#they’re all extremely competent and love to be there! you need another character trait! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ilikekidsshows · 3 years

Note

One thing that pisses me off not just about the miraculous fandom but modern fandoms is fans inability to consume long overarching stories.

Like so many people are complaining about how long the reveal is taking or why haven't certain characters outgrown this trait yet or why is this character arc botched or abandoned. Like guys we just got the confirmation this show will be 7 seasons long PLUS like 3 tv specials. We're only roughly halfway through the series.

Once the reveal happens half the tension in the show is gone! I'm not saying leave the reveal till season 7 and make us wait 9 years this isn't HIMYM but miraculous is not a fast paced story. It's a long haul story. I just wish more fans would be patient. Miraculous is in the extremely fortunate and rare position that it will have a conclusive end and not be suddenly cancelled. That was and still is a huge problem for shows and cartoons with dedicated fans but networks pull the plug for stupid ass reasons.

So miraculous fans please chill the fuck out on things not resolving right away. We still have 78+ episodes plus the tv specials. If we get the end to certain things now it'll be so boring.

I think the concept of Instant Gratification describes the issue with many modern fandoms today. I hate to sound like I'm anti-technology, but the constant stream of quick and short bursts of entertainment allowed by the information age has made people more impatient. It's not about waiting for the climax to get a deeper sense of satisfaction, it's about getting that instant gratification right this instant. It's why one-shot fanfics are all over the place, when multi-chapter stories used to be just as common and popular, if not even more so, and it’s also why people are less willing to read a fic that’s still a work in progress. It's why people refuse to watch Youtube video essays even as they leave comments on the topic based on the title and thumbnail alone because, while they couldn't be assed to watch a 20-minute video (let alone an hour long one), they sure can spend that time calling the Youtuber names and making arguments the video actually already refutes. It's why a lot of online arguments happen only because one party read nothing but the first and maybe the last paragraph of someone's post and skipped all the explanation for their point of view (if I've ignored an counter argument for one of my posts, it was either because I missed it or because said counter argument did this. I have attention deficit issues so I do genuinely forget responses sometimes, but I'm also not writing a second essay for someone who's proven to me they won't read it).

Of course, it's only by constantly consuming only fast-paced content that you can become this impatient. People have different ideas about stories based on what stories they have encountered in the past.

Another thing that influences the Miraculous fandom in particular is that, while I love to show off exactly how much Miraculous has done to build up the overarching plotlines, Miraculous isn't really a show that's about a single story. It's easy to understand why people think it is one though: there's one main villain, we keep discovering more about the mythology, one of the main plot threads is the romantic relationship between the leads and singular episodes and plot elements tend to get payoff later. What is the purpose of a show if not to progress the story? Because the heroes aren't getting closer to defeating Gabriel or getting together, people think that the story isn't accomplishing anything.

I'll do a comparison to illustrate why these things aren't as clear-cut signs of a continuous storyline as people think. In the Spider-Man comics, you can pick any issue up and the chances are that the villain will be a part of Spider-Man's already established Rogues Gallery, who's back for more after who knows how many defeats, and those past defeats might even get referenced in callbacks to previous issues. It's also very possible that Peter and Mary Jane's relationship is the central focus with them not being together yet, having relationship problems or even having broken up (in really old issues the girl might be Gwen Stacy and short-term options have also always been available for romantic entanglements). Does this mean Spider-Man is a continuous story where the only point is that all the villains get put away for good and Peter and MJ live happily ever after? No, it doesn't. Spider-Man is designed to go on indefinitely, so there's no clear ending point. So, what is the point of Spider-Man then, if there is no Ending?

It used to be the single issue, because comic books used to have every issue be a stand-alone story about the hero and their supportive cast. These days it's more every three-to-six issues, because superhero comics are written to have short story arcs that can then be collected into trade paperbacks. A superhero series is not a single story; it's a series that functions as a story engine, meaning the series can generate several shorter stories where the hero helps fix a problem or solve a mystery.

In the superhero genre a villain will never get killed off or removed from stories permanently as long as the writers think they can still come up with stories to tell about them. The hero's romantic life will never be completely smooth sailing unless the writer is using other things to ramp up the stakes. Everything always allows for there to be another adventure.

I think the huge success of Avatar: the Last Airbender made people think that a series that is a single story is always superior to a series with multiple shorter plots. When I was liveblogging Sailor Moon, a viewer offered to give me a list of all the non-filler episodes because they genuinely thought I'd feel like I was wasting time on the show otherwise. This attitude is simply not based on fact. It's not fair to compare Miraculous Ladybug to Avatar, because they're both setting up to do completely different things. Miraculous Ladybug is trying to become a brand, like Batman or Spider-Man. It is part of the "Zag Heroes" lineup, a series of French-created superhero franchises to compete in the America-centric superhero market. This challenge is good for the genre, because Marvel and DC have started resembling each other more and more as these companies stew in their old ideas and copy everything that worked for the other one. The superhero genre needs new blood.

Also, Avatar: the Last Airbender first became popular by doing episodic plots for almost the entirety of the first season because it's actually not a wise choice to expect the audience to be willing to commit to a story that'll only give payoff later when working with an untested IP. Very often shows with longer story arcs start with the episodic format to hook people first, and sometimes the more linear plot is introduced specifically because the audience for the show is now expected to be both dedicated enough and older and capable of keeping up. Because, here's the thing: you can't expect little kids to remember every episode or even every character you've introduced in your show. I'm not sure if people are ready to hear that but I'm throwing it out there anyway. Kids are not dumb, they can understand more complex storylines, but many kids are still training their memory, so they might not remember the details of complex storylines that go on for too long.

This is why the news that Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season was going to have a recommended viewing order originally had me concerned. Miraculous is being branded for kids. The plot requiring too much skill in memorizing story details will make it less accessible to kids and might put those two additional seasons at risk. However, it seems that the "constantly changing status quo" concept of Truth, Lies and Gang of Secrets was a fluke and the evolution of the show is more subtle, so they might not be cutting the amount of episodes for those final seasons because the show is getting too complicated for kids to follow all the important details.

Regardless, Miraculous Ladybug being an adventure cartoon TV show instead of a comic book or a more cheaper-to-produce TV drama does mean that Miraculous Ladybug isn’t expected to go on for decades like a superhero comic or a soap opera. Because of this, it can have evolution and changes and even a planned ending. The show is expected to end at some point, even by the people making money off of it, mostly because making a cartoon like this indefinitely costs a lot of money, and kids’ adventure shows tend to see a decrease in returns if they go on for too long.

#media and fandom response #ml fandom salt #miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir

50 notes · View notes

theendofeverafter · 4 years

Text

Apple White: A Character Study (Chapter 2)

Below are my notes on Apple White’s character in Ever After High, specifically in Chapter 2. My Thronecoming notes will come in a separate post, as will my thoughts on most of the specials. As such, this post will be a bit shorter than my last one. Also, there isn’t as much material regarding Apple in Chapter 2, so a big part of this will be some thoughts on other characters. I anticipate I’ll have more Apple-specific content in Thronecoming.

CHAPTER 2

- (Side note: I love the friendship trio of Briar, Cupid, and Hopper)

- (Side note: Duchess being the tallest female character gives me life. I like that she's imposing in her stature and her personality.)

- It's sad that Apple's entire understanding of love is about finding "predetermined princes". She's never had a chance to explore her own ideas about what love might be. This is why I'm really glad that Daring isn't her Prince Charming.

- (Side note: Raven likes to pretend that she doesn't care about Daring's good looks, but she was extremely excited when she thought that he was her secret admirer. Perhaps it's a defense mechanism? Daring is supposed to defeat her in "their" story, and I'm sure heroes like him weren't the friendliest to children of villains.)

- Love how Apple's mind is completely blown when she sees a Royal dating a Rebel

- For once Apple doesn't keep up appearances on camera and in person: when Raven is being interviewed by Blondie, she rushes into the room crying and kicks her feet against the bed. She gives a mopey interview herself, and she continues to mope in her classes until Ashlynn confronts her.

- "Ash, this is hard for me." Sis PLEASE I'm begging you to think about other people and their feelings. Nice job (temporarily) breaking up a nice couple.

- (Side note: Duchess + Sparrow <3)

- A piece of Apple's heart shattered when Ashlynn left the Royals to become a Rebel lmao

- I'm finished 😂 Apple saw Ashlynn and Hunter having a moment in the spotlight and she said "not on my watch!" I promise you can enjoy your life without making everything about yourself

- (yes I realize that her facial expression is likely due to her reconsidering her stance against Rebel-Royal relationships, but my interpretation is funnier to me)

- "…I might think you're doing the wrong thing, but I want you to know that we'll always be friends, no matter what." What a backhanded statement lmaooo

- Apple is mean wtf, she doesn't want Raven to take Princessology just because she's the daughter of a villain. Raven's going to rule a kingdom someday, right? Shouldn't she learn the ropes?

- Also, she assumes Home Evilnomics is Raven's favorite class. I highly doubt that's the case.

- This "competition" is one-sided. Raven wasn't even competing with Apple. She dropped Princessology like 10 minutes in, whereas Apple dug herself into a hole with Home Evilnomics. Considering Apple is supposed to be an A+ student, I'm sure she's horrified to think about what a poor grade in the class could do to her GPA (or FPA, I guess). In conclusion, Duchess Swan for valedictorian.

- Apple gets a baking contest for her birthday and a school-wide celebration. I suppose she's the princess of Ever After, but this seems a little too much for one 16-year-old girl.

- Blondie is Apple's ride or die for real. What kind of friend volunteers to be a taste-tester at a school attended by future fairytale villains?

- (Side note: I love how Ashlynn now eats lunch with Hunter and the Rebels. They're probably much more interesting to talk to than the Royals.)

- Apple learns an important lesson from Cedar that I think is underrated (also, if you didn't know, Apple and Cedar have the same voice actress and it's very noticeable). Apple's been raised to think that beauty is the most important thing because that's what saves girls like her. Huntsmen help her escape. Woodland creatures fawn over her. Princes can't help but run to her aid at the slightest bit of misfortune. It's her only lifeline as someone who will be targeted by a villain. Cedar, on the other hand, is a character who needs inner qualities to help her have a good life. No one cares if she or people like her are pretty. She needs a quick wit, intelligence, and good personality traits. It's good to see Apple encountering something that contradicts her worldview and accepting it.

- (Side note: I don’t think it’s cool that Mattel portrayed Sparrow as a bad musician. He can obviously play the guitar well. It'd be way more interesting if he and his band were serious musicians trying to build a following, in my opinion. I'll probably pursue that storyline in my own story.)

- (Side note: Maddie gets the least amount of characterization for a main/supporting character in the entire series. That's very odd to me. She's the comic relief, the wild card, and someone who can move the plot along when the characters get stuck. But we don't hear much about her otherwise, which sucks since she's my favorite character. How does she really feel about having to live in Ever After? Who is her mother [or does she even have one?] Is she content with taking over her father's tea shoppe, or does she have other aspirations? She feels very "frozen in time" to me.)

- (Side note: Lizzie + Daring. That is all.)

- It's interesting how Apple knows she can use male attention to her advantage and does so eagerly. I mean, who wouldn't?

- Good on her for using her power to enact change quickly (in regards to the ducks).

- (Semi-side note: Who else isn't surprised that Blondie is the decision maker for the group? She's probably the "let me speak to your supervisor" girl of every friend group when they go out together.)

- (Side note: My headcanon is that Lizzie is the shortest girl in their year. She's obviously smaller than the people from Ever After, as most Wonderlandians are, and Courtly's "Little Lizzie Hearts" comment adds to this. I should probably now mention that another headcanon of mine is that Humphrey Dumpty and Nina Thumbell are a year below the main cast...)

CONCLUSION

Not much has changed with Apple. Her character has already been established, and most of what she does here reinforces her traits. You do see a slight shift during the True Hearts Day saga, but in my opinion it’s nothing substantial. Currently gearing up for Thronecoming b/c I know we’re gonna get the full Apple experience in that movie lmao

#ever after high #eah #apple white #the end of ever after

53 notes · View notes

carmichealroyals · 3 years

Photo

CHARACTER INSPIRATION // C H A L L E N G E

Rules: Write up a blurb or make a visual collage of the people or characters (from books, TV shows, movies, etc.) that inspired your OC, either visually, personality wise, or just a general vibe.

I was tagged by this by so many lovely pals -- @thelockwoodroyals, @wa-royal-tea AND @ourwillowcreekroyals !!! I only feel bad that it took me so long but I wanted it to be as perfect as it could be while taking time to fiddle with Photoshop more (thank you @royaldevilliers for answering my silly questions). Below the cut are the descriptions for the personality types and tropes for each of the main three kids of this next generation!

Not sure who’s done this yet, so if you see this and you want to do it, this is me telling you to do it!

CHARLOTTE:

The Protagonist: Protagonists are natural-born leaders, full of passion and charisma. Forming around two percent of the population, they are oftentimes our politicians, our coaches and our teachers, reaching out and inspiring others to achieve and to do good in the world. With a natural confidence that begets influence, Protagonists take a great deal of pride and joy in guiding others to work together to improve themselves and their community.

Spirited Young Lady: She is the girl who bends the rules just a little. Oh, she can dance a country dance or pour tea with the best of them, but she may also be a good walker or horseback rider. She may be the most intelligent girl in the story, and she is almost certainly the wittiest and the most outspoken, sometimes earning her the title of spitfire. She may be talented in more practical ways, as well: if given the opportunity, she may turn out to be a wise investor, and she may harbor talent for music, writing, or art that goes beyond drawing room entertainment and might become a means of financial independence if necessary. In rare cases, she may even solve a murder. Though she occasionally runs into some trouble, especially if she fails to obey the powers that be, she usually comes through in the end.

Deadpan Snarker: A character prone to gnomic, sarcastic, sometimes bitter, occasionally whimsical asides.The Deadpan Snarker exists to deflate pomposity, point out the unlikelihood of certain plans, and deliver funny lines. Typically the most cynical supporting character. In most cases, it is implied that the snarker would make a good leader, strategist, or consultant given their ability to instantly see the flaws in a constructed plan. More often than not, their innate snarkiness is the only thing preventing the other characters from comprehending this for themselves.

Politically Active Princess: The Politically Active Princess is a princess that takes active interest in and plays an active role in politics. Naive courtiers and commoners alike might view her only as a figurehead, but in truth, she discreetly uses her position and guile in order to achieve her ends. Skilled in diplomacy, she will usually attempt to solve conflicts via conversation or bargaining, rather than combat. Her defining trait is her involvement in politics or diplomatic matters, without letting herself serve only as a bargaining chip.

Inspired by: Mia Thermopolis (The Princess Diaries); Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls); Vex’ahlia (Critical Role); Jenny Lee (Call the Midwife)

PETER:

The Architect: It can be lonely at the top. As one of the rarest personality types – and one of the most capable – Architects (INTJs) know this all too well. Rational and quick-witted, Architects may struggle to find people who can keep up with their nonstop analysis of everything around them.

The Dog Bites Back: Unlike the Bastard Understudy and The Starscream, this character attacks as a crime of opportunity. There is no danger that he will take over the villain's place in the grand scheme of things. There is, however, a possibility that he will menace the others as a True Final Boss. The backstabber often ends up dead, but this is usually not Redemption Equals Death because their motive is not noble. Innocent victims who turn on the villain typically do it only for revenge, while evil victims prove that they were fine with all of the Big Bad's crimes except the one committed against them.

Middle Child Syndrome: Everyone loves the oldest child because the parents can rely on them, they watch out for their siblings, and they're so confidently attractive. The Youngest Child Wins because they're the "baby". But what does that leave the one in the middle? That's essentially the definition of Middle Child Syndrome, in which a child automatically may become The Unfavorite or the rebellious Black Sheep, specifically because they are the easiest child to overlook. They're not old enough to be given the responsibilities and privileges of the oldest, and the youngest child took their spot as the spoiled and doted-on "baby" of the family. This tends to be more of an issue when there are three children rather than four or more. Oftentimes in media, the middle child ends up becoming more of the Deadpan Snarker or the quirky one for this reason.

The Un-Favorite: Where there's an Alpha wolf, there's got to be a Beta. When there is a first banana, there is a second banana. This is the person in the family who can't get a break. For example, this is the child who's the big let-down to their parents, the daughter that was supposed to be a son (or vice-versa), the child the parents had by accident when they'd already decided they didn't need another mouth to feed, the adoptive, foster, or stepchild that came before the parents had a biological child, the illegitimate child conceived by infidelity on the part of one of the parents (if not even worse). But all in all, this is basically the kid who is always getting the short-end of the stick. In some extreme cases, this may cause Rich Sibling, Poor Sibling, especially if one sibling is forced into service to the other. A regular line that may be entailed with this is a variant of, "Honestly, [name], why can't you be more like [favorite's name]?"

Inspired by: Edith Crawley (Downton Abbey); Fiyero (Wicked: The Musical); Logan Huntzberger (Gilmore Girls); Rafael Solano (Jane the Virgin)

PEGGY:

The Mediator: Idealistic and empathetic, Mediators long for deep, soulful relationships, and they feel called to help others. But because this personality type makes up such a small portion of the population, Mediators may sometimes feel lonely or invisible, adrift in a world that doesn’t seem to appreciate the traits that make them unique.

The Baby of the Bunch: Being the youngest of your group typically comes with some perks and challenges. On one side you're probably the cutest, have a pass to act immature, people like taking care of you, and you can embrace your fun side, knowing that the elders are there to handle the serious stuff. And if there's anything you're naïve about, you have plenty of others to give you the realest unfiltered advice without the generational gap and detachment that your parents or the Old Master have. On the other end, sometimes people don't take you seriously. There you're kinda stuck because no matter how old you get, you'll always be "the baby" in their eyes.

Indifferent Beauty: A character who is attractive, aware of their effect on other people, but doesn't care or at least doesn't value their physical attractiveness over their other traits. Often, this character is a consummate professional who is well aware of the fact that they could use their "assets" to get what they want by other means, but feels that it would be unprofessional or beneath their dignity, and is instead focused on proving that they can compete purely on skill, often to the exclusion of romantic opportunities. While such characters are not averse to dressing in sexy outfits, they don't plan on relying on or even exploiting their sex appeal - but the camera will often do that for them. Other characters' indifference is not due to regarding relying on appearance to be beneath their dignity, but rather that they consider it to be unimportant.

Spoiled Sweet: The Spoiled Sweet character is a naive, spoiled, rich or comfortably upper-class or upper-middle-class girl, who has everything they could ever want, but instead of being mean, she is as nice as can be to everyone. While still spoiled, slightly naive, perhaps shallow, maybe even a bit selfish at times, when it comes right down to it, she is a loyal friend and doesn't use her money or popularity as an excuse to treat everyone like garbage — though the trope Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense is in play, especially since a particularly common sticking point is that characters of this type often believe their friends and other loved ones deserve to live just as well as they do.

Inspired by: Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls); Beth March (Little Women); Pike Trickfoot (Critical Role); Peggy Schuyler (Hamilton: An American Musical)

#sim: princess charlotte #sim: prince peter #sim: princess margaret

18 notes · View notes

arcticrxt · 4 years

Text

Some dream smp mbtis and enneagrams bc I love it!!!

@dreamsclock here it is!!

Characters:

Wilbur

Ghostbur

Tommy

Dream

Tubbo

Quackity

Karl

Under the cut bc they’re kinda long. Keep in mind this is the characters and not the content creators :]

WILBUR

Personally for me I’d type c!wilbur as ENFJ which is interesting for a villainous character. When he spirals into madness, you can see his dominant function (Fe) become more unhealthy, leading to him being very manipulative. He shows Ti-grip when his Fe is left to burn out, becoming critical of others and their methods, preferring he do it instead (seen with tommy during their exile). Ni auxiliary is shown in his ambition and drive for his goal of L’manburg.

For his enneagram, i know wilbur said he based c!wilbur off of the song eight by sleeping at last, but hear me out,,, I was thinking maybe a 3w4. The 8 characteristics could be seen in a tritype of 368. Type three is named the achiever which in itself stands for his vision and ambition of L’manburg. 3w4s are often working towards personal growth and professional success. When unhealthy, 3s can get extremely competitive and prone to one-upping others. May reject their sense of self and develop intense mood swings. At worst they can backstab ruthlessly (tommy and the whole of L’manburg and pogtopia) and destroy others reputations solely for their benefit (“if i can’t have this no one can”). The tritype Im a bit if-y on but I’ll say 368 because it focuses on working hard, achieving personal best and developing a winning image. They will want to protect others from those they perceive as a target (dream, Schlatt), they will warn and caution others and seek “worthy” authorities they can respect.

GHOSTBUR His Si is incredibly high so imma say ISFJ. His main motive (id say) is wanting to collect stories of his past and the history of the nation he built, his “unfinished symphony”. Fe auxiliary is very strong as well as he shows a lot of compassion to others, offering them some blue in times of need and also not wanting anyone to feel sadness like he feels it. Ghostbur ignores his own feelings in order for others to feel safe. His Ti is shown through his need for gathering knowledge to understand alivebur and i could also see it through his internalised logic that the blue will help people. Not sure on inferior Ne, maybe through not wanting to see other possibilities in regards to his resurrection, however he was under a lot of stress since his home just got blown up, and friend died, so I can’t blame him.

He clearly doesn’t want conflict so I’ll say type 9. Needs peace and harmony (he gives out blue to help people). Soothing voice, and collected (except when Phil blew up L’manburg but that’s reasonable). He’s complacent, and humble, and will go the extra mile so long as to not rock the boat. Appreciative of the small things in life and enjoy simple pleasures.

TOMMY For Tommy I think ESFP which is probably one of the ones I’m up for more opinions on bc I’m not completely sure of his type. Se as dominant as he thrives on living in the moment but in an unhealthy way (unnecessary conflicts) He’s got a strong Fi auxiliary and you can see that through his personal morals and the way he usually makes decisions based off of emotions rather than objective facts and logical reasoning. He’s good at planning, but not at thinking out the longevity of it. Eg when heady exile and found technos house and lived under there, thinking techno would find him, this all shows Se-Te loop. He gradually develops an unhealthy Fi which leads to him disregarding external relationships (his friendship with tubbo) and commitments to maintain his internal love of the discs.

Enneagram wise, I’m definitely leaning towards 7w6. 7s are usually jumping from one thing to another and are constantly getting bored. The wing 6 brings loyalty and protectiveness. When unhealthy, sevens become narcissistic in their actions and presentation (see his confrontation with tubbo after tubbo thought he was dead, and the “the discs are worth more than you ever were” granted he quickly realises what he said but the mentality was still there).

DREAM I think he’s a fairly obvious stereotype unhealthy ENTJ. He has a very low Fi. When we see him driven by emotion (usually anger) it’s terrifying and we have no context about it at all except that it’s for a need of control. He knows how to manipulate people through his charisma and power in an ENTJ fashion. He lost attachment to his things very quickly (using Te and Ni to go forward logically while also showcasing his inferior Fi)

Dream is a very painfully obvious 8, probably an 8w7, but he is defined an 8. The eight has fiery passions and is usually stubborn and headstrong, they are serious about control over their environment. They are goal-oriented and self-competent. Eights are direct and aren’t shy when taking the lead and making tough decisions. They are often seen in leadership positions. The eight type is part of the “body based” triad and they often act impulsively. They crave respect and enjoy being likes by the group. When unhealthy, eights can become tyrannical and intimidating, scaring off others at first glance. They become addicted to the pursuit of power and will destroy anything blocking their path. Feelings and emotions become insignificant (spirit :’)) challengers become stone-cold and take an antagonist stand to anyone who questions them or their motives. This is the one I’m most most sure of out of every typing I’ve done bc it seems painfully obvious.

TUBBO I’d say probably an Fe dom so maybe ENFJ/ESFP but I’m leaning more to the ENFJ side. Tubbo realised after he thought tommy had died that, without tommy he was himself. Something Fe doms struggle with the most is self worth and personal identity. They’re caught up in wanting to help others that they don’t tend to their own needs. He’s careless and self sacrificing when it comes to the needs of others (him giving up his life so that tommy could have the discs and be happy) and bc he has such low self esteem he doesn’t realise that that’s not what tommy wants. The reason I’m more leaning to ENFJ is because of his inferior Ti. Though he didn’t want to due to dominant Fe, he was lead to believe exiling tommy was the best possible solution. You can see he regrets it after tommy and dream had left. When he was working under schlatt we saw his remorse and guilt even though he knew it had to be done. We see his dominant Fe during his time as president when others push him to do things and he usually agrees. He was manipulated through guilt by dream which is very unhealthy ENFJ.

(I wrote this before the ghostbur one so sorry for any repetitive language) For enneagram, type nine: the peacemaker. Type 9s are motivated by their need for peace and harmony (tubbo was manipulated into believing that getting rid of tommy would achieve this). They have a calm demeanour and are agreeable. They’re hardworking, friendly, and modest but also more serious and diligent than expected. (I’m not too sure on his enneagram which is why this is so short)

QUACKITY Estj imo. Like dream, he’s unhealthily obsessed with power, (unhealthy dominant Te). He abandoned L’manburg because schlatt wouldn’t let him have any say, and he was shoved to the side, despite it being a coalition government. He is very logical and controls others. He makes sure he comes out as the hero and that his hands are clean, learning it from past experiences (Si). He quickly finds ways to get out of situations through the use of tertiary Ne. Doesnt show a lot of Fi and he usually underestimates his opponents abilities and/or strength due to his overconfidence. He’s willing to kill anyone who goes against what he thinks and is stubborn and argumentative. He doesn’t like it when people are lazy and don’t contribute.

Also, similarly to dream, I’d type his enneagram as 8w7. The same with his obsession of power, and his strong/weak mindset where he thinks the world is made up of protectors and those who need to be protected (see him taking it upon himself to execute technoblade for the better of L’manburg) which is all very textbook 8. The opinions of others don’t have much effect on him. Eights are concerned with justice, combating oppression, and protecting the weak. He takes the lead in making tough decisions (he’s the butcher army leader). He becomes more antagonist and villainous with his actions against technoblade, believing he’s in the right. (I didn’t want to just copy out what I said for dream so this is a shortened version)

KARL Torn between ENFP and ESFP but leaning toward ENFP. He’s time travelling because he believes it’s the right the to do which is more so Fi, but could be Fe wanting to help others at his personal cost. But also the Fi-Te pair keeps him going and he won’t stop until it’s fulfilled (which is pretty Te imo). He is creative and good with imagination and ideas (Ne) (at the masquerade, although it was a comical excuse, he came up with minecraft streamer quickly, he was also able to answer billiams questions pretty quickly).

Even though it’s now canon he doesn’t choose when and where he travels to, which would have been a stronger argument for a type seven, he’s still enthusiastic at the times he travels to. He’s optimistic (with the mentality everything will go right for him because he believes it has to, even though he’s loosing a lot of memories atm). He’s got childlike energy and curious eyes. He wants to bounce from one place to another, he created two towns already, although one technically no one knows about gogtopia except for the founders and tommy who travelled through it. He’s well like and popular, which is often a 7 trait. The type 7 is part of the “heart-based” triad, and we can see him act through this with the way he seeks excitement as a means to distract himself from the darker, and more painful things in life. He ignores his fears in favour of positive experiences. For a wing, probably a 7w6 in favour of 7w8, the same as tommy. He’s loyal and a strong leader over being tough and more career-driven. If he was to turn unhealthy in the future, we might see him loose his groundedness, and start to live in a perpetual fantasy instead of reality.

Sorry for any typos or bad grammar :]

#I posted this on some other account but deleted it and just decided to post it here :]#I’d like to do more in future bc I love mbti and enneagram but idk #Wilbur soot #tommyinnit #ghostbur #dreamwastaken #tubbo #quackity #Karl #dsmp #dsmpblr #dream smp #mcyt #mbti #enneagram

45 notes · View notes

avelera · 4 years

Text

Writer Traps: Telling one thing, Showing another

Sometimes as a writer you face a problem: your character needs to be someone who would credibly be in a position of power, or competent in a certain skill, or in a relationship with someone. But, for your story to advance, they need to fail.

For example, we’ve just been told by the narrative that our protagonist, a female starship captain, is the veteran of hundreds of battles, widely respected, and extremely good at her job.

Yet the first scene we’re given of her in a position of command is her ship getting blasted to pieces, people dying everywhere, and in a moment of stress as the world burns around her, she breaks down and starts crying while her subordinates beg her to tell them what to do.

Now, as the writer, this scene may seem necessary. You’ve just introduced a new alien bad guy who has better fire power than the good guys, who manages to blindside them in this attack, and you want to SHOW how advanced they are by having them utterly destroy the best in the fleet and overwhelm this amazing commander, perhaps setting up her tragic backstory and subsequent redemption arc. And, you may argue, it’s a legitimate emotional response in the face of overwhelming terror at this new threat for even hardened veterans to break down, it helps emphasize the stakes!

Except what you’ve shown has now undermined what you’ve told. This loses reader trust, which can be a deathblow to the chance that someone will read this story to the end and even get to the promised redemption arc.

If we’re told someone is a leader, but they can’t keep their head under fire and instead we’re shown them failing to give orders while in a state of panic, we have instead a lot of evidence that they’re not a very good leader.

If we’re told they’re a good fighter and they can’t win the first fight we see them in, it undermines our trust in the narrative.

If we’re told someone is good at their job but the first time they do it they fail we’re left wondering if they really are that good at it.

And if they have an emotional breakdown the first time we see them in crisis, we may have sympathy for them, but we don’t necessarily trust those in the narrative who said this person can handle a difficult situation.

(Note: This can also apply to relationships. If we are told two characters are wildly in love and in a relationship, but don’t see any chemistry between them, not tiny moments of affection BEFORE we are told this, it leads us to wonder why the heck we’re supposed to believe these people are together. (I’m looking at you, Nat and Bruce in Age of Ultron, #neverforgive #neverforget.))

Unfortunately, because of plot demands and pacing, it can be hard to recognize when the telling is undermining the showing. Also, if you’re writing a character far outside your personal experience (a military veteran when you’re not one, because you’re writing a very cool space opera which by necessity has some military characters in it) it can hard to identify which traits give away your lack of experience with the world you’re portraying. As said above, it may be sympathetic to have someone crack under pressure, but it may undermine the more important point at that this stage in the narrative of setting up their competence, which is required if you want to have a more impactful emotional breakdown later, after you’ve shown how capable this person is when they fail at a truly critical moment in the plot.

Two solutions for this are as follows:

1) Figure out which traits are truly important to the character, what do people really need to understand about them for your story to make sense. If it’s the example of the starship commander, it’s much more important that people understand that she’s a good officer who is unfairly blamed for a situation beyond her control than it is for us to see her in a moment of vulnerability to earn our sympathy at this early stage of the story. The breakdown can come later. In the moment of the attack, we need to see her do everything RIGHT, keep a cool head under fire, command her subordinates with competence, and lose to the bad guys only because of their overwhelming firepower. That way we feel the injustice of her being stripped of command and it becomes a true tragic backstory and redemption arc as she salvages her reputation. She can still have an emotional moment, but it needs to be in a setting where a strong person would realistically have that breakdown, maybe hours or days later when the danger has passed and she finally has a moment to process in private.

2) Show things work at least once before you break them. This applies to introducing new magic systems or technology as well. If something breaks the first time we see it, we don’t know how it was supposed to work, so we can’t determine when and if something has gone wrong. You can’t have the wizard fail the first time he casts the spell in a system we’ve never seen before, because we can’t anticipate the spell going wrong, so it doesn’t mean anything to us emotionally. We need to see Superman’s powers work before we introduce Kryptonite stealing his powers. If the first fight we see with Superman is him throwing one punch then having Kryptonite shoved in his face, we don’t really understand how his powers work before they’re taken.

Similarly, if a character is good at fighting, at least once we need to see them win a fight, spectacularly, before we see them lose. If they’re good at picking locks we need to see them crack a safe before they meet the big challenge of your plot that is the safe that can’t be cracked, otherwise we might just assume they’re a crappy safe cracker.

Evidence is important, evidence is what lets a reader trust that the story and the writer know what they’re talking about. It helps build anticipation as readers can make predictions based on that evidence of what will succeed and what will fail in your story. And, most importantly, it keeps your characters from coming across as a joke instead of the darlings or fiends you want your readers to know and love the way you do, if the skills or powers they have never seem to work because all they do is fail before they get the chance to succeed.

#writing #maggie rambles #example is totally made up but I've seen a fair number of similarly moments especially in film

139 notes · View notes

crystalelemental · 3 years

Text

Since @patchun brought up Hugh as a rival, here’s my personal take on each rival character in Pokemon, because I’m bored.

Blue - I actually do like the guy, and I think that overall he’s a solid rival. Story-wise, he’s one of the few that is always one step ahead of you, and clears the entire league before you. His team is solid, and he makes adjustments based on the starter Pokemon he picks. I also think he’s just kinda fun. He’ll make excuses about why he lost (”I picked the wrong Pokemon!”) and gives you shit as someone he considered less than him, but there’s still some level at which he’s like “Oh hey, you’re improving!” He’s a solid rival character.

Silver - I kinda feel like Silver isn’t really your rival, he’s just someone that shows up a lot that you have to deal with. Like it’s never entirely established that the two of you are competing, he just wants to kick your ass for funsies in all his earlier encounters, and only comes to respect you at all at the end of his entire quest. Which is cool! I actually like Silver a lot, I think he’s got a ton going on and is a pretty unique change from Blue. Blue was super invested in the League and being the best, while Silver’s also about being the best, but seems to have little interest in the League itself. His motives are outside of the League, and frankly outside of your own. He grows into the role of rival to the player more as a result of Lance’s comments to him and his own soul-searching. I think that’s great.

Brendan/May - And then there’s these two. I’m not entirely sure what the plan was behind these two. I’ve heard they shifted off of the antagonistic rivals because bullying was a problem, and that’s why every rival since has been your friend rather than an opponent, but these two aren’t even that really. They barely exist. As characters, they rarely show up and don’t really do a whole lot at any point, and as a rival trainer, they’re so bad they never fully evolve their starter. Brendan and May are, to me at least, the worst rivals in the series. If it was because they thought early rivals were too mean and toned it down, they did so without accounting for any alternative traits to make them interesting, but at least they started getting it right soon after.

Barry - I actually really like Barry. Initially, he was a bit annoying with the whole “I’m fining you!” gimmick, and being supremely absent-minded half the time, but he grows on you a lot. Kinda like Blue, Barry spends most of the game ahead of you, and is a pretty competent trainer. But instead of being aggressive in his rivalry, he is your friend and acknowledges how good you are. He never seems to even acknowledge his defeat to any extreme degree, he’s just having fun and doing his own journey while using you as a point of comparison, while still taking this really seriously, in part because his father is a renowned trainer that he wants to live up to. Which is solid. Also I gotta admit, the situation with the lake guardians was really cute, how Rowan recognizes him and gives him the tougher mission, how into it he gets, and then how hurt he is that he wasn’t able to protect Uxie. Barry just a sweet kid and a solid rival.

Cheren - Cheren is much like Barry, in that his focus is on battling at its core. Contrary to Barry though, Cheren is actively irritated that he can’t seem to beat you. He keeps pace with you, but I don’t think actually gets ahead of you at any point in the story. If anything, he’s interesting because he’s someone driven by the same journey to be a great trainer that you are, but is coming face to face with the realization that he’s not making the same gains, and may not be able to achieve that initial dream. He has to adapt, and ultimately settles into the Gym Leader role, and is a bit of a mentor in BW2, which is really cool. That’s really what makes the BW rivals so good, is that instead of just being another super good trainer who’s ahead of you all the time, they explore the idea of someone who wants to be the best but isn’t, and how he handles that. I like it a lot.

Bianca - Best rival, fight me. What makes Bianca interesting is that she’s kinda like Brendan and May, in that she’s not...really here to be a spectacular trainer. She is but she isn’t. She starts out on her journey to become a trainer, but isn’t super motivated by competition like Cheren. In fact, Bianca doesn’t really know what she wants to do at all. What makes her interesting is that change from being just another trainer to battle, to finding her own path in life that doesn’t involve the competition. It’s not what she wants to do, and I always really liked that. She eventually settles on being a professor’s assistant, and I think it’s great seeing her settle into a role that makes her happy. The series has always posited this idea that people exist with Pokemon in different ways, but this is honestly the first time we really get a rival who comes to engage with Pokemon and battling in a different way from the usual.

Hugh - I don’t like Hugh. I get the attempt with him, and appreciate it. A lot of Gen 5 centers around Team Plasma, and in this case, Hugh is a character who was directly impacted by their actions when they stole his sister’s Purrloin. He was a child and couldn’t do anything, so he’s grown up resentful of Team Plasma and determined to become strong enough to protect his sister and those he cares about. He’s along on your journey to improve, but never once does he seem all that invested in the League itself. He’s more invested in taking down Team Plasma and getting his sister’s Purrloin back, and all of that should come together into a really cool rival for this generation’s thematic narrative. His problem is really just that he talks. “You’re about to feel my rage!” Hugh, please. You’re embarrassing me in front of Zinzolin. I can’t say I hate Hugh, but I feel like he’s a character who just missed the mark they were aiming for, largely by being more of an edgy nuisance than an interesting character study.

Serena/Calem - I am only talking about these two because fuck the XY friend group. Honestly, they’re...pretty forgettable. Like I honestly can’t remember any significant personality traits from them at all. They’re like Brendan and May, only slightly better because they keep at it even if they’re constantly behind you. I think by biggest problem is how they never feel like they amount to much thematically. A big focus in XY is meant to be on scarcity. Mega Bracelts are rare, and not everyone can own one or utilize mega evolution. You battle them to get one, which by default means they don’t. And that sets up some interesting ideas, right? Like, how does that impact things? When there’s legitimate scarcity and not everyone can make use of this, are you willing to crush the dream of your childhood friend to make your own come true? Well actually it doesn’t matter because it’s never really brought up. The great tragedy of XY was lost potential, and the rival’s a big source of that.

Hau - Hau is...a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, SuMo. On the other, USUM. In SuMo, I like Hau a lot. He feels a lot like Barry, if Barry didn’t give a shit about competition. Hau is very laid back as a rival, and challenges you while attempting to keep pace, but ultimately exists to have fun and enjoy his journey. This is the trait that makes him and Gladion such fun counterparts. But then USUM rolls around, and makes up this whole subplot about how he’s not actually trying and that this is a betrayal of his Pokemon? And then it leads to this whole crisis where suddenly he’s super invested in competition and being the best, and ends up as your Champion battle? And it just doesn’t feel as interesting. If anything it feels like USUM’s eternal Gen 1 dick sucking coming back to reference your rival as the champion, rather than actually focusing on the character’s development.

Gladion - Okay, I really like Gladion. He’s a bit more like Silver than anything else, in that I don’t think he ever like...expresses wanting to be your rival? He just shows up and challenges you because fuck you in particular. But through interactions, and your eventual assistance with stopping his mother and breaking down those emotional walls, Gladion grows into someone who still wants to be a great trainer, but is no longer driven by the need to be the best to protect his sister and stop his mother. Rather, he just learns to enjoy competition for its own sake. And I really like that! I feel like he’s Silver, but refined to be a more interesting character.

Hop - Okay stop me if you’ve heard this one. Hop’s a rival who’s invested in the competition, and is largely driven by living up to a family member’s legacy. He’s generally friendly, but expresses intense dissatisfaction with his performance because he can’t beat you or Bede. He’s been competitive, but ultimately very laid back until a sudden realization that he needs to try harder and is suddenly super driven to become the best. His post-game arc is entirely about finding out that maybe he doesn’t want to be a trainer all that much, and finding his own calling, which is a professor’s assistant. That’s Barry, Cheren, Hau, and Bianca, in that order. I do not love Hop. I don’t hate him. There are definitely worse rivals with less going on. But Hop feels like an amalgamation of previous rivals rather than his own being. He goes from laid-back but invested in your rivalry, to super serious and determined to be the best, and ending on maybe not even wanting to be a trainer that much. It’s a weird shift in his journey that I don’t think meshes as well. He takes the parts of these previous rivals that made them interesting, but it turns out slapping them all together makes a character that’s less than the sum of its parts. However, I will give points for one thing I actually love about Hop: when he keeps losing, he completely changes up his team. That’s something no rival has done. Minor adjustments, like Blue dropping Raticate, have happened, but we’ve never seen a complete shuffle in who they lead with or what the team composition is. So I do think there’s merit to Hop, even if he’s not my favorite. It could be worse. It could be...

Marnie - A literal nothing. She does announce that you are her rival, so I guess I have to talk about her. She’s nothing. Like, I kinda have to give more points to her than Brandan/May solely because she does at least try, but she never really has anything going for her. Her brother is more compelling than she is, being a gym leader in charge of an area that is really struggling, and trying to showcase that Dynamaxing isn’t required to be a good trainer. Marnie...has none of that. At all. She just has the freedom to be a challenger for the Champion title, and the town is insistent on her winning to prove...something. I honestly do not understand the plan. It wouldn’t change that their territory has no ability to Dynamax, and unlike Piers, Marnie has no qualms about using Dynamax to win. She has no real convictions, and if memory serves only battles you twice. And she’s not exactly that good either time. I never once felt like Marnie mattered. People just liked her design and decided she was great, but she...she doesn’t do anything.

Bede - I’m hesitant to count Bede, but you battle him more often than you battle Marnie, and he does eventually consider you an obstacle to overcome so I’ll count him. Honestly, don’t like him that much, but he’s better than nothing. Bede’s interesting in that he’s kind of a rival that’s ahead of you? At least implicitly. I don’t think we get hard confirmation that he’s beaten any of the challenges before you, but a lot of his battles involve him being in a location before you got there. I do kinda like his arc, in that he’s a bit of an inverted Cheren? In the sense that his ultimate endpoint is as a Gym Leader, but not because he’s looking at things in terms of adjusting his goal due to always losing, but adjusting his goal because it turns out that’s just really what he wants to do. At first he hates it, and his final challenge to you is a means of saying he’ll quit forever if he can’t win, but ultimately he settles into an appreciation for being a Gym Leader, and I really like that. While I dislike him more on a personal level, I will say I think he’s a better rival than Hop. Has more going on for himself, anyway.

#pokemon

8 notes · View notes

forevercloudnine · 4 years

Text

new 52 scarebat ship meme

(I had @heroes-etc give me more questions, but for scarebat this time, since we talk about it 24/7 but I never post about it. These are from this ship meme.)

4. Their favorite physical feature on each other?

There’s only one feature of Bruce’s appearance that’s scarier when he’s not wearing the batsuit, and that’s his creepy blue eyes. Especially the way Greg Capullo draws them where they’re sickly pale and have ridiculously constricted pupils.

So his eyes would definitely be in the running for Jonathan’s favorite feature, even if seeing them would require Bruce’s mask to be off, which is something New 52 Scarecrow explicitly avoids. Yes, that character trait only exists to justify why Batman’s identity is still secret after Scarecrow mind controls and subsequently institutionalizes him in “Gothtopia,” but I think it’s interesting so I’m going to pretend it’s not shoe-horned in there for meta reasons.

Actually having to see Bruce without the cowl on would definitely permanently break the illusion of Batman as a nightmarish inhuman bat demon, which I’m sure is a large part of the appeal for anyone as obsessed with fear as Jonathan Crane. But Bruce’s creepy eyes would be a serious consolation prize.

Bruce’s favorite of Jonathan’s physical features is rough, because Jonathan is famously not great re: physical features. I’m going to say his mouth, because a) that’s where the snark comes from, and b) the New 52 establishes that in one of their earlier encounters, Jonathan had sewn his own mouth shut, so it’s one of those things where a bad first impression turned positive later on leads to more fondness than if you’d made a good impression in the first place.

I just looked up the panel where he does it and I DID forget how incredibly gross his lips look here, which makes the fact that I have chosen it as Bruce’s feature seem really funny in retrospect. But I do think that seeing Jonathan’s mouth healed and unmutilated would be a reassuring reminder of how he’s stabilized since their first encounter, at least to the point that he isn’t hurting himself anymore. Also, Bruce buys him a lot of chapstick.

Bonus alternate answer that did not make it into the Google Doc:

9. How open are they with their feelings?

Bruce and Jonathan are both pretty competent deceivers in the New 52; Bruce always, Jonathan depending on how the writer is feeling (though you could argue that Bruce just has a stronger grip on reality, while Jonathan’s skill at obfuscation varies with how lucid he is).

...I was going to use Detective Comics #23.3 as an example of Jonathan being a good liar, but actually upon re-reading I’m realizing that only 1/4 rogues buy his attempt at manipulation. So maybe he’s considerably worse at hiding his intentions than he thinks he is. Regardless, he doesn’t ever attempt to disguise his obsession with Batman.

Whether or not he’d express romantic feelings or try to hide them is debatable. There’s no Masters of Fear equivalent in the New 52 establishing that he was ever mocked or punished for expressing romantic feelings for someone, though there is a flashback panel in his origin emphasizing that he was always lonely in this regard (and coincidentally doesn’t specify that his interest is in women, which is fun).

In Green Lanterns #17 he has some internal monologue about how fear is his romance and he needs Batman to feel it, but it is an INTERNAL monologue, so it’s not clear if this is something he would express to Bruce or keep to himself. Or if he’s even fully processed it himself, given how incredibly out of it he is in this comic. Most of his spoken lines are just kind of screaming incoherently. Bruce gets pretty snippy with a Green Lantern at the end of the issue for suggesting that Jonathan should be punished for his crimes as if he were in control of his actions.

Bruce is a similarly complicated answer, since for all his deceptions and shadowy mystery he pretty much wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to romance. It’s just that his heart doesn’t express or process emotions the same way as anyone around him, which can create conflict. His (seriously underrated) love interest during Scarecrow’s origin arc, Natalya, spent most of her time dating him thinking that he didn’t care about her for this reason. He was trying to express that he loved her, but he mostly did so through complimenting her skills, which she never took as serious declarations of affection because he wasn’t being straightforward and she was insecure.

Jonathan does not himself seem like someone who would be especially secure in the idea of another person having romantic feelings towards him, so I assume that while Bruce might THINK he’s being open with any romantic feelings he develops, he would in reality just be really confusing.

13. How do they react to being away from each other?

I actually think that in general, Jonathan is one of the few people who would have no issue dealing with Bruce’s tendency to unexpectedly go AWOL for long periods of time, given that he himself has a tendency to fixate on his work to the exclusion of everything else.

But New 52 Jonathan specifically probably has pretty serious abandonment issues due to his father putting him in “the pit” and dying before he could take him out, meaning that Jonathan was waiting for his dad to come back for him for God knows how long, until Jonathan Sr.’s employers finally sent the police to investigate.

So while in general I think he wouldn’t be very clingy, any impression that Bruce had died or otherwise wasn’t coming back for him would probably be incredibly triggering. If Bruce could assuage this reaction by occasionally sending updates that at least indicated he was still alive, then I doubt Jonathan would have any problems with his absence.

(@heroes-etc: bruce sending like a checkmark emoji once a day. jonathan hears his phone ping, looks at the screen, and goes hm. good. and doesnt respond.)

Bruce meanwhile has no problem ditching literally any love interest at any time if something crime-related comes up, unless he’s considering quitting the cowl for them (as Joker probably accurately fears will happen with Catwoman in Prelude to the Wedding). But I don’t think he’d stop being Batman for Scarecrow, nor would Jonathan ever want him to — he’s interested in Batman, not necessarily Bruce Wayne.

But even though Bruce wouldn’t have an emotional problem with distance, I think he would get similarly paranoid if they went too long without contact, though for different reasons than Jonathan. Unlike some other villains (*cough* Joker and Riddler), Scarecrow has machinations that don’t require getting Batman’s attention, so if he decided to continue with his less legal experiments, he would not feel compelled to get Bruce involved. While the “World’s Greatest Detective” would probably not have an issue keeping an eye on Jonathan while he’s in Gotham, he’s considerably less capable of that in space. And Jonathan is definitely a rogue he would be obsessed with keeping an eye on, even if he reformed.

Batman & Robin Eternal established that Dick’s first supervillain conflict AND first mission leaving the country was chasing Scarecrow across the world for an entire summer, which is kind of insane considering how early it was in Batman’s career. Like, he did not have an army of children to watch Gotham for him while he was gone. He had one child, and he took that child WITH him. He left Gotham undefended for months, JUST to catch Scarecrow. Sooo that in of itself implies he wouldn’t be great at keeping his distance.

15. Does their view of themselves differ from their partner’s view?

Well, Jonathan occasionally sees Bruce as a giant bat demon, so yes.

Outside of that very obvious differing view, Jonathan in general sees himself and the rest of the rogue gallery as more vital to Batman’s identity than Bruce considers them; the extent to which he’s right varies depending on your interpretation of Bruce’s character, but it’s definitely not something Bruce would ever consciously think or say.

This is related to something that’s definitely a misconception of his, though, which is that the majority of Batman’s job revolves around supervillains like him. In Kings of Fear, when Jonathan blackmails Bruce into letting him come on patrol with him (which is a whole thing in of itself), he’s shocked at how boring most of Batman’s work is. Which probably goes along hand in hand with sometimes seeing Bruce as an almost mythologically inhuman figure.

In his defense, it’s not like he has a lot of context for what the minutiae of Batman’s job is like. He’s either fighting Batman, hiding from Batman, or imprisoned by Batman in Arkham, a place where everyone else also spends all their time fighting or hiding from Batman. Which would really skew your perspective.

Interestingly, Bruce and Jonathan are both people who pride themselves on being extremely self-aware. Both of them probably inaccurately. You can rant about how you have a perfect understanding of your troubled mental state all day long, but if you’re still dressing up like a monster at night to indulge the power fantasies you created as a traumatized child by scaring the hell out of people, there’s probably a level of self-realization you haven’t gotten to yet.

Bruce however is at least self-aware enough to regularly be able to analyze his way out of fear toxin induced hallucinations, which Jonathan is unable to do — when he’s not depicted as having become immune to his fear toxin due to overexposure (as he is in Green Lanterns #17), he can be defeated with the same formulas that Batman regularly manages to resist (like his honestly embarrassing breakdown in Nightwing #50).

Which ties into the difference between how he sees himself and how Bruce sees him: Jonathan obviously visualizes himself as a “master” of fear. He actually has the same internal monologue about fear and trauma that Bruce does in Batman: The Dark Knight #13: “Make it your own... run to what you fear... stare it in the eye... until it whimpers and backs down.” But Bruce doesn’t see Scarecrow as conquering his fear; he sees him as addicted to it, to the point of his own detriment.

Which is interesting, because Jonathan clearly sees his Scarecrow persona as a way to regain control after being victimized by his father’s fear experiments throughout his childhood. I guess Bruce’s perspective would be that Jonathan’s father instead got him addicted to fear as a child, so his attempts at agency as Scarecrow are just a) reliving his trauma over and over and b) compulsively inflicting his own trauma on others. There’s probably some truth to that, even if overall it’s probably an oversimplification (and coincidentally pretty much EXACTLY what Riddler argues Bruce is doing by “funding” Batman in Batman Annual #4, so there’s that).

20. Did either person change at all, to be with their partner?

The obvious answer here is yes, because Jonathan is a supervillain with no regard for human life while Bruce is a superhero who has dedicated his life to protecting people. So presumably one or both of them would have to make serious compromises to be together. HOWEVER. Scarecrow’s primary motivation is to research, understand and inflict fear, while Batman’s modus operandi is making his enemies afraid of him. So despite their contradiction in morals, they’re uniquely positioned to advance each other’s goals, were they to ever join forces.

Bruce never has a problem using fear toxin on Scarecrow, presumably partially out of an “eye for an eye” sense of poetic justice, but also because Batman is practical and it’s a nonlethal weapon that’s always available to him while fighting Scarecrow. If he could have fear toxin customized for his own use, it’s hard to imagine him being unwilling to use it. In Gothtopia he actually advocates for using what’s leftover from Crane’s new formula on all the inmates at Arkham, which seems about as insanely morally ambiguous as it gets. Arguably, putting fear toxin in his smoke bombs would be considerably less wrong than drugging mental patients out of their mind when they’re supposed to be receiving therapy (this is also the issue where he illegally releases Poison Ivy because she did him a favor, which is both morally questionable and relevant to the current topic).

Jonathan obviously already thinks Batman is the most interesting possible case study in fear; it’s why he keeps coming back to Bruce and Gotham despite being one of the more independent villains in Batman’s rogue gallery in the New 52. So though he would have to give up actively kidnapping people (which would be a huge sacrifice, I’m sure), teaming up with Bruce would give him unrestricted access to his favorite test subject. Unfortunately, it seems very possible that he would fall back to old tricks if he ever felt that he’d gotten everything he could out of a partnership with Bruce. Fortunately, that would probably take a VERY long time.

#scarebat #jonathan crane #scarecrow #bruce wayne #batman #ship meme #every day i think about the parallels between bruce and jonathan's childhoods that were set up by their new 52 origins #well. not every day #pretty goddamn regularly #i used to absolutely despise the new 52 scarecrow origin + characterization #but scarebat redeemed it for me

47 notes · View notes

dinosaurtsukki · 4 years

Text

haikyuu!! characters as their zodiac signs (pt. 5)

whooo last part! if there are specific characters you guys want a zodiac sign analysis of my inbox is open!

kuroo - scorpio

tsukki's #1 reason for needing to have feelings are these scorpios right here

while yamaguchi is soft baby boy scorpio kuroo is basically daddy scorpio

if you constantly wonder why seeing him makes your mouth water its because of his intense energy

he is SUPER persuasive. very few people would say no to him

calm, cool, and collected most of the time but get’s ticked off by people who know how to get under his skin

but this guy will hold grudges for years to the point that he vividly remembers how people wronged him

can probably read people like the palm of his hand

the kinds of people he's attracted to are the ones who are super direct and honest

also ones that kind of give him a challenge? if u know what i mean ;)

no one is clingier than he is. will literally whine and crawl into people's laps for attention

he doesn’t look like he cries a lot but he cries on the inside while ‘liability’ by lorde is playing

someone tell him to stop wearing black because it’s Too Much

in conclusion: i think at this point its pretty clear that i ship with tsukishima for legal reasons

kenma - libra

ohhh boy another libra

just thinking about libras makes me tired

but i find that in terms of personality he's pretty similar with tsukishima which is why i think they'd also be really great friends

kenma likes having things to fixate on and his mind is very active which is why he loves playing games so much

he prefers it when things have a formula or a pattern for him to follow so it would be easier for him to make decisions

he prefers not to rock the boat and let things be

at the same time he's a very sharp thinker and like our other libras, whatever he says he truly believes in

and since he's very logical and observant, others would believe in what he says

he's motivational in his own way

the kind of person who thinks off good comebacks after an argument is over

blows on game cartridges even though he knows he’s Not Supposed To

although he's more introverted, he's very talkative around people he likes

in conclusion: tsukishima and kenma have a groupchat where they roast tf out of kuroo

yakulev - (leo × scorpio)

angeri boi duo

both of them bicker constantly and since they have very strong personalities the bickering jus never ends

except for when either lev accidentally compliments yaku or when yaku gets lowkey attracted by how intense lev looks

lev is super fucking clingy and yaku will be a complete tsundere about how much he likes the attention

both of them are hella blunt and honest so no need to beat around the bush

yaku is hella competitive and will pick fights for the sake of picking fights

at the same time he's extremely tenacious and will stop at nothing to win

he's also very self-conscious of how others see him except for his height since lev mentions it constantly that at this point yaku doesnt give a fuck about it anymore

lev on the other hand is also very competitive but its more of the 'i wanna score a shit ton of points all by myself'

like he doesn't compete against a person directly but he likes achieving a lot of things on his own

unlike yaku, he could care less about what people think of him

both of them are pillow huggers and neither of them like to talk about That One Time they ended up cuddling each other in their sleep during a training camp

but kuroo has pictures of it on his phone

in conclusion: tbh fire and water sign couples are really intense and i want more yakulev hc's

bokuto - virgo

okay so my theory is that his moon sign or rising is sagittarius so his virgo-ness isn't as apparent

but some of those virgo traits do shine through

for example his moodines when he's not able to get his spikes through are because he's very conscious of how he performs

he loves being recognized for his achievements

at the same time he's either really proud of himself or questioning it

• thanks to some fire or water sign placements he's not an eMOtIonAlLy rEpReSsed virgo

he's very stubborn but also very clear-headed when it comes to his goals

because of that he's such a hard worker but he never forgets to have fun with it

its very hard for him to let go of things, whether they're promises or grudges

he tends to focus more on the positive things though

he has such a great memory and he'll bring up the smallest, most minor details which would surprise everyone but also make them feel touched

he loves going all out during his friends' birthdays

everyone wants to he his friend because they want a birthday surprise from bokuto

like yachi, he also has a lot of highlighters but that’s because he always borrows one but forgets to give it back so it kinda accumulated

he loves DIY-ing things but he’s not very good at them but still Very Proud

has made friendship bracelets for all of his teammates

in conclusion: validate him pls (akaashi)

akaashi - sagittarius

he's a v e r y t i r e d sagittarius

most of his energy is spent taking care of bokuto and being the Best Setter He Can Be

he doesn't hate it though because seeing bokuto happy about his spikes is one more point for their team

he doesn't really express but he's super competitive but in a very sneaky way

this boy is secretly very chaotic. like his braincell count goes down to one when he's alone

the kind of person who thinks pouring an energy drink into 6 shots of espresso is a good idea

its like groupthink but opposite because the bad decisions just come from him

once in a blue moon he'd agree with his friends' impulsive decisions for the sake of making memories

he really, really loves traveling, especially going to historical sites

takes the best selfies without even trying

pretty much good at everything. at one point kuroo said that akaashi couldn’t possibly be good at singing on top of everything else and akaashi straight up mariah carey-ed him

only has one highlighter and it barely works

probably the scariest person next to takeda-sensei when he gets angry

once snapped a pencil in two with his bare hand

in conclusion: idk keep him away from pencils ??

haikyuu!! characters as their zodiac signs series: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3, pt. 4, pt. 5

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu!! characters as their zodiac signs pt. 5 #kuroo tetsurou #kozume kenma #yaku morisuke #haiba lev #bokuto koutarou #akaashi keiji #scorpio!kuroo #libra!kenma #leo!yaku #scorpio!lev #virgo!bokuto #sagitarrius!akaashi

169 notes · View notes

clarste · 4 years

Note

Sorry if you've been asked this explicitly before, but what are your thoughts on Penguin Logistics, specifically in comparison to the other organisations/factions in Arknights? I recently started and managed to grab everyone within a few pulls, except Sora (and I guess Mostima, unfortunately.) and I think they're easily my favourites. Would love to hear your thoughts. Cheers.

No one's ever asked me that, but they probably should have since I've gone all-in on Penguin Logistics ever since I pulled Exusiai and Croissant early on. I then proceeded to never pull any of the others, forcing me to buy Texas and Sora in the shop and much later dump all of my accumulated gacha currency getting Mostima. Anyway, my goal in life is to use the entire team and also max them all out. PL4life!

Anyway, my initial impression of them was that they were the cast of a 90s anime like Cowboy Bebop or Bubblegum Crisis (...Tokyo 2040). Like, they're an eclectic band of hyper-competent misfits working for a small company operating at the edge of the law. “Penguin Logistics” itself sounds like a euphemism for being, like, smugglers or something. "We'll get your package where it needs to go, no questions asked." Then Code of Brawl came out and I was totally right except they are also very dumb in a funny way. Like, they accidentally got into a turf war with the mafia, but apparently that's just business as usual.

Anyway I want to talk about each of them individually now so apologies if this starts rambling.

Texas is pretty clearly the main character of Penguin Logistics, and you can tell because she's the hub of their whole relationship wheel on the in-game chart.

She's also kinda Spike from Cowboy Bebop, although less laid-back I guess. She's a former mafia assassin on the run from her past, but her past won't leave her alone. Incidentally, "mafia" in this case refers to the various wolf families from the fantasy Italy equivalent in this setting, although they make some interesting comparisons to wolf packs in the profiles. However, Texas's family is dead, which should make her a "lone wolf" that will supposedly never have another place to belong. Except PL itself is proof that that's wrong.

Theoretically she’s just the team’s driver, but because PL is always getting into ridiculous anime fights she’s also good at that part too, using dozens of little... lightsabers(?) that she throws around willy nilly. It would probably look super-cool to see in action, except this is not that kind of game so we’ll just have to wait for the anime or whatever. It’s noted in her profile that her fighting style shows that she unconsciously sees as the only purpose of a weapon as being to kill, and heck, she’s right.

She's cool-headed, adaptable, and the serious one you can always count on, but she's not above getting into friendly(?) brawls just to take out her frustrations out.

Her name comes from the extinct subspecies of Texas Wolf.

Next up is Exusiai, the angel who loves nothing more than guns, god, rock and roll, and apple pie. In that order. In other words, a stereotypical American. Even though she's from the fantasy-Vatican. Basically she's a cheerful, friendly, laid-back person who never really fit in back home where people are expected to be more serious and orderly. Not enough to be, like, shunned or anything but she's always been a weirdo. All angels have guns though, that’s like standard issue. She wishes she could have more though.

She's also super religious, but interestingly never brings it upon her own. I feel like she probably realizes how uncomfortable it can make people who don't share that religion to suddenly bring up Jesus all the time in casual conversation. Like, she's not ashamed of it or anything, but she won't shove it in your face either. Personally, I find that a pretty cool characterization for a fictional religious person.

Which is also sort of a hint that beneath her goofy exterior she's a thoughtful, deliberate person who doesn’t let anyone in by accident. Texas notes that they're exact opposites in this respect. She also has an extremely interesting relationship with the next person.

Her name comes from the Greek word for the order of angels in Christianity often translated as "Powers."

Mostima... where to start...? I guess first of all she’s a fallen angel, apparently because she pointed her gun at her own kind under MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. Probably related to the whole war in Kazdel thing, where many of the other MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES in this game took place. Long story short, stuff happened in the war, she pointed her gun at another angel, Exusiai’s sister is dead under mysterious circumstances, and Mostima gave up her gun and now wanders the world delivering long-distance packages for PL. But that’s mostly an excuse for to be alone as much as humanly possible. She can also use time magic because I dunno why not. MYSTERIOUS.

She’s friendly enough, talkative even, and has a hobby of visiting new places and trying out the local food, etc, but her real defining trait is that she just doesn’t need other people. She’s explicitly aromantic, saying she has no interest in love, but she also has no need for friends or family or apparently coworkers either. Because of the way the world is, she spends most of her time driving through the endless wastelands between cities, with nothing but a truck, some packages, and her thoughts. There’s something... romantic about that (in the other sense of the word), but even she admits that the romance of watching the sun set in a desert with no one else around for hundreds of kilometers gets old after a while.

I feel like I should note that she has a very “best friend of her big sister” relationship with Exusiai, by which I mean she’s known Exusiai since Exusiai was a kid and to her Exusiai will always be that kid. Also Exusiai only joined PL in the first place to hunt her down and get answers about her sister’s death, but Mostima just laughs it off and leaves town for another year or five.

Her name is probably a corruption of Mastema, a rather infamous fallen angel in mythology.

Croissant is... well, to be honest everyone past this point is more of a minor character. Which is actually a weird thing to say since none of these people are actually major characters in Arknights, but I guess these are less important people even within the group?

Croissant’s gimmick is that she’s always trying to make money by selling stuff. I guess she’s a merchant? But not, like, a formal one who runs a shop, she just gets her hands on stuff through her connections and sells it. But in like, a friendly down-to-earth way, it’s even said that she lives paycheck to paycheck. She’s a girl trying to get by with a second job, I guess is what I’m saying.

Team-wise, she’s the muscle of the group, being a minotaur and all. She lifts the heavy packages and also smashes things with her MAGNETIC HAMMER which I don’t know why I find that name so amusing. Gameplay-wise her special move can knock all the enemies around her halfway across the map and I smile every time she does it.

Her profile notes that she’s really just living her best life as a normal-ish person, and that helps make everyone around her feel normal, and that’s important in a setting where half the people around you are dying of magical cancer (no one in PL is Infected though).

Her name comes from the French word for Crescent and also a type of Pastry. Leaning more towards Pastries in my opinion.

Sora is an idol singer. Because, to be perfectly honest, what ragtag band of misfits is complete without an idol singer? She can’t really fight, but I guess Texas must have saved her life at some point or something because she bullied both her agency and PL into letting her work there part time. And also she is obsessed with Texas. I guess saying it like that makes her sound kind of annoying, but she really isn’t, she’s just an earnest girl chasing her dreams.

There’s also this interesting thing where a lot of her basic information is censored by her agency in order to protect her privacy (”do not dox the idol”). Even including her race. She presents as a wolf, but her promoted E2 art has her as a rabbit, which raises some interesting questions that don’t really get answered.

Her name comes from the Japanese word for Sky.

Lappland is not really part of PL, but she’s PL-adjacent enough to be worth mentioning here. Basically she’s an old acquaintance of Texas from back in their mafia days, and she’s obsessed with hunting her down and... fighting her? Killing her? But in, like, a sexual way? She’s kind of a crazy psychopathic killer. Maybe. She can also be very calm and polite when she wants to be, although with a taste for gallows humor. That just makes her scarier because you don’t know when/if she’ll snap.

There are two kind-of explanations for her being like that: A) her family is dead and she has no “pack”. As a wolf, the stress of living without a pack is supposed to be maddening. B) She’s infected with Oripathy (magic cancer) and there are crystals growing in her nervous system. Which... can’t be good. The answer is probably a combination of both.

But the most important thing about Lappland is her base skill and how it interacts with Texas. Basically, in your base there are various jobs you can assign people to and different characters get different bonuses for them. Most people in Penguin Logistics get bonuses for working the Trading Depot, for obvious reasons. Lappland gets a “bonus” where if she’s in the depot at the same time as Texas, she loses morale slower but doesn’t actually get any bonus to productivity. Meanwhile, Texas gets a bonus to productivity when Lappland is around, but loses morale way faster. In other words, Lappland is slacking off and making Texas so uncomfortable that she works twice as hard just to get the job over with so she can leave. This is their relationship as defined by game mechanics.

Texas also has another bonus where she loses morale slower if Exusiai is there, which completely cancels out the penalty she gets from Lappland. In other worlds, Exusiai being there too calms her nerves enough that she doesn’t feel the need to immediately escape.

Oh yeah, I forgot to talk about Emperor, who’s the owner of Penguin Logistics. He’s a world-famous rapper wearing a Tupac shirt and also literally immortal.

#not touhou #arknights #penguin logistics

91 notes · View notes

bbelphie · 5 years

Note

AGGHHH! That Barbatos he was great!!! Since we’re on the topic of side characters we obviously want to date, would you be willing to do more hc of Barbatos, Diavolo, and Solomon? NSFW or SFW?

both? both.

it looks like i went a little too much on about diavolo’s hcs, didn’t i? jehdjdj that’s because i wanted to talk more about him, he has so much i want to discuss (solomon too, he has suspicious™️ vibes)....... but let’s keep it short while my creativity still lasts for my others precious boys.

barbatos

like i said before, barbatos will remember the little things you tell about yourself like no other. every time he does something for you in base of the small information that you don’t even recall saying to him, it warms your heart and you can’t help but smile, making him proud of himself for a trait he didn’t really minded before. so it’s like a self esteem boost for him he didn’t even know he needed.

he’s very dedicated to to your relationship. he knows he can’t be around all the time but that makes your time together even more special. that’s why he doesn’t deny displays of affection in public, although likes it better when you’re in a secluded place, when the touches linger on his skin for more time.

he’s all in for cuddles with you. it may take a while to get him comfortable with it but he warms up soon, nevertheless.

[NSFW] good job kisses are a thing with you two. they’re soft and quick, leaving a trail of longing after you’re apart. when barbatos spends his rare days off with you, these kisses take an unexpected turn, becoming breathtaking and making you unable to open your eyes for a few moment afterwards.

it leads to a makeout session that releases all the stress of not being intimate with each other for so long.

make note that barbatos misses you greatly, so he can’t help but imagine about it and when the times comes, he takes his duty of pleasuring you very seriously. however, being a teasing bastard it’s a part of his personality, only brought to the world to the people he’s close with. that being said, keep in mind that you’re in for a long night.

precise touches and observant glances. he will be storing in his memory every corner of your body for better exploration. soon enough, he becomes an expert in making you see stars as a punishment for making him feel like he does about you.

he prepares you for him so you don’t get hurt. yeah, his teasing may be endless but it’s for a reason, the only thing he’s not is careless. your well being is a priority and he handles it well.

diavolo

you all know he’s the next in line for the throne of the devildom, and that’s for a reason. not only because of his father, but the power diavolo can radiates that makes people kneel for him.

a less metaphorical way of saying this is that he’s a powerful and influential demon. almost an idealist, he has his ways on how to make things work to acquire peace between the realms. the student exchange program was one of them, and he’ll destroy everything that comes his way as a obstacle to that. (sobs about the last chapter,,,)

however, diavolo has a heart with good intentions. he loves and expects the best of everyone in the devildom, including you. he just didn’t expect to feel so strongly about you in a short period of time.

he doesn’t consider it as romantic love at first, but knows you’ve gotten a special place in his heart. it’s when his thoughts always lead to your smiling face that makes him seriously think about it. why is he thinking about you so much? it couldn’t be really love. is it?

before he decides to confess to you, he analyzes his situation: the next demon king, busy trying to mend the bond between the realms, there’s still the ones against him, considering diavolo an enemy, and many others issues. he starts hesitating, but every doubt goes away the moment you say his name. diavolo quickly tells you about his feelings, before having second thoughts about how you’ll be reacting to it.

a competent and reliable lover, diavolo listens to your troubles and tries to be always there for you. doesn’t shy away from being affectionate, he loves feeling you close to him. your happiness is one of his main concerns, it’s safe to say he’ll treat you like a king/queen. (well, you kinda are....)

respects your wishes, and is always putting you first, even in the bedroom. knows he’s strong and enormous, so is very careful about how to touch you. kisses also are meaningful to him, and his heart beats happily everytime he gives you one, being it soft or rough.

[NSFW] has a LOT of self restraint, and treats you like you’re a fragile porcelain doll. that mostly is because he’s aware of your human mortality and doesn’t want to hurt you in any way. so a better term for sex with him is lovemaking for it’s slow and sensual. if he ever increases his pace is because the pleasure is too much and he needs to achieve his release fast.

moments like those will leave you sore next morning. it’s not his purpose for doing so — in fact he feels guilty and will definitely pamper you for the rest of the day — diavolo just can’t help but gradually lets himself lose some control he has, pounding deep into you while he’s overtaken by his instincts. nevertheless, he express his love for you in any way he can as long as you’re comfortable with him.

solomon

now this one is another tease. ever since you met solomon he never faltered on making you flustered. even if you don’t get along at first, you end up hanging out together since you are the only humans in the devildom.

are prank dates a thing? because you had that even before developing feelings for each other. friendship with solomon is so chaotic, he has a way of bringing you with him to mess with someone, normally luke.

also damn have you seen solomon’s cape? it’s fucking beautiful. and he lends it to you whenever you’re cold. things like this makes it looks like you’re a couple in everyone else’s eyes. which you disagree firmly, while solomon’s enjoying watching you stumble upon your words denying it.

when you get mad at him for not helping you clear the misunderstanding, he just says he doesn’t cares. but maybe he does. maybe, he actually likes this idea. so, after some thinking, he invites you on a date. (but you wouldn’t know it’s a date.)

the moment someone calls out on how cute you two are together, solomon instantly agrees with them before letting you speak anything. then, he proceeds to tell this person about every little thing he adores about you, while his arm goes resting on your waist.

when you ask about how he acted afterwards, he will smile softly and just say that he was telling them the truth. he loves everything about you, even the things you don’t like about yourself. this begins to look like he’s admitting his love for you, and solomon doesn’t mind a bit.

after that, your relationship isn’t much different from the time you were friends, but know there’s more touching and teasing. you do so much more things together, you name it — going out on dates, teaching you magic spells, tickle fights, eating together and the list continues going.

he likes giving you forehead kisses. he shamelessly implied it’s a good luck charm. truth be told, he just likes kissing you. your forehead, top of your head, your cheek, the tip of your nose, your neck, and his favorite: your lips.

[NSFW] as i said before, he’s a tease, but also adores when you tease him back. it becomes kind of a competition of making each other horny and the one who gives up resisting loses. and it’s really hard to make him lose. even if you or him loses, the competition stops mattering after you kiss. so much raw emotion is built up during the day and released at night, or even on the late afternoon if one of you gets impatient. nevertheless, nights likes these are the cause of sore legs and bruised lips in the next morning.

if you don’t think he wouldn’t elaborate your private times with magic, you’re extremely w r o n g. motion binding spells, aphrodisiac spells, spells that restore your stamina and many others. it’s always a surprise when solomon makes sex with you. of course he only tries them with your consent but it doesn’t get less thrilling.

enjoys overstimulation on you. maybe is asmo’s influence, but knows sensitiveness makes the pleasure 100% stronger. so there’ll be eating you out and fingering you for some time before he finally enters his length inside you. that’s you don’t need to worry too much about the wait, he makes sure to be all worth it.

#obey me #obey me!#obey me headcanons #obey me! headcanons #lensfw #obey me barbatos #obey me! barbatos #obey me solomon #obey me! solomon #obey me diavolo #obey me! diavolo #swd obey me #obey me shall we date #mod astra #shall we date

315 notes · View notes

alvaar-aldaviir · 4 years

Text

A TANGENT ON DEVELOPING YOUR OC CHARACTERS AND KEEPING THEM CONSISTENT

(Because I am very passionate about it.)

Prompted from a recent ask, I ended up doing a “quick” and dirty ramble about how I develop my OC characters, and what I do to keep them consistent. Just in case anyone was curious!

Naturally, everyone has their own methods and processes. Explore many and find what works best for you! It never hurts to give other methods a look and use parts of many to develop your own way of doing things.

For me personally, working towards keeping my original character IN CHARACTER is something I work towards across three main points:

Speaking from knowledge/experience

Giving the character room to “breathe” and practicing it

Don’t go contradicting past actions (without good cause)

Most every good character resonates with parts of their author.

When writing, you’re going to write best from what you know, so it’s very normal to settle into that ‘default state’ where you speak as yourself. That is why it is so very important to go out and get personal experience in many things! Writing extreme sorrow or exuberance comes out most genuine when you write from what you know, weaving in those small personal details (like that painful catch of breath when you sob that is distinct from crying for instance.) Every character you write will have a bit of you in them, and they should! It’s what makes them feel genuine and inspired.

To move more easily beyond traits you know and into the unknown, find and consider other character types and personalities in shows, books, or games (I love games most for this as they’re interactive.) The further you push your experience and knowledge of stories and characters, the more variety of viewpoints and voices you have to draw from. This makes it easier to consider voices different from your own, and be able to write them believably.

But that’s what leads into the very important second point!

Letting the character have their own “voice” and exercising it.

Personally, I am very loose form about how I create my characters. By that I mean I maybe have a few details, and I let the character sort of explore and pick out their own personality and choices. I do a lot of “snippits” as I call them, small little blurbs of dialogue or scenes that come to mind as I invest into a character. These help to gradually hone down and get an idea of who my character is, and what their quirks are.

For instance, all I had for Alvaar at the start of his journey in FF14 was he was an archer, an Elezen, and a rough base from my own previous OC character: competent, loyal, and a heavy dose of sass with a feathering of flamboyance. From there as I am introduced to ideas and scenarios, I would think about how Alvaar would respond to that situation. What he would say, how he would act, etc. This starts to build a reflex and a “thought library” if you will, of instances I can point back to that help to guide his character.

As I continued with him, I began to fill in details of his background. Why was he the way he is? What traits did he have and how might those have happened? For instance, the idea of an archer just picking up a harp they’d never played before and playing something for the Bard mentor in ff14 seemed unrealistic. So Alvaar would probably have to be familiar with a harp right? That’s a lot of time and practice, so music was likely part of his life for a long time. I had already decided he had anger management issues as one of his personal hurdles he had struggled with, so I considered that music therapy and learning to express his emotions in song instead of aggression might be a good way of him learning to handle his anger problems, tying multiple things on his character in together. That’s why he can speak so earnestly about feelings, and why the path of a Bard comes so naturally and passionately to him.

Think about and test ideas for practice with your character to help you get to know them better!

Pondering and testing possibilities and letting your character speak out and follow their own logical choices let’s them grow organically, and for me, it becomes so inherent to the character that it helps to keep them consistent in voice even if they deviate radically from my own personality. Keep all those small ideas and blurbs. You don’t have to use all of them, but many times you’ll have a good diamond in there you can pull out and delve into more.

You can find character scenarios/prompts and questions online. Consider doing some of them to really test the voice of your character! Every little thought or dialogue strand helps to further chip into who your character is, even if its just an example you decide isn’t them at all! You don’t necessarily need to write them all down or do every single one, but just give it a look and answering even just a few helps to exercise that reflex you want to build.

This is something that may be a bit foreign and weird at first, but trust me, practicing your characters voice eventually gets very easy. And then one day you’re writing along and they surprise you with their own passionate outbursts and actions in a scene, and it becomes your favorite!

Most anything is fair game, as long as you avoid contradictions!

As I was saying to a friend of mine recently, what often is most important to a character feeling consistent is that their current action doesn’t contradict their past actions WITHOUT GOOD REASON. One of the biggest things people tend to get upset about in long running TV shows are when a character they are familiar with does something completely contradictory to all their past behavior out of the blue.

Read back over your previous works, your snippits, your off the wall dialogue cuts when you’re wanting to get a feel for your character again. Learn to love them. You should know them well and keep them in mind. Never be afraid to pause in the midst of writing something and go back to another work or earlier in the story and look at a similar situation so you can take cues for consistency.

No one has read my work more than I have. I often pause and read back over several pages to make sure things flow well. This naturally gets much better with practice, but you’ll often always be wanting to go back and make sure. Tweaking this or that as you go

Take out what might not fit, or if you’re really interested in the scene going that way, perhaps consider why they might say something so seemingly out of character in this particular instance? Is there an unwritten detail from their past that might be a juicy new idea to have and run with? That’s an opportunity for plot and character development so if you want to use it, be sure to have it make sense and feel appropriate.

You don’t have to put EVERYTHING under a microscope, humans are by nature not perfectly consistent, but for the big decisions, those major moments, be sure to check if it makes sense.

And that’s my not so short dive into how I work and develop my characters! It’s by no means a professional method, but it is what works for me and how I developed Alvaar Aldaviir into the very solid character he is. I hope it may prove helpful to you in some form, even if its just finding what DOESN’T work for you!

Best of luck, and happy writing!

#Mun speaks #ffxiv fanfic #ff14 fanfic #ramblings of a very tired bard #writing advice #oc #original character #how to write ocs

38 notes · View notes

cookiedoughmeagain · 4 years

Text

Haven DVD Commentaries: 5.06 - The Old Switcheroo II

Commentary with Adam Copeland (who play Dwight) and Adam Higgs (writer on Haven though not for this episode).

Adam Copeland: Ah, beautiful Lunenberg. And I think that’s Chester. Adam Higgs: So when was this, I think this was one of the earlier episodes. We did 26 episodes last year, so we started in … July? AC: No, we started in April. AH: Right, so this would be …? AC: June? AH: Yeah June maybe, because this was the third block. AC: I remember it was starting to get warm by this point. AH: Because it was snowing when you guys were there. AC: Yeah. And it ended and it was snowing again. AH: It book ended everything. AC: Here’s how I related to it is, it was in the hockey play offs when we got out there and then it was back in the hockey season by the time we were leaving. And that’s when I know it’s been a long time. AH: That’s a while.

[As body swapped Nathan and Duke are talking on the balcony outside Audrey’s apartment] AH: Gotta love this. This is one of my favourite scenes. Any time you’ve got the characters together. We were watching the dailies of these and laughing. And some of the stuff they were saying to each other; Lucas and Eric behind the scenes was fun too. Like, ‘What was that you were doing?’ / ‘You do that thing.’ / ‘I don’t do that!’ AC: Yeah. ‘I don’t do that?!’ / ‘No, you do do that.’ And it’s interesting too just to be taking on someone’s traits or their character’s traits in front of them because, as you say, they might not even know that they do it. AH: So true. And I think there were some times where it was either Lucas or Eric did something and then, they just couldn’t continue the scene - someone broke into laughter. It was so much fun. We’d put these on at the end of the day in the writers’ room through the course of the whole episode because we were just having so much fun watching this stuff. AC: It was fun to perform. It was a lot of fun, and to watch everyone else do their portrayal of the other. *Both descend into laughter for the rest of the scene* AC: Look at them walk. AH: Our teasers are usually fraught with peril, and people dying … AC: Yeah, and that ended with a double strut. AH: Fantastic stuff. It really sets the tone. It’s like you were saying in the last commentary, even though things are tense (and we get very tense by the end of this episode), there’s still time for humour and fun and comedy. AC: Well, any story there has to be those dips and moods or swells, and I think this is a swell of fun before you go down the wave.

[As Vince and Dave are outside the house in Manteo] AH: And here’s a nice scene where it’s funny that they’re in different bodies and everything, but at the same time this is some heavy mythology that we’re dropping in about the whole origins of the Teagues. AC: Yeah and scenes where there’s so much information to divulge can sometimes be an interesting challenge, because you want it to be interesting without just being all info, info, info. And I’m sure is a challenge as a writer as well. How do we make that something that people will listen to but it’s also interesting and not overwhelming. AH: Yeah, it’s a line we straddle. Where we don’t want to be expository but we want everyone to be able to follow what we’re saying. At the same time you’re trying to punch it up. So just like you said, it’s not just ‘this is everything we need to say in the scene’ but trying to keep it entertaining, get the point across, but at the same time - because I always feel bad because sometimes, you’ll be in a scene and it’s like, ‘This sucks because in the original version of the scene we wrote, Dwight had a bunch of jokes but then the script comes in we have to cut pages down and all of a sudden all of those cool lines are gone, and you’re basically just saying exposition. We really really try not to do that because we want everybody to have something from character to do in a scene. But yeah it’s difficult. And on a show; on a genre show, on a detective show, there’s always scenes where you have to get that stuff in. AC: Yeah, where there has to be the information. And it needs to be put out there in order for everyone to follow. But it’s also a good challenge too, because you have to figure out a way to get all of that information across and still make it fun. AH: Yeah. You guys do a great job of it, and that’s the thing on every show that I’ve worked on there’s always different actors that you go, ‘OK well we’ll give this to them because they’ll be able to sell it for sure.’ We don’t want to do it, but it is sometimes necessary. And we would in some scenes be like, ‘Adam’s got this, we’ll just have to give it to Adam.’ AC: *laughs* Well cool. This was an interesting scene too [Duke in Nathan’s body talking to Dwight in Gloria’s, in the station] because this was one of the first instances where their other characters aren’t there in the room. So this is actually Dwight and Duke [Lucas and Jayne on screen]. AH: It’s so funny when you say that. Because how weird is that. AC: And I think that was the first instance of that. AH: Yes. AC: Because what’s also interesting about that too is, from Gloria’s perspective, or Jayne’s perspective; what it Dwight’s interaction with Duke? They kind of don’t get along. So you have to know the thread of each … AH: Yeah it’s that continuity you were talking about in the last commentary where just trying to remember where you were in the previous episode, where are you now. Because we turn it on a dime a lot of times where it’s like all of a sudden you guys were friends, now you’re enemies, now you’re keeping something from someone. AC: Well, I would have said that Dwight and Duke were the alpha who were much more alike than either one wanted to admit. So they would always butt heads because of that but at the same time, what they both want is the same thing, they just go about it in different ways. AH: Very different ways. AC: Whereas Nathan and Dwight I think would be buddies. They would go about for a beer together. AH: Yes, they would be friends. They would hang out together in their spare times. AC: And eventually, or at times, Dwight and Duke would. AH: Yes. AC: But then at other times they would get in a fight at the bar. AH: And we vacillate back and forth between these extremes. AC: Yeah, which always made it fun too, because that relationship was always so tumultuous. But back to the point of Jayne having to remember what is the relationship. And for Lucas having to remember; Duke and Dwight don’t always see eye to eye. AH: Did Jayne come to you and ask about that? Or did you go to Jayne at all? AC: Well it was interesting, the first scene we had as each other’s characters was outside in front of the Freddy with Nathan. And we were bumping up against it, like ‘We’re not really getting it right yet are we?’ And it took a few takes to go, ‘OK there it is.’ And so Jayne would say, ‘How would Dwight say this?’ And I’d say, ‘Well he’d drop the g. It’d be cuttin’ not cutting.’ And that’s just how, that’s Dwight speak. AH: Oh! That’s excellent! Those little titbits are always neat. It’s such a family on set, it’s great that you guys are comfortable to do that. No one’s trying to take from anyone else. You guys all talk to each other. You know, you hear those stories of actors who don’t talk to each other on set or can’t be in the same scene with another actor. AC: Yeah. It was a great … pot to be able to grow out of. Because we were all, um … watering each other. Hmmm how about that analogy?

[As we see Vince and Dave talking to Allison Doohan] AH: I think Richard and John have known each other for decades. AC: Yeah, both Nova Scotia. Both well entrenched in the scene out there. They worked together on Trailer Park Boys too. So they’ve definitely crossed paths, and to watch their relationship grow on screen having worked with each other more than they probably ever had before. AH: Yeah because I think they used to compete for the same roles. And so now they get to brothers was kind of nice. AC: Yeah and so completely opposite. But both with great comedic timing. Richard can just make something so powerful and dramatic. And John can bring levity to anything. AH: On a dime too. And that’s the nice thing you have, as writers we look at, when you have them in a scene together, you’re able to do both things. AC: Yeah, drop a huge bomb… AH: And then woah, there’s a funny bit. AC: Or a funny bit ... AH: And then such emotional AC: And then Bam! AH: And we’ll get to it actually in this episode there’s a couple of scenes between the two of them where it goes from that levity moment to an incredibly serious, moving heartfelt emotional scene. And those are fun. Having that range and being able to do that. AC: Yeah even just that little look that John just gave there - just the little things that come with experience. I mean they’ve been doing this for so long. AH: And I love that as a writer being able to watch, and the same thing this whole episode with you and Jayne. Like Brian Millikin who was here for the last commentary said; the script is a blueprint and we put a bunch of stuff in there but it’s like building a house. You don’t specify what the colours of the walls are. So being able to see those touches, those things that you can’t really imagine is always fun. And this episode was great for that, just all these little asides and ad libs, nice extra layers of character and stuff that everybody put in there. AC: Well it’s interesting when you put it that way. It’s kind of like, the sketch is there but then it has to be painted in. And as you said, what colour? AH: Yeah, it’s up to you guys, what you want to bring to it. AC: So that’s actually a very interesting way to put it. Well done. AH: Well thank you.

[On screen we see Emily and Eric talking to the nurse outside the Freddy] AH: And this is where we were getting deep. And I remember we were going through this script and we were like, ‘OK. So in this scene, we’ve got Nathan *in Duke’s body* with Mara *pretending to be Audrey* but at the same time Nathan *who is still in Duke’s body* is pretending that he doesn’t know that it’s actually Mara. AC: Yeah, there was a lot to keep track of. And then especially, as I’ve said before, shooting out of continuity. There’s mental gymnastics. AH: And this was more so than for any other season of this show because we were block shooting two episodes at a time. So 505 and 506 are together. So it’s not unrealistic for a day to involve the first scene of episode 505 and then the next scene you’re shooting is the last scene of 506. And you haven’t had that journey but you’ve got to be in a different place completely. AC: Yes, and you have to know what that thread is. And then you could hop back to the 10th scene of 505 and then back to the 24th scene of 506. So it’s … but that’s part of the job, of always being aware of where you came from and also where you’re going too. AH: It’s amazing. Because I don’t think a lot of people at home really know that’s how television is made, is shot out of order. And they’ll be times even when you’re shooting a scene (and this probably happened more this season than any other season) from an earlier episode that we had to hold for a stunt unit or something. And you’d be shooting 9 or 10 episodes down the line and then you’d have to come back and catch it up again. And so it’s like ‘woah I hate this character now’ or ‘I love this character now and I have to go back to that mental place to pull this off’. AC: Yeah. Or a second unit shooting that day and they’re shooting episode 502 and you’re on 515. AH: Yeah. It’s amazing. You guys did a fantastic job with that particular obstacle too. Big credit to you guys. AC: What’s interesting too, and again props to Emily, is that she had to do this tap dance the entire season, and even last season too, of really being aware of all of that and making each character different while also appearing the same. You know there’s subtle differences like the hair and things like that, but it’s still the same face. AH: Yeah, big credit to her. And we were talking about this on another commentary, just even on the table readings where she would sometimes do both sides of a conversation live, and she’s switching character and the voice changes. The writing room is here in LA but everything is shot in Halifax and Chester in Nova Scotia Canada, and we’d look around the table here and we’d be like ‘Is somebody else reading Mara?’ But no, it was Emily. AC: Yeah, she’d drop her voice, everything, even her body language.

[Mara has just been locked in the room in the Freddy with Nathan in Duke’s body] AH: Here we go, very tense. AC: Yes, and that is so un-Audrey. This whole scene; the intensity - fogging up the glass because she’s yelling so intensely. Not Audrey at all. There were times actually during scenes where I’d go ‘Maudrey. Ahh I mean Mara. I mean Audrey.” AH: We had actually talked for this episode specifically about some of the difficulties of, would the audience be able to realise who was who at all times. And we played briefly - very, very briefly - with the idea of a popup on screen to say ‘This is actually Nathan’ or ‘This is actually Duke’. And thankfully we didn’t actually do that but we were just talking about the difficulty of it. AH: Some smart thinking here on Mara’s part. AC: Yep. She’s evil, but she’s smart. AH: And again turning on a dime for Emily here, where she was in panic mode and now she’s serious. Now she’s armed.

[At the train station] AC: This was an interesting scene with Andrew here who played Jeffrey Doohan. When he dove off here, he was legitimately diving into me the first few takes. And really fighting me here, because he wanted it to be realistic. But I was having to fight him so hard that the dialogue would come and it was my dialogue and it was like … ah trying to ... AH: You’re trying to control that. AC: I’m trying to control the fish out of water here. So it finally got to the point where he was saying, ‘I’m trying to be desperate, he’s finally out.’ And I was like, ‘Well, we can *act* that, or I can legitimately pick you up and slam you on the ground, so which would you prefer?’ AH: I know the correct answer to that question by the way. If Adam Copeland ever asks you that question - there is a right answer. AC: And the entire crew started laughing. And poor Andrew. But at this point I didn’t really know him and I was just ‘Dude you’re making this way more difficult than it needs to be. So let’s work together, or we don’t have to.’ And from that point forward he was very easy to work with and a great guy. AH: And it worked out! AC: It did. AH: But that was again very interesting when we were writing it and we realised that you had switched [Adam is playing Gloria at this point]. I remember that lightbulb went off in the room where we were like ‘What happens when someone fires a bullet? How does that work for Dwight, for the first time - he’s so used to bullets coming towards him and now he’s in someone else’s body, and poor Gloria isn’t used to being shot. AC: And as I said in the last commentary, does Gloria know how to use Dwight’s body, or would she be a little bit awkward? And she can stop Jeffrey just because of the physical nature of the body she’s in, but does she know how to really use it? So that’s why it would have been interesting to get into an actual fight scenario just to see, what would happen? AH: Yeah to see what would happen if there were punches thrown. AC: Would they be good punches? Or would they be these awkward … AH: … awkward slaps? AC: Yeah, who knows? But that would have been a really interesting subject to tackle. AH: We did have it in an earlier draft. I just remember we had to cut some stuff for time and that was sadly one of them. I remember there was a good chunk of the room that was like, ‘We’ve got to have a fight’. I remember also at one point we wanted Jayne Eastwood to take down a guy. It was going to be, in our minds, Gloria in Dwight’s body having difficulty trying to stop somebody and then Dwight in Gloria’s body tackles him or something, shoves him to the ground. AC: Well and going off of everyone else’s, you know because Duke in Nathan’s body moved like Duke, and vice versa. So by that rationale if you’re trying to keep continuity for all of the characters then Dwight wouldn’t know how to use that body. AH: Dwight would have no clue. And so you’d have Gloria having to be the bad ass, kicking down doors. It would have been so much fun. AC: Yeah but then not having the physical strength to do it; knowing how but then not being able to. Knowing how to throw a punch but it having no effect.

[As Vince and Dave talk to Skip/Jeffrey outside the house in Manteo] AC: This is a nice scene to be able to talk about the wardrobe. AH: I was thinking that too. AC: And really just how well dressed everyone is. And makeup and all the departments, everyone just firing on all cylinders, especially by this point. It’s a great looking show. AH: It’s one of the compliments I can give is I was really upset being down here in LA when the set sale was on. And I was, ‘Ah! I can’t get any of that wardrobe.” AC: Yeah, and even just all the lighting; Eric Cayla our DP … AH: Oh yeah, beautiful shots here.

[As Skip/Jeffrey is talking to Vince and Dave] AH: Now if you go back to episode 505 you’ll notice that Skip has gloves on, leather gloves. In this scene he takes them off to try and use his Trouble. And when he first meets the Teagues brothers he is wearing gardening gloves - just a tiny cute little thing we put in there.

[As Vince in Dave’s body is getting pulled into the thinny] AH: Great work by the visual effects team here. AC: Yeah, it’s always interesting to see the finished result because so many times you’re acting to a green screen, or just a wall.

[As Duke and Nathan walk into Dwight’s office] AC: It’s a little thing but the way Jayne is standing there [hands on the desk] is very Dwight. And by this point we’d both gotten to the point where, I think she was really starting to find some of the things that Dwight does. AH: Those little touchstones. AC: Yeah; it’s knuckles on the desk, it’s arms spread out a little bit. AH: Even that little look there, and picking up the phone. And I think being back in a set which Dwight has so much ownership of just allowed her to really get into that skin so to speak.

[Where Mara has Jeffrey tied up] AH: This is a creepy location. AC: It is. Totally is, it just screams serial killer. Great lighting once again Eric Cayla. AH: And this was the first year that we went from using film for the last four seasons to using digital HD. Turned out really well. AC: And I remember that being a huge question mark, as to how it would look and what the differences would be. AH: Especially because it’s a show that shoots outside so much. I’ve been on shows where you’re outside maybe a day, two days, but you’re mostly a studio show. This isn’t a studio show; you’re inside for maybe two days and you’re out on location the rest of the time. AC: Well that’s one of the things I’ve always said; the landscape is one of the stars. AH: Definitely. And it has that creepy but beautiful small town - [cuts himself off at the dramatic moment of Duke in Nathan’s body storming in to taser Mara]. And here’s the stun belt. It took two episodes but it was going to go off. We put that in - it was happening. And a nice little touchstone of, of course Nathan wouldn’t be able to do it but Duke would. We had fun coming up with those. [As the view shifts to outside and a shot full of trees] It’s just so green, it’s just nice to see that, those rich colours. AC: Yeah, you don’t need to bump those colours up any - that’s just the way it is. It’s such an interesting place to be because it is so lush and it just has a little bit of everything, whether it’s forest or ocean and this really kind of rugged coastline. It’s a neat place. AH: Did you get to do any hiking or boating or anything like that? AC: I did a lot of kayaking, a lot of ocean kayaking. AH: Oh that’s nice. AC: And found myself in open water and maybe in over my head a couple of times. AH: Really? AC: But I made it back. And it was nice to be able to discover some of the nooks and crannies of the area, for sure. And having the time over the years to be able to find out what places you like best. Shout out to Mahone Bay, I think a personal favourite of Emily and myself.

AC: One thing that’s interesting about this cast in comparison to a lot of casts is it’s a big cast. Lucas is about 6’1”, Eric’s about 6’2”, Richard’s 6’3”, I’m 6’4”. AH: That’s not regular. Most of the time it may look like it’s a large cast but everyone’s 5’7”. This is by far the largest cast I’ve ever worked with and it’s kind of cool. When you get to that physicality stuff and everything, you remember; it’s big guys against big guys. AC: Yeah it definitely lends itself to that kind of thing. AH: Whenever we’re casting opposition, bad guys for physical roles, we always have to keep that in mind. We can’t bring in a guy who’s 5’5” who’s supposed to look terrifying to our boys. It’s not going to work. AC: As evidenced by the hiring of my buddy Robert Maillet who was Heavy. Who is very heavy, like 380 pounds 6’11” heavy. And that was fun because he was a friend from WWE and has since gone on to The Strain, and 300, and Sherlock Holmes and built a nice little career for himself. Or a big career I guess. AH: I think I can tease this; he also makes an appearance in a future episode of Haven.

[As we see Skip and Jeffrey meet outside the Gull] AH: There’s a lot of brotherhood in this episode. You’ve got these actual brothers, and the Teagues, and Duke and Nathan are functionally brothers. And it was one of the things that we really wanted to play with. AC: Also, always great use of music in Haven. AH: Yes. AC: Also an appearance of Shawn Pillar’s Airstream back there, real briefly.

[As we see Dwight wake up back in his own body at his own desk] AC: Here was my question. Why would Dwight have been there? He wouldn’t have been. AH: OK good question. AC: He would have been in the morgue. AH: Yeah. AC: I brought it up that day and everyone went, ‘That’s a thread you don’t want to pull.’ And I went, ‘I just pulled it.’ Just saying. AH: He uh … Gloria was just taking a nap. She liked that chair a lot. AC: *laughs* Yeah. But that was a continuity thing, I was like, ‘hold on a second guys - but we’re here so OK’. Because I didn’t catch it in the read through. You know, I caught it when we were there and I was like ‘arghh’. AH: I will say that’s definitely on us. We should have caught that one. That should have been in the morgue. We had you in the morgue earlier, we could have shot that. Now I’m going to be thinking about this all day, I’m just going to be stewing in it. AC: *laughs* But you got to bring it up right? AH: You do. AC: Because otherwise there’s someone out there who goes, ‘Wait a minute’.

[As Vince and Dave are talking in the hospital] AH: And there’s that emotional stuff we were talking about. AC: Yeah it was always so interesting to do scenes with Richard because it was always so easy to dip into the emotions with him because he just carries an aura about him. AH: I love writing scenes for the two of you. It was one of my favourite things. In the next season you can expect to see some of that. Some great scenes and I just liked that relationship that you two built. AC: It always felt like father/son stuff, and that’s how I always thought of that. There’s a few things that when I thought of Dwight it’s always the one thing that drives him is the loss of his daughter. He’s trying to cure this no matter what, and that from a family aspect Vince was his Dad, Nathan was his brother, Duke was the buddy that he kind of hates but kind of loves. AH: Yeah, we all have that person AC: And Audrey is the younger sister. AH: Yeah the kid sister that he kind of wants to protect but wants to respect. That’s so well put. And it was so nice to see those relationships grow. AC: And Dave is the crazy uncle. AH: *laughs* Of course. But I loved writing those scenes and you guys would always kill them.

[As Allison Doohan is talking to the Teagues in Dave’s hospital room] AH: Some heavy mythology here. This stuff is important for season 5b. *stage whisper* Pay attention. It was interesting actually because working on the second half of the season we had set up a lot of threads in this episode and we’re pushing it to 521, 522, 525 and going, ‘Oh wow we’re going back to 505!’ and having to pay off somethings this episode is pivotal for. As funny and light as it is. AC: Yeah that’s just it. It was comedy and a bright spot in the midst of this overcast cloud, but there’s a lot of information that is actually divulged in these episodes. [As Dwight and Gloria are talking where she tells him about his sister] This is actually, up until this point, my favourite scene for Dwight. Just because it’s a range of emotions that I had to try and get in a 30 second timeframe. AH: And you delivered, you really did. I’m actually going to stop talking just to let this play through. AC: This is just one of those instances where nothing seems to go right for Dwight. AH: That’s the thing, we always felt bad AC: And he’s a good guy, so you feel for him I think. AH: You really do. He’s an everyman just trying to do the right thing. AC: Yep. Misunderstood at times but the heart is good. AH: And every moment it feels like what can go wrong does go wrong. AC: So up until that point I think that was my favourite kind of tackle, and how it turned out I was very happy with. But Jayne is someone who is so easy to play off of with those type of things. And also, possible spoiler alert, there may be more scenes like that to come, that I really really enjoyed doing. AH: And you did it so well. And it was so interesting because, like we’ve been talking about, the clouds are coming in … AC: There’s a ray of light … AH: And we took it all away. That’s what we do, we take it away. We make you feel happy … and then you’re sad. But yeah it’s just so interesting that tonal shift of how fun and light this is and then just painful. AC: And then poop gets real again. [As Dave is talking about waking up on the beach] AH: I feel like a good chunk of this episode is going to be used in ‘Previously on Haven’s. AC: Yeah, just because there’s so much, especially in the last half of this episode. Even ten episodes later. AH: 20 even. AC: Yeah, that’s how pivotal this stuff that we’re talking over is.

AC: Duke has the coolest vehicle. That … Range Rover I think, right? Or Land Rover? AH: Land Rover? The Land Rover survives until season 5b, we can spoil that. AC: Yeah sure, why not? AH: Look forward to more Land Rover AC: With the cloth top, and the steering wheel on the British side.

[As Duke and Nathan are getting ready to try and brink Audrey back out of Mara] AC: She’s so angry. And mean. [As Duke is cutting his hand] I cringed every time this happened. I have a thing with knives, they always freak me out. AH: I do as well. I don’t know if you notice every time in this commentary it happens, I always look to you, because I just don’t like looking at it. AC: Yeah and surgeries and all that stuff, really freaks me out. Guns don’t bother me, knives uh huh. AH: And this was a nice reveal, we really enjoyed this. We had this planned and I do think we caught a lot of people off guard.

[Mara on screen; “Nothing happened. You’re both idiots”] AC: *laughing* She’s so evil you like her, at times. AH: She’s fun. In an evil way.

[As we see Audrey] AH: And there’s some trickery of course here, with some body doubles and stuff to make sure that we could pull this off, as Emily Rose sadly does not have a twin sister. It would have been a lot easier on us if she had, but.

AC: Yeah so that’s a pretty big episode. AH: Sure there’s no ramifications from this at all.

AC: Well before the end of the show I would like to say thank you for having me. This was a lot of fun and yeah, it’s always fun to get to talk about the show. AH: Thank you for having me as well. Thanks for listening and keep watching!

#haven syfy #havensyfy #haven dvd commentaries #5.06 - the old switcheroo II #haven 5

9 notes · View notes

lelouche · 5 years

Text

Orphans of the Storm: Attachment, Trauma and the Developmental Trajectories of Lelouch and Nunnally in Code Geass

Alternatively titled, Matt Has a Lot of Thoughts About the Lamperouges. 7000+ words of thoughts, to be exact. Some of them might even be semi-intelligent. Admittedly, much of this was written from a hospital office while procrastinating writing patient journals for actual patients who are real humans and not fictional characters. Thank you to my supervisor for not supervising me very much.

I. Introduction

First, let us first briefly set the stage. The story of Code Geass is set in an alternate universe where the social-darwinist, imperialist superpower The Holy Britannian Empire is ruling large parts of the world. Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia are born into the royal family as children of 98th Emperor Charles zi Britannia and one of his consorts, Marianne. After their mother is assassinated in a terrorist attack at the Imperial Palace, an incident which leaves Nunnally blind and paralysed from the waist down, the two are sent to Japan as political hostages. The Britannian Empire then invades Japan shortly after they arrive, and they must seek refuge with the Ashfords, a wealthy family with ties to their mother Marianne. Presumed dead by the rest of the royal family, they take on the surname Lamperouge and begin to live in hiding in the now-colonised Japan, renamed Area 11.

These events constitute what is to become Lelouch’s raison d’être through the entire series - finding out who assassinated his mother, and creating a safer, kinder environment for his sister to grow up in. Nunnally is an extremely, and I cannot stress this enough, extremely important figure for Lelouch through the entire series (to the point where it’s kind of a joke in most spin-off material). He’s her main caregiver along with their maid Sayako, and protecting her is his primary goal - often at the expense of his own safety, his friends’ safety, and/or massive collateral damage. In this essay, I will analyse their relationship with their parents and each other through the lens of attachment theory, and discuss how these dynamics shape their developmental trajectories as they grow up. I will focus on two domains of development in particular: (1) emotional regulation and (2) identity. Based on this analysis, I’ll make the argument that Nunnally, despite being the one experiencing the most trauma, ended up more well-adjusted than Lelouch. Furthermore, although the series places much emphasis on how Lelouch is the one protecting Nunnally, he is actually more dependent on his sister than she is on him. I will also discuss how these central themes tie into Lelouch’s goals and political ideology.

II. Ode to My Family: The Fundamentals of Attachment Theory

Attachment theory is a psychological theory originating from the work of John Bowlby, concerning the bond between caregivers and their children. Put simply, Bowlby proposed that children are biologically predisposed to form deep, lasting bonds with their caregivers, and this bond has an important influence on subsequent development. In the attachment relationship, the caregiver functions as both a secure base from which to explore (for example, a child feeling safe when playing knowing a parent is nearby), and safe haven to turn to for emotional support (if they get scared or hurt when playing). Caregivers, on their end, facilitate secure attachment through moderate and appropriate stimulation of the child, warmth, mutually responsive interactions, and other behaviours that promote ‘connectedness’. Especially interesting is a trait called mind-mindedness, which can be described as a caregivers ability to conceptualise their child as an independent person, understand their mental/emotional state and respond appropriately. Important to note about attachment bonds is that they’re not “horizontal” - the caregiver and child aren’t on the same “level” as mutual attachment figures to each other, but the caregiver (as the older, wiser, and more experienced person who is able to provide care) will be a figure that the child can rely on.

A healthy attachment bond has a variety of important functions. It promotes the growth of self-reliance (which promotes independency), increases capacity for emotion regulation, promotes later social competence (such as empathy and mutual relationships), and is important for later identity development. This happens through the acquisition of so-called internal working models, that the child employs through their life. To simplify a bit, think of attachment as the mechanism by which caregivers, through their behaviour, teach children what to expect from the world around them, and what strategies to employ to best cope with it. At its core, it is about seeking security and safety - a form of healthy and adaptive dependence that provides a solid foundation and sense of security from which independence can grow

There are three main classifications of attachment bonds - secure, insecure and disorganised. Securely attached children will develop positive internal working models, where world is a fundamentally safe place, they are loved and worthy of that love. Interactions with the caregivers are frequent, mutual and predictable. For insecure attachment, there are two subcategories: avoidant and ambivalent. Insecure-ambivalent attachment is associated with unpredictable interaction styles, where some interactions between caregiver and child may be warm and mutually responsive, while others are more detached or unpredictable. This leads to frustration and confusion, and an ambivalent relationship. Insecure-avoidant attachment, on the other hand, is typically associated with a non-responsive and uninvolved form of care, or an absent caregiver. In this case, the child may feel rejected and like they cannot rely on anyone. Disorganised attachment simply means there is a lack of any organised form of attachment, but that’s not going to be relevant here so let’s ignore that one.

In summary:

Did you really think you were getting through this one without at least ONE chart? (Note: ambivalent and resistant attachment is the same thing)

Also, important note before moving on from this bit: (1) Attachment is not the be-all end-all for positive/negative developmental outcomes, and (2) I’ll obviously be a bit quicker to assume correlation and draw conclusions than I would in real life, because in my mind applying this stuff to literary analysis vs. applying it to real people are two completely different things. Fiction consists of a series of deliberate choices of storytelling and elements you can easily pick apart and draw lines between (preferably with red string on a corkboard wall, while looking slightly manic), whereas people are, like, more complicated and stuff - nature and nurture and all that.

Now, with attachment theory in mind, let’s have a look at the evil Britannian disaster parents.

III. The Mother We Share: (In)Secure Attachment in the Imperial Palace

Before taking a deep dive into Lelouch and Nunnally’s relationship with one another, it’s essential to discuss their relationships with their parents. Unfortunately for me, there really isn’t much canon material regarding their lives prior to Marianne’s death and the subsequent exile in Japan. However, even with the limited information available, I think it’s fairly safe to say neither Charles nor Marianne deserve a parent-of-the-year award - a point cleverly foreshadowed by me when I referred to them as evil disasters just a few sentences ago.

As for Charles, I hardly need to even make a case that he probably wasn’t a great father. It’s never outright stated in the series, but I’m going to assume they had minimal or no contact with Charles. The main reason behind this is: why would they? He had 108 (!) consorts with whom he had many children, and was busy ruling the largest empire in the world. And as if that wasn’t enough, Lelouch and Nunnally weren’t even particularly high up in in the line of succession and would have been unlikely to ever rule in their lifetime (if it hadn’t been for, er, circumstances). Furthermore, because of his grand plan to fuse humanity into one collective unconscious through the Ragnarök Connection, none of this would matter to him anyway. Additionally, I think his lack of contact with his children is very apparent through the way Lelouch interacts with his father when confronting him about Marianne’s death, which I’ll get back to.

So, we can reasonably conclude Charles was an uninvolved/absent caregiver. However, things get a little more interesting with Marianne.

This isn’t relevant to the topic or anything, I just think it’s neat how they made Lelouch so visually similar to his mother. In addition to physical traits, Marianne’s dress here has a really similar structure to what would later become her sons rebellion outfit of choice. She even has a chess-piece-esque hat to go with. Then again, I suppose the alternative was making him visually similar to Charles, and that wouldn’t make for a lot of good fanservice now would it. Anyway, this image description is too long.

As mentioned, avenging his mother’s death is one of the most significant driving forces for Lelouch throughout the series. Her assassination impacted him greatly, both in and of itself and through the harm it caused Nunnally. Whenever she’s brought up, they both seem to get visibly downhearted, and there’s never any indication they remember her anything but fondly. In picture drama 22.25 (from their time as children in the Imperial Palace), the Britannian siblings find a commemorative plate that belongs to her in Euphie’s room. They start to bicker over it, because Nunnally wants to have it herself, while Lelouch thinks Euphie should keep it because it belongs to her. This all indicates that the royal children admired Marianne, and she was obviously an important figure to them both. Through this idolisation, as well as Lelouch’s obsession with what happened at the Imperial Palace, the narrative seems to want us to assume she was a good parent.

However, there are a few things that call into question how reliable of a narrator Lelouch actually is concerning Marianne. Towards the end of the series, it’s revealed that she is actually very much alive, and completely on board with Charles’ Ragnarök plan - making her one of the series’ main antagonists. During Lelouch’s final confrontation with his parents in C’s World in S2 E21, she is unable (or unwilling) to see how faking her death, traumatising her children, shipping them off to a country the Empire promptly invaded without ever making sure they’re still alive, and then trying to convince them to get on board with her human instrumentality plan is wrong. As her wiki bluntly states: “She only superficially loves her children and will not hesitate to kill them if they get in her way.” Taking this information about her character into account, I consider it more likely that the reason Lelouch and Nunnally idolised Marianne was either (1) because they based their impression largely on her reputation, rather than because she genuinely was a loving mother, or (2) she was a very good actor.

At least she provided some strategies to prepare her children for having to cope with the emotional trauma she was about to inflict on them.

How to make sense of their relationship with Marianne from an attachment perspective? I think this is largely up to interpretation due to lack of pre-series material. Lelouch and Nunnally both seem to like and look up to her, but that does not necessarily indicate secure attachment. I would argue they had an insecure relationship with Marianne, and that argument is based on two things. First, her personality traits and actions (rather than Lelouch and Nunnally’s accounts of her): she blatantly uses her children as pawns for her plan, and doesn’t care all that much that they were suffering as a result. Even though she does argue all her planning was well-intentioned, this act quickly fall apart when Lelouch challenges her. As C.C. tells her, “the only people you love are yourselves”. Calling this sort of behaviour “poor mind-mindedness” or “lack of parental warmth” is an understatement - I simply don’t see a scenario where Marianne would genuinely care.

Secondly, I’d argue you can infer it from Lelouch’s patterns of behaviour as he grows older. Many of his actions, and the themes surrounding him as a character, could be seen as a manifestation of insecure attachment - his attitude towards Nunnally, attitude towards his friends in the student council, his emotionality, and the general theme of a fragmented identity, to mention some. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Point is, there is good reason to believe Lelouch or Nunnally had any form of secure attachment bond to either of their parents, and this has some implications for their development as the series goes on.

IV. Abandoned by the Empire: Trauma and Parentification

In addition to not having the best relationships with their parents to begin with, Lelouch and Nunnally were then burdened with more baggage after their mother’s death. In Nunnally’s case, her trauma from the incident was primarily physical (blindness and paralysation of her legs), due to her being literally in Marianne’s arms as she was shot. Lelouch was a witness, and escaped without physical injury. Afterwards, while his sister is still in hospital, he takes it upon himself to confront his father about what happened, and accuses him of having allowed, even facilitated, the assassination through purposefully neglecting security measures that day.

While Nunnally was by all means most harmed by the attack, it is here in the aftermath I’d argue Lelouch takes his “main blow” in the parental trauma department. When confronted, Charles gets angry and tells Lelouch that everything in his life has been handed to him by virtue of being a child of the royal family, and thus he’s never truly accomplished anything - he might as well be dead, and therefore has no right to doubt or disobey him. This is an especially cruel statement in the context of the social-darwinist Britannia, where the strength to survive by your own measures is seen as highly important, maybe even the only thing that truly is important. Lelouch then visibly flinches and falls back when Charles stands up, in a manner that seems outright terrified. Keep in mind, all this is happening in front of the Royal Court.

This scene in particular is the main reason I cannot imagine Lelouch or Nunnally having any kind of relationship with Charles prior to the incident, much less a secure and healthy one. You’d think the threshold for a young child to turn and publicly accuse his father of premeditated murder in front of the Britannian Royal Court would be astronomically high, especially if he actually liked and trusted him. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, one of the most important functions of the caregiver is being a secure base in difficult and unsafe situations, which means that children typically tend to turn towards their parents during situations where they feel scared. Flinching away (so severely he even falls back, with a horrified expression on his face), rather than seeking closure, is highly indicative of insecure attachment/parental neglect.

As if all this wasn’t enough, Lelouch and Nunnally are then separated from all their siblings to be relocated to Japan as political hostages. Again, the pre-series material is pretty thin, but throughout the series there are indications that they had good relationships with some of their siblings. For example, Lelouch recalls playing chess with Schneizel, and possibly had some kind of relationship with Clovis judging by their conversation before Lelouch kills him. Both Lelouch and Nunnally also seem to have been very close with Euphie - in Stage 22.25, they’re playing in her room and don’t want to go to sleep because they’re having so much fun. Lelouch even refers to Euphie as the first girl he ever loved (let’s just... not unpack this one). Point is, not only do they get traumatised by and separated from their parents (whom they already had an insecure relationship with), but they’re also ripped away from their entire network of social support, except for each other.

This image is so fucking sad. Fuck.

So, when Lelouch and Nunnally arrive in Japan, they’re on their own. And because he is older, and because of Nunnally’s disability, Lelouch ends up taking on most of the responsibility. He carries her up the stairs when they arrive at the shrine, washes their clothing, buys their food, and so on. In addition to these practical tasks, he also tries to comfort his sister emotionally and seems to also feel responsible for her well-being - for example, when discovering their lodgings were small and quite sad-looking, he tries to shield Nunnally from it by lying and telling her it looks like Euphie’s room. When Suzaku first meets Nunnally, Lelouch instantly runs into the room because he heard a noise, and freaks out at Suzaku because he thinks he’s going to harm her. For all intents and purposes, he steps into a caregiver role for his sister - an attachment figure, one might even say. This shift in their dynamic becomes very apparent when comparing their relationship in Japan and onwards, to the aforementioned bickering-over-a-plate incident in Euphie’s room, where they were fighting and playing like siblings.

This phenomenon is sometimes called parentification, in which the absence of adult figures providing sufficient care causes one child to bear more responsibility than is normal for the age, and step into the role of “parent”. Parentification can be adaptive and healthy with concrete/practical tasks, in small periods of time and with plenty support, for example pre-teens babysitting their younger cousins. Suffice to say, Lelouch had none of those things. He is Nunnally’s sole contact, made worse by himself by being stubborn and not wanting to let anyone else in to help. Additionally, plenty of other risk factors for destructive parentification is present - the tasks are diffuse, all-consuming and way above the level appropriate for his age, he gets no sort of recognition, reward, or help, it lasts a long period of time (permanently), generational lines become somewhat blurred, and his own needs end up taking second priority to him. And, as you’ll remember from the attachment theory section, this kind of relationship is not horizontal in nature - Lelouch and Nunnally don’t provide each other mutual support of this nature, but rather Lelouch is the one providing a function for Nunnally.

In the beginning of this section, I mentioned that Nunnally’s trauma as a result of Marianne’s death was primarily physical. However, she evidently went through a great deal of psychological trauma as well. A novel detailing their childhoods in Japan states that Nunnally privately had a terrible time coping with the changes in her life and would throw tantrums when left to her own at Kururugi residence, destroying nearly anything she could get her hands on. However, unless she secretly throws tantrums whenever her brother is off screen, this doesn’t seem to be an issue during the span of the series. I’d argue this could be attributed to Lelouch functioning as a caregiver for her - she had someone there to help her, calm her down and provide external emotional regulation, which in turn helped her learn to better regulate her emotional states on her own. Lelouch provides safety and warmth, and, in doing so, becomes a buffer for his sister.

Lelouch, however, has no such buffers. Because of this, it’s easy to draw a line between his parental problems and trauma, and his subsequent maladjusted pattern behaviour when the siblings arrive in Japan. At the Kururugi residence, both him and Nunnally are offered both food and clothing, but he is insistent on providing everything himself - he washes all their clothes, and buys their food with coupons in town, despite being beat up by the other boys there for being Britannian. He’s distrustful towards everyone there (before later warming up to Suzaku) and hypersensitive for any possible threat to Nunnally’s safety. In my opinion, it’s evident Charles’ words had an impact on him. When Suzaku asks why he is so hellbent on refusing help, he responds with: “I’ll live by my own strength, and I won’t be dead any longer!” Through caregivers, children learn what to expect from the world and their own place in it - in Lelouch’s case, he clearly sees the world as an unsafe place with few people to truly trust, and considers himself only worth something if he is entirely independent. Although independence is often seen as a “mature” trait in children and therefore indicative of “good” development, healthy dependence and attachment in childhood is crucial for the facilitation of later healthy independence. And unlike Nunnally (who has him), he doesn’t have anyone to rely on and turn to for his security.

Diverting slightly from the topic at hand, I think this highlights the interesting narrative role of C.C. as the closest thing Lelouch has to a caregiver proxy. I am in no way trying to imply she is outright maternal towards him, but she’s of help and offers practical and sometimes emotional support - a role no other person in Lelouch’s life really fills. I already explained why Nunnally isn’t a possible candidate, and Suzaku, while an important figure in Lelouch’s life, has his own essay-worthy plate of parental problems to deal with. Additionally, their whole enemy situation doesn’t make him someone Lelouch can reliably turn to for comfort and support. C.C however, is older, wiser, more “stable”, and seems to know how to offer emotional support in a way that somewhat calms Lelouch down. In turn, he occasionally tries to reach out to her in difficult situations (or at least he gives into having breakdowns in front of her), which he doesn’t seem to do with anyone else. If only she’d intervened when he was a child instead of just standing there dramatically in the background. But alas.

V. Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind: Differential Susceptibility

Earlier, I briefly mentioned Nunnally being the one most harmed by Marianne’s death. She was younger when it happened, more directly involved, and experienced a greater loss of function as a result which altered her lifestyle significantly. Based on this, I could easily argue that the incident would have far more damaging implications for her long-term psychological well-being compared to her older brother. I could, but I won’t, because it didn’t. Despite all these risk factors present in Nunnally’s case, their mother’s death seems to have made far more of a long-term impact on Lelouch. We’ve already discussed the most important reason why: Lelouch providing Nunnally with protective care associated with a secure parent, thus functioning as a buffer for her trauma. In this section, I’d like to discuss another important factor, interacting with attachment security: namely, differential susceptibility (also sometimes called responsiveness for care).

When we meet Lelouch in the beginning of Code Geass, he feels stuck and utterly powerless in his situation. He gambles on chess to pass time, but feels otherwise bored, restless and detached from his environment. When he receives the power of Geass from C.C., it gives him what he claims he wanted all along - a tool to take control of his life, get revenge on those who wronged him and actually do something. Thus, a plan to overthrow the Britannian Empire is formed and set into motion. The main targets seem to be the royal family as he struggles to systematically take down the empire and search for information - once he meets his brother Clovis, he shoots him (seemingly) without much hesitation. As time goes on, he sacrifices more and more time and energy to his obsessive goal, while his web of lies and various interpersonal becomes increasingly difficult to manage. There is a reason his character is often compared to the likes of Light Yagami (despite them having completely opposing ideologies, but that’s an essay topic for another day) - his arc follows the same downward spiral pattern, where one thing leads to another and suddenly you’re up to your ears in civilian casualties. It’s obvious Lelouch hasn’t accepted, gotten over, or forgiven his family in the slightest, and takes this anger out on those he perceives wronged him in search of an answer.

Meanwhile, Nunnally doesn’t exhibit anything close to this kind of grudge. She seems upset whenever it is brought up, but otherwise seems to have made peace with what happened and ready to forgive her family. One might argue this comes down to a difference of opportunity - Nunnally doesn’t exactly have the power of Geass, or even functioning eyes of the non-mind control variety, so it might be a bit more difficult to get certain things done. Such as killing off most of the Britannian royal family. However, even before Lelouch got the power of Geass, he expressed a wish to destroy Britannia for what they did to him and his sister. So, unless Nunnally has some secret desire to kill that was just never mentioned (in which case this whole essay is null and void, I suppose), Lelouch seems to be coping with his trauma in a much more maladaptive way than his sister, turning his sadness and feelings of rejection into anger and resentment, which ended up staying with him pretty much until the day he died.

Reach your arm out and grab the stars or whatever that quote from LoGH is.

Based on this, I’d argue Lelouch is what one might call a flexible strategist. This doesn’t refer to his military tactics (although he seems pretty flexible with those as well) but simply means that, for better and for worse, he’s relatively sensitive to factors and people in his external environment. On one hand, he seems to flourish in environments where he gets support. During his childhood in the Imperial Palace, he seemed to mostly get along with and care about his siblings (as mentioned earlier). He was also by all accounts a very bright child - he did say he never managed to beat Schneizel at chess, but to give Lelouch some credit here, Schneizel at the time would have been an adult man in his early 20s, while Lelouch was, like, 7. The fact he even stood a chance is fairly impressive. I do not want to argue chess ability is the ultimate measurement of childhood functioning, but my point here is this: he seemed to be on a decent developmental path, both cognitively and socially, all things considered. On the other hand, he tends to react poorly whenever something goes wrong. I’ll talk about this in more depth in the emotional development section, but tl;dr: Lelouch is a very volatile character, who tends to have very high highs and low lows.

While Lelouch seems to be more “formable” by both positive and negative environmental influences, Nunnally is more of a so-called fixed strategist. She, like Lelouch, seemed to be in a decent place before the incident, had a period of acting out after her trauma (throwing tantrums etc.), but got “back on track” through Lelouch fairly quickly. She seems more forgiving of her family, for example when she is instantly supportive of Euphie’s special administrative zone (which Lelouch has a very ambivalent relationship with). Towards the endgame in S2, she even aligns herself with Schneizel. As her arc goes on, she shows herself more and more capable of functioning without Lelouch’s help, and make decisions of her own, based on her own opinions. Her outlook on the world seems to be much more down-to-earth and less black and white. Even when her own brother (the only person she’s been able to rely on for most of her life) geasses her and literally leaves her lying on the floor, she tries to reason with him. This is obviously just speculation, but I think had something similar happened to Lelouch he would have, psychologically speaking, completely lost it (in fact, he does lose it multiple times, which I’ll also get back to). Additionally, from the glimpse we see of Nunnally with Suzaku after Zero Requiem, it seems like she’s been able to cope relatively well with her brother’s death. In general, she seems to find her feet much easier than Lelouch and is more stable across situations.

To summarise everything so far: I’d argue neither Charles nor Marianne were secure caregivers for Lelouch and Nunnally. This is implied not only by their traits and actions, but can be inferred from Lelouch’s maladaptive developmental path. The reason we see this pattern develop in Lelouch but not Nunnally is that he, through parentification, functioned as a buffer for her. Furthermore, this difference in trajectories is amplified by their different underlying susceptibilities - Lelouch more sensitive/formable by negative events and loss in general, while Nunnally is more resilient. From this point on I’ll focus mainly on Lelouch, and discuss how this magnificent cocktail of risk factors explain his developmental outcomes as an older teenager - in particular, how it shines through when it comes to his emotionality, identity, and goals/motivations.

VI. Thunder in Our Hearts: Emotional Development and Interpersonal Relationships

Lelouch frequently throughout the series, for lack of a better term, loses his absolute shit. For example, in the scene where he plays chess with Mao in S1 E16, he screams and dramatically falls backwards when the last piece is thrown onto the scale. He’s completely devoid of expression, and is well and truly out of it until Suzaku arrives. He ends up in a similar state of mind when he thinks Nunnally is killed in S2, where it seems like he’s completely detached from his surroundings - just repeating that he wants to speak with her. In addition to these dissociative-esque states in response to extreme stress, he has lesser breakdown and outbursts as well, such as: after Shirley’s father dies, after the incident with Euphie, when he’s flipping out at Rolo upon seeing his phone locket, etc. Additionally, he’s been shown to take stress and anger out on other people in the (kinda hilarious) scene where he goes to an abandoned street to use his Geass on random people, making them dance as he stands there being angsty. These bursts of emotion don’t exclusively concern negative situations either, as evidenced by his multiple periods of manic laughter and monologues during battle.

I once read this Geass analysis claiming Lelouch is an unemotional character. As evidenced by these screenshots, that was a correct take and not inaccurate at all. Emotions? Where?

In addition to being fairly emotional, Lelouch’s character is also very centered around the people in his life. His mother and sister are the primary motivation through the series. He uses Nunnally’s well-being to justify his actions. He let’s C.C. comfort him. He cares greatly about Shirley, and is devastated at her father’s death (though one can only assume he feels a bit better after punching a wall in the shower), to the point where he erases her memory to spare her the suffering he’s bringing by getting her involved. He obviously deeply cares about Suzaku (again - essay for another day), and orders him to keep on living no matter what, despite him being the number one obstacle for Zero’s plans. If he expresses this affection in a reasonable way is another question entirely - his main way of expressing his love for Nunnally seems to be killing thousands of people for her sake, Shirley by erasing her memory, and Suzaku by forcing him to live on at any cost, which is the exact opposite of what he wanted.

He also has a recurring pattern of requiring a lot of external emotional regulation through other people. Nunnally is the most obvious example of this (obviously) - whenever something goes slightly wrong, he usually defaults to screaming about her, and becomes absolutely devastated whenever she’s unsafe. If Lelouch functions as her buffer, I’d say she’s her crutch. He heavily leans on her for justification and a purpose in life. But, these maladaptive ways of leaning on people also occurs with other characters, such as in the scene with Kallen in the warehouse where he’s about to inject himself with refrain. Kallen takes the needle from him and throws it on the ground, and he reacts by walking towards her asking her to console him - saying “there are things a woman can do for that, right?”. Kallen promptly (rightfully) slaps him, and he seems to regain his senses.

The most frequently repressed scene by all Lelouch fans.

In summary, I’d argue Lelouch is the complete opposite of an unemotional or uncaring character. He often seems to struggle with controlling his (plethora of) emotions in healthy ways, and copes with them either through completely shutting things out, having frequent breakdowns, lashing out on others, or using people as emotional crutches. He’s also very centered around other people, but tends to express it in less-than-appropriate ways, and goes on about things in an almost childish way, at times. This, I think, is indicative of his insecure attachment and lack of sensitive caregivers. In contrast to Nunnally, who had him, he didn’t have anyone to provide safety and externally regulate his emotions, meaning he was never able to internalise such strategies. Thus, there is a pattern of unhealthy (lack of) regulation of emotional states, leading to these stark contrasts between high and low points, and the quite bad ways he deals with them. Years of stress, repressed restlessness and unhealthy coping mechanisms for trauma certainly didn’t help either. Put simply - he’s a bit emotionally immature, and this is a significant aspect of his character.

VII. Reflektor: Identity and Projection

One of the most prevalent motifs in Lelouch’s arc, save for the chess symbolism, is the theme of masks and a fragmented identity. Throughout the series, he uses different identities to fill different roles in his life: Lelouch vi Britannia the prince, Lelouch Lamperouge the student, Zero the terrorist/freedom fighter and eventually Lelouch vi Britannia again, the tyrannical 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire. This switch is the most obvious display of the fragmented identity theme, as he is quite literally changing his name and masquerading as different people. With his Zero persona he even puts on a literal mask to conceal his face, but he also uses subtler, figurative masks for his other personas in order to achieve various goals. Additionally, there are also subtler role shifts at play within these identities: Lelouch Lamperouge exists as Nunnally’s caregiver, a student council member, Suzaku’s childhood friend, etc. (as with all people, fictional or not).

It is here his main ideological conflict with his parents arises. Charles and Marianne wants, through their Ragnarök plan, to abolish all “masks” and fuse mankind into one collective unconscious. Their reasoning is that if everyone were honest and there were no separation between people, the world would be a better place. Lelouch, however, finds the concept of identity masks useful and even defines himself by them. This is clearly shaped by his own experience - in order to survive in Area 11 and protect his sister, he had to change his name and lie. In order to gain real power and influence to overthrow Britannia, he had to change his name and lie. This modus operandi goes straight to the heart of his identity, because it is the reason he is able to exert his will over the world in any meaningful way - which, as we discussed earlier, is the reason he is “not dead any longer”. His core idea is that those who are privileged enough to be able to tell the truth about themselves, have no right to deny others the right to lie for their own survival or to achieve their goals.

Carl Jung arguably had a much more significant impact on anime than he did psychology. Actually, this isn’t even arguable.

Another, subtler way the series conveys the theme of fractured identity is Lelouch’s projection of desires and wishes onto others. This is shown quite literally through how the Geass gives him the power to command anyone to do anything. But not only does he impose his will onto others through verbal command, he also projects his more abstract goals and desires into the people in his life. Again, Nunnally is the most obvious example of this: Everything he does, he claims is for the sake of Nunnally. It’s interesting he never outright says that he wanted to do any of this for any personal reason - it’s all about a kinder world for Nunnally, Nunnally’s smile, and how their parents abandoned them. In the final confrontation with Charles and Marianne, Suzaku asks him if he used Nunnally as an excuse to justify his actions. Lelouch confirms this, and then says he fought to protect everything he wanted to protect. Still, he never mentions he feels rejected, or that he would want to grow older in a kinder world, even though it’s obviously more his own wish than hers (as Nunnally mentions during Zero Requiem, she would have been happy just being with her brother). In a way, he considers himself two steps removed from his desires - only working against Britannia on the basis of what he imagines the people in his life would want him to do.

Lelouch also has a tendency to view his own identity(-ies) through abstract symbols, rather than as a concrete human being with a backstory, grudges and motivations. In exile he expresses frustration at being a pawn of Britannia, as Zero he functions as a faceless symbol of Japanese liberation and a rebellion against the establishment, and as Emperor he aims to become a symbol of people’s hatred towards their oppressors. Even the orchestration of his life’s ending is primarily a symbolic act to him; with the world’s hatred focused on a tyrannical Emperor, the world can be peaceful when that symbol disappears. Lelouch seems very aware of this himself: that he is past the point of no return, and destined to become someone who will bear the burden of sacrificing his own identity, morals and character to play a part. He, in a way, seems more comfortable in this realm of abstraction - in being more of a symbol. However, if we try to strip away his rather grand narrative for a second, we’re left with a person committing suicide at 19 because he thinks the world will be a better place for it.

Black king captures e1, checkmate.

VIII. Pity the Child: Politics and Spite

Lastly, I want to make the argument that the parental abandonment Lelouch and Nunnally experienced, and the subsequent cascade of issues is the most important aspect of the series. Even more so than the central ideological conflict of working against versus within systems of oppression. As I’ve already touched on a fair bit, I think Lelouch’s circumstances growing up and the experiences arising from that was the very foundation for his later ideology and hatred for Britannia, rather than his ideology in and of itself being the reason he hates his parents and the system they represent. This is best represented by the climax of the scene with Charles and Marianne in C’s world, where Lelouch speaks not of systems of power, racism, oppression, politics, etc. - he speaks of abandonment and hurt.

In my opinion, there’s reason to question whether he would have gone to the same lengths to destroy Britannia if he’d not been exiled from the system himself. In one of the picture dramas from his summer in Japan as a child, he lectures Suzaku on Britannian and Japanese foreign trade policy, making the argument they’re both unethical. This indicates he already knew of and disagreed with the actions of Britannia, but it’s only after he’s exiled and war is declared on Japan he begins talking about enacting revenge. Additionally, he has some truly magnificent displays of hypocrisy throughout the series that (in my unpopular (?) opinion) puts Suzaku to shame. Even the very act of him using Geass is contradictory to his fundamental belief: that opposing a well-intentioned act upon others is no different from an evil act. During their confrontation, he is very concerned with expressing this ideology to his parents, before promptly turning around and making his brother a geassed slave forever, two episodes later.

Not to completely undermine his ideological streak; I do genuinely believe he is anti-Britannia, and I do genuinely believe he values personal freedom highly. However, based on everything discussed so far, I’d argue he would perhaps not have cared as much, or at least been more open to a more Suzaku-esque approach, had he not had deep personal trauma connected to the whole situation as well. So, his main motivation isn’t to “bash the fash”, as it were, but rather bash these few specific fash who traumatised him and his sister before shipping them off to a foreign country they then immediately declared war on. Revenge, spite, and pure, childish anger towards a family that wronged him is a much more useful lens through which to view the series, rather than an ideological conflict per se.

IX. The Conclusion Bit, Finally

To summarise this entirely too long essay, Lelouch and Nunnally both suffered from insecure attachment and later trauma and parental abandonment. Nunnally’s main protective factor/buffer for this trauma was Lelouch, which gets her “back on track” towards becoming an emotionally stable and independent girl. Her brother, however, doesn’t have anyone to fill this role, and this cascades into dysfunctional behaviour and strategies across different domains: his trust issues as a child, obsession with revenge, immature emotionality, poor handling of stress, projecting onto others, and a fragmented concept of his own identity. Lastly, I think these personal issues constitute the crux of his motivation throughout the series - Lelouch’s arc is about trauma, parental neglect and spite more than it ever was about politics.

#code geass #lelouch vi britannia #lelouch lamperouge #nunnally vi britannia #@ everyone who's ever wanted to read a Long essay on code geass and developmental psychology: you're welcome #I hope some of it is understandable or even interesting #my essays #.........that's a VERY optimistic tag but I feel like I have to tag it with Something #analysis

225 notes · View notes

venus-says · 4 years

Text

Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Episodes 01-15

Press START button.

Ex-Aid is one of those seasons that when you look at it sounds like something that shouldn't work. I mean, putting doctors and video-games together? Is this what, a Dr. Mario live-action, an adaptation of Surgeon Simulator, or an actual Kamen Rider season?

This odd combination of factors always made very skeptical about this season, there's also the huge anime eyes in the helmet that never sat well with me too, but this concept combo always seemed pretty wild to work. But then I watched Gaim, which also had an odd combination of themes, and I saw that those odd concepts mixed together can be doable and be something fun so I started to look forward to the season. But even with the excitement, a small fear started to linger because as I started seeing more and more of Kamen Rider and seeing more of the community I always saw Ex-Aid popping up as one season that everyone thinks it's top-notch and well... the last time I saw a highly acclaimed season in the fandom I hated it so the chances of that happening here again were there.

And you know, I think my fears became reality and I feel like I'm having another Drive experience here. Maybe not at the same level as Drive, I feel like Ex-Aid got me less angry and annoyed, but this season really didn't click with me. I see that it can grow on me because after episode 11 I started enjoying it more, but the general feeling for these 15 episodes and this movie was... meh? Like, I don't like most of the characters, I have a serious problem with the comedy, and there's something in the dialogue of this show that really tickles me off. I also don't like how CGI heavy this show is, and most of the CGI looks horrible.

One thing that really pushed me off at the beginning was the structure that wasn't very interesting, we had 4 episodes to introduce the riders, 4 episodes to give a power-up to each of them, and 2 to introduce a shared power-up and defeat the first general of the villains, and I felt like I came out of these without that much story, it felt like they were just going through a checklist of toys they had to sell and not actually telling a story. It's only from episode 11 onward that it starts to feel like this show has some sort of plot.

I also don't like how this starts similar to a Rider War thing, with all riders competing to see who cleans 10 games first and gets the most Gashats, but they make all characters out of the main one be completely hateful so we have no choice other than root for him. And like, it's okay to give us jerk characters, but you gotta give us something about them so that we can hang on, you don't need to make them redeemable or anything but you gotta have enough for us to love hating on a character otherwise it's just annoying.

Going back to my weird dialogue point, probably one of the things that I dislike the most is how there are times where they don't seem like real people talking? Like, the image I have when seeing the dialogue is that a bunch of old men in a writers' room sit down thinking "what will sound very trendy to hit off with the kid gamers", "what's a young people language we can put here" and they think they're being very smart and clever, but just sounds odd as hell, especially with the gaming aspect and the catchphrases (that at this point in this franchise I'm already tired of them because most of them aren't even charming anymore).

Another thing that doesn't sit well with me is just how special they make these characters be when there's no necessity for it. Like, being an actual doctor is already special enough, you don't need to have your main rider be extremely good at games to justify the gaming motif, you don't need the secondary rider to be a famous prodigious surgeon to install a rivalry. I mean look at Kiriya, as far as I can't remember he doesn't have any special trait and yet he manages to be interesting and stand out on his own. Heck, you don't need to have Emu be patient 0 of the gaming disease when you already have him being really good at video-games and when you're starting to add another element to him with a possible second personality, it's too much for a single character RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING. It's not like we're seeing those characters evolving into becoming special, they're already special and we just have to buy it. Of course, there are still routes that they can go with that will make the show more interesting, like for example they can do something with Taiga and Emu and their game addiction/obsession and that can be really great, but all this special feeling since the beginning really bugs me.

I think since I'm already here let me talk about the characters. Emu is a precious kid, there are times in which he kinda gets under my skin, but I overall like him. I especially love that he works as a pediatrician, in the beginning, especially considering this is a kids' show, I like to have this idea of doctors being heroes in the mind of children because they really are (despite the health care system in a lot of countries make it looks like they're villains). Other than him being extra special there are two things the show does with him that I don't like, the first one is that after the first arc is done they make him leave pediatrics to start doing surgeries and while I understand that as an intern that's the normal course and he probably has to go through different areas before choosing a specialty, but I feel like that was done just to hone more the rivalry with Hiiro and I don't really care for that, I hope he's back at pediatrics later on because I feel like it's what makes more sense for him and for the target audience of this show. The other thing I don't like is his personality change when he "starts a game" because it never felt like there was much of a change in any of the cases, they just make a gust of wind and he shows a grim for a few seconds, but nothing changes. And seeing that this is a plot point they want to explore it annoys me that they never made that play out before, it's bringing something up when it's convenient and saying that they had a basis for that but the basis is a single small thing that was never brought up to attention before.

Moving to Hiiro, I Hate Him and that's all I have to say. And I hate him even more because the show put him in a relationship where he was very cold and dismissive of his significant other and still they want to make us sympathize with him, they frame it as "the girl left because she didn't want to bother your studies" instead of "she left you because you were a jerk". But of course, they can't make that because then they wouldn't be able to make the stoic character they want so much, they would have to make someone who's trying to become a better person after he lost someone important that he didn't give the proper attention to, and that's much harder and they don't want that. UGH, I hate this man so much.

Taiga. Taiga is... interesting, I like the concept of someone who worked at CR before but lost himself to addiction, that's a great plot point. It's sad they don't do much with him and we end up with another obsessive jerk. Still, don't hate him as much because I can see the potential for them doing something very cool with him, but as of now, he's in the pile of hate.

Kiriya was probably my favorite character of this cast, it was really fun seeing him go from a mysterious man lurking around to someone who looks very deceptive, and all the journey of him investigating the truth as the episodes where going, and seeing his credibility be questioned but he never gave up despite that, it was all very great. Do I think it was a cheap move to kill him before he could tell the truth about Emu? Yes, I do. Because this is something we see everywhere, it's not a new trick. But I still felt his death, and if they don't come up with a way to revive him somehow I'll give this show props because it was a bold move to kill off a character during the Christmas special.

About Genm, and all the villains for that matter, I don't have much to say. I don't get them, I'm not curious to understand them, thus I don't care for them. It's interesting that the powers of the riders end up coming from the main villain? A bit? But then again, if you have all of these powers and you're handing them to people who oppose you, it seems like it's very counter-intuitive. At least they have the excuse that he's gathering data from them, but if he never recovers those gashats, is he really getting the data he wants? I don't know, everything about him and the villains seems very odd. But for what's worth, he almost killed himself to gather data for a zombie game and that was pretty wild so I guess that counts? About Graphite and Parad, I don't have anything to say, don't really care for them.

This leaves us with the side characters. Asuna/Poppy, I wanna like her but sadly I don't. If she is the "token girl" of the season, I'm at least glad she's not a romantic interest and that she fills in as a support role, but still, don't know why she can't just be a regular nurse that goes a little crazy sometimes. Though I guess if they had gone this route with her she would probably become Kiriko 2.0 and that's also bad so... There's the Director of the hospital, and I just hate him, I hate that they make someone who's supposed to be the leader of the hospital sooooo stupid. And he's stupid at all times, he doesn't even get the treatment Jun had in which he was there for comedy but he also had his moments where he was serious and those moments were pretty good. This dude is just here to make his eyes pop and drool over his son and I hate that. Mr. Minister should've chosen someone better suited for this job. And last, there's Nico who just seems like another jerk I don't like, but I'm holding on talking about her because I think I've only seen her for 2 or 3 episodes and she appeared very little so I can't say much about her.

I intended to talk about the Dr. Pac-Man movie, but they actually integrated that plot in the show in a much more flashed out way this time around so I feel like it would be redundant to talk about it since the bigger points I would have to make were already touched on. But let me say, what a mess of a movie. Like, there was no reason for Wizard and Gaim to be there, like how did Gaim even get there in the first place? This movie would be much better with only Drive, Ghost, and Ex-Aid, because they actually had a decent plot going around there that connected very nicely. But it's still a cross-over movie and they make a lot of things I hate about these cross-overs, the awful rider forms are there, there was an awful huge CGI battle scene that looked ugly as hell (though props to them for making this fight happen mid-way and not at the end), there was that scene were the riders started to speed-run through their old forms that were also pretty awful because I could barely understand what was going on in the scenes, all the mess that every rider cross-over movie has. But the thing that annoyed me the most this time around wasn't even that, was Ghost being Ghost again and putting another countdown to doom into Takeru and bringing Akari in this hell with him, and having ANOTHER fake-out death for him at the end. GOSH, THIS ANNOYS ME SO MUCH, LET THIS DUDE LIVE, STOOOOOOP.

And before wrap-up let's talk about what everyone loves, the designs.

This is probably the group with my least favorite designs EVER in this franchise, I'm sorry. I get, they're taking inspiration of different game genres, and the different forms are like they're leveling up, and in concept, I like that but in actual looks, only a very few of them get to pull it off. To begin with, I don't even know what those belts are supposed to be, they look way too busy and I can't define what that shape is.

The Level 1 forms are a mistake. I know, it's Mario before he eats a mushroom, it's still ugly as hell, and I hate that when they grow to their Level 2 forms the head of Level 1 goes to their back like a backpack. In terms of Level 2, I wasn't a fan of Ex-Aid's eyes at first but the design grew on me a lot, I love the colors and how vibrant it is, I also like Genm's because it's just a color variation and it looks good so... Kinda wish his hammer arm stayed as a hammer all the time though, makes Brave having a sword less special. And speaking of him, despite hating his character, as an RPG fan, I do love his design. Snipe, on the other hand, is an abomination. That thing on his right eye that is supposed to hair? What the fuck Kamen Rider, you can do better. Well... at least he's not just a bike, I guess. Thinking about it now, I should've known that Kiriya would end-up dying when his level 2 form was just a bike, that was a major red flag. At least he looks cool.

Sadly Level 3 starts to make everything look ugly again because the power-ups are attachments and they usually go only in the upper body making everyone look like an ice cream cone. I don't think there's a single Level 3 design I like, all of them look awful. I think Shakariki Sports and Jet Combat offend me the most, but all of these can be thrown in the trash. Together with the shared Level 5 power-up, gosh talk about an awful form, it's so bulky, and that dragon head looks so ridiculous, I think the only Level 5 that works is Brave's because in the end it just looks like he's branding his sword, but everyone else looks awful, in special the Full Dragon form.

The Level 10 forms are fun because I love Genm's zombie version, black and white is an easy combination but it works so well, and this dude looks so freaking cool, also NO BACKPACK HEAD! Also, he has a much better belt than the others, this should be the design for all the riders, it's not very big, it's easily recognizable as a portable console, it just looks good you know? But then we have Ex-Aid's Level 10 and he's chibi ex-aid again and he looks awful, thankfully this form is just a set for us to get Level 20 Left and Right that is a concept I love and definitely my favorite suits out of the ones for this season so far. Would I like it better if there wasn't the shoulder piece with Lv.10's head? Definitely, but I still love these forms. I personally love the right side more because after all we already have a light blue rider on the team, but I also think the bright orange with blue accents looks more appealing and stands out more than the blue with orange accents. The last form present in these 15 episodes is Para-DX's Puzzle and Fighting game forms, and I hate the puzzle form, it's really ugly, the fighting game form works way much better, but the back of the helmet being Puzzle's head brings it down a little.

And that's it for this post. Not gonna lie, considering how much I didn't enjoy this show at the beginning, I'm very surprised by how long this post is. I think it's a sign I'm invested so I'm hoping we'll have only good things from here on now. If you have anything to add, please share your thoughts in the comments down below. Stay healthy, stay safe, never stop resisting, thank you so much for reading me rant for so long, and until the next time. See ya in the next game.

#Kamen Rider Ex-Aid #kamen rider

1 note · View note