#*survival instincts. ⟨ in character. ⟩

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

You're mine now, old man.

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#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #wei wuxian #a-qing #xiao xingchen #A-qing's story kicks off so strong. You really get a sense that she feels strongly attached to xxc during the pre-empathy scenes #and that she has a strong sense of loyalty and perseverance with strong survival instinct #but then you see her before all the tragedy and you *immediately* learn she is a clever trickster! #She follows xxc not out of gratitude but out of a sense that this guy is her meal ticket. #xxc is kind and strong but most importantly *noble* #she can smell the self-sacrificing bright eyed hope on this stranger. She knows the mere fact she's a young blind girl means #he will protect her. The fact he gives her a little money doesn't hurt her justification but tbh she would have followed all the same #a-qing is *the* catgirl of all time actually. Follows you for the fact you provide food and shelter. Opportunistic. May grow to be loyal. #That's not even getting into the parallels here between these two characters and wwx (who is seeing these events play out) #the yi city trio are arguably the three split aspects of wwx: who he feels like (a-qing the opportunist) who he wants to be (xxc the noble) #and who he feels seen as (xy the vengeful). #one day I'll write a more robust analysis on that. prob in the tags though #(His a-qing parallels are also tied with the fact they both were street rat orphans who learned how to code-switch to be whoever #they need to be to feel safe. I have a lot more thoughts to share but augh another time...another time)

[galedekarios]

if you are genuinely out there claiming that gale "succeeded" in everything he "wanted" by becoming a god and that's why it's a good ending for him, you truly are a testament to the slow and steady death of media literacy congrats lmao

#the entire boat scene in act iii beats you over the head that this is #perceived lack of self-worth and helplessness in the face of death and loss of faith #and indulging him in this is indulging means indulging his first impulse and instinct in response to #the first lifeline he sees for himself in years #unless you can be his lifeline instead #as a friend and as a lover #but that's all okay #it's totally okay for him to sacrifice everything including himself in a bid for power #because he still loves your tav sooo much when he ascends right #he loves them so much he couldn't contact them in six month to let them know he survived ascension lmao #jfc larian really crossed some wires bc the cutscene is pretty i can't #also if your bar for a happy ending for a character is if your tav gets a hug and some kissies while some nice music plays #then maybe you should be careful throwing words around like 'narrow-minded' and 'black/white' lol #ch: gale dekarios #vg: baldur's gate 3 #series: baldur's gate #text: personal #fandom critical #tbd

[onelungmcclung]

Heal fast, Dickie. I need my copilot back.

#masters of the air #motaedit #hbowaredit #appletv #curt biddick #dick snyder #biddick x snyder #don't really have any character insights but evidently this is an important relationship #one of the things ep 3 does well is drawing a parallel between biddick and quinn w/o implying either of them made the wrong choice #they both make split-second life or death decisions based on instinct as much as anything else #and whether or not they survive is partly down to luck #edit #**

[trillscienceofficer]

Star Trek: Voyager 6x02 “Survival Instinct”

It's nice to be on a Federation starship again. I'd like to stay aboard Voyager.

#trekedit #voyageredit #star trek voyager #seven of nine #marika wilkarah #three of nine #voy #ep: survival instinct #bajoran tag #i think about marika every day. #and about the way she spent those last few weeks on voyager #i wonder who she talked to. if she became close to the other bajorans on board despite her starfleet background #i wonder what her story was and if she ever told them #and if this influenced anything about her final days. about the rites she wanted to be performed after her death. #i wonder if seven and marika ever crossed paths again in those weeks. #no more words that needed or could be exchanged between them... #literally trek character of all time. bajoran in starfleet that got assimilated at wolf 359 and was in seven's unimatrix...

[lilapplesheadcannons]

Jin Ling probably: JiuJiu won't let me endanger my life? JiuJiu threatens to break my leg if I break my arm first? Oh Oh jail for JiuJiu! Jail for JiuJiu for a thousand years!

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #mdzs headcanons #mdzs crack #jin ling #jiang cheng #jin ling and his jiujiu #Jiang Cheng searching on his phone “ how to keep a teenager with zero survival instinct alive?'' #mdzs characters as famous tumblr memes

[valeriefauxnom]

I think there's an interesting slight shift in Leonidas' attitude between chapters 8 and 12, and one that kinda makes a bit more complete narrative between the more obvious 12-16 jump.

First, in a niche Dragalia trivia, Leonidas (and Chelle) in his technical ch.7 debut says this:

"And so Aurelius's brilliant star falls as a new and dark star rises—as well as another dim light at the periphery. But the flames of battle will not reach Valkaheim. Should any fool approach, it is they who will be reduced to ash."

While there's a lot to say with later context in these lines despite their initial ambiguity of his character, note here of the 'dim light' refers to Euden. He's starting to cause a fuss in the world after ch.6's shakeup in the official rebellion and new kingdom-starting he's engaging in, but to Leo, this is all mostly meaningless compared to the true power players.

Ch.8 Leo, though, comes out swinging with his general attitude regarding the world and his family:

There's something funny that he's aware enough of Euden starting his own kingdom, but still seeing him and going 'nope, I care not a whit about you, grain of dust' is amusing. Maybe after Valyx, Leonidas just got tired of having baby siblings?

Regardless, Leonidas mostly spends this chapter leaving them to presumably die bad deaths, having deemed them too weak and unimportant to even bother attending to personally.

But even within chapter 8, as Euden and co refuse to die and keep up their dogged pursuit, Leonidas starts to acknowledge Euden as a brother. Not enough to stop him from trying to leave him to get torn apart by beasts, of course, but, y'know, baby steps for someone who was denying kinship not a day ago.

He also continues his star metaphor.

For Leonidas, who viewed himself as the absolute pinnacle of the family, it was surprising anyone could survive him, however narrowly. He's being forced to consider that perhaps those beneath him in the family aren't quite as useless as perceived. Heck, Euden's 'reputation' overall in the family before canon seemed to be largely one of weakness, -even Valyx outright claims he thought him feeble, and Emile's earlier fondness of him stemmed from being 'better' than Euden. That's how Euden framed himself, to appear non-threatening to attempt to maintain harmonious relations so his elders didn't see an upstart threatening their power, as I've went over a long long time ago.

Now he's being forced to consider and wonder how high, how powerful Euden's dim star can rise before it will be crushed by someone or something greater in his 'one star' viewpoint.

Enter chapter 12. One of the things that makes Leonidas so dangerous, I've also said, is his adaptability. He learns and changes behavior.

And in this chapter, he takes a much more personally involved attack, sending in his 'big guns' (before he acquired a real one) in much quicker. He now views Euden as a threat enough to warrant the measures, even if he doesn't believe in his capacity to win.

Moreover, he's starting to oddly (at least, to me?) stress a quick death for Euden and his group, whereas before, it was of absolutely no concern to him whether they died slowly and agonizingly from Mars' burns to getting torn apart by fiends. It comes across to me as a sort of recognition of Euden's ability and/or bravery, a sort of respect for him as a warrior enough to not prolong his death or otherwise make it painful.

He's also starting to actually communicate on some level what his true goals are and why, whereas ch.8 Leo largely seems to think even that level of communication would be wasted on such 'insects'. And while he doesn't entertain Euden's counterarguments for long, it might indicate a sort of acknowledgement of Euden as a opponent to lock ideals with instead of a simple obstacle to hurdle mindlessly?

All in all, it reads to me as if he's made the shift of viewing Euden as an insect to an opponent, a weaker opponent, of course, but one nonetheless. Able enough to be acknowledged as being kin, even as he's seems like he's trying to distance himself when preparing to kill him.

This trend continues immediately after the tables are turned. Leonidas acknowledges Euden as brother and king, and is more upset at the notion that Euden doesn't want to kill him since he likely thinks that now Euden sees him as the 'able to be safely ignored weakling' as well as wanting to die of shame.

Continuing into ch.13, Leonidas immediately then protects Euden from Phares, even incorporating a new word into his vocabulary in the process!

Then, of course, is his and Chelle's conversation to further bridge the gap, in which he starts establishing Euden has earned a more complete respect as kin now despite not actually sharing a true lineage, and respect enough to ask another sibling to protect him.

So yeah. Even if ideally I do think some more dialogue would help to bridge the gap between before-16-Leonidas and after-16-Leonidas, I do think that they overall tried to make a cohesive progression even in the 8-12 shift from 'insect' to 'opponent I can somewhat respect' to 14-16's more complete respect. Alas, since the writing team only had so many story sections they could have and a lot of characters and plotlines to juggle, they could only spend a bit of time re. Leonidas, but for what it's worth they did a decent job with what they had.

Extra aside: I find it funny Leonidas was the first to 'exit' the main campaign. He features in 8, 12, and 16, with smaller appearances in 7, 10, etc, but after 16 he's effectively poofed even if he's still influential in the plot. Even Valyx lasted longer for on screen chapters since he was tagging along with Nedrick and Zethia, before he and most all siblings exited at ch.23 to then die in ch.25 (this is why leaving the protagonist's party isn't a good idea Chelle-)

#dragalia lost #dragalia #character analysis #dragalia analysis #If you had told a person fresh from ch.8 in the past Leonidas would fall off a cliff for Emile 99.9% would not believe you. #Honestly Leonidas would not believe it either since he doesn't have a sterling opinion of him either! #But it was funny watching him increasingly cultivate a Big Brother Instinct to his family #...As seen in things like that as well as Phares' story and the Blood That Binds. #It's also funny he never clarifies how he survived the cliff making it a 'somehow Leonidas returned' but because it's Leo it's just funny #“Man too angry at dragons and the World Order to die. More at 11.”

[lathrine]

my tav's had 'escaped drider ceremony' on their background since day one, but now im like. what if i doom your narrative. what if the worm is keeping you from becoming that which you most fear. what if freedom from the illithid means capture at the hands of llolth.

#tav bg3 #vicorae #drider #spiders for tw #arachnophobia #just to be safe #things ive drawn #if they were an origin character they'd have an end game like karlachs #where things arent resolved because its a bigger issue than can be fixed in the time span and scope of bg3 #theres been a bunch of different drider lore over the years but it looks like bg3 is rolling with the kind im familiar with #which is that its a punishment from llolth for failing her. #(or in vic's case: for being a dirty dirty rebel and also gender fuckery) #drow Hate Driders. they are not considered humanoid or sentient. they ARE considered disgusting and horrifying. #they dont have genitalia or a sex drive. they're driven mad by the pain of the transformation and dont have survival instincts. #(thats why Kar'niss is the way he is!) #they guard menzoberranzan out of compulsive duty to llolth and bc their one desire is to die in combat. #vicorae was SUPPOSED to be turned into a drider but the ceremony was interrupted and they escaped just prior to bg3 #and now. there are Consequences.

[nacrelysis]

you've heard of the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny, now get ready for monoceros caeli: ultimate smackdown of ultimate proportions

#genshin #genshin impact #childe #monoceros caeli #tartaglia #childe tartaglia #genshin memes #genshin impact memes #genshin shitposts #his battle is really not that bad; it's the music that gets me #especially the part that mimics the call of a whale #it is all a very visceral reminder that childe is. whatever he is. you know? #like he's just some guy a mortal even but at the same time he's touched by the abyss and everything the gods fear #idk how to express that childe is like. so wild. to me. #he gives me soooo much secondhand embarrassment sometimes but also he is like a terrifying example of the product of your circumstances #fell in a hole and he came out clinging to violence as a tool of survival #family guy doesn't like involving civilians but once you're on his level oooo boy #like. he is. very principled. you get me? but he embodies an unhinged sense of violence and primal instinct that unmade ajax inside out #so honestly childe terrifies me more as a character than any other in genshin i think #because he is so principled but of what you've seen of the abyss - no mortal principle will stop it from consuming #he fascinates me in the way similar to the opening scene in train to busan #it's morbidly intriguing but at the same time there is dramatic irony - you know eventually something will go wrong. and it Is wrong already #anyways. every day childe gaslights me ab his character. i never know which interpretation is right. #btw for context ultimate showdown is a lemon demon song #very banger listen to it. thumbs up

[tankgotstuckinthecircusgate]

late Carlo and Moretti (during vinci-moretti war) are like Luca and Clemente to me. Moretti will never raise his hand on Carlo but! will he drive him into guilt in ways that are not direct? insult him in passing? convince Carlo that he's doing everything wrong, when in fact it's the opposite? of course such a painful kick to Carlo's ego, it's unfair, he doesn't deserve it. and it's not a father-son relationship, it's a professional relationship and he can't say anything back & defense himself in any way maybe Moretti's more favorable to Eddie in this period because he's more blindly loyal and Carlo feels he's about to explode

#^ i wrote it before that hounds thing but its about all this anger was once love etc #carlo who is a capo who has done so many terrible things for this place watching how eddie gets bonus points for blind loyalty: 😐 #and it's not even that he's a capo it's that carlo says the right things but moretti dismisses him every time #also ok😬😬😬my truth! is that eddie really was against killing moretti at first #and when he finally decides to support carlo well. is it just a change of master? (yes) #m2 #moretti family #and! #as far as i understand Moretti's murder took place just a few days before his victory? fucked up thing #i mean. it just makes Carlo an even shitty man. he chose himself over the majority #(i can't think about any war theme on a physical level at this point so. i have only abstract thoughts on this) #but objectively: moretti family may have gained control of the vinci family's territory of influence etc #instead they got a young crazy don. and everyone was alright w it (?!makes me think for what reason) #which is why i think there's been something wrong with Moretti in his last yrs. he looks much older thank frank n leo #for now he's just an old man stubbornly clinging to power to me. but not to say that i worked on his character much #i think he became weaker hypochondriacal and paranoid towards the end. “i saw his hands trembling” carlo bout moretti etc #“akela missed his kill!” and the young wolves tore him apart #ewwwwwwwwwww no Carlo who sees Moretti growing weaker and instinctively his teeth are bared more and more ewww #kill the weak and old so the young can survive😬😬 (fucked up thing is that they aren't animals they would survive w moretti in charge) #spoiled hounds parallel makes things so much complicated tbh. but it feels right

[paper-enigma]

@potatoeofwisdom hey bro remember when you said ‘what if he gets hit by a car’? Weeellll

.

,

I made it supper dramatic >::]

#original character #got real carried away with the Dramatic Shading Scribbles #I had a fourth page in mind where he books it to a portal to get to Deer mom #he’s immortal but dying still sucks ass #the glowy eyes basically mean ‘no thoughts get safe’ #pure survival instinct #good thing Mamma Deer is never too far away #yeah imma draw him calming down with Deer mom next

[sinclair-wax-fan]

I’m losing my mind a little over the fact that when Bo comes out of the movie theater and sees Nick leveling a crossbow at him

He smiles

#you have no survival instincts i’m shocked you made it to 30 #it’s hot it shouldn’t be but it’s hot #absolutely feral #I’m all kinds of fucked up over this character

[promptsforyourwhumpfic]

Whump Prompt #914

Submitted by Anon - thanks!

Whumpee has a reputation for being vigilant. They're the first one to respond I threats. They're always catching onto things the team didn't notice. It's a running joke at this point: "can't sneak up on whumpee, they have a hidden third eye." Until one day whumpee cracks. They  have some kind of flashback or panic attack and it all becomes too much. The team realizes that whumpee doesn't have amazing intuition or battle instincts. They have survival instincts.

#vigilance #ideas #writing #prompts #angst #survival instincts #panic #ptsd #past trauma #instincts #past abuse #quiet character #worry #anxiety #emotional whump #bad reactions

[imabiscuitinthousandworlds]

I love how in "How the Marquis got his coat back" he didn't even hesitate one fucking second to beg and scream. No pride or spite or anything, just the absolute need to survive. And then he's told he's being too sarcastic.

I am so incredibly in love with every single word in this book istg

#neverwhere #marquis de carabas #how the marquis got his coat back #a biscuit's rambles #i thought hed at least think about it but NO this mans survival instincts are so strong #(well tbf he did die once already so its understandable) #i fucking love the marquis. not necessarily as a person (well up until he died anyway) but hes peak character design #a+ 11/10 this guy is everything

[lachemisenoire]

Ok hear me out

I know it's the oldest soap trope in the world (but let's face it IWTV is basically a soapy gay gothic vampire horror)

and I know it's not in the books

what if Lestat wakes up with fucking AMNESIA

#can vampires even get into comas #idk idk #but like say he wakes up and doesn't remember ANYTHING #other than the instinct to drink blood in order to survive #but it's like the first time all over again and he shrinks away from killing humans until eventually he decides just to kill bad ones #perfect way to retcon his character like ann did in book 2 #imagine he goes into rockstar mode but genuinely doesn't remember anything #and louis can't help but be drawn to him again and then is like weelllll he doesn't remember anything #so maybe this time it will be different!!! #but eventually the memories come BACK #and lestat remembers what a monster he was #and that louis and claudia killed him #scene set for angst #etc etc #9pm rambings #lestat de lioncourt #louis de pointe du lac #iwtv amc #iwtv 2022 #louis x lestat

[llycaons]

in a hunger games-style scenario I think that the majority of the cql cast would immediately die because 90% of the main cast are 1. bonkers self-sacrificial for their loved ones and 2. incredibly ready to kill themselves in dramatic ways out of despair. when the dust settles jgy will walk out of it wearing a perfect customer-service smile until nhs snipes him from the shadows

#wwx HAS survived scenarios like this but if his loved ones are involved he's die for them immediately #I don't imagine lwj and wwx fighting each OTHER in that poll I think they'd both rather die #lwj would be hard to take out since he's physically indestructible and not super prone for dying for others #but he's not really got a survivalist instinct and other characters are way more clever than him #IF being able to manipulate people and events matters then nhs is going to win but wwx is also super smart #and he and lwj are op enough to just break out of the constructed setting anyway and walk out together #but that's less fun #anyone remember the crit role battle royales? those were fun #in THAT case. wwx would win due to being so so powerful AND so so smart and wily and clever and inventive #nhs and jgy don't have the physical power to defeat him #nor does anyone else #even lwj. I think #I don't mean to make light of suicide either. in canon they were dramatized and excessive in number #but they were all genuine tragedies and stemmed from legitimate distress grounded in character writing that made sense #mxy wanted revenge. wwx lost everything he loved and felt it was his fault. myu saw her husband fall and was alone #against a horde of conquerers who took her home and were going to kill her next. such a proud and imperious woman couldn't stand that #xxc realized he'd been deceived by someone he abhorred and had murdered dozens of defenseless people #wq and wn were resigned to dying together and paying back the debt they owed to wwx #qin su...okay yeah that was a bad one #but she was also horrified by the reveal about jgy and her son's death #they all made sense! even if they were extreme reactions #cql txp

[hidingoutbackstage]

Okay, you’re sad that the character died. I get it. But do you know why they died? Did it serve a greater narrative purpose? Was it important to the story? Was it important to the character? Was it important to other characters around them? You can bring people back in fanfiction all you want but it’s always good to acknowledge why they died in the first place

#sid rants #ok to rb #this is why i saved piers and merah they way i did in yhsb #merah’s death was because she is a caring person who protected her friend on instinct #despite the fact that she fatally suffered for it. it was a good character moment i didn’t want to take away from her #and piers felt the guilt of her dying and feeling like it was his fault. i didn’t want to take that away from him #so instead i had the same thing happen except she survived her injuries #piers was the same his choice to infect himself was a good/interesting character choice #i touched upon that in chapter four; if the roles were reversed i can’t imagine chris doing what piers did #and i think his choice/infection was an important character thing even though his death wasn’t #his death felt a bit unnecessary if the story was planned to continue after 6 #also having disabled protagonists is literally fine so i didn’t feel any ‘sadness’ or ‘discomfort’ having him live without an arm/eye #and in all fairness some deaths are stupid/unnecessary/bigoted/etc. #so i don’t blame some fix-it fics that bring them back via undoing the unnecessary death #(personally the first person who came to my mind was allura vld)