#I am so so so fascinated by her

[cerastes]

I can't stop thinking about Kristen, or some say, Kirsten's trap hole working on Saria, it's funny, sure, but it's deep in a sad way. It's a Zhuge Liang vs Sima Yi situation, the famous anecdote where Zhuge Liang had basically no one to defend a city against Sima Yi's sizeable army, but when he learned that it was Sima Yi that lead the army, he simply opened the doors and welcome them in. Sima Yi immediately looked at this and said Absolutely The Fuck Not, He's Got Irons On The Fires, Plans Upon Plans, and retreated. This was a bluff that would only work on Sima Yi, and only if Zhuge Liang would use it. It's such an obvious bluff, which any other general would call out, and no general in their right mind would use. But, because it was Zhuge Liang using it against Sima Yi, because of their shared story, Sima Yi got mind bamboozled into a "He knows I know, he knows I know he knows I know" bluescreen loop, because Sima Yi would never fall for such an obvious bluff, but it's Zhuge Liang using it, and Zhuge Liang KNOWS that Sima Yi would never fall for it, but then, that in itself could be a trap, but but but but but.

And so he left. He did not take his chances. It was a bluff that could only work on him, if used by exactly one person.

To me, the trap hole scene is kind of like this. Kristen knows Saria. Better than anyone else. To the point that she knew exactly where and when she'd say something, and when and how exactly she could catch her with the oldest trick in the Acme playbook. Saria. The woman who couldn't be stopped with the Kristen-designed Anti-Saria Wall, which possessed Screw Saria Particularly effects. You could hit Saria with a warhead and the warhead loses that one in all likelihood.

But Kristen doesn't need a wall or a warhead. Kristen knows Saria. Better than anyone else. She knows her so well, she can topple her with a flap on the floor.

And yeah that's hilarious and all, but also, so deeply sad, because it's basically an acknowledgement of just how much Kristen has paid attention, how well she knows her, how immensely knowledgeable Kristen is about Saria.

It's sad because Kristen does not care. She ultimately decided she doesn't value this. She knows. She observed. She lived the most beautiful moments of both of their lives together. And she decided it was worthless in the end, and that she didn't care. She saw all of this as nothing more than a weapon to make a trap door on the floor work. All of that.

This is what makes Kristen so immensely fascinating and chilling. It's not that she doesn't care in terms of ignoring the world around her. Oh, she's observing, alright, she knows exactly what and who surrounds her. She simply doesn't care even if she knows all of these things. She doesn't care. Kristen Wright simply does not care. A level well above not noticing: She knows and observes and is aware, she simply decided those things are worthless.

That is the next level of indifference. I like her so much, she is awful.

#arknights #kristen #or some say #kirsten #I am so so so fascinated by her

[anurarana]

Every time someone calls Falin not a full-fledged character, or just a plot device, or whatever, I honestly get so annoyed. If you can make up a whole personality and backstory for some random man in any other story, let me be obsessed with a woman the the entire narrative is literally centered around!! She is so interesting and I love her shut up shut up shut up

#you might think I'm straw manning if you haven't seen this talk bc farcille is so popular #but I'm taking falin in her own right how can people not look at her and instantly become fascinated with her #yes falin icon blah blah blah but am so serious about this I am so tired #dungeon meshi #even in a fandom where people actually care about the women I still have to deal with this she is not just a pretty set piece

[elvisqueso]

Pocahontas (1995): 3 times Pocahontas is compared to her mother + 1 time she's recognized on her own merits.

rambling lil meta under the cut

see, what's crazy about this whole situation is that it makes me wonder what exactly pocahontas's mom was like to have left such a massive impression on literally everyone in their community? there's that outright statement that "yeah, your mom's spirit is in the wind, basically, and our people venerate her as a spiritual guide (at the very least)." we know that she's the main connection between pocahontas and grandmother willow, and there's an implication in there that whatever leadership role she held in the village is expected to fall on pocahontas's shoulders someday.

i am so convinced that this role is some kind of spiritual leader/shaman position. wise-woman, priestess, whatever it's called. we don't see anyone else besides kekata performing any kind of spiritual rites, and even he isn't seen acting in direct contact with spiritual entities. kekata has to perform chants, provide offerings, and use a medium. pocahontas can just fuckign. talk to the things. how is she doing that? why isn't anyone else really able to do that? john smith could talk with grandmother willow but would he be able to if pocahontas wasn't there (i actually think he could but that's a different post)? has she ever done that for literally anybody else? nakoma never mentions grandmother willow. nobody mentions grandmother willow. apparently, the only two people who knew about her before pocahontas brought her new bf over was pocahontas and her mom.

i'm losing track of myself here, but the point is pocahontas is Highly aware of the ghost she's expected to live up to. and it sucks. and there's a lot more to her character arc about this but the eventual come-around to accepting that she has a responsibility to be more than herself and more than her mother's ghost is so heartbreaking because it also meant she had to let go of her soulmate at the same time so i c ry

#pocahontasedit #disneyedit #pocahontas (1995) #pocahontas #help i'm hyperanalyzing disney's pocahontas again #<- blog tag for these metas now #queso*gifs #queso*edit #i've been thinking about this for literal days #i've beein having a lot of THoughts but am having trouble writing them down lately so bear with me #but pocahontas's resistance to engaging with Anyone until john smith shows up is Fascinating to me #nakoma had to hunt her down to talk to her and got capsized for her trouble #they giggle about it at the time but pocahontas's reluctance to open up to nakoma throughout the film is sooooo oo #this weird semi-deified status her mom has i think fucked pocahontas up a lil #bc it gives her a similar 'unapproachable' quality if she proves to have the same capability #i think she has very Mixed feelings about that and is wary of engaging to closely with others because of it

[grandwretch]

im also obsessed w the idea of sonetto and vertin bc the way they're presented as kids is that vertin so desperately wanted to be friends with sonetto, always bringing her presents and things, and sonetto wanted nothing to do with her or her troublemaking. now it's switched. vertin keeps sonetto at arms' length, and sonetto desperately wants to get her approval and be close to her, and has to watch her instead always choose to be by someone else's side--

even vertin's childhood memories of sonetto are now coloured by her loss of schneider.

idk why everyone leaves sonetto out of the doomed yuri thing, because imo it is really a doomed yuri love triangle.

#shut up az #reverse 1999 #sonetto wants vertin so badly but vertin wants nothing to do w her and i already thought that was fascinating #like i thought it was because sonetto was too close to the foundation #and she prefers people like regulus or schneider #but now we're at the childhood stuff and i'm like oh my fucking god #vertin wanted sonetto to like her so badly #SONETTO IS REAPING WHAT SHE HAS SOWN #I'M LOOSING MY MIND #edit: altho i am a schneider fan 4 lyfe i actually think vernetto is endgame? #sonetto and vertin's relationship is so important to the game #i can make it poly tho #we have the technology

[uncanny-tranny]

The most fulfilling thing about art (and why I'm so passionate about it as a concept) is just knowing that this is a piece of you entering this world and being born, and it's as imperfect, messy, and human as you are.

Like, this is my first single crochet, and look at it!

It's lumpy and not even whatsoever, but that came out of my hands. It is, essentially, not unlike a toddler who has just learned to walk with uneasy legs. Would you punish a toddler for toddling, for being unsteady and unrefined? Then why is it that we must punish ourselves for being in what is essentially that same state? Create, even if you cannot run with it. You can still walk with it. You can still crawl with it. But, create

#art #crochet #described images #image description in alt #a lovely lovely crochet youtuber helped me by uploading a video too (it was overwhelming to watch her crochet with me though) #i am going to be so mentally ill about this by the way #i wish i hadn't picked up this acrylic yarn but i got it because it was yellow and so bright and happy-looking #plus it's one of those yarns that come in the huuuuge skeins #my grandma had so many of those skeins and they always fascinated me #this isn't my first time picking up a crochet hook and crocheting but this is my first actual single crochet #whereas i always stopped at a chain #i always talk about how important all of this is but it still feels vulnerable #i was in So Much Pain sitting on my bed to do this 😭

[scalematey]

honestly like kipperlily kind of hits on the same story beats hit by tectonya karkovnya and more broadly neverafter for me like. what if you were stuck being a background character in someone else’s story. what if you were resigned to being a boring person surrounded by outstanding people deemed of legendary significance by the fate and random chance. what if your adventuring party didn’t give a fuck about being special or about being heroes but instead chose to see themselves as minmaxxers going for the easy win. what if you wanted to be a hero and no one would let you, and when you met the people you resented this whole time for being heroes, they proved themselves as being as mean to you as you thought they would be. what if the one time you really reached out for it and went on a mission that you knew was above your level and you wanted to be a hero this once and be important and succeed, you got turned into the pawn of a dead rage god. what if you weren’t allowed to be an intrepid hero, so you turned into a villain

#jone.txt #d20 #kipperlily copperkettle #FASCINATING bit to munch on #thank you brennan #im just thinking about like. the implications #the way that lucy understood KL and why it was important to her to be a hero #even when the rest of the party didnt #i am going to become so emotional rn #not every party is best friends like the bad kids!!! #dimension 20 #fantasy high #fhjy

[mrpsychokiller]

tex red vs blue is insanely transgender but im the only one who sees it that way because im crazy in the head.

what if there was a past version of yourself. a woman, a wife, a mother, with long hair and a sweet smile. and she died long ago. and you are her. but you are not her. you're nothing like her, but the people who knew her desperately want you to be her, want to preserve the memory they have in their minds of the woman they loved through you. but you never asked to be her, never asked to carry the burden of someone else's expectation of who or what you should be. you have a new name. you prefer to go by this one. people remark on how weird it is that it's a guy's name. sometimes the people who loved [the past version of] you call you by your old name. they are not referring to you when they say it. you live in the shadows of someone who's long gone, and you're something different now, but you don't feel like you're ever allowed to define yourself on your own terms, to be your own person, to control your own life, because you exist solely through the memories people had of you. and the longer she has been gone for, the more desperately people try to get her back, the less you resemble her and the less you know who you are, or if you ever even got to be anything at all. what i mean is that transition could have saved him

#🧃 #rvb #red vs blue #DONT ask me why i got up in a cold sweat at 7 am with thoughts on tex red vs blue. i miss her so bad #anyways i do think if anyone in rvb could ever be actually trans coded (which nobody is because theyre created by fucking rooster teeth) #its gotta be tex #but because i know a trans subtext couldnt ever possibly be intentional i also think tex is a fascinating subject on the #''dead wife'' trope and the way stories like this treat female characters #and how tex's existence somehow seems surprisingly self aware as she actively rejects being the Dead Wife #and its brought to attention how existing solely as the angst memories men had of their dead wives #actively denies her of agency as a person inside the narrative #but also more generally denies dead wife characters agency in any narrative theyre written on #tex's struggles as a character inside her narrative are also the struggles of fridged/killed off female characters outside their narratives #on a meta textual level by being written by men in male centered stories who dont allow the women they write to exist as people #tex is a fascinating character and i am fucking furious she exists in a that stupid ass show. ill save you girl. ill take you out of there

[imminent-danger-came]

So I'm like, utterly obsessed with MK and Wukong's relationship, because it's like, Wukong has borderline unreasonable faith in MK and MK is willing to put pretty much anything on the line for Wukong (risking the curse being released in 4x02, ready to "meet his fate" FOR him in 4x13), yet MK is also purposefully ignoring SWK's mistakes/flaws and thinking in binaries of "good guy" and "bad guy". And at this point I'm not sure what they wouldn't do for each other, or where is too far to go for each other, and let me tell you girl it's edging on unhealthy.

#I am so enthralled with this dynamic #I got to say #THEY ARE WALKING TO THE BRINK #And then they'll walk back #BUT RN. OH MAN. #When the thing that is a virtue in one context is a vice in another #Is anyone ready for my ''SWK and MK are kinda like Rose Quartz and Steven if Rose was alive to face her mistakes'' take. #Because. WOOF. Steven and RQ had such a fascinating relationship. Like. One of the my favs in media. #And every time MK is hurt by Wukong or see's how Wukong has hurt someone else I'm like. MAN. OH BOY OH BOY #And yet he still loves that monkey unconditionally and Wukong loves HIM unconditionally and I'm like #Going to throw up #And idk throw a SWK V MK fight somewhere in here and it is just the worst soup #I am rubbing my hands together #But I am a tragedy enjoyer it's true #Me: ''Oh fuck. Azure died before he could make the world a better place :'( '' #Also Me: ''Oh fuck. Azure died before he could make the world a better place >:) '' #lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk rant #imp tag

[billdenbrough]

i love starmora so much like their gradual shift across gotg vol. 3 absolutely decimated me lol

like. “you know, i’m still not who you want me to be” “oh, i know. but who you are ain’t so bad.” the way she smiles at him??????? followed by (once she’s stepped past him, a moment of hesitation, this inch of themselves they can let be real offerings without having to be completely bare) “i bet we were fun” and his little “like you wouldn’t believe” i am ruined!!!!!!!!

#gotg v3 #gotg3 #gotg vol 3 #gamora #peter quill #starmora #sorry for the endless tags i am just covering my bases so blacklists work #but GOD i am like. destroyed. lmao #genuinely think this is the most fascinating route they could have taken after endgame #instead of trying to return gamora to who she first was #this is a movie about finding yourself and finding your home and like #the thesis about guardians vol 2 was finding your family and finding it in each other #but homes are not families. your home shouldn’t be in someone else #and they’re never going to be the people they once were. quill can’t love himself bc of the way he was in her eyes anymore #now he has to find something else. the way she has. now he has to find HIMSELF #and the legendary star-lord will return. and maybe when he does‚ they’ll still surprise each other in the small soft ways like they did #in this film #every little time they defy each other’s worst or most exasperated expectations in this movie and trade small smiles it made me feral lmao

[cuubism]

hello friends. despite my 9 million existing dreamling wips i'm feeling the need to branch out a bit for the sake of my mental variety. what pairing other than dreamling should i write a little something for? could be romantic or platonic

other way of phrasing i guess: any pairings you really want to see more fics for in the fandom?

#i actually do have one someone asked me for ages ago i've been meaning to get to so i'll try to do that too #bonus points if it still involves dream bc you know i love dream XD #probably wont do any romantic pairings /between/ the endless because well yeah #but open to exploring pretty much anything else... feel free to send whatever if you want. dont worry about if i'll like it #if i can't vibe with it or find it uncomfy i just won't write it no harm no foul #not me soliciting little prompts fully knowing that motivation is a fickle beast and who knows if i would get to writing them XD i want #to though! or like. idk. if anyone wants to share headcanons about their favorite pairings i am happy to receive them #the sandman #a couple that are bouncing around my head already: #rose meeting desire. this could be really interesting i think (they are of course her grandparent) #calliope and lucienne post-calliope's imprisonment: i think their dynamic could be interesting since they both have/had close relationships #with dream. but of course calliope's relationship with him fell apart. i think lucienne with whatever context of it she had would probably #be sympathetic to calliope's perspective but still staunchly On Dream's Side so the speak bc she is ultimately very loyal to him... could b #an interesting convo. #additionally - calliope and johanna. both suffered things recently. both had curious interactions with dream where they recently saw both #his vicious side AND a kinder more understanding side of him... [dream gave rachel a peaceful death at johanna's request etc] #but they've come out of their suffering really differently (granted it was different types of suffering. but) #wow here i am asking for people's ideas and then just coming up with my own XD #anyway #wait two others: i'm fascinated by the potential dynamic of lucienne and the corinthian they only had like one short scene together in the #show but can you imagine. spending eons being loyal to dream and then going opposite directions with that loyalty. being among dream's inne #circle so to speak except lucienne is her own entity while corinthian was /created/ by dream. they have the most fascinating venn diagram o #personality traits and narrative positions... #secondly. and this is kind of crack. but like. imagine johanna and corinthian in the same room XD 'hi i'm an exorcist and this is my pet #serial killer' 'yeah my lord gave me a vacation to go kill some demons' why doesn't he try to kill johanna? bc she tried to destroy him #first time they met and he can't help but respect it XD

[thaliagrayce]

y'know what we don't talk about enough? Hazel died. We talk about how she grew up in the 30's and 40's and we talk about how out of place she feels in the modern world, but! She died! She was dead! She has spent more time dead than alive, and not by a close margin!

How does that effect a person??? We got some of it in the flashbacks, but once those caught up with her present timeline and she shared them, they just kind of... disappeared. And she was a regular girl with some weird past experiences. That's one way of doing it, sure!

I think it would have been a lot cooler if she was just a touch creepier. If she felt a little bit Wrong. Yeah, in general she's more approachable than her brother, she's more sociable and less closed off, but. If you actually spend any time with her, it can be difficult to tell which child of the underworld is actually more unsettling.

Hazel is bright of personality and has a dazzling smile, but sometimes she'll just... shut down. She'll go completely blank for like half an hour and nobody knows what to do with it. Sometimes she forgets she's alive. Sometimes she'll spout the grimmest shit you've ever heard like it's nothing, she won't even notice it's weird until the room goes quiet. She spent decades in Asphodel, which is designed to make people forget about themselves and wander around for eternity, only she didn't have the luxury of forgetting! Wild! After she comes back to life, sometimes she forgets that she's allowed to Do Stuff now. She can spend so long sitting and staring at nothing. Sometimes she'll start crying on cloudless days because it hits her again that she can actually feel the warmth of the sun on her skin and she can hear birdsong. Every little mundane experience is a blessing and she will make you remember that in the most foreboding way possible.

#hazel levesque #hoo #mj talks #like. i am fascinated with characters who die and come back different and it JUST hit me that there was so much potential for hazel there #the idea of how death lingers was not explored At All in heroes of olympus #of course there's the obvious part in that there were what. 3 named character deaths total? 4 if you count leo #which i very much don't because it didn't stick! there were no consequences to this gigantic war! #the first series did well with that because we had plenty of named characters who died #even though some of them were introduced only to die like six chapters later. we still knew them on some level #and more importantly percy knew them. he felt their loss in a way that made consequences seem real #heroes of olympus didn't have any of that. hazel could have been a great way to talk about it a little more! #also i just love characters who have obviously gone through death. that has to change a person! tell me how it changed you! #anyway. i think i'll make hazel creepier from now on in my writing #she deserves it <3 #nico is creepy in an obvious way. he's got power over death and that clings to him like a second skin. he can't hide it #and he's learned that he doesn't have to. there is power in being othered #hazel seems lovely when you first meet her! none of the death power all of the glitter and gold and riches #and then she'll look you dead in the eye and say 'you really don't know how lucky you are to be able to breathe until you can't anymore' #and move on like it's nothing! what! #underworld siblings

[sofoulandfairaday]

i can't decide which i like more:

the idea - very much canonical and in the author's original concept and view of magic - of the dark arts taking a toll on one's exterior and looks. tom riddle sacrificing his beauty willingly in the name of eternal life, black magic as something that innately corrupts. bellatrix escaping from azkaban with the barest vestiges of her ancient beauty. going from one of the most beautiful women in england to a shell of her former self and no amount of dark magic being able to fix it. and she just. doesn't care. goes from pretty, proud and vain in her youth, to the feverish, fanatical glow harry sees in the department if mysteries. finally she sheds the petal of the rose - look like the innocent flower, her master had once said - and only the thorns remain. the parallel with voldemort himself. the idea that they like each other better now, the only ones to like their respective new appearances better. bellatrix because she can taste the power radiating off him, because she knows how resentful he was of his old face. (oh, he's never said anything explicitly, he would rather be flayed alive than speak of his filthy muggle father to her, but she knew he didn't like himself, took no pride in his aesthetics, it was most unusual, really.) the dark lord because he's reminded of her sacrifice - she was the only one who didn't denounce him, who tried to find him - every time he looks at her. she gave up everything for him: her reputation, her family, her freedom, her health, her beauty, her youth.

or.

the horcruxes are an isolated case. not all prices to pay for power are physical. some dark magic sucks at your humanity, your emotional regulation, your empathy and gives back superficial little gifts. its roots are far from the deep anger, desperation to cling to life of an horcrux. these are ancient witches' remedies to be the most envied in the village. the idea that rotten cores hide behind the prettiest faces. and bellatrix was always vain, always took immense pride in her beauty, her black, pure features. when she escapes from azkaban she tries everything in her power to be herself once again. she still drips with obsession but gradually regains all of her beauty too. cruel people can still be beautiful. gorgeous people can still be inhuman. and yet there is something so human about a woman making her way through the ranks of a very militarised group and still caring so much about what she looks like, still having insecurities, being preoccupied with mundane things like age and decay - and hating it because he would hate it, he hates weakness, and still not being able to help herself. the dark lord was always a collector of shiny things, was he not?

#sorry for the ineloquent stream of consciousness. it's midnight i am exhaused and once again in a bellamort brainrot #better yet - bellatrix and her relationship with her gender is something that i find so fascinating and that few people explore properly #and the differences between bellatrix and voldemort and how they would perceive certain things (e.g. physical beauty) #being a children's book hp uses the very common trope that ugly = bad #the villains are all deprived of their good looks somehow #except in lockhart's case where he literally loses his wits (the whole point of his character - very dante-esque as a punishment) #and dark magic clearly takes a toll on your body #i like characters that are described as imperfect and that are forced to make sacrifices. would bella give this up for her master? yes. #would it be painful? i find that i like both versions of her. #bellatrix lestrange #lord voldemort #bellamort #bellatrix black

[queen0fm0nsterz]

thinking about the Lady again and she actually is the Character Ever.

Starting off with her design. How ridiculously simple it is, right? Her yukata is plain brown and has a single layer, her wig (and yes, I am positive what she wears is not her hair but a wig soley because of how easily it comes undone... that kind of hairstyle is meant to STICK when done with actual hair) has no decorations befitting a woman of her powerful status and her mask is nothing but... empty. You could mistake her for a mannequin and you wouldn't even be wrong. It's by design, after all: she is as insanely important, as a figure, as she is anonymous as a person.

But then, it's with amusement that you note that that boring, unexpressive mask is called the "Rascal's mask" when unlocked. It's such an oddly affectionate nickname stemming from a person so utterly despicable. And then you notice her hair. Her long, black hair that should be hidden under her wig, as the hairstyle goes, but are instead hanging out freely. Not very traditional at all, right? You could almost read it as a small act of defiance of... something. Now, what that thing is, I doubt even she knows. Maybe it's just her way to seek individuality without having to step into zones she does not want to touch.

And then, of course, the lack of shoes. It's not uncommon for people to wear slippers in the house - especially for the Japanese - but she just... doesn't. In that small, small way, she is similar to Six - and every other child in the Maw running around barefoot. Except she's above running, of course. She's got the privilege of floating like a ghost so that she may never touch the ground.

(The only time when this rule is broken is when she fights Six, poetically enough. You can see her visibly step back.)

These strange little things are the first things that push you to wonder about her as a person. Not the title, not the Lady of the Maw: the individual behind the mask. Who is that person? What is she like? Is there a way to answer these questions? I think yes, if you know where to look - but is it worth to ask these questions considering what she does?

That depends on you. Me personally, I think there is narrative worth to be found in what she has to hide. Her foil, Six, finds value in the aspects of herself she does not hide: she is very unapologetic in her selfhood. The Lady isn't, for the most part.

(I wonder if that would make her envious of her younger counterpart in a different context?)

Frankly, looking back on her choice of attire, the fact that her personal bedroom is barely decorated is not surprising. She only has the essentials: a bed, the vase with the key, a few pictures of importance (of people long forgotten, herself included no doubt) and... an ungodly amount of misplaced clothes all over her quarters. All the same yukata, repeated over and over, maniacally folded and arranged in towers, but never where they're supposed to be.

A bedroom is the reflection of yourself. Of your inner world. The fact hers looks so barebones is quite telling about who she is. Or isn't. She herself may have some trouble trying to figure that one out.

I think that, in a vacuum, it's easy to assume that the reason she's so displeased by her reflection is soley out of vanity. That is definitely part of it, but I don't think that's all there is. Because after seeing the mannequins that all look just like her, the four women in the picture who also wear her same exact clothes... and that hidden quote.

This quote, which is from Alice in Wonderland. Specifically from a conversation in which Alice expresses how she doesn't recognise herself anymore because of how many times she grew big and small during the course of the day. She is not the same person she was before entering Wonderland.

I find the way she clings to the dolls and the music box to be much more... sombre when keeping this in mind. In a way, that scene is reminiscent of Monster Six clinging to her music box in the chaos of the Tower; an attempt to attach to something safe. For the Lady, it's even more personal. Those are her toys. Her song. No one can take them from her and claim them as theirs. These materialistic tomes are physical proof of her identity. She likes dolls, and she likes to sing that song from her music box. Surely, that much is something.

But a ceramic toy and an old music box are not really enough to placate the inner turmoil. Hence the broken mirrors, the hidden statues... the hung down portraits with their eyes scratched out - from times of the past. There is a person looking back in the mirror which she does not recognise. That can't be her, right?

It isn't. The reflection is but a faux image of her outward appearence. The inside, however... much like this concept art shows, she is melting away. Rapidly decaying no matter how much she tries to stick to her youth.

Because at the end of the day, that's what she's doing, no? The toys, the music box, her appearence... all of it, just to cling a bit more to the person she used to be. Point being that I doubt even she remembers what she used to be.

You'd think a person like this would be inclined to feel at least some sympathy for all the lost children wandering the Nowhere. A sense of kinship, perhaps, or even just... basic human compassion. She has proved to have very human emotions, after all. This is where she proves you wrong. Whenever you think she's stepped the lowest, she always goes lower.

In her humanity, she is brutal. Relentless, ruthless. She offers no sympathy to anyone and has no empathy to spare either. She is very much aware of what's going on under her roof: she not only allows the Maw to continue being the way it is in spite of having the power to change things, but she actively engages in its despicable practices. She has petrified children in her quarters, as well as their ashes - of which the use is unclear - and then she is responsible for the Nome population and exploitation being so large and so eerily heavy. She's twisted necks, broken bones, murdered innocents.

The Shadow Children are, to me, one her greatest offenses. I don't think they serve any particular purpose other than... being there because she wanted to make them. Children ripped away from their life because of her whims. Not even in death can they rest because she can get her hands on their souls. They're nameless, forgotten shadows with blank masks: they're just like their creator, in that way. Ripped of all individuality and devoid of everything.

Everything she sees, the Lady devours. Not a creature is safe from her shadows and her wrath, especially if they come and actively intrude in her activities. She's twice as aggressive if the Maw is at stake.

The Lady's personal bedroom has another motif piece which I did not previously mention: the Maw wallpaper. While Roger and the Chefs have wallpapers that portray them with her, the Lady... does not. She only has the Maw. She's not part of that picture.

The Lady can't let the Maw change its ways. She is the Maw. The Maw must survive: so must she. To change the Maw would mean challenging herself enough to bring about a change; to her, who does nothing but lament what she lost, that would be too much effort. Too outside of the comfortable zone where she can survive in peace. Miserable, but unbothered.

... For the most part. Until Six comes around.

#the lady #carols.txt #ln meta #{dude i dont even know where i was going with this #if it seems like this post comes from a place of love it does #not at her as a person but like as a character. i find her so interesting and i feel oddly tender about her writing #usually when this happens its because i see pieces of the person i could have been in a character (like scaramouche for example) #but this time its from the completely opposite perspective #i am a person with a very clear idea of who i am. i know what my identity is and i am not afraid to express it #so witnessing a character with such a confused identity is both alien and fascinating to me #i wanted to focus more on her atrocities and how capitalism is what changes a person but its... 2 am and i am sick rn #i spent an hour literally vomiting my ramblings on this post #as a person and what she stands for i despise her. as a character i wish to put her in a security blanket and see how she gets out #this post feels terribly personal for some reason. like whatever . shes not even allat #im lying she literally IS allat #idk i love well written female characters who feel like people and dont fit in a specific convenctional box. sue me #< goes for six too #not opening *that* can of worms rn but. yeah} #little nightmares

[johnskleats]

can y'all IMAGINE zuko's reaction if he were a@ng's teacher during the katara burn incident

can you imagine

*if zuko had been there, it wouldn't have happened because he's very visible proof of what fire can do, BUT

IMAGINE.

#he'd lose his damn mind #zutara #zuko validating katara having justified frustration? #zuko acknowledging katara's fear and pain? #this is also in the beautiful world where katara healed her burns but they scarred over #so interesting for the narrative #zuko with intentional burns from malice and katara with accidental burns from negiligence #different abuse with the same outcome #fascinating #i am not saying a@ng burning katara was explicitly abusive however he does go on to manipulate and gaslight her later in the narrative #and the parallels and contrasts between zuko's feelings of fear obligation and respect towards ozai are soooo tasty when paired against #katara's fear obligation respect for a@ng #fear as in acknowledgement of power #delicious

[henrybelly]

honestly when i tried to figure out why some fans are so mad at ivypool these days i was looking through avos and. the scene where ivypool apologises to twigpaw for not supporting sending a patrol for skyclan is genuinely very sweet??

i actually saw someone characterize this as "ivypool forcing twigpaw to forgive her". is it crack you smoke. is that what you smoke. you smoke crack?

#she apologises THREE SEPARATE TIMES #she acknowledges that dovewing and tigerheart's situation made her ignore twigpaw's feelings #she reassures twigpaw that this is the right thing for the clans. she tells her she's proud of her & tc is lucky to have her #you guys do understand that to apologise you have to Do Something Wrong?? or is that the part that's so unforgivable? #i am fASCINATED by the treatment of dove and ivy by the fans in recent years #i'm still pondering it but i think there are a few root causes #1) I think a lot of people read oots as kids and hated dove & identified with ivy because of the underdog storyline #maybe this fandom worship of dovewing is kinda part of that? wanting to feel like you've grown out of fandom misogyny? #but i also feel like 2) tigerdove has really increased dovewing's popularity #and i think because ivypool is so staunchly opposed to their relationship people then have to villainise ivypool #3) is maybe too spicy of a take but to be honest #i think people are subconsciously way more comfortable with a woman whose story ends in heterosexual marriage and childrearing #dovewing's mom role in TBC to shadowsight probably helped her popularity #so ivypool whose relationship w Fernsong & her kits is much less of a focus. and is mUCH less maternal #and who still exhibits Ugly Female Emotions like anger and hurt #and who God Forbid now holds a position of authority... #is too complicated to fit into :) she's such a good mom :) she's such a good mate #dovewing is easier to like because she tends to be a victim of circumstances (🤫 and often lacks agency in her storylines) #since ivypool regularly uses her agency to Fuck Up #fans revert to idealising dovewing because not only is she too good to do bad things. she also doesn't do Things in general #never mind that ivypool is the one who sacrifices and apologises #anyway <3 i think if i made a full analysis of ivy and dove post OOTS i would get too many spicy anons so i will cower in the tags

[laismoura-art]

@mikka-minns my dear? Can I tempt you with some...

MK1 Harumi Shirai Headcanons:✨️

Started as a list of Headcanons, but at some point, it became a small story about Harumi and her past.

Enjoy~🩷

The Shirai family was known to be a family of masters. Masters who had trained generations of legendary warriors.

The Shirai women were the most talented fighters, so talented they had caught the attention of another realm. More specifically, Outworld.

The Umgadi invited the Shirai women to train with them and share their skills.

Harumi also was taught the ways of the Umgadi. She was trained by Li Mei. Tanya was her classmate (they used to gossip and discuss who they thought was the prettiest princess, Tanya was very insistent it was Mileena).

The Shirai women were also talented herbalists, healers actually. Plenty of warriors owned them their lives.

Queen Sindel herself had granted the Shirai access to her gardens and their unique specimens of plants. Plants that, when mixed properly, granted miraculous healing properties!

In Outworld, these magical concoctions were seen as blesses. In Earthrealm, however, they were seen as witchcraft, and it did not take long till the Shirai women were deemed as witches.

The Shirai did not let it affect them. They kept their alliance with the Umgadi and Outworld, and they kept fabricating and sharing their concoctions made with Outworld's exotic flora.

They didn't stop helping the Earthrealmers either, even though their assistance wasn't always welcomed nor appreciated as it should.

They didn't stop looking after Earthrealm, but they did grow more careful. From a young age, Harumi was told to be cautious of the outsiders. They did not understand the world as well as they did. Did not understand the power a Shirai woman held.

Harumi was not secluded nor forbidden to interact with the world outside, but she had to be careful. She was taught to be up-to-date with technology, and during most of her childhood, her friends were online.

Her friends would come and go. One day they would log off and never talk to her again. Only one friend remained through all her life, a Chinese boy named Kuai Liang.

They met on a forum online, discussing fictional characters from some random TV show. Then they moved to MSN, where they would talk every day about everything.

Kuai was there for her on her best days and on her worst days. He was a great listener. He would hear her talk about her favourite book, Dune, for hours and hours. He would also listen and comfort her every time she came home, angry and frustrated, for being once again called a witch.

It took her a couple of years to actually build the courage to tell him why she was constantly called witch. She told him the women of her family had "a magical touch," and they could turn any plant into a magical healing potion.

She expected Kuai to disappear after that, to call her insane, or worse, join those who thought she was a witch. But he only told her that he understood. He told her he was cursed. He told her he had literal fire running through his veins while his entire family had ice.

He was different from others, as she was. They bond grew stronger, and whenever they needed an escape, they would seek each other's company.

When they were together, they did not feel alone, out of place. They did not feel like curses or freaks. They felt like they belonged.

As she grew up, Harumi's family started to fade. Her grandparents, aunts, and her beloved parents. Her mother lived a great part of her life as a Umgadi warrior and was buried as such. It was quite a comfort that she got to be buried among the people who loved and accepted her as she was.

When Harumi returned to Earthrealm, she found herself completely alone. The last Shirai. She expected to be alone as she grieved, but a certain boy had other plans.

Kuai Liang had only visited her a couple of times. When he managed to teleport himself to her home in secret from both their families.

He started visiting her more often. There was no one left to keep their relationship in secret from anyway.

Years later, he told her his father was ill, and she offered to heal him. If she could visit him, she was certain she could heal him.

Kuai Liang's older brother, Bi-Han, was adamant in not letting her come. She tried to slip some medicines, but Bi-Han had caught her. He came to her home and told her that though her services were appreciated, they were not necessarily.

"It's almost like you want him to die," she dared say. He was difficult to read, but she could swear she saw pain in his eyes. "He lived a good life, worthy of a warrior, there's no reason to prolongate it," was his answer. He carelessly threw the medicine on her table and left.

She did not hear from Kuai from that day on.

Months later, she heard rumours of a new Grandmaster taking over the Lin Kuei. But heard nothing of Kuai Liang.

Then she heard rumours of disagreements between the new Grandmaster and his second in command, and that was the closest she had heard of Kuai Liang.

She heard rumours of a threat from Outworld and the Lin Kuei conspiring in favour of that threat.

She heard of a war so big that went beyond their realms. She heard of Champions ascending.

She heard the Lin Kuei would no longer assist Earthrealm, they would not be against it, but wouldn't fight for it anymore.

And only then did she hear of Kuai Liang. When he was practically on her doorstep. He had made it to Japan, along with his brother, Tomas Vrbada. They were being hunted down for treason. They needed help. They needed to be saved. And she saved them without an ounce of hesitation.

When Kuai and Tomas started to live with her, it was, honestly, quite awkward. She had grown used to an empty house, and Kuai Liang showing up after months of silence certainly didn't help.

She was not angry at him though, and she still cared for him deeply. One night she would offer to prepare a concoction for the huge scar on his face. It would not make it disappear, of course, but it would help with the pain.

After taking a couple weeks to heal, the former Lin Kuei brothers would start their mission to assemble a clan that would replace the Lin Kuei as part of Earthrealm's defences. Harumi offered to help. And before Kuai could protest, she reminded him of the long history of her family as trainers of legendary champions. She had the experience they only dreamed to have.

The first attempts were a failure, partly because Harumi was rather demanding. She wouldn't train anyone, wouldn't accept anyone. Her students had to be fully committed, if they weren’t they did not even have to bother staying.

Meanwhile, Kuai was worried about his brother. Wondering how he was doing on his own. It was then that he learned that Harumi had something akin to a spy.

Bi-Han did not allow Harumi to send medicines to his father, but allowed her to send it to someone else. Cyrax had recently transitioned, and Harumi's concoctions were of great help! Harumi would willingly deliver her the medicine without any cost, but Cyrax insisted on doing something in return, so Harumi asked: "Keep us informed of Bi-Han’s wellbeing"

Being up-to-date with Bi-Han’s condition certainly eased Kuai Liang's heart. His mood increased greatly, and he started to act more like himself. More like the person Harumi fell in love with years ago.

It was no secret that there was something between the two, but distance always made it difficult to figure it out. Now, sharing the same roof, it all became clearer. They were in love, and slowly and carefully, they started to act of these feelings...

One night, Tomas brought a guest to her home. He insisted that their guest was a child, but Harumi and Kuai could tell from first glance he was an adult, at least 20, but seemingly younger due to malnourishment.

Harumi couldn't quite explain, but there was something about this guest, this Hanzo Hasashi figure. Something... familiar! She felt as if they had already met, but not on this life, no, more likely in another...

I have more headcanons for her, but they might spoil some things I have plans to write, so I'll share only these... for now👀🩷

#harumi is a main character now so she gets the main character treatment: #RELEASE THE TRAUMA! #i am fascinated by the idea of harumi being an Umgadi or at least having Umgadi training #also the idea of the Shirai women being healers and warriors #but being deemed as witches was an idea the popped randomly one day #and now live on my mind rent free 24/7 #this is my main hc for her now no joke #harumi shirai #umgadi #kuai liang #kuairumi #bi han #tomas vrbada #hanzo hasashi #cyrax #long live trans queen cyrax!💛 #mortal kombat #headcanon #character headcanons