#Character Breakdown

[olemisekunst]

Zawe on becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature

#Zawe Ashton #Character Breakdown #actresses #writers #books #gifs #my gifs

[clownin44]

Personal headcannon that even though this is true:

The real reason Ben started practicing first aid was cause he had to bandage himself after street fights and encounters with his bullies

Aiden was covering for him and didn't want him to be uncomfortable

He's so nice to him

#school bus graveyard #aiden clark #ben clark #sbg #sbg (webtoon) #school bus graveyard webtoon #sbg theories #character analysis #character breakdown #the cousins ever #i think theyre neat #aiden is a good cousin

[briebysabs]

I’m so glad Domi brought this up bc one of Noe’s main character flaws is his recklessness. His straightforward thinking can cause him to have tunnel vision and completely forget his own self. Bc of that some ppl have mischaracterized him as having little intelligence.

But we see that clearly isn’t the case, Noé can think on his feet, observe, and learn from his environment quickly. Noé is very emotionally intelligent otherwise how would he deal with Vanitas on a constant basis? How would he comfort and assure Domi, befriend Roland, inspire Jean-Jacques? But while his reckless nature can be endearing at times, it’s also very concerning. There are several things Noé has done that, from a certain angle, looks kinda crazy. And to me, this all boils down to the fact that Noé does not consider himself in the equation. Him seeing himself as strong or unkillable isn’t from pride or naivety, it’s complete lack of awareness towards himself.

Because Noé doesn’t see himself as a person.

And when you follow that thread, a lot makes sense. His fear of being an Archiviste, the disgust he had when there’s some relief that Louis didn’t kill him, being kidnapped and treated like an object for who knows how long. Teacher calling him “mon chaton” and raising Noé like a fucking pet. Not telling people of his past. And this is what we know of. Noe acts like he doesn’t have an identity, he exists for others, for memories, as a weapon, as a “saviour”. Noé hasn’t realized that he is a person whose feelings are valid, who isn’t a machine and can die or fail, his life matters just as much as the people he cares about.

#les memoires de vanitas #the case study of vanitas #vanitas no carte #vnc manga #jun mochizuki #noe archiviste #vnc #noé #I love him literally my fav character of all time #so well-written #manga #SOMEONE HUG HIM PLEASE #copied from twt #Noé deserves the world #character breakdown

[basement-student]

Another day,Another slay (actually on the verge of a breakdown)

#bibliophile #chaotic academia #literature quotes #love poem #my love #romantic academia #cottagecore #fairycore #forest cottage #romantic #romanticism #breakcore #vfx breakdown #character breakdown #slayyyyy

[abandondedtrainz]

FINALLY GOT THE CHANCE TO MAKE A BREAKDOWN GIJINKA WITH FRIENDS ..i start shedding real tears ouhhhhj

#sal art #fanart #my artwork #transformers #tfp breakdown #transformers prime #transformers breakdown #character breakdown

[edwardbabygirlteach]

Some thoughts on Izzy and why I’m sad people hate him so much without any consideration to his character history and the theme of the show.

Like don’t get me wrong, I understand the Izzy we have seen so far is…rough to say the least.

But here's the thing. We know that in season 2 we're going to get a lot of good character development from him, and I'm very excited about this.

“Izzy goes on a remarkable journey this season” says O'Neill. "He understands what love is and whom he's in love with."

“it's been quite demanding to be playing a man enraged by unrequited love, who's basically a hopeless romantic,"

Izzy is clearly struggling with some internalized issues. Internalized homophobia probably being one of them.

He's struggling with the fact he's devoted everything he has every day to Blackbeard. He doesn't understand why Ed is suddenly this open and emotionally available person for Stede, he doesn't know why stede gets that side of Ed and he never has.

Even Ivan points it out when he says “This is the most open and available I've ever seen him"

Im not saying Izzy's actions so far in the show are to be ignored or excused by any means but I think Izzy is dealing with emotions he was never taught how to deal with, how to recognize or even made to feel like he was allowed to feel them. I think we can kind of assume Izzy was raised to be a"man's man" and not to be "soft”

Even David Jenkins has said himself “a lot of what were taught about being a man is wrong"

What we're going to be seeing in season 2 is Izzy realizing this. Just as we've seen Ed and Stede processing through something similar in season 1 though maybe not as extreme. They were both raised by shit fathers who made it a point to tell them that being soft or gentle is a bad thing. That enjoying the gentler things in life is Un masculine. Like Stede's love for picking flowers, Or Ed's love for fine fabrics.

This is clearly something that real people struggle with in the real world everyday. What it means to be a Man, to be masculine.

I guess all in all what I'm trying to say is that yeah Izzy has been a shitty person for the most part so far, but he's dealing with a lot and trying to process through it. Like a lot of real people do on a day to day basis.

This show is about breaking the mold. It's about grabbing toxic masculinity and ripping it apart and throwing it in the trash.

It's sad to me so many people are quick to just toss Izzy aside like a one dimensional character who doesn't have his own trauma and pain. I think we’ve all made mistakes in life, things we wish we had known better than to do or say but just didn’t know any better of at the time. We should all be allowed to grow and learn and become better versions of ourselves.

Anyways, Thanks for coming to my izzy hands character development Ted Talk. I can’t say when I first watched the show that I thought I’d ever be an izzy fan but the more I dig into his character and the more I see fandom interpretations of him the more he grows on me.

#ofmd izzy #izzy hands #israel hands #ofmd #our flag means death #our flag means death Izzy #character breakdown #I know he’s a fictional character #but like yeah #anyway #con o'neill #con oniell #Blackbeard #ofmd blackbeard #ed teach #edward teach #still attempting to re post all my old stuff since my account got deleted #ofmd israel hands

[hype-blue-fixation]

Alastor's Family Headcannons/Breakdown + Predictions

These have been plaguing me for a while and I've done way too much history research

Family Life

Based on what Viv has said, Al is an only child and his race doesn't play into his story. Therefore, I think that the majority of his story and trauma are related to his family, WW1, the Great Depression, and just being mistreated by others in power. I have a whole thing about the war, guilt, radios (oh my!) but I will save those for another post.

The roaring 20's were an interesting time, because most Americans enjoyed a high quality of life and then were lined up at soup kitchens in the span of a decade. Al's family was probably no different. He knows what it's like to live with affluence, and he knows what it's like to beg for food. Especially if he was too young for the army draft, he would've been able to be by his mom's side at her richest and poorest. See life through the female perspective, in a time where women had been seen as a commodity for men and just now proving their worth as a valuable part of the workforce. This is why he's far more sympathetic toward women but doesn't give men ANY excuses.

Father Relationship

This is the one I'm really excited to talk about lol. So while American men of the time did legitimately love their wives, there was also this entitlement attitude. If you're a good fella, you deserve a good woman. Toxic masculinity ran rampant, leading to a lot of emotionally challenged men. Their self-worth was tied to how well they could provide for their families. I personally think that Al's dad suffered with some kind of anger disorder and probably some generational trauma. But, being a product of his time, he internalized all this stress instead of facing it, especially when times got hard and he couldn't do all the things a man ought to do. So while he did legitimately love his family and want to be a good husband, it manifested in verbal abuse, exerting control over his family, and sometimes even physical abuse. Because of this, Alastor has a natural mistrust/hate for any man who exerts control over others, while ironically becoming this type of man himself. He just wants to think he's better than that. It can also explain why Al is so amused by the concept of redemption. He saw his own dad, who legitimately wanted to be a better man, constantly try and fail. His dad was a product of his place and time, and no amount of "wanting to be better" was good enough. Add in the factor of war: Al's dad had this positive "I'll be home before Christmas" attitude and everything would be alright. And then crap hit the fan, worse became worst, and whatever effort Al's dad was making before was just non-existent. Completely and totally consumed by anger and hatred, and his family taking the brunt of it. Alastor's very first murder came shortly after.

Predictions

Here's some predictions for how Alastor's dad can be handled in the show, and I'm honestly down for any of them being cannon.

Alastor being responsible for both of his dad's deaths. They meet up in Hell during an extermination. His dad would be begging for forgiveness and second chances, but Al cold-heartedly shoves him out and watches him get stabbed.

Dad becomes an overlord, but never shows up to any of the meetings because he doesn't want to confront his son. At some point he decides to give redemption one last try at the hotel, but Al gives him absolute HELL the entire way and refuses to forgive him.

While he didn't make the best decisions, Al's dad truly did want redemption and to do the right thing. This was enough to get him into Heaven, and Alastor finds out about this at some point and CAN NOT process HOW his father got into Heaven, or how he's responsible for sending him there. Bro can't cope.

#hazbin hotel headcanon #Alastor headcannons #Alastor's dad #character breakdown #Alastor's backstory #Alastor's mom #predictions #my writing #my headcannons

[conostra]

Griffith's Relationships

The White Hawk. The White Phoenix. The King of Falconia. The Savior. Femto. The Blessed King of Longing. Once, the greatest mortal to ever wield a sword. The bane of the Black Swordsman. The most beautiful man alive. Him with a stature nothing short of pure magnificence. You know him. You love to hate him. I’m talking about one of the greatest characters not just in manga, but in all of fiction: Griffith.

Griffith is one of many examples of how masterful Kentaro Miura was with a pen, be it pressing against a notebook or a panel. An incredibly written character, as complex as they can come, with some of the most complicated, deep, and tragic relationships I’ve ever seen put to any form of media.

Here, I’ll be discussing what is inarguably a core tenet of Berserk: Griffith’s relationships. With two exceptions, there is no dispute that Griffith’s relationships are the singular most important part of the media he resides in, there is no debate over whether or not they are still crucial parts of understanding both Guts’ disposition, and the world of Berserk. Griffith’s different approaches to interacting with those in his vicinity warps the very world itself, and his whims shape the very nature of the conflicts the protagonist engages in.

Here, in 6 parts, we will be dissecting Griffith’s most important relationships through Berserk, how they shaped him, and what they explain about who he is and how he got to where he is now.

Part 1: The Boy, and The Hawks

Part 2: The Governor.

Part 3: The King.

Part 4: Charlotte.

Part 5: The Wings of the Hawk (1)

Part 6: The Wings of the Hawk (2)

______________________________________________________________

Part 1: The Boy, and The Hawks

Throughout the story of Berserk, Griffith goes through many changes, some more drastic than others. But no change is more pivotal than the one caused by a certain young bird who flocked with him and the Hawks when he first started his journey. Before Guts, before Casca, Griffith was no one. He was a commoner, no more than a child, starting his own little group of misfit warriors to become… something. Whatever it was, surely, it must set him on the path to his dream. But to the others, whatever that something was did not matter. It was of no consequence to them whether that mystical something ever came into fruition. All that mattered was that Griffith was the one who was pulling them along with him into the smoke that obscured their immediate war-torn futures.

Among them was a young boy. Younger than Griffith, even. So young, he would even bring his toys onto the battlefield. A young boy who admired him from what he thought was afar, but in actuality could be only a few feet away at times. It was like admiring a star, or, as Griffith puts it, “the hero of some story.” A hero not too unlike the toy knight Griffith found one day in his satchel, no owner left to claim it, as he lay on the ground, blood pooling around him as it soaked through his bare clothes, no armor, merely a tunic and a dream. A dream to serve alongside Griffith. A dream to aid Griffith in achieving his dream, a small dream, a dream to aid another man’s story.

Griffith wondered, as he placed the boy’s toy back on his chest, whether, when he died, he felt comfort from his dream. Or, perhaps, did he die in agony, unable to achieve it? Was death the start of a new dream, or the end of all other ones? Was it even the boy’s dream that he felt as he slipped away? Or was it the dream Griffith imposed upon him? He did not know the answers.

But he knew one thing- that he could no longer idly hope for his dream to be achieved. He knew he could not simply throw enough numbers at the board, have enough fights, gain enough men, and maybe he’d get lucky, and his dream would simply fall into his lap. He would have to take initiative. He would have to work for his dream, would have to devote every waking moment, every sleeping moment, to the pursuit of that dream. 

One night, later on, upon returning to the castle, Casca finds Griffith with a man known for… having a particular taste regarding young boys. Later on, she finds him, bathing himself in a nearby river. He begins to quite literally tear into himself, ripping open his arm in a perfect metaphor for how he feels. He claims he has logically reasoned out that what he did was necessary in order to make sure that he gets the funds needed to properly helm a militia the size he will require. But this is only after admitting that he feels that he must be as filthy as those who follow him, because he does not deserve to be clean when his dream is smeared in the blood of thousands who follow his words.

Despite his supposed recovery from this mental break, and despite his claims, the scene of that young boy, dead on the battlefield, with his only belonging encapsulating the lofty ideal to which he held Griffith, broke him. It could have, should have broken any man who would be in the same situation. But it did not just break Griffith. It melted him down, only to reforge him again. That young boy pushed Griffith to do whatever it takes to achieve his dreams, and to accept that casualties will occur. It was a notion Griffith accepted, but not one he fully understood until it was there, laid bare in front of him, forcing him to either confront it, or to give up. And Griffith confronted it. And it warped him. As the story progresses, we see that Griffith is still affected by the death of this young boy, and that his blood still stains crimson all of Griffith’s decisions. 

Without this death, perhaps Griffith is content to simply grow the Hawks through skirmishes, through battle, and through battle alone, until another opportunity presents itself. Perhaps Griffith does not sleep with the old man. Perhaps Griffith does not engage in the activities he does later on in the story, assassinating rivals in his chase of his dream of a throne. Perhaps he does not pull Guts as his sole equal in the depravity he lowers himself to for his dream, sending him on an assassination mission where Guts has a realization of equal magnitude to his own. But Griffith does not recover from this spiral. Perhaps, if this child did not die as a result of Griffith’s own actions, perhaps The eclipse never occurs. Perhaps Griffith must work ten times as hard, it takes ten times as long, but perhaps Griffith does not become the false emotional stonewall he acts as. Perhaps he gains a new dream, perhaps he does not, but either way, perhaps he can have that journey with those he loves, he values, to keep him company.

And Griffith loves the Hawks. All of them. Perhaps not to the same degree, but for all of them, Griffith feels this same type of patriarchal, shepherd-esque obligation, with perhaps the exception of Guts, and Guts alone. He takes on the burden of making the hard choices, of putting himself through hell, to attempt to mitigate the harm they can potentially receive as much as possible. He bears the weight of every victory, every loss of every individual, all willingly given for the sake of his dream. He alone bears the cross of being the head of the Hawks, at every step of their journey.

And this makes his decision at the Eclipse all the more powerful. Some may think that Griffith made the decision because he did not actually care about the Hawks, those who would so loyally lay down their lives if he were to so much as ask. But no. The thing that makes Griffith’s decision to follow that through, to sacrifice all of the Hawks for the sake of his dream so sickening, so gut-wrenchingly despicable, is that he does care. He values each and every single life that was lost at the hands of the apostles, and the demons that began to ravage his party at his behest. He has to care. After all, the Behelit requires him to sacrifice whatever he values most in order to give him his chance at his dream. 

All this death and mayhem, yet underneath it all, it is the scarlet blood of a single child, barely younger than him, that tinges Griffith’s memory. 

#griffith #casca #guts berserk #anime discussion #griffith is probably my GOAT villain I'm ngl #character breakdown #berserk #femto #RIP Miura #every time his pen touched paper was a masterstroke

[justzawe]

Zawe with a fan tonight - 11/21

#zawe ashton #fans #character breakdown

[anunfortunatekinlist]

Some Disabled Remus Drabble

honestly this is me adding my two cents in on disabled remus writing as someone who uses a mobility aid and needed a good rant tbh. but this is almost from my perspective so imma be protective over this like a mother.

Remus was apprehensive at first, well of course, he would willing be drawing attention to himself, but as the days draw longer and more painful, and after Sirius constant nagging, he caves and finally uses his cane more often.

It honestly feels ridiculous at first, like he is faking a problem, showing off almost, cause he can walk on his own most days, “Why the fuck do I need this shitty thing anyway”, he would constantly mutter. In reality, the cane wasn’t shitty, or displeasing to the eye at all, it was almost ornate, intricate wooden carvings etched into a lovely oak stick, handle carved into a shape to relieve pressure off of us ever aching wrists. The only thing he could complain about was the attention.

Some people’s curiosity was out of kindness, as the cane was proof of Remus’s incapability, but it would get annoying to be asked “How he was?” or “What happened?”, about 8 times at breakfast whilst he was trying to eat some toast. It was a show of his fragility, how he wasn’t fully working, almost not human, something people needed to dodge, treat with caution. Remus couldn’t just tell them all to fuck off, as Sirius eloquently suggested, as it felt rude, even though their “concern”, was a mask for a fiendish need for more gossip.

The stares were worse though, as people only saw older people with canes, not a lanky 17 year old, known for causing pranks and having above average spell work, it didn’t make sense. It was like they were too stunned to speak, to curious to look away, and too polite to laugh, the stares almost made him give up entirely on the idea, that he could power through the agony to just be normal again, not like Sirius wouldn’t catch him if fell anyway.

Sirius would be almost angry at this idea, didn’t see the point in him hurting himself to please others eyes, “I’ll fucking punch anyone who says anything.”, he would promise, and Remus knew he intended to keep that promise, and that motivated him slightly, his boyfriend, and his mates, would always protect him front the rumour, however outlandish, except the occasion, “I heard he was scratched by a werewolf in the Forbidden Forest.” mutters, as it never failed to make them laugh at the accuracy and the idiocracy of the gossip. The safety of the laugh with his friends made him almost feel normal, and not a freak of natural, or a fragile package.

And all Remus really wanted was to feel normal and not in pain.

#remus lupin is disabled #this is like my own person rant #so leave it be #i wrote this sad and feeling miserable about my pain #marauders era #sirius black #james potter #remus john lupin #wolfstar #peter pettigrew #remus lupin #disability #walking stick #harry potter #kinda fluff #fluffy in like a good way and a bad way #most of this drabble is based on my personal experience #character breakdown

[ashleywool]

For the last few days, I’ve been getting really into How To Dance In Ohio and, my goodness, I adore the cast EP and have watched and re-watched every YouTube video about it I can! But, from what I could find, there isn’t a Wiki page or anything like that with information about the characters! If you can, I would love to know some fun facts (maybe pronouns, likes, dislikes, whatever else!) about the seven lovely autistic people we follow in the show!

I’m hoping to see it sometime next year! 💛

Hey there!

The Wikipedia page does exist, although it's still pretty sparse as the show is still in previews and there are rules about what the updates are allowed to be. Everything has to be substantiated by a published article on an established platform or a first-person interview.

Here's the character breakdown from the Equity Principal Audition, with some of my own notes added for context. I've included some of the nicknames we've come up with for the characters also, some of which are canon.

Johanna: 40s-50s, she/her, powerful mezzo-soprano. Caroline’s mother, perky and positive, keeps a watchful eye over her daughter, artsy mom vibes. (Note: it's pronounced "yo-HAH-na.") Also known as: Jo-Jo (pronounced "yo-yo;" not canon) Currently: played by Darlesia Cearcy, and understudied by Marina Pires. (Note also: Darlesia's name is pronounced Dar-LEE-see-ah.) Fun fact: Darlesia isn't much of a public social media user, but when I looked her up on Twitter, this is the first thing that popped up, from her time in Shuffle Along. If I were her, I wouldn't even bother with a headshot and resume anymore, I'd just hand casting directors a copy of that tweet. It pretty much says it all.

Terry: 40s-50s, she/her, powerful mezzo-soprano. Jessica’s mother, patient, loves leopard print, gives her daughter lots of space, cool mom vibes. Also known as: Ter-Bear. (not canon) Currently: played by Haven Burton, and understudied by Marina Pires. Fun fact: Haven plays my mom but she's only seven years older than me in real life. Marina P is four years younger than me. Best of all: when we were premiering in Syracuse, this role was also covered by an SU junior (Elana Babbit). She didn't get to go on, but if she had, I would've had a mother who was almost half my age!

Michael: 40s-50s, he/him, mid to high tenor. Marideth’s father, blue-collar, doing his best, is anxious in new social settings. Also plays: "Derrick," a pharmacy technician employee at Columbus Community College, who has a brief interaction with Caroline (and may or may not be a murderer). Currently: played by Nick Gaswirth, and understudied by Martín Solá.

Amy: 40s-50s, she/her, soprano. Drew’s mother, cultured, a housewife with a master’s degree, adept at managing her husband and son’s needs. Also plays: Shauna Parks, a super hawtt reporter from the Columbus Gazette. Currently: played by Melina Kalomas and understudied by Marina Pires.

Kurt: 40s-50s, he/him, mid to high baritone. Drew’s father, white-collar, conservative, a bit formal, has high expectations for Drew. Also plays: Hawkins, Mel's manager at Paws and Claws Pet Shop, who's kind of a douchebag, and Rick Jenkins, a blogger (not a reporter) who has no idea how to write about disability with any shred of respect. Currently: played by Carlos L. Encinias--who calls his collection of roles "The Villain Track" though I assure you is an exquisitely kind and funny anti-villain in real life--and understudied by Martín Solá.

Dr. Emilio Amigo: to play 50s, he/him, high baritone, Cuban-American. A clinical psychologist, founder and director of Amigo Family Counseling, great at his job, charismatic, full of empathy, recently divorced, at a crossroads. Currently: played by Caesar Samayoa, and understudied by Martín Solá and Carlos L. Encinias.

Ashley Amigo: to play 22, she/her, mezzo-soprano with a strong mix, of Cuban-American. Amigo’s daughter, a dancer recovering from an injury, is at a crossroads. Currently: played by Cristina Sastre, and understudied by Marina Pires and Marina Jansen.

Drew: 18, he/him, mid to high tenor, autistic. He needs structure, a bit formal, knows a lot about electricity and electrical grids, is looking for deeper connections in life, possibly romantic, on track to go to his dream college. Also known as: Drewby (by his mom; canon) Currently: played by Liam Pearce and understudied by Collin Hancock, Jean Christian Barry, and Hunter Hollingsworth.

Marideth: 18, she/her, alto with a strong mix, autistic. Raised by a single dad, loves to research facts, hates shoelaces, doesn’t like to be touched, is anxious in new social settings. Also known as: Wolf (not canon) Currently: played by Madison Kopec, and understudied by Marina Jansen and Ayanna Nicole Thomas. Fun fact: Marideth isn't the first canonically autistic character originated by Madison Kopec. I first heard of them back in 2019 when they were cast as Emma in a reading of a new musical called Indigo, which eventually had its world premiere last summer in (funnily enough) Ohio.

Caroline: 19, she/her, soprano with a strong mix, autistic. Perky and positive, goes to community college, is best friends with Jessica but is obsessed with her boyfriend. Also known as: Menace (not canon) Currently: played by Amelia Fei, and understudied by Ayanna Nicole Thomas and Marina Jansen.

Jessica: 20, she/her, full-voiced mezzo-soprano, autistic. Wants to live on her own, loves fantasy but is surprisingly practical, has a flair for drama. Also known as: Rachel Berry (obviously not canon as that's copyright infringement) Currently: played by Ashley Wool (yours truly) and understudied by Ayanna Nicole Thomas and Marina Jansen. Fun fact: Lol. 20. That's adorable. I'm absolutely not 20.

Mel: 24, she/he/they, earthy alto, autistic. The oldest member of the group, a seeker into self-help and mindfulness, a natural leader, works at a pet shop. Also known as: Head of Reptiles (technically canon, but we also just like to imagine Mel as a mythical creature with a reptilian head) Currently: played by Imani Russell and understudied by Marina Jansen and Ayanna Nicole Thomas. Fun fact: way back in 2021, when they were casting the first reading of the show, my agent at the time submitted me for Mel--the character was initially conceived as a cis woman on the breakdown--but I had already gotten a callback for Jessica from my self-submission, and I had a gut feeling that there was somebody better out there for Mel. I couldn't have been more right--after Imani was cast, it was largely thanks to their creativity, insight and influence that Mel evolved into the distinctive non-binary icon (non-bicon?) we know and love today.

Remy: 18+ to play 16, he/she/they, mid to high tenor, autistic. Into cosplay, makes a How-To costume and makeup tutorial videos online. Currently: played by Desmond Luis Edwards, and understudied by Jean Christian Barry, Ayanna Nicole Thomas, and Hunter Hollingsworth. Fun fact: Dez's involvement in HTDIO is the ultimate "Cinderella story." In 2021, Jacob Yandura was running a summer camp in Florida, and Dez was a student there; upon finding out Dez was autistic, Jacob said, "hey, I think you'd be a good fit for this musical I'm writing." The first time I heard Dez sing at the rehearsals for the reading, I was like, "you're SEVENTEEN?! I quit." How many actors out there go from their third high school musical DIRECTLY to Broadway? Another fun fact: Dez created all the cosplay designs we used onstage in the Syracuse production. Check out his art account here!

Tommy: 22, he/him, mid to high baritone, autistic. Funny, self-conscious, studying to get his driver’s license. Currently: played by Conor Tague, and understudied by Hunter Hollingsworth, Collin Hancock, and Jean Christian Barry. Fun fact: In real life, Conor does not drive and is staunchly anti-driving.

Ok, I gotta shower and head to the theater for work notes, but I'll happily add more later!

#how to dance in ohio #broadway #actually autistic #musical theatre #spectrum club 7 #musicals #character breakdown

[shewholovestoread]

Story of Kunning Palace - Jiang Xue Ning - Part 1

There was something I wanted to touch upon about Jiang Xue Ning (Xue Ning) specifically the part about the first life.

All we know about the first life and her actions therein are largely from Xue Ning's perspective. Since we're limited because of this perspective, it is also hard to judge just how "evil" she was. She certainly judges herself very harshly but let's dig a little deeper. For the purpose of clarity, I'm going to break this up into a few key points that I think would illustrate what I'm trying to say, the post is split into 2 parts:

PART 1 1) Early Life 2) Desire for power and control. 3) Ning's desire to be loved.

PART 2 4) Alliances in first life and her influence in 2nd life 5) Ning's Personality 6) Conclusion

EARLY LIFE:

Wanniang, Xue Ning's father's concubine, switched her own daughter with Xue Ning, partly out of spite because she was being thrown out and partly because she wanted her own biological daughter to have a good life (a massive fuck-you to the Jiang family)

On her deathbed, Wanniang confesses to Xue Ning about what she did and that she has informed the family as well. Once, Ning's back home, she's faced with a family that she knows nothing about. Her father, in her first life, was largely indifferent towards her, her mother was outright hostile (she remained the same for a large portion of the 2nd life as well) and finally there was Xue Hui, the usurper. Her entire life, up until that moment had been a massive lie and one that had absolutely nothing to do with her, she was just unfortunate to get caught in the crossfire.

If we look at things from Ning's perspective, she was raised by Wanniang and thinks that Wanniang didn't really care about her, she talks about her insecurity both in the novel and show, when she says that Wanniang would sometimes look at her as if trying to see someone else in her face, or that she'd suddenly pull away from Ning. It was only later that Ning realised why that was.

At home, she always felt like an interloper. She knew that when her mother looked at her, she saw Wanniang and would not let go of that prejudice. Her father had no influence at home (he's repeatedly told that he should leave the home front to the wife) and the sister, who is so damn virtuous that there's no way that Ning could compete with her.

Her ambition then, to become the empress, makes complete sense, it stems from wanting power and control over her life.

DESIRE FOR POWER AND CONTROL:

This is tied to her early life where she felt that she had no control. It is easy to see why she would want to be the empress because the only person more powerful than her would be the emperor. But never again would she be left unable take the reins in her life. I'm going to go in deeper into how she did that in another section.

Her pursuit for power and control stems from her perceived lack of either in her life. She felt like she didn’t have any agency, all of the things that had happened were due to other people and the decisions they made, no one considered Ning’s feelings or what she might want to do.

That she pursues Shen Lang is for 2 reasons, his older brother is sickly and sooner or later, it would be Shen Lang on the throne. The 2nd is that she sees it as balancing the scales. Since Xue Hui took everything that was meant to be hers, she would take Shen Lang, it's that simple. It's fortunate that Shen Lang is a decent man and while Ning was never in love with him, she did care about him.

DESIRE FOR LOVE:

Ning herself would beat up anyone who dared to say that she was driven by her desire for love. Now, some might be thinking that in that case, why did she rebuff Yan Lin who so clearly liked her? That's partly tied to her desire for power and control. She's so incredibly haunted by what her life was like, everything that was taken from her and feeling unwanted by her own family.

She knows that love doesn't mean a damned thing if she's still powerless and ultimately her need for power overshadows any tender feelings she might harbour for Yan Lin. She feels used by the people who should have been looking out for her. Ning thought that Wanniang didn't love her and she could probably deal with that if she got along with her 'birth' family but she instead found herself alienated from them as well. I imagine she felt that there since there was no one in her corner, no one to protect her, she would have to do that herself but that also came from a place of hurt and disappointment. Her attitude towards and treatment of the people in her first life reflects her vindictiveness, she's going to use them to get what she wants.

Ning's actions in the first life are largely driven by her hurt and the all the trauma she's experienced. Imagine coming home to your "family" and realising that you're the outsider. Her desire for power and love are so deeply intertwined that I doubt that Ning herself could differentiate between them. She’s been hurt by people who should have cared about her, accepted her, and she will be damned before she lets anyone else do that again. It never occurs to her that there are people who could genuinely care about her and moreover she doesn't let herself consider that they might care.

It is only once she comes back that she has more information and context and she spends more time with people like Xie Wei, Shen Zhi Yi, Yan Lin, etc that she realizes that maybe she was wrong. Time and distance allow her to see people more clearly now that her judgement is not clouded by her prejudice, by her hurt. It's why she realizes that Shen Zhi Yi is very clearly in love with her (that's just not up for debate) and even at the end of the first life, when Xie Wei gave her the knife, maybe he did want her to have something to defend herself with. Xie Wei had to know what Yan Lin was doing every night but being an ally, he probably didn't want to alienate him, so instead gave Ning the dagger to protect herself with.

In keeping people at an arm’s length lest they hurt her, Ning doesn’t realise that she’s also closed herself to people who might genuinely care for her and I think she does realise that. It’s just that she figures that it’s a fair trade, she’s convinced that love and regard won’t last in the long run but shared interests will (hence her relationship with Zhou Yinzhi) but she only had to look at You Fangyin to know that people do have the ability to surprise you.

Click for Part 2

#the story of kunning palace #cdrama #sokp #sokp spoilers #xie wei #jiang xuening #shen zhiyi #bai lu #you fangyin #character meta #character breakdown #kunning palace

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Just had a random thought. While thinking about the “Indiana Jones” original trilogy, I’ve developed a sort of newfound appreciation for the casting of Harrison Ford. My thoughts haven’t necessarily changed on this character, I still think Indy is fun but not that complex of a character, it’s just that now I imagine casting the character wasn’t the easiest thing in the world.

What Indy lacks in complexity, he makes up for sheer leading man charisma. This is a role where you absolutely need someone who can be able to act without saying anything. Because Indy has to be both:

1) convincing as an Everyman protagonist, in that he’s vulnerable and relatable enough that you can convince the audience that he’s not superhuman and is just a regular guy.

2) the coolest man who has ever lived. Someone who can walk into frame and exude “Yeah, I’m that guy” energy.

Harrison Ford really did have that level of charisma where he can be relatable and vulnerable enough to convince you he’s the underdog, but also make you think he’s the coolest person ever. I’ve tried imagining some other leading actors in the role and, honestly, it makes you realize that Indiana as a character needs more than just a handsome leading man.

Arnold Schwarzenegger wouldn’t have been able to convince you he’s an Everyman protagonist. Sylvester Stallone is better at playing more vulnerable, complicated characters like Rambo and Rocky. Michael Biehn is good at the underdog role, but not necessarily at being the cool guy. Keanu Reeves, while I love the guy to death, is too wooden to be the charming, cool guy (he’s better off at comedy and darker roles anyways). Kurt Russell and Clint Eastwood were close, but I think they’re better off at being action hero badasses. Bruce Willis, I think he’s similar to Keanu in that he’s better off at comedy and darker roles (even his most famous action movie role as John McClane just shows he excels in being comedic, not necessarily being the cool guy).

The actors who I felt could’ve done Indiana Jones justice, aside from Harrison Ford, were Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, and Charlie Cox (Daredevil convinced me he could be the Everyman protagonist, She-Hulk convinced me he could pull off the cool guy role). And, if South Korea made the Indiana Jones movies, Won Bin came to mind.

EDIT: I just realized. Pedro Pascal! Just imagine a combination of Din Djarin, Joel Miller and Oberyn Martell.

I think “roguish charm” is what I’m getting at here. It’s actually quite hard to pull off the more I thought about it. For example, while I like David Harbour and his character of Jim Hopper, I don’t think Harbour can pull off roguish charm. I think that’s why Hopper came off so hostile and combative in Stranger Things season 3; Duffer Bros wrote him as Indiana Jones-like, but the end result was more off-putting than charming. As another bad example; Sean Penn in the movie “Shanghai Surprise”. That’s probably the worst example at an attempt at roguish charm.

Anyways, I’m curious. Which actor do you think could’ve pulled this role off convincingly?

#harrison ford #indiana jones #raiders of the lost ark #Indiana Jones and the temple of doom #Indiana Jones and the last crusade #kingdom of the crystal skull #dial of destiny #movies #films #actors #thoughts about movies #the temple of doom #the last crusade #character analysis #character breakdown #movie thoughts #film thoughts #indiana jones films #indiana jones series #indiana jones raiders of the lost ark #indiana jones movies #movie actors #1980s movies #Disney #my hot takes

[eeldritchblast]

Character breakdowns for my Tavs Cassius and Arcene, and Dark Urge Allani. 😊

Adapted from the "character inspiration" meme - but while these aren't necessarily all sources of inspiration, they hold parts that are comparative.

#bg3 oc #oc cassius #oc arcene #oc allani #character breakdown

[zeldristhickass]

Hi. What do you think about Sohone from Guardian of the Moon?

Design wise I think he's an extremely cool character, especially how his overall design speaks for his character and personality through the use of symbolism and attention to detail.

Sohone appears to have a stone body, with a warm core and the face and hair of a lion. Lions are seen as being closely related to the Sun Gods, and the fact that he literally looks like a new forming planet says enough about his position and relevance in the film as the Guardian of the Sun.

He quite literally is a sun.

Character wise, I thought at first he was an asshole, which I was right about until the snake scene (don't come for me, it's been years since I've properly watched this movie) and I realised that he was just extremely insecure and his desperate need to have others view him as strong and mighty, worthy of being the guardian of the sun, caused him to hide away behind his massive ego.

By the end of the film, this facade seemed to have broken down, and we finally got to see the real genuine Sohone. We realised that he was kind.

I love Sohone.

#sohone #mune guardian of the moon #character breakdown

[kiarabanetmi]

Thoughts on the end of Chloe’s story in Season 5: spoilers for Season 5 up to Revolution

I understand why it was done

In the end, Chloe ultimately chose to stop trying to do good like she was trying to do in season 2 and half of season 3

When her idol, Ladybug, didn’t reward her anymore for being good by saying she could no longer have the Bee Miraculous for her own safety, Chloe saw it as a betrayal, because her idol had given it back to her once and said she’d been better, but now she was taking it away? Where’s the reward in that? Why be and do good when you get something like that taken away by someone you admire? So she became bitter and cold and cruel again, and then was convinced to stay that way due to Hawkmoth. (I couldn’t find any decent screenshots of these scenes, but these events took place in Season 3 episodes Miraculer and she fully regressed back in the Season 3 finale Heart Hunter and Miracle Queen).

All her choices are her own (unless the sentimonster theory is true then that’s a whole other issue, but that’s a theory for another day).

I also made another observation: her behavior got MUCH worse again after the season 3 finale not just because of Hawkmoth and his manipulations, but because her toxic mother decided to stay in Paris full time at the end of the season 3 finale. This gave her someone who actively approved of and encouraged Chloe’s awful behavior, giving her attention and praise as she behaved worse and worse to those who were “less than” them. Her father only enabled her (which is JUST as bad), but he never actively encouraged her to act worse and worse. We saw before in Style Queen and Maledictator how she idolized her mother so much, and sought her approval in any way. With her staying in Paris, Chloe had every reason to believe she could and should act the way she did, cause someone she looked up to and admired and loved approved of it and gave her attention when she did it. We were even shown dialogue examples of this encouragement of abusing and tormenting throughout season 5 (Adoration).

So she decided to stay cruel and mean and abandon any sense of trying to do good anymore, and chose what she knew and was comfortable with: abusing people and power. (Example: her statement to Adrien at the end of Derision).

And she found someone who finally encouraged her awful behavior rather than just cheering along or just going along with it (like Sabrina). Lila. She found someone to bounce ideas off of, someone who thought like her and had her same goals, someone who wanted to spend time with her and scheme and plot against her enemies. Someone who was cruel like her and thought like her and hated the people she hated and she thought she finally had a friend with the same goals as hers. So she listened to Lila, acting worse and worse under her influence but still of her own accord.

She gets worse and worse and under Lila’s manipulations she ends up taking over Paris as mayor (Collusion). Then she Allie’s with Monarch (at Lila’s instruction) to gain powers for herself, making her powerful and able to do whatever she wants without consequence. Her mother also approves of this greatly, smiling and looking proud of Chloe for all she’s doing. Chloe locks up anyone who doesn’t agree with her or just locks other people up to torment those she hates (like locking up Marinette’s parents or banning André the ice cream man cause Adrien and Marinette’s and Nino like his ice cream). She truly doesn’t care for anyone but herself and her own enjoyment and the suffering of others at this point

Once she was finally foiled by Ladybug and Chat Noir for the last time, we’re seen that she’s being taken away by her abusive mother to New York, to be raised “properly” and without freedom.

People see this as not a good way to end her story, and part of me agrees. Having her sent away to live with her abusive mother is not justice or comupence. But here’s the thing: Chloe ultimately put herself here. By continuing to act cold and cruel despite being given multiple chances, she closed, locked, and burned any other options for her. Her father is no longer mayor so she had no protection and is done taking her orders, Sabrina left due to the abuse she suffered and helped Chloe commit (also I don’t completely forgive Sabrina either yet but hopefully she’ll earn trust back in time), Adrien cut off all ties with her after she refused to apologize to Marinette for all the HORRENDOUS things she put her though, Lila abandoned her without a trace, no one is afraid of her anymore, the superheroes of Paris have denounced her, she was exposed for actively working with Monarch to enslave all of Paris, and she’s hated by everyone in Paris: her mother is the only one left.

She burned everything down and refused to change. Unfortunately some people do that, especially in real life (I’ve personally seen it happen with some of my toxic family members). Even if they have the ability to change and become better people, it takes WORK to stay better and be nice, especially in a completely toxic household or with an overbearing toxic parent in your life. Breaking the pattern and cycle of abuse and cruelty is never easy, and for a child with no immediate healthy influences it’s nearly impossible.

Her story is a story of caution in the end: you can change, but in the end it’s your choice. And what goes around comes around. Chloe spent almost her entire life being cruel to others without consequence. She had multiple chances to change, even showed she was capable of it, but in the end chose the easier road for herself, and by doing so, sealed her fate and her punishment

Maybe she’ll come back in the future changed by living with her mother, that’s all we can hope for at this point.

I’m also going to making a post comparing and contrasting her and Felix as characters and why their stories played out so differently despite them being very similar character types.

#mlb season 5 spoilers #chloe bourgeois #mlb fandom #mlb #mlb revolution #mlb season 5 #mlb chloe #character analysis #character breakdown