very vengeful and viscous. I would have pick some type of cat, most likely a purebred, from a rich family. It could still work, but the swan just speaks to me on this one.

Swan's are known for being beautiful, graceful, and are pictured as the symbol of love. They are also very vain. Edward constantly brings up Rosalies vanity. She was constantly valued for her beauty as a human, so of course that crossed over in the transformation. She was raised to be married into wealth, she was used as a bargaining chip to increase the family's standing.

Rose has a very strong character and makes her opinions known. She's assertive and aggressive at times. She's not afraid to get dirty.

Swans mate for life and like geese, are known for being great parents. I was also going to choose geese as an option for the maternal instincts. I was wary at first because swans can be really aggressive. Like actually, you think geece are bad? Yikes bestie...

I was conflicted because swans are known for drowning dogs and sometimes people. However, I can actually see Rose drowning Bella. It's not that unbelievable lmao.

Emmett: Now this one is just ironic. I only associate him with bears. Its inevitable, but picking a Grizzly or Black bear is too obvious. So I went a slightly different route...

So I was going to pick the Sun bear just because of looks alone. Like, I'm not exaggerating, it looks like someone wearing a bear costume. I don't think it fits him but I know for a fact that he would dress up as a sun bear and sneak into a zoo to see if anyone would notice. I'll put a pic of it here

Like look at this thing. I have no words...

Anyway, what I picked was a Sloth Bear. Now Sloth bears are mostly nocturnal, which either way works consider vamps don't sleep. Their diet is also odd but honestly so is the cullens. They're native to the Indian subcontinent, and are known for being aggressive towards humans. Its said that for the most part they're pretty calm, so I think its just fear of humans that make them act aggressively. Honestly, that's a good thing because they are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red list.

They have some similarities with sloths, which is where they get the name. They have long claws and unusual teeth. They are known to hang upside down from tree branches, and is described as having a messy appearance. Honestly, Emmitt has a messy personality. Sorry bestie but you're a lot of work.

Now heres the biggest reason for choosing this bear. Aside from Baloo from the jungle book being a sloth bear, they are known to run fades with Tigers. Honestly, how fucking badass is that!? Now I don't think there are recorded instances of a Sloth bear killing a Tiger, but when push comes to shove, they can hold their own and I find that incredibly impressive.

Carlisle: This one was somehow the easiest as well as the toughest. I know Owl seems like the obvious choice, and I can see it. However, I believe Carlisle values emotional intelligence as much or if not more than academic intelligence. He is so charismatic and values other's above himself. He might not be as Saint like as Edward thinks, but he does try and I think he genuinely cares about others. For that reason alone, I choose a Elephant.

Elephant's are very social animals and are extremely intelligent. I could rave about them for ages, I love them so much.

Now elephants live in a familial unit and are usually matriarchal. Bulls usually are on the outer edges of the herd or form little groups with other males. Honestly, they're not that bad aside from when their in musk.

In the group of males, the elder ones will teach the younger where to get the best food, water, how to use things as tools, and every other thing that will increase their odds of survival. This is really cute to me tbh, they do this because the females usually choose the older males because they've proved that they are intelligent and strong, that they have survived and will continue to for awhile. Teaching the younger males these things are to make the odds of them getting chosen to mate more likely. The whole unit just reminds me of a father that has to deal with rowdy teens.

Carlisle likes to take in strays, he might not have a herd but he will make one and teach them to thrive. That's how he envisions it anyway. He just has a found family and is trying his best.

Esme: Now this might seem like an insult, but I promise it's not! This is in no way misogynistic. I love cattle and ever since I took animal science in highschool, I have appreciated these grass puppies like they deserve. Call me Castro because I love cows.

Yup! I chose a Cow for her. Specifically a beef cow. That might sound weird but its because beef cows have higher maternal instinct than dairy cows. I'm thinking Scottish Highland based on vibes alone.

They are nicknamed the Gentle Giants of Scotland. Super maternal and sweet and ugh look how cute they are!

Esme came from a abusive marriage and had just lost her child, she was depressed and desperate. Her changing was, in a way, salvation. She just fits in. She adopts all these strays along with him and will protect them to the death. She might be gentle by nature, but don't fuck with her family. She lost her first one and she isn't going to lose this one.

Alice: She's an odd one. There are so many possibilities and maybe I'm biased, but I feel like she would be a Crow.

Ok listen, I'm definitely biased but it just feels right. Crows get a bad rap, they are so cool! They are so intelligent and have the ability to actually sit and think about the past, prest, and future. I forget what its called, but this was only seem in humans! Maybe other apes, I can't remember exactly, but either way its awesome. They do live in groups, or murders, and remember people and faces. They remember locations and are able to pass down information through generations. They essentially have their own language! They are able to use tools too!

Alice's story is really sad. When we first meets her, it revolves around the death of her mother and her institutionalized. She was essentially tortured and forgot everything from her past. All she had was the future and even that wasn't constant. Crows a often viewed as omens, they are associated with death. I personally believe that instead of being the cause, they just know something is going to happen. They are very inquisitive and can be creative.

If you befriend a murder of crows, sometimes, depends or the group, they will bring gifts. Its can range from food to shiny metals and colorful plastic. Hell, I think I've seen a post of one stealing things from people just to gift it to their human.

Alice's love language is gifts. Even if they are focused around fashion, she still goes out of her way to get something that will look good and at least be a little comfortable. By that I mean she tends to forget peoples comfort zones, but she means well.

Jasper: Honestly not to sure what to put for him. I know a predator would be more fitting, but for some reason I can see a donkey working. I know, seems like I'm clowning on the confederate. Fair, but I'm serious about the donkey thing. Honestly, it would be perfect if it wasn't a herbivore. Porcupine would also work.

Being a predator would make more sense. Given his backstory and his characterization, it wouldn't make sense for him to be a prey animal. Usually I wouldn't count this, but given his gore filled past and trouble with the diet, it seemed fitting.

I see him as a Big Cat. Honestly, vamps in general just give cat vibes. Jasper though especially have some cat like qualities, which originates from hunting and being a soldier.

I specifically see him as a Mountain Lion. Aside from him being blonde, he just has the predatory stealth to him. In midnight sun, we see him use his gift to make the nomads overlook him. He's honestly really powerful.

Mountain lions are known for being stealthy with an air of grace and power to them. They are stong animals. And I mean strong. They can jump 40-45 feet.

They're very elusive and quite. They stalk their prey and tend to attack from behind but don't think they won't hold their ground if need be.

Jasper was changed during the Civil War and forced to fight in the Newborn wars. He was a soldier as a human and as a vampire. He's able to feel and manipulate others emotions. He's covered in scars and is very intimidating.

He still struggles with the diet and honestly I hate how the others handle it. Like they have no room to talk. I don't want to defend the confederate but it just pisses me off. He has to deal with his hunger on top of everyone else's. Like damn, besties always on edge! Everyone doubts him which I don't think helps any.

Also, Mountain lions and Cheetahs can purr!

@aquanova99 I'll do a Volturi one too. That one will be fun lmao

[saberies-stuff]

Random Ramblings: Lena Luthor

Welp, when I came up with the idea for this series a month ago, I couldn’t imagine how drastically necessary it would turn out to be. I won’t get into my finale thoughts, I already said some of that last night and I’m working through the rest of it via fanfic, so I’ll just say WHAT A MESS and leave it there. As promised, now that the show’s over I’m going to be discussing each major character and throwing out ideas for how the show could have given each one a better, more coherent storyline. And since there’s no sense leaving the elephant in the room, I’m going to start with what I feel to be one of the worst storylines and arguably one of the worst characters of the whole show: Lena Luthor.

Probably my biggest criticism of Lena's storyline is the way she was constantly going back and forth between good and evil. This got old fast, folks. It made it impossible to tell what kind of person Lena really was, and the show often presented her in different ways at different times. Sometimes she was a stone-cold villain, sometimes she was a good person who'd let herself be led astray, and sometimes they tried to make her both at once (and failed miserably). In my opinion, one of the best ways to improve Lena's plotline would be to pick one option and stick with it.

Option One: Lena Luthor Is A Good Person

If we're going with this option, we can wave goodbye to a pretty large portion of the show- Lena's whole tantrum over Kara's secret (which is a good thing to wave goodbye to, because it was infuriating). The Lena we'd get in this storyline would be the Lena we were introduced to all the way back in Season Two: someone who is genuinely good at heart, but tripped up by the evil associated with her family name, and that would be her arc through the entire thing. No more wondering whether she's really good or bad deep down; this Lena would know from the start who she is, and the struggle would only come from getting everyone else to believe it, sparing the viewers a whole unnecessary ton of "am I truly a Luthor?" melodrama in the process.

I'm not saying Lena would have to be a wholly good, morally upright person like Kara. I actually quite like the two as foils to each other, and I think Katie McGrath plays the morally gray type of characters very well. But this version of Lena would never do any "villain" things, like Non Nocere or using Kryptonite on Kara; instead, I'd like to see her as someone who, though mostly good at heart, is a little darker and willing to do shadier stuff than the rest of the Superfriends. Ideally her role would be quite a bit smaller as well; she took a lot of screentime away from characters who were more crucial to Kara's journey, like Alex, and since Kara should have stayed the center of the show, that's a problem that needs to be fixed. I never liked how Lena replaced Winn as Kara's best friend, either. Winn and Kara's friendship broke the cliche that women can't have close male friends, and I think something important was lost when Kara's best friend was changed to a woman. I imagine Lena playing a role similar to Clark's or M'gann's: she pops in when the Superfriends need her and there's something story-wise for her to do, and the rest of the time the show focuses on people who mean more to Kara.

We can actually keep a lot of the show's storylines by going this route. Everything with Lillian and Project Cadmus still works in this context, but instead of Lillian tempting Lena back to being a "real Luthor," the conflict between them would stem from the fact that, if anyone found out it was Lillian behind Cadmus, Lena's efforts to prove the Luthor name could stand for good would be worthless. We can also keep Lena's involvement with the Worldkillers. That lines up with her new role as someone who does the shadier stuff the rest of the Superfriends can't or won't do. (I think I would drop the part about her making Kryptonite and hiding it from Kara, though. That's too villain-y for this version of Lena).

What we can't keep with this Lena is pretty much everything from Seasons 5 and 6. I'd be okay with her shooting Lex and him revealing Kara's secret, but everything after that? Out the window. A Lena who's a good person would never be angry at Kara for withholding a secret that Lena was never entitled to. A Lena who's a good person would never try to mind-rape the world, turn Eve into a flesh-and-blood robot, or poison Kara with Kryptonite. Those, ladies and gents, are villain things, so they need to be axed if we're going to call Lena a good person. But if you happen to be attached to those plot points and want to keep them, there's always another path...

Option Two: Lena Luthor Is A Villain

I'm going to come right out and say that I favor this one. I think there's more evidence pointing towards it in canon. The Lena we got in the show failed to convince me that she really is, deep down, a good person, despite how much the show tried to make that case. I actually think it would have been very impactful for Lena to be shown as a straight-up villain; sure, Supergirl was about hope, but I think it would have meant quite a bit for Kara to realize that she can't inspire everyone to be better, that some people are the way they are and aren't going to change and there's nothing you can do about it. That's a lesson I was learning first-hand while watching the show as things came to a head with my abusive father, and it would have meant the world to see a TV show address it, as opposed to the same tired "you can fix everyone if you just try hard enough!" narrative. That's not true, in some cases it's not safe, and it's a trope that needs to die.

So in this version of things, the final two seasons of the show wouldn't be about the fight for Lena's soul, but about Kara, who's canonically described as "believing that everyone is as kind and good as she is," coming to grips with the falseness of that belief as she deals with Lena's betrayal. The Kryptonite poisoning, the enslaving Eve, the Non Nocere, that all happens. But this time around, they're presented as what they truly are, the actions of a villain, and Lena would be held fully accountable for them instead of getting by scot free with a tearful apology or two. I don't care if that means she ends up in prison, if she dies, whatever. She could even have an "earns redemption by sacrificing herself" moment, if the show really wanted that. But there would be some kind of price to pay for the abuse, narcissism and flat out evil she inflicted on so many people, because that's justice, and justice is one of the things the Superfam is supposed to be all about.

(The other good thing about this? It keeps the focus on Kara. Ya know, where it BELONGS).

Other Things We Can Axe

--The Walmart Witch plot. Oh, God, the Walmart Witch plot. It wasn't needed, it wasn't done well, and on a show where most of the action was sci-fi rather than magic, it didn't fit. In fact, we can lose Lena's bio mom too. Lena's conflict was supposed to stem from her identity as a Luthor, and Elizabeth Walsh adds nothing to that conversation. I would even say we can drop Ireland altogether; it always felt forced, like it was just there to explain Katie's not-so-great attempts at hiding her accent. We didn't need it.

--The romance with James. That poor man did not deserve that, especially seeing how the racist crazies reacted to it. Do James and Mehcad both a favor and drop it.

--Everything with Andrea. Honestly, how many rich narcissistic billionaires did this show make apologies for? And what was Andrea's whole point, again? She was a replacement for Cat and a mirror of Lena and we didn't need her either way.

One last thing: I've seen some people suggesting that the show should have included Lena's disability from the comics. I, as a disabled person, am here to tell you GOOD GLORY NO. There's already a stereotype of disabled people as selfish manipulators who try to make everything about them and their issues. We do not need that literally playing out on our TV screens and I am so glad the show didn't go there.

So there you have it, my thoughts on Lena Luthor! These posts are probably going to be quite long, so if you made it this far down, thanks for reading! Leave me a comment and tell me who I should tackle next!

[iammyownvariant]

Reader (Ghosts BBC, Mentioning of Alison/Mike and Alison/Thomas)

SUMMARY: You grew up in a wonderful big house full of ghosts. But why did you see them anyway? Reader Insert Series: BBC Ghosts AN: As I haven't the time to fully write out this idea, here's a shortened version of a prompt that has been playing inside my mind. Based on a post I viewed recently: I have always thought that if I'd been Alison, I'd be scared to death about getting pregnant or having a miscarriage and seeing that ghost child all the time. Now I could write something angsty about this, or something funny. I decided to go for a different route and wrote how it would be to be born in that household, with Alison and Mike as your mum and dad. (So no miscarriages or creepy things, just growing up with ghosts). Enjoy! PS. If anyone feels like picking up this idea or exploring elements of it, please do <3 -- -- Seeing ghosts was a normality to you. As you grew up, you saw them around the house and they were your friends. You saw them in school, saw them in the streets and basically everywhere you went. And you more than often became friends with them.

So this was how mum felt, hmm?

You could not say that you led a normal life. Seeing the ghosts and interacting with them wasn’t the oddest thing of all. No. The oddest thing you found, was something only revealed to you at a much later date, when you were already grown. But let’s cut back to when you were little.

You grew up in a wonderfully big home that your mum and dad had inherited by pure luck (or was it misfortune?). The house cost them everything and more than often people had wondered why they had started having kids during such a stressful period in their lives – because the home was still a bit of a wreck when you were born.

The house was large and wonderful and yours. You had never known any other place and you felt no need to ever move elsewhere. You loved it here. It was a certain love that made your mum and dad all the more determined to keep the place no matter what.

Apart from living in a fantasy-like building, your life was pretty normal.

Except for the ghosts.

The first time your parents noticed you saw them was when you were just a toddler and your father freaked out because you seemed to be talking to someone who wasn’t there. Your mum, being able to see them after a nearly-fatal accident, confirmed his fears though. You were playing with one of the ghosts that inhabited the house. Your parents thought it was a one off, until your sister was born four years later and she exhibited the same signs as you had.

Thus, the theory that seeing ghost was inheritable came into existence.

But as you had been seeing them since you were born, you held no fear of the inhabitants of the house. And there were a lot of them. It meant you were never alone. It was soothing in a way. Whenever there was something wrong or you felt sad or down, one of the ghosts was bound to cheer you up.

You especially loved Humphrey as a child. You loved his soothing voice and the tales he would tell when you couldn’t sleep. Truth to be told, you had a bit of a crush on the late Sir Humphrey Bone as a kid, thinking his face to be really pretty. So pretty, you often helped when his head and body were apart. You would go searching for another of the ghosts to pick up his head and put him back together whenever he lost it again. Though sometimes it would just be his head on your nightstand. Others might think this depravingly morbid, but it brought you a sense of safety, knowing he was there watching you. It chased away any bad dreams.

You often held sleepovers with Kitty. She was a lovely giggling young woman, and she loved to play hide and seek with you and your sister in the grand garden surrounding your home. The three of you would often giggle way into the night when either your mum would come to tell you to please go to sleep – or Robin joined in and did some of his caveman word games with the three of you – which made the evening all the better (no matter how often Kitty would exclaim that it was supposed to be a girls night only).

Having the ghosts around wasn’t always fun though. For instance, when you were a teenager and were playing dressing up and imagining all the boys who would swoon over you, only to see a head stick through your wall and telling you off. Auntie Fanny was a real pain sometimes, always talking about how you should be decent, how you should dress, how to hold your fork and knife during a dinner with guests. It was frustrating but she always managed to get on your nerves.

Your sister didn’t fare much better with her and suffered the same mouthiness of the former lady of the house. It didn’t help that the ghost woman still jumped out of a window in the midst of the night either. Your sister failed one of her exams once because she couldn’t focus on learning the material because Fanny Button kept her up each night with her screams. It was thanks to Thomas’ support that she was forced to focus on her schoolbooks and thanks to the other ghosts (and mum, who was pretty much threatening them to do as she said) to keep Auntie Fanny in check. In the end, your sister had changed back to a different room. The previous one she had occupied had been chosen by her because of the epic royal bathroom attached to it. Now she slept closer to yours again and took to using the shared bathroom without complaining. You didn’t mind, you liked having her close again.

Out of all the ghosts, you found the Captain to be the most tiresome as you were young. He was always drilling on about what you and the others should do. Always focusing on schedules that you should follow. Telling you off like you were a soldier.

Pat was way kinder, and often a bit too soft. You knew he often hung around your younger sister, because she was more outgoing than you were and he loved to be outside in nature. He helped her do all sorts of tricks, climb trees, shoot a bow and arrow – dangerous stuff even. But he taught her to do it responsibly, despite what you may expect of a man with an arrow lodged in his throat.

And then there was the one who frightened you like no other. Not even the plague citizens living in the cellar, who always kindly helped you with whatever issue you came to talk about. Yep, one of the ghosts scared you for a while: you usually tried to avoid Julian. As you were young, you thought he was an old man, wearing no pants, and he had a mean streak to him – jealousy you often found. He didn’t particularly seemed to like kids either, so you were fine with him going out of your way. As you grew older you realised Julian wasn’t actually as bad as you thought him to be. He even saved your life once or twice by pushing away or picking up a dangerous object that might have injured you otherwise. He was watching over you, like all the others were. And as you grew into a teenager and passed that sweet 16, you noticed a different gleam in his eyes. Julian changed. He became more gallant, more of a smooth talker when around you. But that behaviour ended quite abruptly, although the gleam of admiration never left his eyes. You wondered what had frightened him so to stop his advances on you. Whatever it was, you were grateful. Julian was not your type and never would be. (Later on you found out he had been challenged to a duel by Thomas who wanted to defend your honour, as child of the lovely Alison).

And then there was Jemima, she was the best friend of you and of your sister. As children she was just amazing to play with. First, she was older, and knew cool games you and your sibling had never heard of. Then, you grew to be the same age and she was the coolest girl you would ever know. And then, you grew older and she grew quieter. But you never ceased your habit of singing chilly songs with her.

You were a child, growing up between ghosts, and you felt safe between them. And though your father swore he could see them, most of his interactions with the house ghosts was initiated through you or your sister. He just didn’t possess the gift. But he was the greatest dad there ever lived. He loved doing stuff with you and your sister, going out, do fun things. He was a swell dad, filled to the brim with love for you and your sibling. He’d do anything to keep the two of you safe and happy and clothed and fed – even if things financially didn’t always go well for your family. You loved him to bits.

Your mum tried to warn you of the dangers of seeing ghosts. How those who could not see them would think it weird – would think you to be weird. You minded her words and sensibly, didn’t let anything show while in school. Even though, you were troubled with the ghost of a former teacher who kept sitting at a way too small child’s desk next to you and pester you throughout the lessons. You were glad when your mum told him off, some day after lessons. She had to sneak into the school with you. Oh boy, you had loved her firm voice, her confidence, and the fact that the ghost stuck to a different classroom from then on without coming near you again.

Your sister had a bit of a harder time. She let herself be distracted by the ghosts of a few children who had died in a school fire ages ago. While you had gotten away with explaining to them how you could not talk to them while others were around, your sister didn’t mind that rule though, and your parents struggled more than once with comments on how they should take your sister to see a doctor about this. Eventually, your sister learned, as she grew older. But more than often she would ignore what others thought of her and still communicate with the dead whilst other living beings were around.

But despite the fortune, or misfortune, of seeing ghosts, your life was pretty normal as you grew up. You loved all house ghosts for different reasons.

While Mary was easily one of your favourites, she was also a bit daft to the modern ways. Simple, might be a better word. She often promised to help you with your homework, but she never could attribute anything that you didn’t already know. So you often had to distract her with small tasks or tell her to hang out with Kitty or Robin instead.

And when Mary was gone it would be Thomas who would take over. Although he was easily distracted by art and snivelly poems, he would always try his best to focus and help you and your sister through each demeaning homework task. Sir Thomas Thorne was always nearby when you needed him. He had the tendency to sing songs to you as a baby, create old fashioned nursery rhymes when you were a toddler, play silly games with you as a child, motivate and guide you as a teenager.

In hindsight, you should have seen it coming. With all the care he held for you, with the warm tingling feeling it gave you whenever he was around. You should have known. And when you were a teenager and dated that ghost boy from two blocks away, it was Thomas who completely lost it and told you the boy would be no good for you, and that you deserved someone better. Someone more permanent. Someone alive.

Your mother and Thomas had a huge fight then – ("Someone more permanent than a ghost? That's rich coming from you!" your mum had shouted) all ghosts were listening in. But your dad was none the wiser. And so were you. Because you did not catch all references, and you did not understand each jab and insult thrown like a ping pong ball. And when your mum sat with her hands in her hair and Sir Thomas’ arm wrapped around her shoulder, you thought they had just made up. And then your father came in and he gave your mother solace. They hugged for a long time, and Thomas had just gone into the adjacent room. But that was all there was to it.

Of course it wasn’t though. Because your mother was strong. Darn strong. You loved it about her. The whole attitude she had, the air with which she wandered around the home and instructed the ghosts like she owned them. Your father said it hadn’t always been like that, that it had grown over time. In the beginning she had been ill-at ease, easily manipulated by the inhabitants of their home, had been often looked at funnily and ruined many a great business deal for talking or listening to the ghosts. She still did that – listen to them. She still embarrassed herself and your whole family along with it. Like that time you were at a beach party with family and friends and she had an entire conversation with a family of the 1960’s who were dead. Yeah, you’d rather not think back on that.

Or the one time one of she reported a crime to a dead officer.

Yeah.

But your mother was your hero. She was strong, fierce, and always stood up for you and your sister.

To find out a much deeper and darker truth then, about your family, was world shattering. And it was all because your sister had been in an accident and you came home to find Thomas in all states. And when you asked the other ghosts what had occurred they told you he was crying about his child. And that’s only when the pin dropped and you realised why this man was always working in your best interest and being so darn warm and kind for a person who was dead. Because you'd not missed the many times he showered your mother with affection. Or the way she would smile at him when he gave her another compliment. Or the way they would be just a little...too close. Could your sister be the child of a ghost? Impossible, right?

And you confronted your mum about it.

And she broke down.

Alison Cooper confessed to you, while your father was away at work, that she had been entangled with the ghost of Sir Thomas Thorne after a few heavy drinks and a way too fun party held at their home. Apparently, she had been incredibly drunk and had said things she otherwise wouldn’t have admitted. What happened should not have been possible by far. But Thomas had been able to actually feel her, and Alison had believed that no ghost could actually cause consequences with a human who was still alive. Perhaps her near-death experience had thrown something into the mix. We would never know. But Alison found herself pregnant after days spent without a touch by your dad, Mike. The first thought had been to terminate the pregnancy, but remembering the dove that still liked to terrorize their bedroom, Alison had grown scared. She realised she could not terminate the pregnancy or she might be faced with a ghost of her own baby. And you realised this was not your sister she was talking about. This was you.

So instead, Alison had pleaded Thomas to keep their secret (which he had done poorly and every ghost knew what had truly occurred, but luckily your dad could not interact with them), and your mum seduced your dad. They were already married, there were no contenders, your father believed you were theirs and never held a doubt. In hindsight, it explained your paleness- and the seeing of ghosts. It had been deemed the impossible, and for a long while, Alison thought and hoped that you were a child of Mike’s after all.

Mike took it all up really well, with you being what is called an accident. He was instantly smitten – as were all of the ghosts to be honest. Alison thought things would work our after all.

But then, when Mike wanted to have another kid, and though they tried, it took three years and a lot of desperation to admit to seeing a doctor. And then they were faced with the terrible truth that Mike wasn’t fertile at all. The news was delivered to your mum first, with Mike away and only the house ghosts listening in. It was a shock to all of them, mostly to Alison who had been pointed at the result by another ghost doctor. She managed to hide away the evidence, the true results, and together with newly found ghost friends she made at the hospital, fabricated a new lie. Mike was never to know that you could not possibly be his.

So instead, Alison was persuaded by Thomas and her undying love for Mike. He wanted another baby, she wanted them to be happy. Deal done. Thomas fathered a second ghost-seeing child with your mum. Your sister. The one who was recovering in hospital after a nasty car crash. (And luckily, she got out alive and safe and you got to hug her again tightly because no matter what, your sister would always be closest to you - all ghosts in spite).

So there you were, hearing your mother’s confession. The understanding dawning upon you that you did not see ghosts because of just your mum – but because you father was one. It all made so much sense. And it took a lot of strength to keep your mouth shut about it to Mike, your father.

Your real father, Thomas, you found, was understanding. And you were glad more than once that he could not interact with Mike. You had warned him that you would keep calling Mike dad, even if he wasn’t biologically. And Mike remained none the wiser. You still loved your non-biological dad as fiercely as you had before. You’d just glare a lot more in Thomas’ direction for a while.

In the end, you ended up marrying a young ‘living’ partner. You made sure that both Mike and Thomas were leading you down the aisle – even if Mike was never to know it. All Ghosts loved it, loved how you recognised Thomas to be your father. They also loved it how you never once dropped the truth on Mike or let him down. In your eyes, he would always remain on a pedestal as the perfect dad. It just so happened that you had two now.

As you somehow had expected, Alison died too young. An accident out of love, one of the ghosts had said. (She was furious at Thomas for many years to come, but she could not help but love him still.) During the years she was angry at Thomas, she tried to convey a message to Mike. She wanted him to know the truth, but he hadn’t understood her dying last breath, and he hadn’t understood her hauntings. ("It say's Thomas... dad? dad? Wait a minute, isn't Thomas one of the ghosts? Yeah, of course he is dead. Duh!") And he seemed delighted that she was still there, even as he started dating a new woman and ended up marrying her. (Alison was okay withit, but only after smashing a few vases and making that new woman's life a living hell). It was no wonder your dad wanted to move elsewhere quite soon after his second marriage. I mean, living with your deceased wife and your new crumpit was a bit weird, right? Your dad, Mike, handed the house to you and your sister. She chose not to stay and lived her live elsewhere, visiting occassionally, while Mike and his new wife settled somewhere close by. You remained in the huge mansion with your husband and your children, enjoying the way the ghosts watched over them as they had watched over you, feeling safe and happy. Because with these ghosts you were at home.

[bokunosimpfiction]

Yandere!Heisenberg x Reader Pt 3

A/N: Since y’all demanded a plot that’s what you’ll get. Will it be good? No. I’ve never written anything with a plot in my entire life. Ever. Not even when I did Nanowrimo or whatever. I just bullshitted the whole thing. Like I’ll do with this fic. Y’all are going to have to remind me to update because I have the attention span of a goat. I’ll try to update this on Saturdays??? IDK at this point. ALSO, WHY THE FUCK IS THIS SO POPULAR?????????? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY NOTES THIS HAS ON AO3???? 69????SIXITY FUCKING NINE??? I HATE EVERYTHING MY LEGACY WILL BE READER CALLING HEISENBERG DOOFSCHMIRTZ I HATE EVRYTHING DSHFUGSADFJ

Synopsis: You have totally, %100, given up on escaping. Totally. You haven't been gathering supplies for one, final last hurray. Nope. Totally not. All you have to do is persuade Heisenberg of that so you can change your mind at the last minute. Y’all know the trigger warning for this series but if you don’t tw:kidnapping (implied)

Taglist: it’s exclusivly @localdepressedvampire​  so if you want to be on it for just this story or for all my pieces fill out the google doc in my pinned post or dm me and I’ll put you on it. :)

             You’ve made a breakthrough in your long-term plan of escapism. Even with the mini escape attempts that were really about exploring the factory and less about actually trying to get out, you hadn’t made a lot of progress: until now.

             Well, two, really… Okay, maybe 1 ½. Firstly, you found a sawed-off two-barrel shotgun. With ammo. In fact, there was a various amount of ammo around the factory, but no actual gun. Until now. The second discovery, which is nowhere near as useful, was a window. Which was probably 50 or more feet up from the ground. You didn’t get a chance to inspect it that much, considering as soon as you saw it and got a glimpse at the far-off ground, you had to run again from Lycans.

             Which gives you a basic idea of a way to escape. You knew where the ammo was, you knew where the gun was and had a route to the edge of the building, and hopefully could find stairs at the end of the hallway. Now all you had to do was find a time where you could be gone long enough to get a decent head start before, he notices you’re even gone. Even when he was in the workshop, he kept a close eye on you, keeping you in arms-length to the point where it taxed on both of your mental health.

             And even then, in that chair in the small room, you watch him work in the finer details on something the size of your head and torso. You try not to look at the phone in your lap, he doesn’t even know you have it, much less how great the reception is in the building. How did he not know about his old phone that was still working fine? Oh well, he doesn’t need to know you’re looking at memes and reading feel-good wolf-star fanfic on ao3.

             The best idea you had was to leave him while he was asleep, but there were two some issues with that: he clung to you like his life depended on it, your back to his chest and arms around you almost tight enough to keep you awake; it was dark as hell in the hallways of the factory as is, but it would be impossible to navigate safely with the lights; and the Lycans were most active outside at night, which was where you were trying to go. They’ve tried to eat you before as they show no discrimination on food.

             The only way to get a good enough head start would be to leave while he didn’t notice you were gone, and wouldn’t notice for a long, long time. And that when it hit you. The only time he ever left you by yourself was when he had to deal with the other three lords. And while he left you in that basement that you originally woke up in, you had memorized your way out and found that going up five flights of stairs took you to that faithful widow.

             Would you have enough time to explore and look for an actual exit/entrance, or should you play it safe and find a way to go out that window. You wanted to laugh to yourself, you’d never think that going down a 50ft plus drop would be considered safe, but here you were, kidnapped and held hostage by one of the people your late grandmother warned you not to associate with, or even go near. The letter you received directly quoted “the four lords and their mother, Mother Miranda, are not to be approached or associated with at any costs. You’ll know them when you see them, they smell like death and money. See them and run.”

             You can’t help but find that ironic, considering that you did try to run, heeded her warning, and still faced the consequences that were far worse than she had warned you about. You regretted coming here, to this small village, when you first arrived: no friends, and even those you tried to approach held you to her standard and expected them to be just like her. You were far from her kind and optimistic nature (at least that’s what you heard of her; you hadn’t even known of her whereabouts until she was dead).

             Even the duke, who had helped smuggle you into the village, didn’t seem fond of you. It was a shame, you tried so hard to impress him. But he saw you to a point where you could easily reach her old cottage without having too many issues, turned his cart around, and left without a good-bye. It bothered you to no end that your only companion for about a year or so was an elderly outside cat and the creaking noises the walls made at night.

             And then the cat died and not even a week later you got kidnapped. You never considered yourself lucky, but damn if that wasn’t the worst streak of luck you’ve had in a long time.

             You pretend to turn a page in your book and scroll through your Instagram feed, seeing friends having fun at the beach, or studying at the library, or your old best friend taking selfies in provocative clothing to your ex-boyfriend. Did she forget he cheated on you? She wasn’t always the smartest, but she brought that heartbreak upon herself. You see a photo of your mom, she had posted a picture of a black and white photo of her with her mom, you’re guessing, you have no idea who that old woman is.

             This is the last photo I had with my mom before she died. We lost contact after I moved out. I wish we parted on better terms, Nana.

             She’s in a prairie dress, holding an ancient-looking key in one hand, and the other wrapped around her mom, a middle-aged woman with long hair in two braids and a face that had too many stress wrinkles. You guess your mom was as bad as you were in college. The background looks dreary. You would have guessed it to be the quality of the photo if you hadn’t recognized the house behind them as the house you lived in used to live in.

             The loops on the handle of the key look familiar. You spread your fingers apart to zoom in and see the blurry engravings on the side. It was the payment you gave to sneak into the village. You thought it was a worthless family heirloom at most and found it strange that he had even found interest in the key, or even valued it deeper than money in general. Maybe this photo or other photos of you and your family would help out.

             Why is that key suddenly piquing your interest? Were you that bored, as to sit there and think about a key that was at least twice your age? A key that you didn’t even have. You needed a hobby besides escapism and rejecting your captor’s sexual advances. You look up at him again, only to find him leaning against the desk, hat off and sunglass placed on his forehead, his gaze on you. It wasn’t his normal piercing one, that studied you and calculated your every move, but soft and lazy. His current gaze was dreamy; he was daydreaming about you. You found that equally undaring s it was unnerving.

             “Karl.”

             “Yes, Sweetiepea?” Honestly, what the fuck.

             “Firstly, why are you staring at me like that? Secondly, that is the most disgusting way to use that pet name. I need to take a shower after you called me that.”

             He chuckles light-heartedly. Even his softer more genuine, happy chuckles are booming and loud. “Okay… Sugarplum!” And he busts out laughing.

             Clearly dodging the first question and focusing on the second. You can’t believe you gave him ammo for his annoying-you-gun. And you thought you’d grown immune to most of his… less-savory traits. Were you growing used to him? Next thing you know you’re going to like him and develop Stockholm syndrome!

             “You’re a shit head, hobo magneto…” You turn your head away and let your hair cover half your face so he can’t see you smile. You’ll miss him when you escape and get the duke to smuggle you back to your home in Bucharest. But only a little. Just because calling Heisenberg these names are funny.

             “Why don’t you call me by my name, I know you know it.”

             “You sure about that?” You quip back.

             “You’ve lived with me for at least two months now!”

             “Hm…. I think I know your name! It’s uh…” You are totally faking not knowing his name. “It’s… Heidi Carlson? Yeah, that sounds about right!”

             “It’s Karl Heisenberg!”

             “Quit being so silly, Heidi! Maybe it’s nap-time!” This was a little too fun.

             He looks back at his project for a moment and genuinely considers it. “I know you’re being antagonistic but you’re probably right.” And with that, he walks towards you and goes to scoop you up. You have to shut your book quickly in order for him not to notice the phone in between its pages before you let him pick you up.

             He immediately notices that. “Are… Are you sick?”

             “No! Of course not!” Because you genuinely aren’t sick, and he’s already up in your business as-is, you don’t need him dotting on you because he thinks you’re sick or something. You’ll go fucking crazy.

             “You’ve put in zero effort into anything remotely physical since your last little failed escape attempt.” He gave it a little bit of thought. “You’ve given up, haven’t you, and you’re just depressed about it aren’t you?”

             You want to say no, you really do, but if Heisenberg thinks you’ve given up on escaping, perhaps it’ll give you enough space to plan the big one. The reverse heist so to speak. “No- I… okay maybe I have but I still don’t like you.

             He leans down and presses a kiss to your forehead. “Good girl. Now let’s get us that well-deserved nap.”

             You plug your nose and turn away as a joke. “You’ve gotta take a bath first, you smell like oil and sweat.” You don’t fight it, because you have to play the part, but you still have to act a little bit like yourself.

             “Okay, fine doll, but don’t think you’ve escaped my barrage of affection, because as soon as I get out of the shower-“

             You bonk him. And he looks at you so confused before he smiles and leans down to nuzzle his nose against yours. You try to hold the bile back in your mouth and lean forward and peck his lips before leaning back. You failed at trying to not visibly gag.

             “Ew… I can’t believe I just kissed you.”

             “Well, I guess someone caught feelings… Didn’t they?”