#while his selflessness is entirely of good will and his /nature/ there's just so much to unpack.

[itsclydebitches]

Just finished Good Omens 2 and I'm honestly boggling at the Aziraphale hate because yes, his decision led to the angsty cliffhanger, but it makes SO much sense for his character. Not just in a "Religious brainwashing and sunk-cost fallacy" kinda way but also a "Aziraphale has no reason to believe this isn't the perfect solution" way. That scene among the nebula is crucial because it establishes that Crowley loved being an angel—reveled in his ability to create and allow his creations to grow kinda like plants—and the only problem was that someone else was calling the shots, someone who wouldn't listen to his criticism. Aziraphale has also spent 6,000+ years watching Crowley do good, all the while forced to deny the fact that he's "nice" lest embracing his original nature get him into trouble with hell. Now, Metatron comes along with an offer that fixes everything in one fell swoop. Crowley can be an angel again, be nice without censure, his ideas and criticisms will hold weight because he'll be answering to Aziraphale, and they'll be together.

It strikes me that Aziraphale isn't there when Crowley sees Gabriel's trial, ergo he likewise doesn't see the (non)acknowledgement that there's an institutional problem up in Heaven. There just happen to have been two archangels who called it quits. Same when Gabriel blurts that phrase out to Crowley. Aziraphale has always been more blind to the ways in which Heaven is "toxic" (for very understandable reasons) and this season he's continually sheltered from new evidence of its structural problems. The plot just preaches to the choir: Crowley. He likewise wouldn't see the conflict Gabriel and Beelzebub have caused as evidence of an underlying problem because that's a problem he and Crowley will no longer share. Why would they be worried about Heaven still being unable to accept partnerships between angels and demons when Crowley will no longer be a demon? And that's something he presumably wants based on Aziraphale's memories of him and the ongoing admission that he's lonely.

The way I see it, they got what they thought they wanted at the start of Season 2. Heaven and Hell are keeping an eye on them, but functionally they're left alone. Crowley can spend all the time he wants with Aziraphale and nothing comes of that except that they're both continually named traitors and the higher-ups grumble about it. If Gabriel had never shown up, things should have been perfect based on Crowley's "Let's just run away and have each other's company" standards. Better, even, considering that they get to be together on their beloved Earth, rather than being bored out in Alpha Centauri without any sushi, plants, books, or Bentleys. And yet... Crowley doesn't strike me as particularly happy. Because, you know, based on that kiss he wants to be with Aziraphale, not just literally be with him, but the point of this post is that his "Let's run away and be an 'us'" falls totally flat when he doesn't explain that specific desire to Aziraphale; the desire to change what an 'us' means. From Aziraphale's perspective they're already an 'us.' That was the entire point of "our side" in Season 1 and now they can continue to be 'us' up in Heaven. Plus, Aziraphale likely sees this as a sacrifice on his part. He will give up his bookshop, his Earthly indulgences, take on the responsibilities of leadership (which I don't think he actually wants for a variety of reasons), and spend the rest of eternity in a place where he's felt so small because he thinks that's what Crowley wants. Crowley was happy as an angel. Crowley wanted them to be together without risk of permanent discorporation. They were able to achieve that after not-Armageddon and he still wasn't happy... so surely those two things together will do the trick. Crowley never actually articulates how he wants their relationship to change and the kiss comes much too late, when he's already rejected what Aziraphale must see as a perfect, selfless solution he's secured for them. Even if Crowley wasn't always moving too fast for him, an overture of romance isn't going to go well after that.

Is this crushing and angsty and devastating as a hiatus? Damn straight, my heart it breaking. But it's a good setup. More importantly, it makes perfect sense for their characters, particularly when they're still talking past one another. Aziraphale is someone who has always moved more slowly as a matter of course, as an angel he has remained immersed in the rhetoric of Heaven, his main avenue of breaking free of that (Crowley) has a huge communication problem (to say nothing of his own denial. He only made headway with the help of Nina and Maggie, seconds before Aziraphale shows up), and Metatron (in a no doubt incredibly manipulative manner) has just offered Aziraphale a job that presumably makes him happy AND Crowley happy AND allows him to maintain the moral this-is-how-the-universe-works perspective he's had since he was literally created. Of course he's going to say yes to all that!! And sure, there are problems in Heaven, Aziraphale isn't completely blind, but he can fix them now that he's in charge. How? Well... he'll figure that out later! Kinda like how he's been making plans on the fly this entire season. That seems logical from his perspective, right? It's not like he's gotten a crash-course in the concept of the master's tools never being able to dismantle the master's house...

[bird-inacage]

Only Friends: Sand's First Display of 'Messy' Behaviour

I'll preface this by saying I adore this man, and he's probably been the least problematic individual out of the Self-Proclaimed Friendship Circus. However, what left me with a chill was how Sand behaved when he revealed the affair to Ray.

Since we've been introduced to Sand, I think many of us have been pretty relieved by his largely green flag behaviour (in the midst of a very low bar being set in this group). This has often had me wondering what Sand's wider arc is going to be. The writers are not going to keep his storyline on one setting the whole way through. Therefore it's natural to anticipate we will be given another side to Sand - perhaps a less sympathetic or irrational part of his character. And maybe this was our first inkling into Sand's imperfections. He's also prone to vengeance and acting with an ulterior motive in mind.

Why it left me feeling so uncomfortable is because we haven't seen Sand in this light before. His score card has been pretty blemish-free.

Fuelled by a Vendetta

Nick shared this knowledge with Sand a while ago. However what triggered Sand to do something about it now was his confrontation with Top. We don't yet know what the circumstances were behind Top stealing Sand's ex from him, and how that played out. But it's evidently a sore grudge that Sand still very much holds against him.

Seeing Top again reminded Sand of the information he has at his disposal which could be used to teach Top a lesson. Sand is a very righteous person, and he doesn't think it's fair that someone should ruin his previous relationship, and now get what he wants with Mew as well. He wants Top to be punished. 'You're going to get what's coming to you, just wait'. It's possible that Sand didn't have the resources or means to get back at Top back then. But now he sees an opportunity to do so.

Combined with the fact that Sand has recently discovered that Ray loves Mew, this provides him with the perfect excuse for passing this information on. One, because as an outsider of their group, this can't come directly from him. Two, he knows based on Ray's temperament and his feelings for Mew, he'll be guaranteed to act.

Motivated by Selflessness or Selfishness?

I was originally going to post a deep dive on the scene between Ray and Sand at the bar, but I found myself constantly yo-yoing and ultimately undecided as to whether Sand's intentions were good or bad.

On the one hand, he's sharing this because he knows Ray will reveal the affair and Top will suffer the consequences. Thus, satisfying an act of indirect revenge.

On the other hand, he could also be doing this (as he so claims) due to his sense of righteousness. He just can't bear bad people getting away with bad things. And perhaps he does genuinely see Mew as a innocent victim here, and wants him to expose Top for who he is.

What also had me conflicted is that 'breaking' up Mew and Top doesn't play to Sand's interests. If Sand is romantically invested in Ray, and Mew becomes single again, this would allow Ray to continue pursuing Mew, which means Sand loses out. This is plausible if you're fuelled by unconditional love and a desire to see the person you love be happy. But I'm not entirely convinced that is the case here either.

You can also argue that Sand is 'using' Ray in this instance to achieve his objective, which is very questionable. He knows what a loose cannon Ray can be. Either he didn't think too much about the possible repercussions of how Ray would react, or he didn't care as long as Top got what he deserved. I don't think by any means Sand wishes to cause Ray any harm, but something really primal seemed to drive Sand to do this regardless of how Ray may be affected as the messenger.

So I don't know if I've decided yet. It could be a mix of all the above. This did seem to veer more on petty vengeance under the guise of righteousness. Mainly due to how Sand looks at Ray in that entire scene, which felt slightly manipulative and cold compared to how he usually has been with Ray. Especially when he says, "Mew is lucky though to have you by his side." It's almost with pinpoint precision that Sand triggers an image in Ray, to be the saviour swooping in to protect Mew.

All in all, I found Sand's behaviour this episode to be highly intriguing and unexpected. I saw a clip of First talking at an event recently, where he says something along the lines of 'when you see Sand do this, please forgive him', which implies there will be some further questionable or inexplicable behaviour later on potentially. Hmn.

[whinlatter]

HEYYY I really want you to reflect more on Ginny’s insecurity when it comes to her relationship with Harry. I’ve been thinking about it since your latest chapter. I don’t know how you can portray all these emotions tbh😭 it’s just way too perfect

ok the inbox is aflutter with questions along these lines so! with no spoilers for the rest of the fic, here's a little (big) lunch break meta on my read on the tensions and insecurities in harry and ginny's post-war relationship, and where harry and ginny are at at this point in beasts. thank you anon! 💞

spoilers for chapter 9 are below the cut!

in chapter nine, we see harry and ginny physically the closest they have been to each other in months, but beginning to discover the real distances between them at play in the current version of their relationship, and see the symptoms showing up in their interactions and (lack of) conversation. after the flashback, this chapter begins with ginny, back an awful time at school, waking up in her boyfriend’s bed, enjoying the luxury of time together and opportunities for physical intimacy. as @ashesandhackles pointed out in her very lovely comment, physical touch - particularly a very natural and instinctual expression of intimacy - is a defining feature of harry and ginny’s romantic relationship in the canon series. canon’s also full of examples of them communicating silently/non-verbally (their in-jokes, as early as PoA, but also the various moments that the two read each other’s minds or have entire interactions without having to say a word). these are obviously important, lovely things and something both of them value in their relationship. but, in this case, where ginny is hiding so much, they can quickly become things to hide behind. tellingly, ginny does not wake up thinking oh good now I have all this time to tell harry what’s up with me, and, over the course of the chapter, finds that secrets have a way of slipping out even if you try your very best to keep them under wraps.

why won't ginny open up?

without spoiling the rest of the fic (!) i think there are few things to bear in mind about why ginny isn't opening up to harry, and what insecurities she might have about the relationship that are preventing her from being honest about the hardships she's going through.

the first is that ginny, canonically, is an extremely guarded person who does rarely opens up, including - or especially - to harry. late canon is full of examples of harry seeking reassurance and emotional comfort in ginny, but examples of ginny doing the same in harry are few and far between. 'lucky you' is a reminder that ginny's own distressing experiences credential her as someone harry can seek reassurance and answers from; it is not a cry for reciprocal help or support. her mentioning riddle's diary in HBP when she finds out about the prince's book works similarly - though harry reassures her about it, her concern is for him, not herself. in the birthday kiss scene, only the 'there's the silver lining i've been looking for' line gives away that ginny has been going through emotional difficulty. in fact, it's ron who conveys that ginny has been 'really cut up' over the breakup. throughout the series, ginny consistently practices a kind of emotional selflessness and self-sufficiency. she understands how important she becomes as a source of comfort and safety for harry, and she is happy and proud to fill that role. she cares deeply about harry, she wants to meet his emotional needs, and she does it very well. she's canonically a fantastic liar, too, which is maybe my favourite characterisation note from her - while hermione and ron are both very easily emotionally read, ginny has an incredible poker face and can lie so well she can have literal dung on her hands and convince her own mother that it was crookshanks throwing dungbombs at the door of the order meeting. in canon, we see ginny crumble only once in her emotional stoic-ness in front of harry (in her bedroom after the birthday kiss - and even then she turns away and tries to hide it). we can speculate about why it is that ginny is like this (...), and i talk more about what this means for harry and ginny long term below. but for now suffice to say that ginny doesn't have a track record of divulging her emotional state and anxieties in very many people, including harry.

the second is that ginny is fiercely protective of harry and tries to shield him from pain, including her own. from CoS thru the rest of the series, ginny cares about shielding harry from criticism, distress, and emotional harm ('leave him alone!') it makes sense that, given ginny's interest in safeguarding harry's happiness and keeping her own sufferings private, she would also seek to protect him from information about herself that would upset him or make him feel worse when she recognises he's already going through a tough enough time. (harry himself practices this form of love in his parental relationship with sirius, eg. trying to retract 'my scar hurts' in GoF - sweet child).

the third - relatedly - is that ginny has begun to link her symptoms to her own wartime experiences, and to torture she endured under the carrows, the full extent of which hasn't been addressed at this point in the fic and which harry doesn't know. harry spends most of DH ignorant about what is happening at hogwarts - he worries for ginny post-sword-stealing, but he's reassured that she won't have been tortured because she only got sent into the forbidden forest. cue neville in the hog's head tunnel quite modestly revealing what really has happened at hogwarts, that the torture of children by way of the cruciatus curse has become a daily occurrence, and that the DA, ginny especially, have gone through a fresh hell. that harry crucioed amycus carrow for so much at spitting at mcgonagall tells us something about how harry might take the news of what actually went down at hogwarts during the war and especially what happened to ginny. in ginny's mind, the idea of strolling up to harry and banging on at length about the sufferings she has endured would be to lay more at his door than he deserves to have to worry about.

there's also this other point, the only issue between harry and ginny that is verbally addressed (but not resolved) in this chapter, which is ginny's lingering insecurities about her relationship with the trio, which also colours all of this. the conversation with harry and ginny in bed about harry staying for at the burrow christmas in ron and hermione’s absence is actually the first section i wrote for this chapter, and one of my favourite parts to write. it picks up this theme of ginny’s ambiguous relationship to The Trio as a unit, something i think a lot about and which i play with a bit in other writing (it comes out at a few points in orchards). i want to write a proper meta about this one day, but running thru this canon is a dynamic of ginny constantly being left out of the trio, from ‘go away ginny’ in PoA (‘oh, that’s nice!’) all the way thru DH. ginny only rarely explicitly complains about this exclusion, though it’s clear she has both noticed it and is irked by it. by the series’ end, this dynamic remains unresolved, even though ginny has become emotionally important to all three of the trio individually.

so why doesn't ginny get angrier about it? we know ginny is a stubborn person perfectly capable of sticking up for herself when being mistreated. that we would expect someone as outspoken and stubborn as she is to actually kick off many more times suggests not that ginny doesn't care, but that she has learned to actively fight her impulse to raise the issue and demand better for herself. my read is that the trio excluding her is, like harry's chosen one fate, just another thing ginny has had to (privately) be hurt by, but get her head around and accept because she recognises it’s part of a bigger picture and, by hbp, connected to a broader more serious quest that has something to do with the. (lots of hinny fics have ginny get mad at harry after the war about the break-up and for keeping her in the dark, and, sometimes, for keeping her out of the trio, but i think actually ginny is too far down the self-denying i-just-have-to-deal-with-this path to get mad without external stimulus. she hasn’t let herself be mad about this sort of thing for a long time, much as she has a right to). as a result, the ginny we see in beasts is a person who has become very self-denying, and who has spent a lot of time telling herself she shouldn’t be selfish or let her ego or pride get the better of her, and to accept certain lots in life for the greater good. would harry/ron/hermione be horrified if actually made to confront this? yes, i think so, absolutely! but they have done this to her and are yet to face the music on how they have excluded her so consistently throughout her teen years. it's a tension that absolutely still needs to be raised and resolved.

what will happen now harry knows something is up?

this chapter sees harry start to realise something's going on with ginny. he finds out ginny saw her ex, michael, about a health condition he's having that might be related to hogwarts last year, that ginny describes 'DA stuff'. luna later accidentally clues him onto the fact ginny, too, has had some mysterious health issues she hasn't raised with him, despite their near constant letter communication over the past four months (luna, your bluntness is extremely narratively convenient, thank you). ginny's blurted out question to harry - ‘you still want to stay, right?’ when finding out romione aren't spending much time at the burrow that christmas - echoes harry’s own at the start of the fic (‘you’ll write, right?’). it’s meant as the same act of a character blurting out a revealing question that speaks to a big insecurity and need they have. when harry calls her up on it before bed later that night, ginny tries to reassure him by showing him some of this mental work she’s done over the years to understand and accept what he + ron + hermione are to each other, reassuring him that she doesn’t want to intrude on that, and to go as far as to say that although he’s extremely welcome at the burrow for christmas, he doesn’t have to spend his christmas there if he’d rather be with his best mates. and what we have in harry’s response is him having to face up, for the first time, not just to the extent of ginny’s exclusion from his friend group, but how much work she has done to be at peace with her exclusion from parts of his life and particularly from his friend group which includes her own friend and brother. in her most insecure thoughts, ginny’s thinking oh god what if harry doesn’t want to be here with me as much as he does with ron and hermione; harry’s like, i’m just now realising the person lying next to me seems to think i want to leave to go hang out with my friends instead of spend christmas with her during this awful time for her family, seems to think i’m doing her a favour by staying, and seems to be hiding something from me that is connected to her own wellbeing.

what will harry's reaction be?

i will be keeping my cards reasonably close to my chest on this one, but i will say this... it was important for me to have two issues come up at the same time: harry working out ginny's keeping secrets while also finding out that she feels much more insecure about how important she is to him and how much she just wants him to be happy even at her own expense. i also wanted it to take place in a chapter that hammers home how much the weasleys, including ginny, are people grieving a great loss and struggling with it, harry a witness to ginny's attempts to hold her family together and make this time together special. of course harry's suspicious, and, likely, hurt. but he's also aware of what she and her family are going through, watching them all suffer extreme pain, and he's also just accidentally been informed of some of his own failings and shortcomings when it comes to ginny and her insecurities about her place in his life. that harry isn't immediately demanding answers and calling ginny out is a sign of him both processing dynamics years in the making, but it's also him reading the room. it would be extremely entitled to storm in and demand answers from ginny when he is seeing her and her family in such extreme distress - so instead he's keeping quiet for now, showing her wordless physical affection, and really deeping what's going on here.

harry and ginny will be facing the music very (very) soon. so far in the fic, the moments where ginny has come closest to giving the game away have been whenever harry and ginny are physically in the same place (st andrews, hogsmeade midnight field picnic). i wanted all the issues to start to come up this chapter now that harry and ginny are back together 24/7 and can't hide behind carefully chosen words in letters, and for their physical displays of intimacy and affection to start to stop working as well as strategies to paper over deeper conversations that need to be had. hence ginny waking up in harry’s bed with no nightmares after physical intimacy at the start of the chapter, but going back to the nightmares despite his proximity and physical displays of affection by the time we get to the chapter's end. their coping mechanisms are running out of road.

would harry be jealous of ginny telling michael?

harry (and ginny) are canonically a bit jealous, absolutely. but they're only really jealous when they're broken up and have more reasons to be insecure about their relationship (ginny with cho, harry with dean/krum - all are tensions that happen while they're broken up. when they're together, it's something they laugh about, eg. romilda and fleur). some of the responses to the fic (understandably) have focussed on oh my god ginny saw her ex. but i think ginny seeing her ex (which she doesn't deliberately keep from harry but realises after the fact she should tell him about, and is careful not to lie to him) is less likely to be upsetting to harry than the idea that ginny went and saw someone that she shared intense, traumatic experiences with that harry wasn’t a part of, and that, throughout DH, he’s in the dark about. that it's michael doesn't improve things, but it's the bigger context that makes the act more upsetting.

are harry and ginny doomed?

a lot of hinny critics cite various versions of the above dynamics as reasons why hinny would ultimately not make it long-term as a couple. i (obviously) disagree with that, because i believe these are two characters willing and able to make this relationship flourish and thrive. with that said, i don't think people writing harry and ginny as a pairing should ignore the existing dynamics within hinny as a relationship that would need to be unpacked and worked on as they rebuild their relationship as a foundation for a happy, healthy future together. this includes the fact that their relationship has been uneven in the level of mutual emotional support in canon, and full of cultivated omissions and silences. i'm not blaming harry (much) for this - i think harry has had, if not good reasons, then understandable reasons why, in the canon timeline, he gives ginny less emotional support than she gives him, not least because 1) he has (frankly) needed more (not to diminish ginny's post chamber trauma, but i think this is fair to say), 2) because ginny has great trouble accepting emotional support, and 3) because the arc of the later series is harry slowly accepting the role of the chosen one, deciding that he is not a normal person, and setting himself on a singular path to destruction stripped of ties to other people, even though he longs for the life of a normal person deep down. less dramatically, harry also ends the series a repressed 17 year old boy with some obliviousness issues and some growing up to do in ways that make him actually extremely typical of even emotionally healthy teenage boys (do i think every kind supportive man i now know in my late twenties was the best at emotional literacy and maturity at age 17? no no i do not. having met some of them at that time, i can you for a fact that they were, in fact, Not, and none of them were the subject of a terrible prophecy and all fought in precisely zero wars).

i believe harry wants a mutually supportive relationship with ginny. i believe him capable of having just that, and willing to do the work to build it. we know in canon he wants to build a family and instinctually practices reasonably healthy dynamics within one (in his familial relationship with sirius, it's often harry who sets the boundaries and healthy precedents). harry also often worries about ginny's wellbeing, physical and emotional, in his internal monologue, and sincerely wants to make her feel better about the awful things going on around them and that he is putting her through (see the birthday kiss scene - his instinct is to comfort her, and it's ron's rage that stops him). i'm always struck that in DH he starts to watch ginny on the map not when she might be in physical danger (eg. when she comes into contact with carrows/snape), but when she is in bed, alone with her thoughts/dreams/nightmares, and imagines himself reaching into her brain and hoping she's doing ok. in the battle he tries to reassure ginny in the thick of fighting even though he knows they are 'empty words'. across all his relationships more generally, he does show capacities for emotional awareness and generosity, consistently building loving, supportive connections with other characters throughout the series arc, and worrying particularly about the emotional state of the people he views as family (sirius chief among them).

when push comes to shove, harry potter, by the end of DH, is getting much better at knowing how to make his closest loved ones feel better. my favourite example being his perfect detonation of words and physical comfort to ron in the forest of dean - ron feels forgiven, loved and understood by harry so beautifully in that scene. i argue that he would take this hard-won work-in-progress trait and run with it when it comes to building his postwar relationship with ginny. but i think harry has a lot still to learn about how to communicate effectively, how to verbalise that concern and action it into meaningful emotional support and comfort, and at this point in beasts, he's perhaps beginning to realise how deficient he's been in this department. ginny, too, has a lot of work of her own to do. and it's my pleasure to try and figure out how they do that, and i'm grateful for the faith in me having a go at writing a version of it in this fic!

[untamedmetablogiguess]

In the world where The Untamed is a game of D&D, the person who plays NMJ is the kind of player who really likes exploring the limits and implications of the alignment system. NMJ was designed to play with the inherent tension of making a character who is a Barbarian, which is kind of naturally inclined to chaos, and one who is deeply Lawful. They think it's super interesting to explore the dichotomy of a person who is ruled, on one hand, by an almost-uncontrollable battle rage and bloodlust and, on the other hand, by an unshakeable personal moral code.

The person who plays Jin Guangyao thinks the alignment system is kind of bullshit and doesn't want to engage with that part of the game at all. They think it's reductive and frankly kind of infantilizing to act like all of human behavior and motivation can be boiled down to "good or evil, chaotic or lawful" and have opted out of any items or spells or effects that have anything to do with alignment.

NMJ!player jokes that they only don't want to tell the rest of the group what their character's alignment is because, as a rogue, they want to have plausible deniability to steal from party members later. JGY!player is genuinely offended by this suggestion.

At some point down the line, JGY's player has to drop out of the game for a while (new job? shifted class schedule? whatever reason, it doesn't matter) and works out with the DM how they want to be written out of the campaign. They're actually initially planning on having JGY (still Meng Yao, actually) killed off after being stabbed by Wen Zhuliu, immediately after having done a big murder and been "revealed" to have been secretly "evil." They really love the idea of their sendoff being one big middle finger to the entire idea of alignment - yeah, i just murdered someone and then immediately died for you in a heartfelt and selfless way! suck on that!

JGY's player, as everyone around the table is speechless and devastated by his apparent demise: And as I gasp out my last, dying breath, my final words are... "alignment ain't shit"

(They eventually settle on banishment instead of death as the way to write JGY out of the story so he can come back later if the player's circumstances allow for it, but you can see the same thematic thread being played with over and over again, because the player enjoys it so much.)

[sophiasharp]

Thinking more about my role swap au, particularly how much Wyll would probably fucking DESPISE Astarion at first.

Cause like, in this au, Wyll was the one turned into a spawn and forced through 200 years of awfulness, and I think that probably would give him a very different opinion of heroes than the Wyll we know and love in-game.

This Wyll felt a deep sense of betrayal at never having been found by his father or the Flaming Fist- at almost no one being able to suss out his master’s true nature, and those that can either being too prideful in their attacks and getting themselves killed or being in in on the cruelty and letting it continue unfettered.

This Wyll has a GREAT distaste for so-called heroes, convinced that the vast majority of them are self-aggrandizing louts that are just in it for the acclaim.

I say “the vast majority,” however, because I think that the idea of a true hero is still something he clings to at his darkest moments: that maybe there could come a day where someone good and just could do in his vampiric sire for good and finally end his reign of terror, and that maybe, just maybe, he could be recognized as more than the monster he’s been turned into.

This, however, only increases his contempt for those that fail to live up to that paragon status.

Enter this au’s Astarion: the most dramatic bastard to ever play hero.

Wyll’s attention goes STRAIGHT to Astarion once the group reaches the grove, probably having heard tell of the illustrious Blade of Frontiers in the taverns he frequented and being curious as to whether the legend held up in reality.

And oh. Oh it certainly does not.

Adventuring wasn’t really a choice for Astarion. It was either mope about his banishment and his eternal servitude to the Fae till something killed him OR use his newfound powers to earn some respect and get by that way.

Archfey pacts mostly deal in charming those around them, enhancing their presence beyond what a mortal alone could accomplish. As a result, a lot of how Astarion works is by having his reputation preceded him, letting the subsequent fear or adoration do a lot of the heavy lifting in his encounters.

In this way, the Blade of Frontiers is completely an act, one that Astarion profits from by keeping it up. Yes, he’s helping the people at the Grove because it’s the right thing to do, but he’s also totally doing it because he knows they’ll be willing to give him food and shelter despite not having much to go around in exchange for the protection he provides.

Astarion upholds the charade of the Righteous Defender in front of the Tiefling refugees but is quick to show his true, not entirely selfless nature with the other tad-fools since there’s no use in putting up a front when they can literally read his mind and they might all die in a few days time.

And ohohoho man will Wyll have PROBLEMS.

Wyll, in this au, is far from the fairy tail hero we know him to be in canon. He follows a lot of the same playbook that in-game Astarion does for most of the journey. He tries to manipulate those around him into protecting him, will always go for whatever option is more in his favor, and has a very dry, borderline gallows sense of humor that he uses to cope with his situation. In his eyes, though, he comes by his selfishness honestly. Astarion, meanwhile, seemingly shoves his hero status in everyone’s faces while, in Wyll’s eyes, not having truly earned it.

To Wyll, Astarion is a hypocrite of the highest order who works in his best interest and then would chastise him for doing the same.

It makes when Astarion’s fae ties are revealed and he’s punished for sparing Gale all the more satisfying. Wyll damn near revels in Astarion’s transformation into a faerie, watching him struggle to come to terms with the giant ram horns sticking out from his skull and his sudden change in eye color. Because that’s what you get for messing with powers beyond your control. That’s what you get for pretending to be a hero when all you are is a failed magistrate toying with those around you.

That’s what you get for thinking yourself so much better than the monsters you keep for company: you become one yourself.

Wyll finds it funny, a karmic justice for all the times the folk hero had looked down on him for voting for the less virtuous option or for joking about what flavor their companions might be.

It is so very, very funny.

…until it isn’t.

Because the transformation doesn’t force Astarion to drop the hero act like he thought it would. Oh no, if anything it has the only strengthened his resolve to do the right thing no matter the consequences. He wears the mantle of the Blade with more vigor than ever before, earnestly trying to live up to his own impossible legend now that it will never be within his reach.

It makes no damn sense to Wyll. Why bother? Why go to the trouble when you know the effort won’t be appreciated? When everywhere he goes, all anyone will see is a fae creature looking to cash in a favor?

He just doesn’t get it.

He doesn’t get it until they make it to Last Light Inn. It’s there, as he watches Astarion talk to Councilor Florrick, to the High Harper, to Isobel, Alphira, Rolan, Raphael, everyone they meet as the threat of the Absolute weighs heavy on them all, that Wyll hears something in Astarion’s words that he hadn’t before:

Fear. Desperation.

Astarion doubled down on his Blade persona for the same reason he made it in the first place.

It’s all he has left.

And if he doesn’t, then everything he’s done since his banishment will have meant nothing. He’ll have given up his life, his reputation, even his own body for nothing.

But if he can be a true hero, if he can use the power his pact grants to protect those who have none, if he can be the kind, just man that the Blade represented, maybe it would all be worth it somehow.

It truly sinks in for Wyll just how heavily it all weighed on Astarion the day after they first make it to Moonrise Towers. Wyll had gone out into the night searching for any living creature he might get a meal out of within the all-encompassing darkness of the Shadow Curse when he heard groans of pain nearby.

Keeping to the shadows, he followed the noise till he found a disheveled Astarion, pulling at his horns and knocking them against trees in some half considered attempt to pry them from his head. Looking at him closer, Wyll could see bags under his eyes from weeks of sleep made uneasy by the two additions. He watched as frustrated , pained tears gathered in the eyes of the same man that had brushed off any concern from their traveling companions about whether he was coping well with his sudden, agonizing transformation.

Wyll tried to grasp at that satisfaction he’s felt when that liaison of Astarion’s patron had bestowed the punishment for letting Gale live.

Instead, he found a profound sympathy he wanted to bury as soon as he’d found it.

Because he remembered his beginning days as a vampire spawn. How long it had taken him to be able to speak clearly around the new protrusions in his mouth. How he’d cut his tongue on them every other sentence. How he’d succeeded in ripping them out once only to regret it when their absence only left him starved and still expected to entertain and seduce victims anyways.

Wyll backed away before Astarion could notice him, but the sight of his seemingly unflappable companion buckling under the pressure stuck with him. Come the next day at camp, Astarion was back to his usual flamboyant self, all signs of his previous anguish carefully hidden out of sight and out of mind. Things were, as far as anyone else knew, as they’d always been.

And yet, if one knew to look, they might have seen Wyll covering for Astarion more often in fights, taking down enemies before they could get too close to their raucous hero. They might have seen him sneaking extra health potions in his pack when he wasn’t looking, or being the first to assist if he went down. They might have even noticed Wyll collecting bits and pieces of cloth, fabric, and other softer materials that whenever it was possible to scavenge.

About a week later, there finally comes a day where Astarion goes out and Wyll stays back, and after coming back from a long and concerning day exploring the Gauntlet of Shar, Astarion is shocked to find a new addition to his tent: a patchwork pillow resting on his bedroll, thick enough to give the extra support needed for someone with horns like his. When questioning the others left behind, Karlach eventually tells him that Wyll had been oddly absent for almost the entire day.

And when Astarion questions Wyll on whether or not he had anything to do with it, Wyll merely shrugs. “Us monsters need to look out for each other, don’t we?”

[utilitycaster]

1/2 What I find gets glossed over so much for "pretty lesbians kiss" with regards to Laura and Marisha's characters is that they consistently, across all main campaigns, create characters who really Do Not Understand each other. Like, it's most obvious with Vex and Keyleth (which is why it's so baffling to me how popular that ship is, Vex basically cringes every other time Keyleth opens her mouth and barely tolerates her for the majority of the campaign), but it's clear with Jester and Beau too

2/2 too, especially in regards to their relationships with their respective fathers and also Jester's relationship with Artagan, that they have drastically different viewpoints that aren't really compatible. Anyway, it's somewhat interesting that, while their characters Do Not Understand each other in equal measure across all campaigns, they are outwardly much closer in each subsequent campaign. Do you have any thoughts on this or have had any similar observations regarding this?

Hi anon,

I definitely do have thoughts about this. I don’t think it’s been intentional, per se, that their characters have never been entirely aligned but they’ve become closer (ie, I don’t think that they planned for their characters to be at such odds in Campaign 1, to be friends in Campaign 2, and to be romantically involved in Campaign 3). I also should note that while I agree that Vex/Keyleth is a uniquely terrible ship that deeply misunderstands both characters; and while I vastly prefer both Beauyasha and Fjorester to even a hypothetical in which Beau and Jester took the time to understand each other and a believable and compelling romance could conceivably develop, I do actually enjoy both of those as non-romantic dynamics very much. Part of the problem with Imogen and Laudna is that, at least thus far, the problems with it as a romantic relationship are the exact same problems with it as a platonic relationship. It's flat and uninteresting no matter how you slice it.

As for why this has happened: I think Marisha and Laura’s chemistry with each other as scene partners is unexceptional among the cast. That doesn’t mean it’s bad - everyone in the cast has baseline good chemistry - but it has never stood out to me. Like, I have never personally had strong feelings about any romantic ships between Laura and Sam’s characters, but they do often occupy similar thematic spaces (selfishness/selflessness; a desire to be liked vs. a desire to be yourself) and I have always enjoyed how they’ve played off each other and looked forward to it, and I don't feel the same about Laura and Marisha. While it’s hard to pin a theme on Laudna (more on that later), Beau and Keyleth (and for that matter Patia) all engage with the expectations of one’s family, and that doesn’t have a natural “in” with what Laura usually does (or vice versa). I will also note: many of the best scenes between Laura and Marisha’s characters, and that includes in Campaign 3, have been arguments. The gnarlrock stands out as one of the only interesting Imogen and Laudna interactions (as well as, to be honest, one of the only interesting Laudna and Delilah interactions); Vex yelling at Keyleth in episode 1x45 is one of my favorite scenes in the campaign; and when I think of Beau and Jester I think of Beau’s irritation as Jester gushes about the plot of Tusk Love, and their quietly growing distance due to the disagreements you brought up about Artagan and their fathers (while still remaining good friends, just ones who don’t agree on everything and don’t need to) in the latter half of the campaign. The lack of conflict between Imogen and Laudna is not just uninteresting from the general grade school premise of "stories need conflict"; it's also depriving them of their strongest source of chemistry as actors.

As for why it’s so widely shipped across all three campaigns; I really suspect a major factor is simply that Ashley was frequently absent so this was the only F/F PC/PC option, week to week. There really is no other good explanation for Vex and Keyleth, a couple so terribly unsuited it verges on the dynamic of a 90s straight sitcom of a man who hates his hot wife. I used to be more generous towards that (ie, wanting an F/F ship between PCs even though it had no redeeming qualities other than being an F/F ship between PCs), but my patience for anyone claiming the cover of Campaign 1 norms ran out some time ago; we’ve been living in a fandom environment that overshot in trying to correct for the assholes during C1 for far too long.

Anyway: I don’t know why exactly things fall so flat in Campaign 3, in the sense that these characters were, as far we know, supposed to be designed as friends. I don’t want to keep harping on it but given Laudna’s directionlessness I wonder if that lack of lived-in backstory extends to their time together. At the very least, if they did plan out what those two years looked like in any depth, it has not come through in the story, either through their words or to an extent their acting. The relationship really only makes sense as mutual security blankets; but I don’t find that remotely interesting. Which brings me to the final points.

I’ve been trying to tread carefully around the term “roving slash” not in the least because I think it unfairly condemns queer relationships after quite literally centuries of mediocre and tacked-on M/F relationships that occur simply because one is a man and one is a woman and not because there’s any romantic tension or reason for them to see something in the other. With that said, I’ve found that there’s a lot of fandom popular F/F pairings that fit a very specific mold of each other being the only one who understands the other - but in a bland and flawless way, as victims of circumstance who expect nothing of each other except to be there, and not as people who can uniquely relate to each other’s flaws. It is an idea of romance as something without conflict. [I will note as an aside, however, that this idea often exists simultaneously with the incompatible desire to tell queer stories based in oppression. There can't be any stated desire from these fans for conflict for the characters, internal or external; but I also think that they secretly want some third character to represent a nebulous, problematic force. For all the hate piled upon, say, Percy in his interactions with Keyleth, or the current wave of hate towards Orym, I think they want those characters so there is something to demonize and to further set apart how pure and wronged their ship or their favorite character is; and, as always, to take away the agency - which comes with responsibility, which comes with fault - from women.]

I can’t stand that. As others have recently put better than I could (and we’re talking Cronenberg and Tolstoy here), stories need conflict, and the fandom culture of characters being effortlessly good, and going from traumatized to completely unchallenged, and endless softness is unbearably dull to me. Even things claimed to be held in the highest regard, like recovery, must hit the most pinprick target by fans with this mindset and anything else is a failure. It’s exhausting. For Imogen and Laudna’s relationship specifically, I’ve found that the repeated comparisons of past Laura Bailey Character Romances - both of which are my favorites for their respective campaigns - really puts the flaccidness in her Campaign 3 romance in stark relief. With Percy and Vex, there is a sense that if he does not take the mask off when she calls him darling, it will close a door. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that they only come together romantically after she has faced some of her own inner darkness with Saundor, and he has defeated Orthax and the party has helped kill Ripley. Similarly, with Fjord and Jester, when Jester asks “would you do anything to get them [his Uk’otoa-granted powers] back?”, there is a palpable sense that were he to have answered “yes”, it would have meant something. And they, too, only commit to a romance once Fjord has done all he can to sever his ties to Uk’otoa, and Jester has begun to slowly explore expressing negative emotions. To compare it to Imogen and Laudna’s noncommittal total lack of narrative tension (maybe we should harness it! Maybe we shouldn’t! Doesn’t really matter because we’ve stated there’s zero stakes either way!) just accentuates the Mariana Trench-level drop in quality.

That digresses a lot from your original question, and so I think what I want to get at is that I have shared these observations. However, I feel that the characters’ differences were well-handled in prior campaigns and felt organic and interesting. I don’t know why it’s so lacking in Campaign 3 and I don’t think my speculation here would be helpful to any argument; I just know that it is exceptional only in its dullness.

[multific]

König Christmas Headcanons

König x Fem!Reader

For Christmas, he would plan something special

He didn't hate nor did he love Christmas it was something that was another holiday

But it doesn't mean he wouldn't go all out

He would love the snow

He would rent out a house in Austria for the two of you

The house would be in the mountains where you would be surrounded by snow and nature

No neighbours

He would make sure beforehand that the house is fully decorated

You expect a nice romantic holiday with your boyfriend

And that is exactly what you would get

A huge beautifully decorated tree in the middle

A huge fireplace, already lit

You could only imagine the possibilities

Every morning, he would wake up early and make breakfast

You two would go on walks in the woods

He was good at finding his way back to the house

The places he takes you, breathtaking

You take so many pictures

Too many in fact

But who could blame you

This is your first Christmas with König and you plan on enjoying every second

One day, he drove you to a nearby city

He said they had a huge Christmas fair and you wanted to see

You wanted to see the huge tree, the shops and try the food

You had the most fun

Matching sweaters is a must

Finding a size that fits him is extremely difficult

It was nice to see him in normal clothes

He of course looked incredibly sexy

Even in his ugly Christmas sweaters

König loves to eat

And to cook

So, he would prepare an entire meal for Christmas Eve

And he would cook it all himself

You'd of course help with the minor stuff

Flirting with each other the entire time

Christmas songs playing in the background as he kisses you

He would have mistletoe in his back pocket

Would pull it out at every moment he sees fit

There are a lot of moments like that

"Kiss." he demanded for the thousandth time that day.

"Yeah." you'd reply with a smile and lean over to give him a kiss.

Of course, he prepared presents

Anything you needed and loved

He would buy them for you

Of course, you also bought him gifts

One was a new Lego set you saw him liking

"LEGO?! I love LEGO! Liebling! You are the best!"

The Lego set was the winner

Not even the skimpy lingerie set you got for later in the evening impressed him as much

Although he did end up enjoying it later on

Christmas morning, you two just sat on the couch, the lights on the tree turned on as you two watched many many Christmas movies

You were surprised to hear König has never seen Home Alone

So, you held a marathon

"How could his parents forget him?"

"How could his father afford that kind of vacation for that many kids?"

"So they want to rob them? Why not call the police instead of these traps?"

And many many more questions

Later that day, you stood out on the balcony

It was cold but the fresh air was worth it

"Babe-" he started but you shushed him as you motioned for him to be quiet and go over to you

He did

And this is when he saw the deer

A family of deer just walking past the house

"Do you think I should put food out for them? They must be hungry. They eat vegetables right? We have a lot of carrots and such."

This is why he loved you so much. Just how selfless you were

You ended up leaving a nice big pile of food out near where you saw the deer

And you were fine if other animals took from the pile

You were inside, drinking your hot chocolate while The Grinch played on the TV

"Merry Christmas König, I love you." you said as you placed your head on his shoulder.

"Frohe Weihnachten." he replied as a smile appeared on his face

This truly is the most wonderful time of the year

Taglist: imreadinggoaway @fleursirvart​​ @v-2bucky ehsebastiancrunch-time-sports  @pxstelrainbow ablogbypeteparker liamssmilersmexylemony @greenarrowhead feelingsareharddd @thisismysecrethappyplace @sincerelyfan @theoneanna @aestheticsandmarvel @rororo06 @castellandiangelo @avengers-r-us @destynelseclipsa   @spilledinkindumpster celebsimagine @capsiclesdoll snoopy3000 @firstangeldragonranch @puknow @crazzyter  @alwayshave-faith @soleil-dor @alex12948 scream-kiwi79  @lxdyred  @imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl​ @liveforkarljacobs @anonymoussherlockandmarvelgeek​​ @paola-carter​​ @stunkbiggu

~Masterlist~

ˇAO3ˇ

[altocat]

i saw that you also said you love to talk about other characters, not just sephiroth, so i thought i'd ask: what are your favorite things/traits/moments etc of all of the playable characters we've had across the compilation of 7? i feel like i can talk about all the characters forever :)

Ooh yeah! This will be fun. Okay!

Cloud: Cloud is the most relatable character to me, and probably my favorite if we're being honest. I relate strongly to his identity issues, and I love when he tries to act tough while concealing a softer nature. My personal favorite scene with him is the flashback where he realizes that he was stronger than Sephiroth this whole time, throwing Sephiroth down the pit. It's a powerful moment, probably Cloud's single greatest moment in the entire series.

Tifa: Tifa is literal perfection. She looks like a tough tomboy and yet she's also one of the kindest people ever. She's maternal, loyal, supportive, and devoted to a fault. The team would be lost without her. She's the glue that holds everyone together. An absolute queen. My favorite moment with her is Under the Highwind, regardless of her relationship with Cloud being romantic or platonic.

Barret: Barret's got a heart of gold. He's always part of my main party when playing the OG. A great comrade and an even GREATER father. His relationship with Marlene is beautiful and so warm and wholesome. Barret also spits some iconic quotes over the course of the game, as well as some hard truths. My favorite scene with him, naturally, is his encounter with Dyne. The line "my hands are too stained to carry her anymore" gets me to cry no matter how many times I play.

Aerith: Aerith is the biggest hero of FFVII next to Cloud. She's the one who ultimately saves the day, and all through her sacrifice. I'm not even gonna talk about my favorite moment with her because...you guys already know the scene. It's the single most famous scene in gaming history. Aerith has a playful, occasionally chaotic edge to her personality that she hides behind a sweet smile. I absolutely adore that about her. She's so full of love and so full of selflessness, but she also loves to tease people. Also an absolute queen.

Red XIII: Nanaki is a cat btw. I have always seen him as a cat. That's my controversial opinion on him lmao. Also him howling for Seto makes me ugly cry every single time without fail. I appreciate that Nanaki seems occasionally stoic and serious, but then has kind of a childlike or immature fear or insecurity about something. There's that duality to him that ties to the other characters in a sense. Anyway, I love him. He is a very good boy.

Cid: Cid took a while to grow on me initially. He's pretty rough around the edges. But my favorite moment with him happens in the last third where he sorta becomes the de facto leader of the group with Cloud gone. And I like that he seems to have reconciled with Shera as well. Honestly, he's just kind of a badass and really cool at what he does. Also he gets to go to space. Good for him tbh.

Cait Sith: This one is hard because there's always a debate as to how much of a character Cait Sith actually IS. It's Reed puppeting a machine/doll basically. How much of Cait Sith has a mind of his own? Regardless, Cait Sith isn't my fave. He's a spy, after all. But he makes up for it in the end, even if he kinda fades into the background. Reed is honestly more of an interesting character overall. I can't name any specific favorite moments with Cait Sith specifically. But also he's a small Scottish cat. And that's rad.

Vincent: This edgy boi. Also not one of my faves, but he's grown a lot more on me over time. He wins for always having the coolest voice in the entire group. And I really like the scene where he reunites with Lucrecia. Vincent is kind of gruff and understated at times compared to the rest of the cast. But he has a gentle side as well, and one hell of a cool backstory. Also I love monsters and gothic imagery in general.

Yuffie: Yuffie is...my least favorite main character. I don't hate her. I've just never been a fan of the "spunky loudmouth child" trope. With that said, I'm sure the Remake trilogy will breathe new life into her and add some extra appeal for me. I like what I've seen so far. And Yuffie's bluntness and playfulness can be cute from time to time.

Zack: Counting him because of Crisis Core. He's probably my third favorite character. His death is the saddest scene in the entire compilation imo. He's a character who is wholly encompassed by love, who deals with a LOT of pain, and who proves to be better and worthier than most people put together. Like Aerith, he sacrifices everything. And also like Aerith, his legacy will live on forever.

[blnk338]

COD HEADCANONS 3

COD HEADCANONS 1

COD HEADCANONS 2

REAP WHAT YOU SOW | GHOST X READER ON AO3!

Price:

Generally grew up with a pretty dull family life; parents were distant, especially his dad

Made a vow that he would not only be a good father, but he would remind those around them that they are watched over, whether they liked it or not

Dad taxation like it’s the end of the fucking world.

Oh you got a little sweet drink? Better not look away, he’s taking a sip

Buy candy at the gas station? His arm’s already careened around the side of the driver’s seat, asking you for some

Big on movies, but will absolutely fall asleep while watching them, then shoot up and tell you not to change the channel when you even touch the remote

Struggles a lot internally trying to deal with the fact that every mission might be his last with his boys, mulling over the loss of Alex, wondering if the same will happen to Gaz

Genuinely sees Garrick as the son he never had and knows that the kid admires him

It’s not often Price gets a hug or a pat on the back, but it’s hard for him to hide the wide smile that spreads across his lips when one of his team wraps an arm around him or pats his shoulder.

Survivor’s guilt to the max, man. Every mission is a mental preparation for the worst, and the very idea that he could be responsible for any one of the 141’s deaths weighs on him like all hell

Couldn’t decide if he wanted to get ordained or be the best man at Laswell’s wedding, so he did both. He sobbed as he read out his lines, then threw dad ass during the after-party.

Has a habit of calling his team, especially Gaz, “son” and has just gotten so used to it that he’s stopped correcting himself, and not a single member has brought it up seriously (aside from gag gifts for the holidays)

The warmest, most loving hugs out of the entire 141. The other's hugs are great, but there is so much genuine care put into every single bear hug of his. Each embrace holds you like it's your last, enveloping you in warmth as he mutters a few words of comfort, thanks, or both.

Wishes he could be a better father to his own daughters, but continuously finds reasons to stay in the military

Because of that, he is the absolute worst at discipline when he's on leave. He can scold as much as he wants, but his kids know he’s not being serious. Spoils them to not end.

His daughters also love Gaz and see him as an older brother

Gaz:

Like Price, there’s a lot of internal blame for everything.

Maybe if he shot first, or got to the site faster—maybe if he was better... those soldiers, those people, could’ve been saved.

Sees himself often as a shield, a hand in battle, and with that, sees himself as expendable. If it means seeing his team come back alive, he’d do anything to make sure that they’re okay.

Selfless to a fault. He’s taken more bullets, more stabs, and more punches than anyone else on the team during TF-141’s active timeframe. Price worries like hell over him because, on most missions, he comes back with at the very least a swollen cheek.

Considered smoking to take the edge off, but hates the taste of cigarettes and cigars, and prefers edibles over it all.

Even with that, he still tries to handle it “naturally,” insisting he’s alright and doesn’t need anything to cope, that the stress and anxiety will just pass eventually.

Refused therapy for a long time because he was afraid of getting worse, but eventually started going and has overall enjoyed his time

Was a parkour kid and then just… never lived it down.

Because of this, it’s nearly impossible to get away from the guy. Soap’ll pull pranks on him and have the guy in a dead sprint across base, leaping and vaulting off of boxes, crates, and other soldiers just to catch the Scotsman.

Bit people when he was a kid, too

Says “bruh”

“A woman? The only woman in my life is Joann Fabrics.”

Knows how to sew, patches up his clothes all the time, stitching his initials into the tags.

What can he say? He likes to keep his stuff to himself (plus with all of the stuff that Soap steals, if he doesn’t put a label on ‘em, they’ll be right in the lost and found)

Bit his nails pretty far down to the point where they hurt, so he tried out different nail polishes to keep himself from biting. When on the field, if he feels like he needs to bite them, he just sharpie’s them in (it works well enough for the guy)

Is completely content with drinking things right out of the fridge, regardless of who’s home. The milk you got yesterday? He’s just takin’ a quick swing, no worries, no really, it’s fine—just a sip, JUST A SIP—

Soap:

This guy plasters on a smile to cover up his crazy anxiety and intense paranoia; the responsibility he feels for his team, especially his lieutenant, is fucking crazy

He’ll take a bullet for everyone, but he’s more than willing to take whatever is needed for Ghost or Price, knowing they’re a higher rank, therefore sees them as more important. He holds Gaz in the same way, but he can't act the same because he's supposed to see him as equal; yet he would willingly take an RPG for the kid

Loves giving himself and his teammates spa days; face and hair masks, deep conditioning, threading eyebrows

Big on physical affection, but really relishes in the idea that he can do things for the people he cares about instead of hugs if preferred

The guy’s filled with so much love, it’s hard to contain, but he’s really really good at waiting and holding back for those who aren’t as into touching.

Like he knows Price loves hugs, so he’ll take any chance to pat his shoulder or include him in the fun, wrapping an arm around him, engaging him with the rest of the team’s shenanigans

Gaz loves the silly stuff with Soap, so they’ll pretend to make out or make fake moaning sounds, smacking the walls to make it seem like they’re fucking or something just to mess with any poor bystanders on base; adores how much shit he can pull with Gaz, so at the drop of a feather, he’s up and ready to fuck around and find out with the younger Brit. They are responsible for thousands of dollars in property damage.

Quality time with Roach is a big thing for the two of them since Roach seemingly always has something he has to do, and Soap can’t always help him (paperwork and such); just sitting in the same room, making light conversation, or doodling on the scratch paper while his fellow sergeant files papers is enough for him.

He knows Ghost isn’t huge on physical affection, so all of his touches never go past a short, half-embrace; usually landing on things like a clap on the shoulder or punch to the arm. Otherwise, Soap’ll run around doing tasks for him, helping him with the privates for the day, and other mundanities for his lieutenant. If it makes his life easier, Soap would tell him to consider it done before he even starts.

Sometimes wonders how good the team would be without him; if it all came down to it, what would he need to do to make sure that the 141 could manage without his support?

Big overthinker. Spends hours sometimes just cleaning the same knife over and over again, staring off into space, eyes blank as his mind tries to click puzzle pieces together

Thalassophobia

Still calls it a “slumby” instead of a slumber party

“It’s not a slumber party”

“YES IT IS WERE HAVING FUN AND WERE STAYING THE NIGHT IT’S A SLUMBY”

Its an abandoned warehouse in the middle of no where, there’s leaks in the roof, and the ground is damp.

Ghost:

Was a really anxious kid that ended up trying to cover it all up in his teens. Was actually kinda popular in high school; athletic, good-natured, and genuinely tried his best in his courses. There was always something sort of off about him though, he’d sit in class with a faraway look, spacing out, sometimes coming into school with eyebags for days.

Bit people as a kid

Wanted to go to college for computer engineering, but was highly discouraged and ended up getting into the military instead (as well as other reasons)

Still sometimes wonders about working with tech instead of using firearms, but those are just dreams, nothing more. He has a job to do now, it’s useless to think about anything but that.

Trusts every single member of the 141 (eventually Alej and Rudy) with his life. Is absolutely terrible at actually saying it, but would take a tank to the teeth to make sure they all end up alive. He isn’t willing to let them be selfless—he isn’t willing to give anyone up.

Milk drinker

Raw egg eater

Likes almonds, does not like cashews. Has never given a reason why.

Does not care for bugs.

“Why are you screaming, it’s a beetle.”

Doesn’t really get the whole deal about insects because they're usually so easy to take care of, but will remove them once everyone quiets down, taking a little piece of paper and cup, scooping up the little thing, and placing it outside. If someone's got a fear, he respects it and will take care of it, but he does it all with a neutral look on his face.

His main party trick is that he can swallow a cup of jello without blinking.

Just bottoms up, down the hatch, and done

Soap tried to do the same thing once and it ended up with him making a HOUGH sound and the jello, still fully intact, shooting across the room and splatting against the wall

Likes to write down jokes he thinks of on his arm; carries a pen everywhere

On that note, his arm and hands are his notepads. You can easily find random numbers, dates, a few mismatched words, and a small grocery list all on his non-dominant hand

Feels like he can’t ever get married or have kids because he’s so afraid of what happened to his parents will happen to him, and he never wants to do that to anyone, especially someone he loves

Still struggles with a lot of self-worth, denying the idea of a family or a stable future. It’s easier to not think about the future when you aren’t sure if you’re going to make it through the next mission

Is Normal British Guy #81 in his civvies, unless with the 141. He’ll wear a scarf or a mask for hunting or for winter, but he genuinely doesn’t wear shit during normal hours. If he's with one of his teammates, he'll wear a face mask of any sort.

One time, Soap was down south to pick up a specific brand of coffee he likes (yes, he’s particular), and Simon, who was getting some last-minute groceries, just stared at him for a good nineteen seconds before walking to the back of the store.

Soap didn’t know it was him.

... and he never will because Ghost’ll never tell him

Nosey nelly, this one.

Knows everyone’s info, for some reason.

He knows your address, and your social security number, oh, tell your mom “happy birthday.”

The team’s gotten used to it because he’s gotten better, but they all know that he’s seen their files.

it's all precautionary, doesn't intend for it to be creepy

[chaikachi]

Hi! I was wondering if you had any favorite headcanons (made by you, or thought of by somebody else) about RoseGarden? There's a lot of things one can come up with for this sort of pairing, so I'm really curious about them.

I've seen some posts from others in passing, but can't tell you any one place to look for them specifically. I do invite anyone that sees this post to share any they have though!! As for me... ough where to start aha. oh wait an easy one

OSCAR FELL FIRST RUBY FELL HARDER AND I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL.

Bro literally said "woah" when he first met her and is Aware of just how Down Bad he's been this entire time. He's fine with it never being reciprocated though and doesn't want to pressure here. A very selfless love. Whereas I expect Ruby to get back from Total Trauma Island to a series of small "oh." moments that build up to a much bigger:

"Oh."

I like to think Ruby is demi-aroace. I can see her realization being an 'oh i have been a little bit in love with him this whole time' situation, but she just didn't realize because - like all her other feelings up to that point - she had been suppressing them. OR she looks back, acknowledges how much she's always cared for him and has a sort of "if it was ever going to be anyone, it was going to be you" moment. And in the face of all her loneliness and fear and grief she decides to 'trust love' and be a little bit selfish about this one thing.

aka just as Ruby chose adventure and adventure chose Oscar, Ruby chooses to love Oscar on purpose while he is sitting there like "I never had a choice but to love you. Okay this is getting long and less narratively focused so i'm gonna put it under a read more:

I like to think that Oscar doesn't stay a 'morning person' and instead becomes reallll grumpy if you wake him up too early, which Ruby does often cause she's always been an early riser. Meanwhile if Oscar manages to get Ruby to sleep for 'five more minutes', she turns into the grumpy one.

While still travelling together or working as huntsmen, Oscar always carries around some grab and go snacks that he knows Ruby likes cause she can sometimes forget to eat and giving her food is one of his love languages.

Speaking of 'love languages', I know the system has some ~questionable~ origins, but I do like to think Ruby is more of a "physical touch & words of affirmation" girlie as opposed to Oscar who is more "acts of service & gift giving". They're about even when it comes to quality time together. Are happy to be very engaged in whatever activity they've chosen or just like enjoying the other's company while they're both doing their own things.

Sparring is one of their favourite things to do together, but they are also known to dance (slow or silly) in the kitchen while they're waiting for baked goods to come out of the oven.

Oscar isn't a fan of dogs after the Hound incident and Ruby isn't big on cats after the Ever After, so they either don't get pets or choose something a bit more adventurous. Like a bunny or a lizard. Maybe chickens.

Oscar is very affectionate once they're properly in a relationship and he doesn't have to hide how he feels, but the two of them are never 'loud' about it. It's always been a quiet, subtle, natural thing. Very balanced and good communication. Patience and understanding whenever the other needs it. And they almost never fight... until either of them is about to do something dangerous and Protection Mode is activated, in which case all bets are off.

This is all I can come up with for now. Thank you for giving me an excuse to ramble abt RG and for your patience in how long it took me to answer. And again to anyone that would like to share their headcanons, please do so!!

[sarejima]

what ships do you like??

Sorry this took so long to answer(and that its so long lol). I started watching SP barely 2 months ago so haven't really had the chance to think about it and draw out some pairings yet; this was really helpful to me too!

Stan: don't particularly ship Stan w anyone except maybe Wendy. I love him but he's a bit too actively self-centered. I kinda compartmentalize ships in my head between aesthetics and vibes, and aesthetics-wise I find both Stan and Craig look good w Kenny.

Bunny: idk I just like it. Both are compassionate and sweet and rlly high energy but have qualities the other lacks and could learn from. Kenny is stubborn and indignant- he knows what he wants and isn't concerned with judgement(while never to the detriment of others)- due to Butters' upbringing he foregoes this entirely, although you can tell he wants to change. With both's selflessness and patience they're more than capable of meeting in the middle. Kenny is also really socially adept- he seamlessly rides the flow of conversations which Butters with his naive openness would let sweep him away. This openness however is Butters' greatest strength; he's principled and prone to forgiveness and seeing the good in people, as well as being surprisingly emotionally mature(he also has a not-so-well-hidden crazy side which im sure Kenny would appreciate)

Kyman: Eric is obsessed with Kyle- its more than obvious- obsessed in ways that would rub off on anyone given the his very nature. This shows itself at times that contrast well with the others' indifference. Their personalities fit almost a bit too well- Cartman the passionate sadistic antagonist and Kyle equally so the imposer of morality. They're both leaders and big personalities in their own right and it's clear that Cartman's strong feelings can go both ways so it may just work out.

Creek: still have 6 seasons to go till I get there but it's easy to see how perfect they are- Craig especially needs someone who relies on him and gives him a sense of purpose and a focus for his attention, spicing up his life and saving him from his own listlessness little by little while expanding his comfort zone

(Actually drew this one before lol. I just thought it fit the description)

Token/Tolkien: I rlly love Token- he's compassionate and patient and willing to indulge others- not for the sake of it tho, as he's very grounded and sensible enough to know more or less what will or won't benefit him. He's also extremely loyal and a team player- qualities which make me kinda ship him with Clyde. I love the idea of him having to compensate for or accomodate for the other's (lack of) proactiveness/outgoingness. Clyde's laziness being an excuse for Token to fuss over him and devote time to helping him academically and in general(this also works with Craig). I also kinda ship him with Bebe for the opposite reason- rhe only reason I prefer Clyde however is Token's sensitivity; it may be quite easy for her to take advantage of his kindness(Actually I prefer him w Wendy much for for this)

Thanks for reading if you got to the end of this lol (о´∀`о)

And sorry there are probably spelling mistakes(and that my handwriting sucks lol)

[linkspooky]

CHOUJIN X, CHAPTER 41 HYENA

Hello, it's time to cover the climactic battle and rescue of Palma a recently introduced character who will probably turn out to be a major player considering the sheer amount of time that has been spent on this battle. This is also the first time we've seen the trio truly work together in a fight since they got separated before the time skip so there's a lot of interesting character and thematic moments to dig in here.

I think if there's any central statement that Ishida is trying to get across in this long drawn out fight scene it's that old cliche.

GOOD INTENTIONS LEAD TO HELL.

Tokio's mentor Sato reminds him of this. While he is trying to make Tokio into the successor of Sandek because of this heroic and selfless attitude he has, he's also the ahrshest critic of that same attitude. That no matter how hard he fights, or how beautiful the path he walks, or what his ideals are intentions are not outcomes.

The power of choices is a common theme in Ishida's works, often used with a railroad motif at the same time. We are capable of making choices, we are capable at switching tracks at critical junctions too, but oftentimes there are unforeseen consequences for our choices and because of that no matter how much you overthink a choice it at times feels like you've been railroaded into an unexpected result. There is always a choice and always a consequence, and sometimes these things aren't fair or just or logical.

Azuma makes a pretty clear reference to the train tracks monologue in Tokyo Ghoul when he's going to fight the scissor choujin to try and rescue Tokio. In both cases protagonists make a wrong choice that they are then locked into for different reasons. Kaneki correctly understands that Furuta might raid his home base, but instead of splitting his forces appropriately goes alone.

Azuma similiarly is told he can't handle fighting against a Choujin and to stay out of it, and goes anyway. In Azuma's case he's told straight up to his face that his intentions aren't as noble as he makes them out to be. Did he want to save Tokio because he wants to be the kind of person who save others, or did he just want to test himself because he thought being put in life threatening danger would activate his choujin powers?

The road to hell is paved with good intentions can mean two things, number one good intentions don't always lead to good results or number two people's good intentions aren't always as good as they make themselves out to be.

Tokio post timeskip is so far shown to be true to his good nature. However, he is an Ishida protagonist and Ishida doesn't really write straightforward heroes. There is a similarity between the two scenes as I mention, Azuma and Tokio both willingly choose to charge into fights that are far out of their depths and they're warned beforehand that while sitting and doing nothing might seem crueler it also might be the smarter choice and they might make things worse by intervening. Tokio is told that he was the one who asked to take the lead on this Opium operation and now he might throw it all away to save a random stranger by charging in with no backup.

When Tokio is fighting he's able to hear Palma's cries for help in her chaosified state because of their shared connection to Zora's blood and we see he is forcibly flashing back to critical moments of his life. The scene on his beach where he made the decision to leave his life and friends behind for one year and devote himself entirely to training. The memorial for the dead he left behind in his final battle where he beat the tyrannical choujin yes, but lost most of his allies.

The text are Palma's thoughts, but they are probably things Tokio highly identifies with because they're things he's said in his personal narrative before (I want to be stronger, I want to smarter, why am I weak? i can't anymore? Why? I can't give up) something that has even appeared to us in his internal dialogue right before the timeskip.

Palma is lamenting her fate, how weak, useless and helpless she feels and how it feels like nothing she did amounted to anything and begging for help while at the same time succumbing to her berserk state. Part of me wonders if Tokio is overinvested in saving Palma not because of some higher mind heroic goal, but because number one a year later he's still stuck with the feelings of uselessness he had on the beach from watching everyone fight and die for his sake. He's stuck with the idea that if he does not do everything on his own from now on that he'll revert to his old useless self.

Is Tokio trying so hard and so recklessly to save Palma because it's the right thing to do? Is he doing it because their psychic link makes him project his own feelings of uselessness and helplessness onto her? Is it survivor's guilt from all the people he couldn't save in Iwato?

Is it because Tokio like Kaneki hates being made to feel weak or useless so at moments like this he will act on his own and act recklessly so he can pretend he's in control. I think these chapters in general are setting up more for Tokio's character, at least to add a level of complexity because really importantly if Azuma had not shown up when he did Tokio would have completely lost.

It's also narratively interesting to me how this scene compares to when Azuma charged in blindly to save Tokio from the scissor choujin when he was warned against it. In that case Azuma's good intention truly did lead to hell because he got the worst result possible. Not only was he brutally cut in half and didn't succeed in helping Tokio at all, but he also turned into a Choujin and immediately brutally attacked the person he was trying to save. Azuma wanted Choujin powers too but when he awakens he's immediately told he's dangerous and needs to control himself.

Things just don't work out for Azuma narratively. That's always been the case since the beginning. The things Azuma wants get just kind of dropped into Tokio's lap. Tokio has more potential as a Choujin. Tokio awakens first. Tokio has spent years slacking off unlike Azuma who was a martial arts prodigy and overachiever, and in just one year of hard work Tokio has far surpassed Azuma. Tokio is Sato's star pupil, while Sato remarks to Azuma's face that Yamato Mori's quality of peace keepers is on the decline. Tokio is put in charge of a large operation when he speaks up against his superiors, whereas Azuma's attitude is keep your head down and listen to your superiors and he remains in relatively the same place.

Tokio is the protagonist so the story moves forward with him and it's about his growth, whereas Azuma is continually frustrated by both his lack of mobility and lack of growth. SO in this scenario where Tokio and Azuma basically do the same thing, run in to fight without backup Azuma's ends with this horrific scene of him turning against his best friend and even losing his status as "Tokio's hero" while Tokio gets to fly off into the sunset with Palma.

I'm not saying Azuma deserves better anything, I'm just observing that things work out for Tokio and they don't really work out for Azuma. Tokio keeps movig forward while Azuma stays in place and is oftentimes left behind. That's what Azuma long suspected and feared that if Tokio put the effort in that not only would he be on Azuma's level, but he'd be much higher than him.

It's why Azuma freaks out on Ely for not taking his side in the conflict between him and Tokio. In Azuma's mind at least everything he wants, Tokio just already has. Ely doesn't mind that Tokio ditched her for a year because she's more relaxed about those kinds of things. Not only is Azuma more sensitive he's also known Tokio for all of his life as opposed to Ely who only met him recently. From Azuma's point of view though the connection he's built up with Ely for the past year as her partner means almost nothing because he thinks she's naturally siding with Tokio, because Azuma fears Tokio's just naturally better. That there's something internally missing in Azuma that Tokio has and that fear makes him play stupid high school games with Ely. "Well, why are you on his side? You're supposed to be on my side" he yells in the middle of an important mission even though hes supposed to be the most mature and goal oriented member of the main cast.

Of course, there's the fact that Tokio didn't save the day in this situation because of anything he did specifically, besides making the decision to save Palma and not give up on that even when things were looking bad. No the day was saved because Azuma and Ely showed up and they were only there because Azuma considered Palma suspicious and was following up on a lead he established beforehand. It's Azuma's detectivework that brought them there, and luck to salvage things after they went south and Tokio wasn't strong enough to handle it, not anything Tokio did specifically.

It's still a pattern though Tokio tends to get good outcomes, and Azuma tends to make choices that lead to bad ones. I'm curious as to why this is though I don't think it's going to settle on a simple answer like Tokio good, Azuma bad.

Sato's heavy emphasis on "good intentions lead to hell" makes me think that the happy ending to this chapter mini-arc might get the rug pulled out of it at a later event. Palma turns into a hyena, and Azuma had a lot of connections to hyena symbolism early on in the manga.

Something tells me we might get a scene like this with Azuma and Palma at a later point, that the happy ending with Palma now might somehow lead to a tangled tragedy in the future. It might even be a romantic thing, because Azuma's jealousy over his perception that Ely is taking Tokio's sides has shades of romantic jealousy and possessiveness to it too. I'll talk about this theory more when I'm analyzing all the reveals in the next chapter though.

[lipstickmarks]

Morticia Cubed

Sweet Morticia (1964) - Carolyn Jones’ morticia was the most sweet tempered and good natured version. She was gentle and peppered in “dear” and “darling” in every sentence to everyone she cared about, not just Gomez. The way she cared for her plants and kitty cat, feeding them, soothing them with words, referring to herself and gomez as mother and father. She also had anxiety!! let’s not forget!! she was constantly overthinking, espousing some statement and then immediately recanting it. Famously, while standing up and then sitting down in her chair. She said herself that she “lives in constant fear that someone is going to come along and take” gomez away from her. Morticia seems to have some insecurities which probably stem from Ophelia being the favorite and nearly marrying Gomez herself. Let’s not forget, they got very close to being married. They were already at the alter and it looked like there was no way out. Morticia doesn’t show it as outwardly as Gomez but is as madly in love with him. Seeing him almost married to someone she already felt inferior to probably traumatized her. Even though everything worked out in Tish’s favor, she probably still carries that fear. After all, she regards Gomez as handsome, romantic, dynamic, sweet, selfless, and caring. Why wouldn’t someone else come along and realize that? Also, in the episode where Morticia and Gomez have a fight, it only happened because she thought Gomez’ play-acting had truth to it. “I knew it. You do think I’m wasteful!” And she probably only thought that because it’s what she thinks of herself. The Addams’ do have a very abundant catalog of frivolous items and she might be afraid that Gomez does or will eventually resent her for it. Again, this could stem from her upbringing as the less favorable child; mother frump giving ophelia everything she wants and resenting morticia for needing anything. The poor baby 🥺 That’s also why it’s all the more lovely that Gomez is so generous with his affection and words of affirmation bc Trish probably really needs that reassurance that she is the center of his universe. As a mirrorball child, it probably means the world to her. Now, this (and their relationship in general) could be perceived as Gomez being more in love or their love not being equal but they just express themselves differently. (consider candace and jeremy from phineas and ferb. equally obsessed, just expressed in different ways) Gomez’ love language is physical touch and words of affirmation while Morticia’s is acts of service. (they both love quality time. they’re together 24/7!) Gomez makes it known to the entire world that he loves Morticia for her mind, body, and soul. and Morticia, as someone with anxiety, probably doesn’t outwardly express her love. I, myself, am an anxious introvert and I don’t vocalize a lot of things/am generally quiet and not talkative. Not being vocal doesn’t mean the love isn’t there. She loves Gomez in other ways. Like memorizing the entire catalogue of Addams, what they did, when and where they lived, and what they like???? hello, wife goals. She’s always looking out for Gomez too. When she thinks he’s lost everything, she puts everyone in the family to work including herself! When Gomez gets amnesia, she does everything in her power to jog his memory without hurting him and even had to delegate clubbing him on the head to someone else because she couldn’t bear to hurt him 🥺

Also! Morticia is a cryer! the way her lower lip quivers when something really gets to her (and the way Gomez swoops in with a worried “querida?🥺” and a comforting touch… SWOON). Very much a cancer rising.

In the same vein, Morticia is an empath. She always considers other people’s feelings, is thinking of ways to thank people who have visited the Addams house (“we ought to send them a gift, dear!”), and considering how and why someone is particularly sad, ill, upset, out of sorts, etc. and coming up with ways to fix it! Even when Gomez is overwhelmed with his love (lust) for her, she put that aside to focus on the problem at hand. At her core, she is a mother and a caretaker. She’s a gentle, caring, sensitive soul and I love her.

Sexy Morticia (1990s) - Morticia has always been a knock out but they had more room to go full sexy smokeshow with Anjelica Houston’s iteration in the 90s. 60s Morticia was always quelling Gomez’ lust with a stroke to his chin and a promise of “later” but 90s Morticia dialed up the horny to 11. She was allowed to reciprocate Gomez’ lust and vocalize her own. Her first lines were alluding to the wild, crazy, demonic, hedonistic sex she and gomez had the night before and how she wants her black blown out like that again! She has more of a commitment to the dark arts, as was the trend at the time with grunge. Her makeup, wardrobe, and general appearance leaned more into the femme fatale and thus, she became every 90s kid’s sexual awakening. Long Live Anjelica Houston.

Stern Morticia (2019) - I have such a soft spot for the animated movies. They do have their issues as a lot of the jokes were purely made to pander to a modern audience (squad goals, billie eilish, etc). but they’re not without their merit. Casting Oscar Isaac as Gomez Addams was a stroke of brilliance. Now that being said, this is my least favorite version of Morticia. She’s much more stern, with Gomez, with the kids, with grandmama. She very much wanted things a certain way and was upset when the status quo was changing (i.e. wednesday wanting to go outside or go to school) it just came off as controlling. The writers took Gomez and Morticia (a passionate, indulgent husband and a caring, seductive wife) and watered them down into head in the clouds x no nonsense. It was upsetting to see.

[mashpotatoe]

📢🧨💬 for reigen or teru?

📢 favorite thing about Reigen in canon his humanity DAYUM! it basically encompasses all the brilliance of his character, he's well-meaning but ultimately flawed as any other person, he remains aimless for long and strives to find an identity for himself for people to make a real connection with, he can be selfless for selfish reasons or too selfless to the point of selfishness where he dismisses the fact that he's actually cared for - ALL 100% HUMAN BABY! i love that his ordinary though eccentric nature is what seperates him from the rest of the cast and makes an example out of him just by looking at the world through the lense of a commoner. serving as the guiding hand to a group of espers just by being mundane and managing to be exceptional despite that mundaneness. i love that he's seemingly self centered on the surface and complex enough for many people to find it difficult to fully understand him, for a long while after i first wathced mp100 in 2019 i coudln't make complete sense of his motivations - particularly his desire to be somebody. i assumed it was a typical desire to be famous and successful, but then how could he preach about being a commoner? it takes digging deeper into him to understand what he meant by being somebody - his innate human desire to be seen. and i love how reigen as a character is capable of being all of that ^ while still having so much cartoonish charm and silliness to him. 🧨least favorite thing about Reigen in canon obviously the whole underpaying his employees thing ... but i can't think of many major flaws, except that one, that dont complete his character and make sense in the context of who reigen is. that time he took 30% of a client's crops was fucked up though 💬favorite line

not particularly memorable but i think its a good look into his attitude towards fraud and how he's unaffected by his lack of power, only by the public's dismay of him being a con. fact of the matter is it doesn't matter to him, nor in general, whether he's a fake or not, because he makes sure to get the job done. he expected to be shunned by the public for being a fraud of course, but this exchange points out how petty their outraged response is (anime adaptation did a good job with it as well, replacing the line with "you wouldn't be satisfied with a simple no" < crazy) 📢 favorite thing about Teru in canon he's so over the top with everything he's a star and his light never runs out he makes a performace out of everything while still staying true to himself. a talent of its own to make a spectacle out of being humble. i love how he recognizes his growth and takes pride in it! with many characters, their growth is demonstrated by being content with their current environment, but teru, though in his own teru way, knows to give himself credit where credit's due for bettering himself. 🧨least favorite thing about Teru in canon why is he ripped 💬favorite line

might as well be my favorite line in the entire series. INSANE DELIVERY AND FRAMING aside its such a crucial moment for teru, for him to regard himself as inferior to someone but acknowledge his advantage over them. like oh my god

[luigitimecritique]

Happy Chaos: Happy Chaos? Happy Chaos.

Happy Chaos is. well for one he's sexy. But ALSO. In my opinion, he's straight up the most well designed character "character-wise" (goodness gracious he is an oppressive mess in game though LMAO-) in all of Strive, and all of Guilty Gear in my opinion.

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT THAT KNOWLEDGABLE ON GG LORE SO I MIGHT FUCK UP SOME STUFF OK LET'S DO THIS WOO

Let's start with his looks (he is so sexy):

Everything about HC is striking. He's very human looking, but at the same time inhuman. His blue skin obviously stands out, especially because it's not a very natural shade of blue. It seems very artificial, and the blue only stands out with the very weird tattoos on his body. A heart shape, with clenching teeth, and orange crosses. This character is about contrast and this shows it damn well. His human parts are almost immediately contrasted with something inhuman. If we look from bottom up, his lower body looks fine but then we realize his feet are blue and he's barefoot (despite having a jacket and pants). He has very plain black pants, but it's contrasted by a fucking gun holster, as well as two belts because Daisuke just fucking loves belts. Then this splash of colour with his blue skin, again dulled by his black heart tattoo, contrasted AGAIN with the yellow inside of the heart and the orange of the jacket's innards. Finally his glasses just look stupid.

They're ORANGE. CROSSES. And obviously, his weirdly unshaded (idk if that's the term here) black halo which just. MMM. His character's fine without it, but with it it just adds this… "what?" feeling to him that I do not know how to explain.

From looking at him you can immediately tell that this guy 1. doesn't give a shit 2. can kill you if he just feels like it. Forgive me if I'm wrong, as I'm stepping out of my territory, but his upper body seems to make a triangle (with his gun acting as an extender of its base), which is always used to show strength, and power. It's not a perfect triangle though, his head is tilted, his arm is up in this carefree pose. Even the halo is tilted, which, again, is so. just. cool!

HC' actual character? He's essentially a god with ADHD Immensely powerful to the point that he is by far the most powerful character in this entire series, but just. does not give a shit enough to really do too much with said power. His theme (Drift) is the best way to explain his character. It starts off with this really playful tune and the lyrics go:

that's. LITERALLY HC IN A NUTSHELL. Other than that his theme is just really good and tells of this very… strange being that is HC.

But I'd be misleading you if I said that was the only part of HC that was important. The biggest part of this guy is that he will constantly and repeatedly do harm to humanity, but only because he wants to see it thrive.

He joys for life, and thus he wants life to thrive beyond it all he will kill, destroy and do whatever he can (and he can do a LOT) to see what he wants. This selfish, but at the same time completely selfless desire to see humanity succeed. That is the motivation of Happy Chaos, and why he does all he does.

I could talk about so much more with this guy, but I'm gonna end it off here. Like how if he fights himself the opening dialogue will go: where the Chaos' say Chaos 1: "Wait which of us is real again?" Chaos 2: "Beats me" or Chaos 1: "Can I play the antagonist?" Chaos 2: "I'll be the protagonist then"

WHICH IS SUCH A QUIRKY FUNNY LINE I JUST JAISODVHJAOVD

All in all, Happy Chaos is probably one of the best character designs I've seen in a WHILE, and I HIGHLY recommend you look more into this character because he is just. mwah.

Like all posts I will make, this probably made absolutely no sense and was probably downright wrong a few times but oh well.

[raayllum]

Re: S4’s highlighting of Duality, taking what had previously been a background theme in prior seasons and bringing it to the forefront

The show has always had this theme of good and bad being wrought from the same characteristic or choice. On the one hand, this is just good writing; choices, like Callum smashing the primal stone to save Zym or doing dark magic to save Rayla, should have consequences. Ezran’s big heart and trusting nature is his greatest asset but also allows him to be taken advantage of. And of course, we have Rayla and Runaan as dual wielders, Viren’s two faces (corrupted and disguised), light and dark spelled out for us (ha!) from the start...

Viren: This place held both the promise of our salvation and the threat of our destruction. (2x05)

The Magma Titan mission itself, which kickstarted the latest phase of the cycle, was a small sacrifice of life that greatly impacted our main characters and their relationships, but ultimately revived the land. 

All of this to say that S4 Rayllum are both truly only working with half the equation, particularly when it comes to themselves and their own experiences. 

Rayla comes back in S4 with light on only half of her face. For the first few episodes, she seems saddened if fine, but 4x05 quickly shows that this isn’t true and that her experiences alone have radically changed her. She’s simultaneously exactly the way she was before (going off on her own, loving Callum dearly, going after Viren again) and completely different (walking away from the drake in 4x05, even arguably threatening Terry in 4x09). The best part of her selflessness - her heroic side - is gone, with the worst part of her selflessness - her blanket disregard for her own life - is still here. She’s still compassionate and caring and while not risking her life for anything is a slight step in the right direction (and so is coming back), it’s still not there for entirely the right reasons. 

Callum is in a similar predicament. His openness and ability to be honest about his feelings was one of his best qualities in Arc 1, and largely what allowed him and Rayla to bond as quickly as they did. But we see in S4 that, as a result of her absence, he’s far more reserved, shut down, and less willing to talk. Not just about her, but also about his worries (he interrogates Soren in 4x01 rather than confiding in him) and about more pressing concerns (Ez has to coax him to talk about anything that’s bothering him, including Aaravos, in 4x05). But his cleverness, his love of magic and his family (Rayla, Ez) is still just as strong as ever. He’s more talented as a mage than he’s ever been before.

So Callum and Rayla are working with this duality in their characters. Rayla expresses only her love for Callum and little to nothing of what she’s been through without him; Callum refuses to express his love for her throughout much of the season, too consumed only by what the loss of her by her own hand has put him through. 

Likewise, this duality and missing pieces extends to their understanding of one another. On the one hand, they have a better understanding of each other than ever before, as they’ve become more like each other. Rayla is more patient and open with expressing affection and wanting to talk things out; Callum is more closed off and sacrificial. 

On the other hand, they’ve also never understood each other less. Rayla came back expecting a confrontation or argument, but got stony silence instead. Callum has no clue she walked away from the drake in the forest. He asks her to kill him because in his mind, she’s already chosen the world over him once by leaving; Rayla refuses because in leaving, she chose him over the world in many regards. 

Additionally, it would not surprise me at all if Rayla thinks that Callum is mad solely because leaving hurt him, and not at all comprehending the fact that he’s also probably mad because leaving hurt her as well. 

All of this is to say Rayllum’s previous symbolism in the background is being brought to the forefront. Rayla was his enemy and now Callum will be forced to be her enemy; they’re both enemies and lovers. Aaravos is tied to dark and light (with Rayla tied to that same light). She’ll either be the death of him and/or save his life. Her coming back into his life is both good and bad, forcing him to carry pain and love in his heart at the same time. They’ll be both helpful and hurtful to each other going forward. 

And I think it’s an excellent display at 1) good character writing, 2) how layered their dynamic really is over the course of the, and 3) how steadily the show evolves their themes alongside Rayla and Callum’s dynamic, keeping perfectly in step, and I cannot wait to see where it all goes (or is deepened further) this summer.