Tumgik
#being feminine and kind and sensitive and all that doesn't make you a bad character
yumeka-sxf · 4 months
Text
A chronological analysis on Twilight and Yor - Part 23
*This is part of an ongoing post series. If you missed the Introduction/Part 1, click here*
----------
When Yor says goodbye to a very grateful Olka, the latter leaves her with some heartfelt parting words: she'll be praying that Yor and her family can find peace and happiness. Yor is taken aback by Olka's gratitude, which is understandable. Being an assassin is an unappreciated job, since most of it involves simply killing your victims and then disappearing without a trace. Her assignment with Olka may have been the first time a client expressed such sincere gratitude for the work she does. Not only that, but Olka having Yor hug Gram while telling her that she's the reason he has a future, is probably the first time she was able to so plainly see how her work can mean the difference between peace and tragedy for a family in need.
Tumblr media
Despite the fact that Olka had repeatedly reminded Yor that her family is just for show, she's obviously realized that Yor sees them as much more. She can't openly tell this to Yor, so perhaps she chose these particular words of farewell as a way of getting Yor to really think about how much her family means to her…in the hopes that one day she can also leave the horrors of the underworld behind to pursue a quiet life. Olka's words may have struck a chord, as Yor seems very deep in thought while she and McMahon watch Olka's raft disappear into the distance. When McMahon notices how melancholic she looks, he reminds her not to get sentimental since they're both just foot soldiers. But ironically, almost immediately after, he tells her that she should meet up with Loid and Anya as a reward for her hard work while he takes care of any further incidents.
Tumblr media
McMahon's history with Yor (if any) is still a mystery, but despite his stoic demeanor, maybe he too realizes that she truly enjoys being with her supposed "cover up" family.
I've seen discourse surrounding the idea that Yor's preference of "traditionally feminine" roles – wanting to be a wife and mother – is a sign of weakness and submissiveness. In addition, as @connoisseursdecomfort discusses here, some people only see one aspect of her character instead of the whole picture, and paint that in a negative way. To quote Connoisseur's post:
"Endo doesn’t want [Yor] to be just soft and sweet and sexy and strong. Like any other human, she is very self-conscious when she doesn’t fit in, and all of these discussions really show how realistic it is for Yor to feel insecure - she is too muscle-head and strong to be feminine in the eyes of the Asian readers, but too sensitive, gentle and ditzy to be masculine. She is not created to fit any standards, and therefore deemed a failure in every reader who sought to make another exemplary woman of this modern age. She has to be perfect, but she will never be."
If by "ditzy" people mean she's naïve about many things, then yes, she is, but there's a reason for it that anyone who's paid attention to the series can easily see: since she had to raise her brother since childhood, she wasn't able to pursue a proper education or gain the kind of real-life knowledge most people who live "normal" lives do. If by "ditzy" they mean she's too nice or polite…why is that a bad thing? While her low self-esteem makes it hard for her to stand up against people who insult her directly, she doesn't hesitate to attack anyone who threatens her family, nor does she hesitate to kill bad guys on her missions. So why is being nice to people who are not a threat to her a bad thing? Since when does having a brash, cocky attitude equate to strength, while being polite and nice to others by default, along with the very human displays of vulnerability and self-doubt, equate to weakness?
Tumblr media
In my opinion, anyone who feels this way about Yor – that the only personality trait she has is "ditzy," or that it's somehow anti-feminist for her to desire the peaceful life of a wife/mother instead of something grander – is missing the whole point of the series. I discussed earlier that Endo does not portray Yor's profession as something glorious that she enjoys doing. It's dangerous, ugly, and morally ambiguous, but she does it out of desire to protect her family. Not only has she been doing it since she was a child, and thus was never able to experience a "normal" life, but it's a job with very little appreciation or acknowledgement. So after living with Loid and Anya, people who appreciate her for who she really is, don't force her to act certain ways nor expect anything in return, why should she be ridiculed for desiring peaceful days with them instead of living only in the cold, thankless underworld? Loid never forced her to remain his wife and Anya's mother after the interview – she chose to stay, at first for her own benefit, but she soon realized that being with them makes her happy. Is it "submissiveness" that someone who's been thrust into a dangerous, unforgiving life as an assassin since childhood now finds comfort in the traditional role of wife/mother with people she loves? Submissiveness is blind obedience, where you live a certain way by someone else's choice or even by force, and that's not the case here. There's no rule that says being a strong woman necessitates a complete rejection of feminine roles and values. A strong female character isn't necessarily one that's filled with self-confidence or tomboyish brashness…if anything, having no inner turmoil for them to overcome makes them a weaker character in my opinion. She's not throwing anything away for "a man" by choosing on her own to stay with Loid because he's always kind and considerate to her. As we saw at the end of her epiphany, she didn't even have to choose her role as a wife/mother over her role as an assassin – she decided to keep being both, but it's her love for Loid and Anya that made her resolve for remaining as Thorn Princess even stronger than before.
What's even more amazing about Yor's character is that, even when she understands that she doesn't need to be an assassin anymore – that no one needs financial support from her work, she still makes the most unselfish choice. She could have ditched her Garden work completely to pursue the life that truly makes her happy, which is being the wife/mother of the Forger family. After knowing how selflessly she's lived her life up to this point, pretty much sacrificing her well-being for Yuri's, no one would blame her if she decided to finally choose what's best for her now. But instead, she chooses to continue her unselfish way of life…even if it means sacrificing her own happiness yet again, she will continue this dangerous line of work, because preventing tragedy from befalling her loved ones or the world in general is more important to her than her own personal happiness. Having such unwavering selflessness, in addition to being a kind and patient mother, encouraging wife, and deadly assassin who still retains her humanity, Endo has done wonders making a character both cute/sweet but also a total badass who's strong on the outside as well as the inside.
Continue to Part 24 ->
<- Return to Part 22
116 notes · View notes
hawkwidows · 3 months
Note
I’m not the anon but I agreed with some things they said, and I’m not afraid of stereotyping him at all, I think that’s a pretty big assumption to make for why people perceive his character as simply boyish, not liking to feel vulnerable, and so on. Maybe stoic is too strong of a word, sure, but what’s on the screen is what’s on the screen, I think the whole point was just that people’s perceptions have nothing to do with blending Noah and Will. It’s clearly due to something the actor brings intentionally to Will that is not his own personality, that low, quiet seriousness. And we’ve seen Will in some pretty tough spots. It makes sense he’d be sensitive in those situations, you know? He’s very special of course but he’s also just a guy
Also, being sensitive or a crier or soft isn’t bad yucky girl coding it’s literally just not something only girls do! It’s uncomfortable to see someone express traditionally feminine traits and have people go “yes, that’s a girl thing.” It’s what his bullies did. I think that’s the point: that we can appreciate these things about Will without constantly obsessing over his Girl role. He’s just Will
you've clarified things I could not comprehend in the og post so cheers tbh.
moving on:
It’s uncomfortable to see someone express traditionally feminine traits and have people go “yes, that’s a girl thing.”
and you just called them traditionally feminine traits. that's literally the whole thing. I am not the one using "girl" in replace of "feminine", that was op anon, and others minimising will's narrative, and I think saying "a girl thing" is missing the point of analysing something as feminine. I can't speak for anybody else, I don't know what you or op anon have seen, but when I ever discuss what was watered down to "girl coding", it's about the fact will is a male character who happens to have been written to express traditionally feminine traits more than other boys/men around him, and also the tropes his story falls under.
it's not a bad or weird thing to point out. noticing feminine traits is most definitely not my entire personality, which it feels like you're implying is for some people. I find it genuinely fucking cool they wrote a male character to follow multiple tropes and narratives usually given to female characters in the horror genre. it's unique and fresh and expressing enjoyment over that isn't taking away from will being a boy.
but he also isn't just a standard boy, btw. his visible difference to everybody else is kind of a big - and important - part of his story. and no, that's not me being wilfully ignorant to what you're saying - I fully understood you, I am just saying that while I agree he isn't overly effeminate or flamboyant atm, he is also not "just a guy".
I think you're making an assumption off my wording - which I get because it was posted impulsively - but holy hell that was definitely not the correlation. you agreeing with op anon but also being fine to stereotype him doesn't make any opinion here special, I mean great to hear you have no problem stereotyping him! but I wasn't making a generalisation. the will and noah criticism is often about noah's physique affecting how people perceive will post-st4, when even that is exaggerated.
people being scared to stereotype will IS a problem in the fandom, even if not related to that specific post, and I brought it up because it was similar language. but also, this is the first I'm hearing the word "boyish" used for will so consistently. what I usually see is people going to the total opposite end of the spectrum of how we know him in the show and making him tough, commandeering or stoic, instead of embracing his softness; and never what's happened here today, which is people insisting that others are 'making him girly when he is in fact boyish' - that's news to me!
from what I've seen, if you explore his canon gender nonconformity, it's too feminising and there's hesitance, even if it's the simplest thing. in fact, guaranteed someone reading me even mentioning gnc in the sentence previous just flinched because it's a touchy or tired subject. but I don't see that issue with mike in headcanons/fics/art, ever, which is what has led me to believe over time that people have an issue/fear with stereotyping will. and that has to come from somewhere in his visual/narrative design because where else could you get it from unless you can recognise the writer's intentions?
I know I've held back from posting more headcanons bc I've been worried people will assume things of me because they project assumptions, when I always take his gnc qualities, and potential, seriously.
also, like I mentioned above, nowhere did you touch on the fact will's narrative is consistent with that of female horror characters (and that's not a bad thing), which is what the people I've seen who may discuss any "girl coding" are often referring to, because it's relevant and unique, and worthy of analysing.
I'm linking this post that explains it more really well, but I know you'll either find it interesting bc you've never seen it before, or roll your eyes bc you already have issue with it; but I can't express more how I'm coming from a genuinely fascinated, excited and well meaning place whenever I might discuss will's narrative having anything to do with something traditionally feminine (which is just a harmless word that happens to have the prefix 'fem').
what’s on the screen is what’s on the screen low, quiet seriousness
what's on screen is being reserved, not stoicism. it's will going through tough times, and - in your eyes - involuntarily expressing emotion when he usually wouldn't......? well all I can recommend for you here is rewatching the show. honestly.
will is a lively, funny, expressive character. not near the same level as noah, but I struggled to understand the relevance in pointing out will's quiet seriousness and noah. are being loud and extroverted not traditionally more masc traits in characters than quietness and being reserved? would that not mean will's expressiveness is what makes him more boyish than his passiveness?
I feel as though the issue being expressed here is feeling importance in will being male and being gay, and so people deeming will's traits feminine = he falls under the 'girl' in other's tendencies to make things a boy/girl dynamic, hence putting such an emphasis on "will is just a boy!!". and I hear you, but being afraid to explore will's story because of optics in relation to his love interest does a disservice to his journey.
I have three (rhetorical, please) questions for that:
a) do you understand that will's story goes beyond his relationship with mike, and that sometimes when people are analysing will's narrative, they aren't even keeping mike in mind? aka there's no intentional placing of will in a feminine role in their dynamic?
b) do you also vocally criticise when people do the same as they may do to will, to mike?
c) do you acknowledge that ST is an 80s show, not set in modern day, and will is from generation x - where we happen to have gotten a lot of those 'stereotypes' from, and it may not be so bizarre to consider he grows up to be similar to the middle aged (visible!) gay men you may know today? or can you see how playing with his gender nonconformity or any stereotypical progression can be different to if he was, say, a 2024 gay high schooler in another netflix original, where it's then a tired writing decision?
I think that’s the point: that we can appreciate these things about Will without [...]
we are. we are appreciating will for who he is, and some of "these things" happen to include him being given roles in the narrative that are often given to female characters, and that's not making anything 'binary'. it's a part of the conversation of will byers. will is not the character who experiences girly issues in the fandom.
He’s just Will
exactly! and "just will" is not your regular male character, and I love that about him. but nowhere does that imply people don't treat him as a boy??
I absolutely know I've repeated myself a lot in this post, but there's a lot of jumping around so, eh.
9 notes · View notes
forestdeath1 · 2 months
Note
why do you think that crying/being prone to tears is a bad thing?(/gen) I read your meta on Sirius and Remus, and while I agree with your analysis of their characters(I don’t think either of them would cry anywhere near as much they tend to do in fanon), it seems like you think somebody crying after going through trauma makes them a weak person.
No, I never said that crying is bad. Why should I think that? Tears don't harm anyone, and to call it a bad thing is weird to me. Likewise, there's nothing inherently negative in being 'weak', some people are stronger in terms of resilience and readiness to confront challenges, while others are less so. I like canon Remus for the fact that his behavior patterns are very realistic. He's just a person.
And I've never linked tears with weakness. In the canon, Sirius cries (or nearly cries) twice, and it doesn't make him less resilient. I just don't think Sirius would cry at home over his parents or because of the prank, it's just not in his character to feel sorry for himself. He hurts for James and Lily, not himself. Sirius's mindset doesn't accommodate self-pity, and that's an important aspect of his character.
Why do I emphasize "crybaby"? Because Sirius began to be depicted as prone to tears only when his appearance in the fandom started to acquire feminine traits. Why is a tendency to cry still associated with femininity? Why, if someone is feminine, must they necessarily be highly sensitive? Women and feminine people can be diverse too - both highly sensitive and less so. All people are different, and high sensitivity shouldn't be exclusively linked to femininity. Just as a lack of tendency to cry isn't an indicator of "toxic masculinity" to me. These are different forms of psychic organization, different attitudes, and all have their place. We are different, okay? Any behavior deserves to be portrayed and explored in fanfiction. I just prefer when it aligns with canon rather than being unfounded. Sirius interests me precisely because he is like that - not prone to self-pity, tough, harsh, yet very, very kind. Remus interests me precisely because he is prone to self-pity and avoidance, but ultimately can make the right choices. Diversity is what I love.
I hope I've made it clear that I'm not inclined to judge or label anything as "bad".
15 notes · View notes
bluntfriend · 3 days
Text
Characters: Director Jack Bright. Doctor Charles Gears. (Renewed).
A/N: This was an old headcanon that I posted. It was probably the first headcanon I posted on Tumblr and I wanted to better it. I have added new things to it and taken away a few other things. I just wanted to make it better because in my eyes it was bad and I thought I could do better. And here is it. I do hope you enjoy it! And if anyone wants to request a similar headcanon like this then feel free to send in an ask or a private message is fine too.
Also, this is with a fem S/O.
Any warnings: Sexual content is below. 18+ Some mention of BDSM. Strong language.
Minors DO NOT interact with this.
DIRECTOR JACK BRIGHT:
SFW turn-ons:
He likes a nice smile. He likes it when she smells like a flower-scented perfume. Something smelling like daisies or another flower. He thinks it is a pleasant smell without it being too strong. He likes it when he can smell her beautiful scented shampoo and condition in the bathroom after she showers. It is that feminine and clean smell that he likes.
He does like it when she wears short dresses. Short dresses are cute and simple and sometimes Bright likes a simple look tbh.
Even though he is typically not the type of person to get easily fluttered when it comes to getting physical affection from her, he becomes a bit fluttered when she hugs him from behind. He likes the warmth he feels when she hugs him and sometimes she would kiss him a small peck on his cheek. He feels so spoiled!! And loved and soft inside!! His face would turn a bright red while he was smiling.
He does like it when she wears his clothes outside. But it can be something as simple as wearing his shirt or jacket outside and he would like how it looks on her. She looks cute wearing his things and would encourage it lol.
In general, he would like a woman that lets him be who he is. Someone who accepts him the way he is. With his many faults. Someone who he can share laughs with and just feel... relaxed and comfortable with. Like she doesn't have to be in on his shenanigans but humor him (sometimes). Even if she calls him annoying or ridiculous for the way he acts he doesn't mind. Because of all the shit that Bright has to deal with on a daily basis, he knows it is important to have someone you can share a laugh with.
Bonus: He loves it when they are both laughing together and the laughing gets so much that they can barely breathe and they both can't stop laughing though. He truly treasures those rare moments.
SFW turn-offs:
If she is someone who takes things a bit too seriously and doesn't have a sense of humor then that is going to be a problem for him. He can't be with someone who isn't able to relax a bit and laugh at themselves sometimes.
Someone who is overly serious all the time sort of bums him out tbh.
Like, he can handle a tsundere type of personality. Where she may display herself as a hardened and serious person but when he gets to know her, she shows a kinder side herself. That she doesn't show it to other people (for some reason) and he sees that there is more to her personality and who she really is. She shows him that she is kind and friendly and does have a sense of humor. He would like that. And he would feel so special when he sees that she isn't like that with others and only him. That she only has a soft spot JUST FOR HIM.
He wouldn't stop bothering him about that tbh
This can seem a bit insensitive but if his girl is someone who gets easily offended or is overly sensitive, he wouldn't like that.
Like, obviously he isn't going to be a fucking asshole and be rude and disrespectful but he is going to be blunt about things. He is going to speak his mind about things regardless. He isn't going to sugarcoat things just because they are dating but he will make an effort to be civil and take it down a few notches when it comes to her.
He knows to be civil and respectful so that is nice.
NSFW turn-ons:
He likes confidence in a woman, not cockiness. There is a difference. If she wants to then he will let her take charge during sex and let her dominate him. He doesn't mind. He finds it kind of hot.
He does like some grabbing, pushing, and pulling during sex. Especially when she is the one doing that.
Like, push him onto the bed and be a little aggressive when kissing him. He LOVES that shit.
He likes to tease her. He likes how easily he can get her in the mood and he can be unfair about it. Like, he can play dirty if he wants to. And Bright can turn on the charm when he wants to so she is in for it. So, in addition to teasing her, he could be buttering her up at the same time. Just to flutter her. And he does like that annoyed look she gives him when he pulls away after teasing her. She could tease him back if she wanted to. He wouldn't mind. He would like the boldness.
For example, let's say they are driving to work (he is driving btw) and he puts his free hand on her thigh. She notices but he keeps his eyes on the road and acts innocent. Like, he isn't up to anything. Then he slowly moves his hands in between her thighs. And his hands start moving further up... LIKE BOY IF YOU DON'T STOP!!! YOU FUCKING DRIVING! But it's no worries, he does focus on the road.
And he is sooo calm while doing this too. He will start a casual conversation with her like this man doesn't have his hand on her coochie and he is starting to message through her-
He is so unfair when it comes to teasing.
But he will never truly give in to the teasing until she does. He wants her to give in and then he will fuck her.
He would LOVE a striptease! Please surprise him with a striptease one day after he comes home from work. Please, he would LOVE IT! But the thing is he has a hard time keeping his hands to himself during the striptease. He can't help but want to touch her body. NSFW turn-offs: He does like it when things get rough during sex but she shouldn't be extremely aggressive. That can turn into a turn-off. He can be open to trying different things when it comes to having sex but he wouldn't like anything too BDSM. No sadism or masochism. Maybeeee some light bondage if she wants to try.
DOCTOR CHARLES GEARS:
SFW turn-ons:
This may be a bit cliche but he does like a cheeky grin or smile from her. And when her face lights up because she saw him. He does like that. Speaking of her smiling at him, seeing her smiling does make him feel a little better. Like, he could be having a shitty and stressful day at work but after seeing her smiling at him. He would let himself take a breather and feel relaxed. So, her smiles do play a sort of role of reminding him to take things easy and not let things get too stressful for him.
He just likes seeing his girl smiling at him.
Oh, also he likes those little touches and innocent grabbing of his arm or hands that she does. He doesn't mind it.
He likes kisses on his cheek the most. Kissing his lips is very nice as well but he feels more appreciated when she kisses his cheek in passing.
He LOVES an intelligent woman. Intelligence is sexy to him. And it doesn't even have to be an academic kind of intelligence that she has. It could be any type of intelligence and he would still adore her. SFW turn-off:
If she is being passive-aggressive toward him that is going to annoy the hell out of him tbh. That just gets under his skin. It irritates him.
She has to be mature. He can't deal with immaturity. He wouldn't even entertain the possibility of a relationship happening if he saw her acting immature.
She shouldn't get angry at him for not expressing his emotions (openly) sometimes. Gears is a very stoic and reserved guy. It is just the way he is. He can't change the way he is and she shouldn't try and change the way he is either. But when it comes to her, he is willing to tell her what he is feeling and if something is bothering him.
He is open about his feelings when it comes to her. So, that is nice.
NFWS turn-ons:
When she bites his bottom lip while they are making out. Biting his neck (he likes that). But at the same time, he would hate to deal with hiding the hickey later on but oh well… 🤷‍♀️ lol… it feels too good for him to tell her to stop anyway.
He does like making out in general. And he is pretty good at it lol. He knows how to get things started with a simple kiss and then slowly lead the kiss with his tongue. He knows how to French kiss and doesn't disappoint with that tongue of his.
He also likes how the make-out session could become intense really quickly with how her body is against his and she is grinding into him. He likes that friction. He would have to stop himself from moaning when she starts grinding into him.
His hands would be all over her body and grabbing her breasts. But if he was in the particular mood to tease her then he would slowly slide his free hand down her underwear and start playing with her pussy. And he purposely goes slow because he knows it is going to drive her CRAZY making her whimper in pleasure and becoming a mess because of him.
And he gets off on that! He loves to see her become a mess because of him!
He will continue kissing her while his fingers are sliding into her. Again he would keep a slow pace just to tease her and get her more excited. He also LOVES the way her lips part because she is moaning and whimpering into the kiss because of how good his fingers feel inside of her. Like, she is trying to focus on reciprocating the kiss but she can't focus because of how amazing his fingers feel... it's so unfair smh...
Okay, I have to stop here before I keep going lol.
One more thing before I stop lol. When they are making out and she starts playing with his belt. Or she uses his belt to pull him closer to her. That sets him off!! He would try hiding the almost invisible small smirk that appears on his lips as he deepens the kiss. He loves that shit!!! Matching lingerie. Especially if it is black or red. That is hot. He also likes those laced lingerie that are two pieces.
Honestly, he likes getting a blowjob. He would admit that he likes it when she gets on her knees for him and sucks his dick. It feels sooo good and he likes the way she looks with his dick in her mouth. He wouldn't be able to stop himself from grabbing/holding onto her hair too.
And she should try to maintain eye contact while sucking him off. It would get him even more turned on if he sees her staring up at him. UGH! HE WILL BECOME SO WEAK!
Oh, he loves thick thighs!!! Whenever he is going down on her, he likes to give her thighs some attention too. He can't help but give her thighs some attention because thick thighs just get to him. He likes to squeeze, bite, and kiss them. He would like to hike up her thighs on his shoulder while he is fucking her. It is one of her favorite positions because it feels like he can go in deeper and feel more intimate and more intense to him.
When she makes it known that she wants to have sex. When she first instigates things. He would admit he would likes the boldness. But don't be too bold. Especially if they are in public. She should wait until they get some privacy then it is a free for all lol.
NFWS turn-offs:
She can't be too aggressive during sex. Like, he does like rough sex but don't be too extreme.
Sort of lack of communication when it comes to sex. Like, he knows that she may be shy and reluctant to discuss things involving sex with him especially if it was their first time together. But Gears would like a woman who can openly communicate to him her needs and desires. He would want to know what she likes and if she wants to try something new. He can be open-minded when it comes to sex but he does have his own limits as well.
He can't do anything involving masochism, sadism, or bondage tbh. And humiliation.
He is reluctant to give her complete control during sex. Because he likes to be in control and to be the dominant one. And if he were to let her lead things during sex it would be a bit weird for him. Not weird in a bad way but it is just something that he isn't used to. And it would be a turn-off if she were to suddenly try to take control during sex. He would see it as her trying to "dominate" which he is uneasy about.
So, instead of doing that all of a sudden, she should try to slowly ease him into it. Tell him what she wants to do and that she wants to try new. Maybe some persuading like riding him first.
6 notes · View notes
zombie-boys · 2 years
Text
Tumblr media
hey guys so uhhh folks keep going back and forth between will being a baby or will being a bad*ss and i'm just so tired of it.......
like he is so much more nuanced than either one... (if you're going to read, please read the whole thing! thank you!!)
there are the baseline observations that will is quiet, sensitive, maybe a little shy; he's sweet and loyal and incredibly selfless; in addition, he's frequently a victim of terrible circumstances, with unfortunately little agency to fight for himself. none of these observations are objectively incorrect, even if they're just a fraction of the observations that can be made.
some fans flanderize how shy and sweet will is, framing him as a cute crybaby in need of protection (which is ironic, as will canonically hates when people treat him like that). to them he's a sad gay boy, a soft little angel with teary doe eyes; they attribute a stereotypical femininity to him, a helplessness, making him a fragile damsel in distress. these fans take the canon aspects of will's personality and warp them, not only making them larger than life but also romanticizing them.
an opposing interpretation of will seemingly came about in opposition to "baby will" - many fans were reasonably unhappy with this belittling take on him, and so highlighted other aspects of his personality.
great, right? it'd be nice for people to perceive will as a whole person as opposed to a list of stock traits... it'd be nice for people not to ignore character traits of his that don't align with their perception of his character...
but alas, these fans traded in "baby will" for "bad*ss will" - a take i don't like either.
"bad*ss will" comes in two varieties: bad*ss villain will and bad*ss hero will. the latter is better than the former, but not by much. both involve will being uncharacteristically violent and confident, standing up for himself in a way that often involves firearms.
before delving into either of these varieties i should point out that yes, will isn't just a sweet shy little boy. he's incredibly brave and incredibly resilient, able to survive the upside down for a week and stand up to the mind flayer - and yes, he canonically knows how to operate a gun. will is also shown to be stubborn at times; he's an annoying little brother, perfectly willing to point out how his siblings have no friends; he also does curse, even if that cursing is nothing compared to the constant swearing of his friends. will's a strong kid. i can't accept "baby will" because he simply isn't a baby.
...but does that make him a bad*ss?
some people really want will to stand up for himself in st5, to finally have agency, to fight back against everything that's harmed him; i completely understand that.
some people think that will should become the villain in st5, getting revenge on the people in his life who have demeaned him, neglected him, and bullied him. they think that will has been through so much that he'll snap, his kindness being broken down by pain. they want will to be a villain, a tortured soul with a traumatic backstory who deserves to give everyone the hell he got condemned to - they want him to be a bad*ss villain.
others think that will should become the hero in st5, getting revenge on the upside down for ruining hours life and the lives of his loved ones. they want to see him confidently wielding a gun against vecna, unfazed by the circumstances that would've caused him to run and hide in his younger years. they want will to rise up from adversity and stop being the victim - they want him to be a bad*ss hero.
what really bugs me about these interpretations is that they completely gloss over the aforementioned observations of will being gentle and cautious - even though they're true. saying that will is timid, that will is kind, or that will is scared is not the same as saying he's a baby - because being timid, kind, or scared doesn't make you weak. after all, there is no bravery without fear.
all of these bad*ss whatever wills are conjured up only after scouring off any trait picked up be "baby will" truthers, instead favoring vague notions of will's "sass" or the fact that he can operate a gun. they make will completely out-of-character all for the sake of a fantasy in which the victim miraculously becomes confident and powerful. yes, i want will to gain confidence, but nothing i've seen contributes any ideas about how that would happen - especially considering how in st4 will's self-esteem was as low as ever, tearing up when his best friend and brother say they care about him. if he's that surprised that they love him you can't seriously expect him to suddenly love himself.
not to mention how a lot of this "bad*ss will" stuff revolves around will using a gosh darn shotgun. the only thing being addressed is the fact that there is an association between will and the accursed weapon, and the fact that he has aimed it at an upside down monster before - while completely sidestepping the trauma the gun carries with it. will only learned how to use it because of lonnie's homophobic coercion, and only actually dared to use it when scared half out of his mind by an interdimensional stalker in his garden shed. in no world could will ever be slinging a gun casually, confidently, suavely - if he's going to be aiming the gun at vecna (which he would only do if completely necessary) he's going to be anything but calm while doing so. if you wanted that, you already have nancy gosh darn wheeler. (will does not need to be your girlboss.)
my point in saying this is that will is kind. he's stubborn. he's brave. he's hesitant. he's sarcastic. he's sweet. he's shy. and none of that is contradictory. will is a character, sure, but he's complex; if you dislike will's corners being rounded off so he can be called a baby, you have to understand why i dislike will's curves being sharpened so he can be called a bad*ss. i want will to triumph, of course i do, but i want it to be him triumphing. his whole self.
will was the victim. and he can be a hero. but he shouldn't need to be a different person too.
#stranger things#will byers#st5#wise words from will#just for the record i'm not angry at anyone for drawing will with a gun#the potential of him reclaiming that symbol of stereotypical masculinity is something that can certainly be explored#and i'm not against him shooting vecna to be completely honest#i just think that because of the 'bad*ss will' idea forming in opposition to 'baby will' it's often done without much tact#without acknowledging how much he'd need to recover before he could gain even a fraction of the confidence people are ascribing to him#i don't really think will could ever be that confident. he could in no way be cool as a cucumber in this type of situation#even if he isn't actively afraid he could never be... posing hotly with a shotgun so mike can admire him?? idk it's not my fanart hhghhghh#y'know i'm just glad most 'bad*ss will' people want him to be a hero and not a villain#because people who think will would genuinely be a villain and would genuinely want to harm people drive me insane. i hate that so so much#if you think 'will should be the hero and he should shoot vecna' then i don't actually mind that much#it's when you start turning him into nancy 2.0 that it goes south for me#he can be a hero and he can have a gun but he will never be hot or a bad*ss or a girlboss while doing so#he will be shaking trembling crying saying to vecna 'i won't let you ruin anyone else's lives like your ruined mine! etc' before shooting#i want him to stand up for himself. but standing up for yourself does not mean you have to be fearless#shaking my head did we all just forget that el's strength comes from her emotion. from her love#why should will's strength come from anywhere else#he is sensitive!!! stop treating that like an antithesis to strength!!!!!! good grief#will byers shaky with the gun. i rest my case#also i hope you appreciate the dustin meme. i find it unreasonably funny
16 notes · View notes
overfedvenison · 2 years
Note
I know he's not really an otokonoko, but how do you feel about Ralsei (or Susie) from deltarune in terms of gender presentation?
The Undertale series involves some emphasis on representation, but always does so in a manner in which is then developed into deeper characterization. I think it's a good example of how you do those things; it has a lot to say and explore but it's treating these characters as characters. Really, that is part of it's success; it's rare to find even a one-off NPC that does not get some level of unique characterization. I think Ralsei is at least part of that; there is a recognition that a feminine male is a little rare to see in western media, maybe? But it doesn't totally inform his character; there's a lot more to him than that. As with many things in Deltarune, I feel like there's a lot of playing with RPG Cliches in this. I feel like Ralsei is a feminine male to match Susie as a masculine girl as one kind of playful inversion. The game also gave the Squishy White Mage role to the sensitive male character, and the Berserker role to the girl, when tradition dictates the opposite genders. So there's a lot of playing with RPG cliches here, and kind of inverting them in ways. This is interesting. ...And, more deeply, he kind of railroads you into saying things that make you care about him, as if this is setting up some kind of romance system that was common in Final Fantasy games. But, Kris themselves is only seems interested in Susie and maybe Noelle, and even has a fairly low healing with the Ralsei Tea you can get. So there is this other element playing with RPG cliches, where the squishy healer character is almost always the default love interest and it seems, without deeper analysis, to be leading to that here as well. So it's like, Ralsei is sort of playing with all these genre cliches in ways that are pretty interesting, and being this really feminine male character is a part of that deeper idea, if you understand me. But, yeah, it's also nice to have a character like that in general. Not to get toooo heavy on representation; like a sensitive and feminine male is not super rare nowadays, and there are reasons a character would act a certain way for a the plot or for deeper themes. But he has stuck a chord with players, and it seems like everyone who plays likes and appreciates him even when he is increasingly suspicious. I like Ralsei a lot, but he's less a character with a nontraditional gender presentation and more like a sensitive and feminine male character. Which is a different situation, as you noted in the ask. He's wearing a wizard robe, which despite being kind of feminine IS male clothing as far as I'm aware. That is not a bad thing; it's good to have characters like that, too. But I also don't have as much to say beyond like, "It's nice we have characters who are relatively feminine males and who aren't characterized as awkward and weird." ...But he is also super suspicious in-universe. He's hiding something important. I'm not on board with the theory that he is secretly evil or anything like that, but it has become obvious that something much deeper is going on. He also bears a name suspiciously close to "Rasiel," the ruling prince of second heaven in christian angelology who is ALSO charged with maintaining the beings holding up heaven's ground, and who ALSO wrote a book to guide notable humans. And like... A lot of other stuff.
So, it's like, there's a lot more to his story than what we have been presented so far. As is, he is a cute boy, and has made great ripples and has had a lot of fans because of it, and I have seen a number of people in the furry community adopt goat fursonas because they relate to him a lot. But more is to come, and what does come will probably change our perspective of him a lot. So I'm kinda commenting on like, the first 30% of a story arc
3 notes · View notes
lyrical-lovely · 18 days
Text
Anime Review - Love Live! School Idol Project (S1)
Tumblr media
I have a very deep connection to the Love Live franchise, but the original anime was actually kind of disappointing... This is the first anime I've reviewed on this page that had a second season I declined to watch. I might come back to it down the line, but I'm gonna take a break for now.
Watch Love Live! School Idol Project if:
- You enjoy music and anime about music
- You like the premises of sports anime but got tired of baseball/basketball/soccer
- You like women (seriously- there's no voiced men in the entire series)
Do NOT watch Love Live! School Idol Project if:
- You are sensitive to the usual 2010s anime nonsense (minor sexual harassment, sexualization of minors, insensitive discussion of weight and diet)
- You want a cast of likeable characters (don't worry, I'm gonna touch on this below)
- You like anime with tidy endings
SPOILERS below, I have to talk freely about this, sorry.
Tumblr media
Nobody here knows this yet, but I've been into Love Live for about 10 years now, just before Aqours debuted. And let me tell you- based on the cards and stories in the game, I was a big fan of u's because I thought their characters were much more complex than they are in the later seasons. This is still true, but after watching the anime, I hate basically all of them. But let's go back to the beginning.
Love Live is an anime about a girl named Honoka who finds out her school, with a history so extensive that her grandmother and mother both attended, is closing due to a lack of applications. After seeing another school's successful idol group, Honoka decides to recruit her friends Umi and Kotori to join her. She runs into opposition at just about every possible point- struggling with getting venues, a difficult student council president, troubles with advertising, arguments within the group, et cetera.
In order to fully understand Love Live, you need to have a grasp of the context- Love Live is actually a sports anime! Many of the issues that Honoka and her friends, which make up the group u's, run into are based on cliches from sports anime, and the characters are also based on sports anime cliches. For example, Nico ran the old idol club before all the other members quit because her demands were too high. Eli is the overzealous student council president who thinks the idol group is giving the school a bad image. Hanayo is shy. Maki is moody and difficult, but a real talent. Do you see it? Replace those names with male names and you've got the ingredients for a perfect baseball club.
Tumblr media
Anyway, I had very high hopes for this anime, so it's my own fault I was disappointed. The number of main characters, combined with the sheer volume of hurdles that the group faces on their way to stardom, means that the complex characters I had gotten to know so well through the games were largely left undeveloped. Instead of the cool, calm, and collected traditional woman that Umi's character wants to be, we get a frazzled mess who's being dragged into antics that really don't seem to suit her at all. Instead of deeply struggling with her relationship with her own femininity, Rin just says "nya" a few times every episode and that's literally her entire arc. Seriously, it's a shame because I know she gets development in the second season, but she adds nothing but wasted time to the first season. And as a result of these failed complex characters, most of the Love Live idols to come would ultimately be shallow. I could go on and on about the failed character arcs in this show, but that ultimately brings me to the plot.
Nothing. Goes. Right. Absolutely nothing can be easy or insignificant. Each performance is for the fate of a school, and each hurdle seems nearly impassable. This would be great if the anime was supposed to be a thriller, but its target demographic doesn't want that from it. What young girls wanted to watch was a cute anime about girls wearing dresses and singing, and what we got instead was just a barrage of struggles. There was almost zero downtime, no cute little interactions between the characters that had no significance to the plot. Forgive me, but I think those mundane moments that develop relationships between characters are part of what makes an anime, specifically an idol anime where the emphasis is supposed to be ON the characters, good. In the end, they end up withdrawing from the competition because Honoka collapsed (cliche) and that's where they leave it. Fortunately, I think by this point the anime had been approved for a second season, so I think the dramatic ending was a ploy to draw viewers back for next year.
Tumblr media
That's enough complaining, though, because there were some highlights. The music is wonderful (despite the lack of variety between the songs, ALL of which are about doing your best and following your dreams) and the costumes are cute by 2010s standards. They're a little campy now. Furthermore, this series was one of the pioneers of 3D idol performance animation integrated with 2D closeups of the characters. The 3D animation has improved significantly since then due to better software and computing power, but for the time, the animation was good. I also think the color palette was well chosen for this anime, and the voice acting was stellar.
Anyway. This turned into a rant about all my problems with Love Live, but I think any potential viewers should be aware of its shortcomings before investing ~5 hours into it. Overall - 4/10. Amazing for the idol anime genre and I really love Love Live as a franchise, but man, this anime was not for me. Thanks for listening.
0 notes
ducknotinarow · 2 years
Note
📝Nina Rogers
| Send me 📝 and i'll give you a random amount of headcanons/facts about my muse!
So similar to Richard we'll do some meta stuff though I feel there is more I can say on Nina? I'll also cover her relationship with Autumn since you don't get that much on the blog.
Tumblr media
Nina is actually short for Valentina, so on official Documents and such she is listed as such. Mainly she just goes by Nina. Full name Valentina 'Nina' Sarah Rogers.
Even though shes adopted, i never gave her a last name from before cause shes just Rogers to me XD
Like Richard nina also had some character inspirations behind her creation I know I said one before but I'll repeat myself.
Tumblr media
Rapheal from tmnt 2003. It's why her color is red and why Nina tends to deal with simallair story beats in a sense. I guess her Leo would be another oc that belongs to my friend Jasmine. They are rivals and yet they do work well together. They butt heads a lot and fight the second eyes lock.
Nina is far more sensitive so she gets angry easy and tends to rely on that anger when it comes to fighting. She just learned far sooner that isn't smart thanks to Steve. She still has her bad temper she just dose better at controlling it but like her Lantia blood suggests shes a hot head for sure.
Tumblr media
Another inspiration because Sailor Moon seems to impact a lot of what I do XD. Is Makoto from Sailor Moon. I always loved how she was the tallest, and Strongest of the group but was also one of the most feminine characters in the series with dreams of falling in love, having a family, and being all into cooking.
Originally Nina used to have a ponytail for this connection. Nina does still have her more feminine trait now. Nina doesn't dress girly but she is very into beauty products also keep her out of the kitchen u-u.
Nina has been an avid fan of Steve for as long as she can recall. She got invested in him as she got older and learned about his story of being this poor sick kid from Brooklyn that became the Hero known as Steve Rogers. And it inspired Nina to do good for others despite her own situations. Being a hot head landed her in a lot of trouble for fighting, however. Steve didn't become her hero though till taking her under his wing and being a mentor to her.
Nina is a hopeless romantic in truth she's a sap for a good love story and claims shes a cupid, she has helped people get together in the end but she shouldn't meddle u-u
This is why Nina's own romantic history is a tad messy. She falls in love kind of easily in that sometimes a girl just says so much as hi and Nina's head over heels.
Despite her break-ups and such Nina has never been against dating and has had both short-term and long-term relationships the shirts being a month the longer ones about half a year or more. Her final relationship though is Autumn her wife.
Nina meets Aumtun in her second year of college, they meet in the campus library where Nina needs help finding a book for a mission because something just doesn't make sense to her. This kind of leads to a lot of thier interactions. Autumn's expertise makes her a sort of secondary source for Nina to hit when she needs help. Of course, the moment she heard Autumn's voice the girl fell hard. So it became a great excuse to see this girl more.
They start to date not to long after this meeting, Autumn was the first girl Nina ever dated who truly loved Nina for all she was and saw her as more than a strong girl. She saw ninas passionate side, her drive, and more importantly her brains. Autumn is the one who told Nina how she's a quick thinker even if she makes a mistake she's able to keep her brain working in stressful moments.
Something that stuck with Nina because she was so used to others thinking she was reckless or stupid no one else ever told her that before. Sure Nina's been in love before but that was when she truly felt something deeper for another person. Finally being felt seen in a way no one else ever has.
Nina lives for social media she has an account on a lot of the main sites.
Twitter: Where she is the most mainly to post updates on her hero work it's been a good way to connect with people and send out alerts for people to clear areas.
Instagram: Is mostly her posting pictures of herself around the tower leaving for missions or returning she never post the same days those go on just to be safe. Has posted many photos of Steve's dad get ups. Lots of Cooper photos
TikTok: Shes usually follows the trends roping Brook, Peter, and even Astrid into joining her. Peter usually has more idea on what's going on and tends to work the camera since he has experience. Lots of skits to trending sounds or dance videos
snapchat: this is mostly her and Aumutn just sending photos back and forth to each other
Nina deff had a Myspace back in the day, she has a facebook but don't use it when people left Myspace. She once had tumblr but she wasn't much of a blogger and just assumed that all it was for.
Nina always wanted to be part of a family. Her own was such a mess and torn apart. Mom didn't want a kid (fair) Dad was stuck with her and seemed to always wish to get away from her. She had a grandmother she often was dumped off to but they weren't exactly always wanting to babysit her.
You can say this adds a lot to her trust issues.And why she can be fast to pull others in despite it.
In truth the reason she can't stand Drac? he reminds her too much of her biological sperm donor. Nina doesn't care if she gets hurt its why she rushes into fights and takes all the hits she can so someone else won't have to. But she fears him hurting Steve again and Brooklyn. To her he hasn't done a thing to prove he won't leave them (I will say him leaving CABEL would be the start to her agreeing to reconsider)
It's unfair to Drac but that's a whole land mine for Nina an issue and area she doesn't want to touch on if she can avoid it.
Tumblr media
Very rough I need to work on this but this is Nina's hero logo an 'S' with a star shape. Nina design a lot of her own brand in a sense even her hero costume she designs before having Tony get it set up to be made.
Next to Steve Nina also admires Tony Stark, mostly for his achievements in inventions and he's the reason she goes to school for engineering he encouraged it even. When she was first brought in he took note of her interests and ended up getting her a scholarship and more for her remaining high school years. This did cause some issues between them Nina not wanting a hand own but he made it clear it never was a hand out he truly thinks she has a mind that needs to be 'properly looked at' an insult and compliment. Tony is differently a second father figure to her no matter the verse. Often when mad at Steve it's Tony she goes too
Natasha is her third idol and the one she learned most her fighting from when she wanted to prove herself to Steve.
Nina’s favorite way to excuse anything she dose is say it’s because she’s [insert random star sign here] Nina doesn’t know her star sing nor understand anything about this stuff so she’s always saying whatever ones comes to mind
1 note · View note
mint-family · 2 years
Note
What are the top seven hundred reasons why Moon is the greatest character in all of literature?
they are nonbinary. nonbinary people are awesome.
they are a private detective/investigator. not directly associated with the cops. acab.
they have a slight british accent but still are american.
they are 5'4 which is really good forehead kissing height if you're 5'7+
cute glasses.
their shoes make them 5'7 (they are insecure about their height). they can be short or average partner.
awkward in the cute way.
they can type 100 wpm on average.
they look ADORABLE in t-shirts that are obviously too big.
the fact i'm even making this list to begin with. they deserve the love.
they are 27 so they have life experience under their belt.
college graduate. smart!
pansexual!
have really cool reddish brown eyes.
they like to be dressed in formal attire.
shoulder length hair that you can play with while they lay there.
huge bottom.
really lovey, but not very good at expressing it.
autistic! they would tell you about their interests in detail and depth.
nearsighted! they can still see up close without their glasses, so even if they don't have them and you're looking at each other they can still admire you.
signs all their texts and emails with " - Moon Silvers ".
LOVES coffee. will tell you about any kind of coffee at any time.
a little clingy! not super clingy, but if they aren't focused on their work or a project they will want to be around you all the time.
likes cats. they would have a cat living with them. they don't currently, but would not turn down the idea.
they love pens! they pseudo collect pens and love clicking them alot to help focus.
self employed! they make their own hours. they can give themselves time off to hangout with you.
small! they don't workout and don't eat alot, which isn't great, but you can scoop them up and they're super light! pick them up, spin them around, everything.
will eat anything. they will eat anything you make. they're not super picky, but they can be. they just aren't used to being cooked for or eating a lot.
good with computers! they can help you solve any little problem you have.
they live in an apartment that is a little organized mess but the kitchen and the bed are super clean! they are organized in their unique little way.
prefers gender neutral pronouns, but if you were to talk about them to someone who "doesn't get nonbinary people", they would be okay with masculine leaning words. no feminine!
they had top surgery and would let you run your fingers along their scars. they are sensitive but like the intimacy the feeling gives.
not much of a gamer, but would love to listen about any games you are playing or talking about.
follow-up, they are really good at sudoku and other mathy/puzzle games.
their name is the pretty object in the night sky! Moon.
they have a really cool last name: "Silvers"
despite being born in a British family, they do not like beans or tea. no need to worry about that!
very smart! i already said this in relation to college, but they can solve many problems and will almost always have an answer to an issue.
in love with a "bad boy criminal". opposites attract kinda thing. it's adorable.
knows how to use a gun, carries a gun for self defense, but often refuses to use it except in desperate scenarios.
their birthday is september 6th, making them a virgo. this could be a bad thing for some people but great for others.
has an android phone. it's an older model Samsung and has stock OS and theme, but is super organized with apps in every folder. is NOT anti-iPhone.
respects all LGBT identities! i mean, they are part of it, so that's a given.
would love going to silly places like DisneyLand or LegoLand with you.
would wear your oversized hoodie. they would take it. the only thievery they commit in their life.
if they were to play games, they would play Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing on their switch.
is not against piracy, but doesn't do it.
follow-up, NOT a snitch.
really interested in demon and ghost stories and other "supernatural" things.
is mostly vegetarian, but willing to eat meat if hungry enough. not vegan. they would still eat eggs and drink milk.
uses firefox. no chromium!
would get a custom mechanical keyboard for typing. probably mx cherry browns, since they don't want to get blues as they are very loud.
can function off little sleep (just doesn't like to).
very organized with events and appointments. always has it on 4 calendars and on their phone twice.
not afraid to double, triple, etc. text.
not afraid to be double, tripe, etc. texted.
would make you little crafts and projects, mostly on the computer, just because they appreciate you and have a slight passion for it.
cuddle fiend. i may have already put this on here, but they like to cuddle. especially if the person they're cuddling with is really tall.
does vote in elections and does have common sense on who/what to vote for.
reads! they don't read a Lot but loves mystery novels.
would watch tiktoks or youtube videos with you in bed.
generally pretty quiet! will not annoy you or the neighbors.
soft hair! it's not the softest but they do good hygiene.
perfect headpat/pet height! would appreciate them a Lot.
uses coasters for any drink. water bottles, mugs, cups, anything that holds a liquid is going on a coaster.
they have an androgynous voice that is really soothing to listen to.
has cute squishable cheeks that you just wanna pinch and kiss.
doesn't smile often, but when they do it's VERY cute.
nice. (is open to the act of this number).
now take all these reasons and multiply them by 10 and you got 700! thank you for the ask.
1 note · View note
horrorslashergirl · 3 years
Text
Slasher OC: Alexander Chirilă (Update)
Tumblr media
Authors Note: He was supposed to be a supporting character, but my brain developed his character more and decided to make him a full on OC.
Full Name: Alexander Chirilă
Nickname(s): Ally, Alex, Sasha, Black Killer, Panther, Blackburn, Colton
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Nationality: Romanian
Place of Birth: Bucharest, Romania
Current Location: Travels all around the world to find his twin brother to kill him (formerly), Traveling alongside his brother and sister (Currently)
Occupation: Assassin
Languages: Romanian, English, Japanese, Greek, and Belarusian
Appearance:
Height: 6'8
Weight: 240lbs
Body Type: Atheltic
Skin Color: Warm Beige
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Hair Style: Short on the sides and longer on top, unlike his twin brother Decebal, his hair isn't wavy, has a spikier look
Eye Color: Pale Grey, almost white, giving the impression he is blind
Clothing: His clothes are all black, wearing combat gear that consists of black shirts and black jackets, black cargo pants, and black combat boots, black gauntlet gloves. He also wears knee and elbow protection along with a tactical bulletproof vest and utility belt where he carries his weapons. As an assassin, he wears a tactical black skull mask.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Other features: Unlike his twin brother Decebal; Colton has a much darker and scarier appearance, especially the two scars on his face that start from his hairline, down his forehead, and over his eyelids, continuing over his cheeks and neck and stopping at his collarbones.
Weapons: Twin Katana swords, throwing knives, grenades, gloves with metal claws and twin guns strapped on the holsters on his thighs.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Power/Skills:
Murderous expertise
Strength
Skilled usage of weaponry
Skill in hand-to-hand combat
Knifesmanship
Swordsmanship
Ruthlessness
Fearlessness
Marksmanship
Stealth
Superior agility
Impressive Flexibility
Overly High Inteligence
Knowledge about Bombs and Chemistry
Medical/Surgeon Skills
History/Bio:
Alexander Chirilă was the second born son to father Apostol Chirilă, and his mother, Maria Stratulat of Moldovic heritage. He was born after 20 minutes after Decebal was born, during the communist era in Romania, and because the parents couldn't support both children, they passed Alexander to an orphanage only to be sold over the country boundaries for human trafficking.
Before he could be bought for organ trafficking in America, an old lady took him in, raising Alexander, choosing a new identity for him so that he could protect him from his former life.
Until the age of 12, former Alexander, now Colton was raised in America by the old lady who quickly got sick by a severe form of cancer. Before she could die, she decided that Alexander had the right to know about his former life and she told him his story before she died in her bed.
After the reveal, Alexander researched all about the information, finding out what his biological parents did and about Decebal, only to blame his older twin brother for what happened.
As a teenager, Alexander was raised more by the streets, doing everything to survive, drug smuggling, stealing and he even killed a man for trying to steal the drug package he was carrying. That's when a hitman saw the 16-year-old boy and took him in, seeing all the hate and rage in Alexander's white eyes.
The hitman trained Alexander to be a ruthless killer, making him a master of sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat. Spending time along with assassins and hitmen, he meets Yumie Takahashi, a female assassin with prosthetic blade legs that quickly took a fancy for him, following him all around to the point where she fell in love with him, but Alexander doesn't return her feelings and used her blind love for him in his own greedy ways, her being his lap-dog.
Later on, Alexander and Yumie meet Nikita Sergei in Belarus while they tried to track down Decebal. They meet the Belarusian during an ambush between the Belarusian Police and the Belarusian Mafia, Nikita being one of the Mafias hitmen.
Nikita was almost killed during that bullet rain between Police and Mafia, only for Alexander to save him, but for that Nikita had to work for Colton, being his left hand next to the right hand, that being Yumie.
The three continued together, Yumie and Nikita assisting Alexander on his mission of annihilating his twin brother, Decebal.
After a brutal fight between the two brothers which resulted in both of them almost dead, they get on an agreement of peace between them, with the help of their third part, their little sister Nadia.
Personality:
Alexander is the complete opposite of Decebal in the matter of personality. Decebal is a happy-go-lucky, easy-going, charming, seductive, and modest guy, while Alexander is brutal, snarky, comes of as straight-up rude, blunt, and sharp-tongued if provoked, but overall keeps to himself since he has a problem with his 'intimacy'.
The smaller twin brother, unlike Decebal who is all laid-back, Alexander has a bad temper, but the type of temper that comes and goes, like the one of a child. He would be considered passive-aggressive.
Alexander doesn't know how to deal with his strong emotions and usually they manifest into a tsunami of uncontrollable feelings; especially when teased about sensitive topics, and may have outbursts of anger which would be considered 'funny' because he gets all red-faced, voice shuttering and doesn't know what to say or how to react. This part of his personality may also come off as very shy and sensitive, especially if people flirt with him because he is socially awkward and he never was one to be good at smooth-talking.
After making peace with his big brother, Alexander may open up little by little, showing good traits of his personality, but is still the opposite of Decebal.
Unlike Decebal, who is very charismatic, sensual, and opened up about his sexuality; Alexander is the very hard opposite, especially considering he had never been intimate with someone. Alexander is very shy when it comes to his intimacy and sexuality, almost to the point if someone presses him with sexual questions he will get all flustered and defensive.
This is a sign that Alexander is very self-conscious about his complete inexperience in the matter of getting intimate. It's a very big irony, seeing how on the battlefield he is very confident in his combat skills.
A good trait of Alexander is that he is a very big hard worker. He has the mentality that you cannot achieve something for free and have to work hard to earn it, since all his life he had to work to make it through life: As a little kid, he had to take care of the old lady that was his guardian until she died, then he had to do everything his Master said if he wanted to achieve the assassin training.
One thing that he shares with Decebal is the daredevil and competitive side, but Alexander's competitive side takes a very serious turn, finding himself willing to challenge his big brother at all kinds of provocations. It's the brotherly antagonistic demeanor.
His favorite drink: Green Tea
His favorite food: Ramen or Chicken and Rice Casserole
Other Characteristics:
Alexander loves fairytales and all types of mythic legends, mostly because the old lady that was his guardian in the first part of his life always used to tell him these types of stories before bedtime.
He is actually a very good cook. When he went to train with his Master Hitman, he has also signed the duty to do the cooking and clean the Masters' house as a form of payment for the training services. The Master would throw the food on the floor or at Alexander if it wasn't good enough and Alexander had to cook the dish again until it was 'perfect'.
He is an earlier riser in the morning, mostly because that's how he was raised; his assassin training started very early in the morning and before that, he had to prepare breakfast for his Master.
He loves to listen to the birds singing in the morning while he drinks his coffee or green tea.
His scent can be described as on a more feminine edge; giving off floral scents like lotus, orchid, and jasmine, with middle notes of vanilla tobacco, bergamot, and white musk.
Unlike his big brother Decebal who is a heavy drinker, Alexander cannot hold his liquor and is a sad drunk, getting depressed over the fact that he was separated from his siblings at birth, especially Decebal. When Alexander gets drunk he tends to mutter to himself 'I wish I never was born'.
Considering his personality, he would be described as a tsundere.
He is a master at chess due to playing with his Master in their free time. He can sit for hours and play chess, probably the only thing he is the most patient with.
He loves hot springs; immersion in warm water produces hydrostatic pressure on the body that results in reduced joint inflammation and increased mobility, plus it helps him relax his vulcanic mind.
He is a smoker just like his siblings, Decebal and Nadia.
Despite his scars and hard training, he has soft baby skin.
Symbolism for Alexander:
Black Panther- speaks to our soul with the shimmering energy of the Moon; this big cat is the ultimate shapeshifter and the master of disguise. Panther’s sleek black coat cloaks its true identity in the shadows. It isn’t until you are close to a Panther that their illusion falls away and who they really become visible. Alexander may seem like a very cold and harsh individual, hard to approach from the distance, but as you get closer and closer to him, pulling away all the layers that hide him, you learn that he is actually a pretty sensitive and misunderstood guy.
The Black Panther is a loner, hunting solitary. They hunt silently, seeming to appear and disappear in the blink of an eye; this means that Black Panther people can be very elusive. You may have to wait for them to find you. This means that you will have to wait and be patient in order for Alexander to open up to you, which cannot happen in one day. People who have the Black Panther as their spirit animal rarely reveal too much about themselves.
The Lotus flower- is a symbol of purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration, and rebirth. Its characteristics are a perfect analogy for the human condition: even when its roots are in the dirtiest waters, the Lotus produces the most beautiful flower. This shows Alexanders' persona, like a lotus bud, in his earlier life and so on, he was buried deep within lots of responsibilities, hardships, and struggles. We can say that once he made peace with his older brother, his blooming slowly started to take place, Decebal acting more so like the essence to Alexanders blooming. Its journey from a muddy seed to a glorious blossom offers the hope that something beautiful can grow from suffering, that we too will eventually bloom.
43 notes · View notes
flowerbloom-arts · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media
A 2434 word long fic about Fuddler talking to a maybe not actually real version of his father after trying to escape from a recent event in his life and failing. Now I would've written a 50s sitcom episode of Fuddler's family that would've lead up to this point if I had the motivation, but I didn't, so here you go. I hope you enjoy this!
---
The set of the show had become undone and the fourth wall was nothing but a non-existent window into the stage, the Muddler, tear stained and tired of his child's shenanigans, went up from the table he was crying at and walked to the empty director's chair with 'The Fuddler' embroidered on the back and sat on it. The Muddler grabbed the megaphone that sat on one of the armrests and spoke into it in a very clearly annoyed tone of voice: 'Cut. Take 2. Excuse me! That wasn't a bad first take but all of you really fell apart at scene 15.'
But the rest of the cast had been frozen in place, basically mannequins, all except Fuddler, who was in fact the mastermind behind this mess. The small and fuddly creature looked around in a slight bit of confusion and decided to walk up to his father on his director's chair, it did have his name on it afterall. 'Excuse me, aren't I supposed to be sitting there?' he asked rather sheepishly, there was a thought in the back of his head that knows exactly why but he's too afraid to make that thought even slightly tangible.
'Well, yes,' answered the Muddler matter-of-factly 'but due to poor management someone else had to take over.' he added, he spun the megaphone around and inspecting it in a rather disinterested manner. If it's anyone, it really didn't seem to be the father that Fuddler knew, even if he was stained with dark brown tears on his face and wore ragged feminine attire indicative of a mental breakdown, which was a sight that would only be familiar as the Muddler.
'Maybe. Though we should probably take a break, that breakdown didn't look all that... The breakdown seemed very exhausting to act out,' Said the Fuddler, trying to avoid going over this episode another time.
'Sure,' Muddler said, he didn't even care to glance at his child, he put down the megaphone on the floor and rested his face on his paw resting on the armrest, looking off to the black void beyond the set or nearby part of the studio.
Fuddler sighed with relief and a tinge of discomfort, he decided it was best to sit down next to his father and look back at the scene that was frozen in time. It was not even the slightest bit amusing to say the least, it's just everyone looking concerned over Muddler having a breakdown but Muddler isn't even there, you could see the Fuzzy, Fuddler's mother, placing a hand on what was Muddler's back, great uncle Hodgkins and Sniff are looking on confused and concerned, and Moomintroll had just walked in with not even the slightest idea of what's going on. The Fuddler stared at it for a few moments before saying what was on his mind while the scene was happening 'That... That breakdown... It wasn't in the script.'
'What script?' Muddler asked as if Fuddler was too dumb to even remember he didn't even make one. Of course there wasn't any script to speak of.
'I- I dunno!' Fuddler blurted out with the realization 'You guys were basically reading my mind anyway! I thought that was something like reading a script-!'
'Were we reading your mind or were you controlling us?' Muddler asked, almost cutting him off.
Fuddler was a bit surprised at the sudden interruption, it's really unlike his father to act anything close to this, is this even his father? Fuddler started to actually question everything about this, as if it wasn't a very obvious thing he should've questioned at the start. He looked down and curled up into a more fetus-like sitting position, kind of avoiding answering the question.
'Now tell me, child, why this?' Muddler gestures vaguely toward the set.
'What do you mean?' Fuddler looked up at Muddler and asked innocently.
'Why the television show?' he clarified, he lowered his resting paw and finally looked at Fuddler for once, though he did look very... unpleasant.
Fuddler felt very uncomfortable at the question and simply answered with an 'I dunno...' like a small child, he certainly looked and acted like one either way despite being an adult.
Muddler sighed disappointedly and went back to staring at the set 'Is this really how you're gonna deal with what happened? What even did happen, anyway?' he asked, even he was unsure of the origins of this.
'I... I actually don't remember... Excuse me, sorry, oh dear... What was I thinking?' Fuddler asked, he was mostly asking himself that.
'That's right, what were you thinking?' Muddler repeated Fuddler with annoyance 'Did you really think you could reduce your own family into cheap tropes and live like that?'
'I wasn't trying to do that!' Fuddler cried 'I just thought...! I thought if I could live just one happy day after 10 years of nonstop misery-!'
'And you did that by retreating into some ideal version of reality the city gave you through a light box?'
'Yes!' Fuddler blurted out, he realised what he said outloud and slowly went back into a balled up position on the floor 'Just... Atleast those people on TV seemed happier... Happier than we ever could've been when we moved to the city,' Fuddler argued with a quieter but ultimately defeated tone, this wasn't how things were supposed to go in his mind.
'Is that why you wanted to move away so badly?' Muddler asked in a more sincere and worried tone of voice, much more like his regular self and what Fuddler would be used to.
'Maybe,' Fuddler answered simply 'Or I guess there were other things too...' he added.
'Oh I could definitely list them off for you,' Muddler suddenly went back to a menacing tone.
Fuddler suddenly felt a great shock to his system and did not want anything Muddler could be implying 'Please don't-'
'Well first of all,' Muddler didn't let his child finish and he didn't seem to care in the slightest 'you didn't like other creatures shoehorning you into their ideas of what you should be, you didn't like the boring concrete buildings, you hated the constant noisiness of that wretched city, you couldn't bare the constant mockery from your own peers, they kept thinking you were a twelve year old - which you never grew out of being one after all these years by the way - and kept thinking you were lying when you said you weren't, you didn't like the lack of frogs or swamps or free things to collect off the street, you were being discriminated against for being a clumsy little mut, and most of all-'
'Please stop!' Fuddler cried.
'MOST OF ALL,' Muddler repeated louder to talk over Fuddler 'You hated me. Your own father. Simply because he couldn't land a simple job and was too feminine for anyone's liking!'
'NO!' Fuddler jumped up and tried to hold onto his dad's arm, but Muddler quickly got it away from him.
'YES! You kept having the same negative comments and jokes repeated to you over and over and you thought they were making fun of you by association! You don't want anything to do with the way I am and yet you keep chugging along the same way I did!' Muddler cried 'You were happy enough to tell my dear old friend mr. Moomin that people said you took after me and leave it at that! What if he asked you even further? Would you have talked about me in a good way!?'
'STOP! PLEASE!' Fuddler was almost in tears at this.
'Oh I see how it is! Just admit it! You hate me! Why else would you shove me in as the comic relief? Why else would I break out of character if you didn't know it'd be completely out of line for who I actually am!? I am anything BUT happy and you know this! No matter how hard you try I will cry eventually because I'm that dumb and sensitive about everything! The only things that you got right about me is that I'm clumsy and that I love you!' Muddler started tearing up through all the yelling 'You know deep down I love you... It's not your fault... right?'
Fuddler wanted to cover his face in his saucepan but unfortunately he was in his sitcom costume which lacked it completely, all he could really do was bury his face in his paws and try not to cry, muddler tears are much like that of a dog's, mixed in with blood waste and it stains your face, you'd need some cloth and water to clean it. Very inconvenient for a man, they aren't supposed to cry, and the stains make it very obvious you did.
'Fuddler... Did you really think this was going to solve anything?' Muddler got up from the director's chair to kneel down and lowered Fuddler's paws away from his face, Muddler's face was... trying to be comforting but that got ruined by the tear stains, which was being added onto by him crying at this very moment, he looked down at Fuddler's paws, looked back up at his face and added '... At all?'
Fuddler didn't make an attempt to make eye contact with his father, those strange 'u' shaped pupils were familiar but the idea of them not being normal at all still brought him some form of discomfort '... I just... Excuse me. I just thought that maybe... If I could feel better, somehow, maybe the problem would be less of a problem...'
'Fuddler, you don't even remember what the problem was,' Muddler said, he held his child's chin up to make him look at him directly 'You know this.'
'I know...' Fuddler admitted 'I think the cause is starting to come back to me... I think... It's still a little foggy...'
Muddler sighed 'How many times have you done something like this?'
'I...' Fuddler started thinking 'I don't know... I never bothered counting.'
'So this clearly isn't the first time.'
'It definitely doesn't feel like the first time... say for the addition of a few cast members,' Fuddler added the last part as a sly attempt at humor, he was referring to Moomintroll, Jumble and Sniff.
'Of course,' Muddler said with a touch of melancholy and sat on the floor beside Fuddler, Fuddler followed suit 'Do you think this is normal?'
'Dad, I moved to Moominvalley to get away from 'normal'!'
'You moved to Moominvalley to feel normal, there's a difference. And that's an important difference to realise,' said the Muddler, the black and white studio faded into a sepia tone as it seemed to transition into a lake sort of scene, almost unnoticeably to the Fuddler.
'Why's that?' Fuddler asked.
Muddler picked up a flower that happened to be next him, well- not actually, a sort of ethereal copy of the flower formed which left the real one untouched, Muddler looked thoughtfully at the flower in his hands 'If you know the difference, then maybe you can appreciate the specific thing that makes this place feel like you feel normal.'
Fuddler stared at the flower and glanced up at his father '... You're not really my dad, are you?'
'You think that now?' Muddler questioned with an amused undertone.
Fuddler felt almost silly about it, of course this Muddler isn't real, why would he think otherwise? 'I dunno... I guess I got cought up in the all the acting that... I forgot I'm just talking to myself...'
'Does it really matter, though?' Muddler raised an eyebrow with a slight smile on his face 'Atleast you got it out of your system, you twelve year old.'
'Don't call me a twelve year old!' Fuddler cried in defense.
'Then why do you act like one?'
'How can I not act like one if I look like one?' he said, slightly furious at the subject being brought up.
'People can turn invisible if they're abused enough, maybe this is something similar?' Muddler suggested.
'Tsch, magic, sure.' Fuddler waved off dismissively.
'You stayed as the same Fuddler that you were when we lost Sniff, excuse me but you really don't think there's something connected here?' Muddler asked rather rhetorically 'You graduated college with a degree in biology and live by yourself in the coffee tin you inherited from me and yet you still chase after a woman like you have a preteen crush on her with absolutely no clue as to how to talk to a girl.'
Fuddler cringed at the memory of his attempted courtship of the Mymble and recoiled back into a ball position.
'But atleast it seems like you learned from it, just... Don't let things paint your views so easily, sir,' Muddler placed the flower on Fuddler's head.
'Don't use 'sir' on me...' Fuddler muttered quietly.
'Well, what do you want me to refer to you as? Ma'am?'
'That's even worse!' Fuddler shut down the idea almost immediately, he grabbed the flower from his head and looked at it 'Neither of them feel all that right...'
'Right,' Muddler said 'It's fine if you don't want to be referred to as either of those.'
'It's not just that... I don't really feel like a... A man. Atleast not how the world seems to think of one.'
'You're a button collector, Fuddler. Maybe you should start calling yourself that instead.'
'You can do that?' Fuddler seems to be almost bewildered but not totally against the idea.
'Fuddler, I'm a half woman who calls itself a man, anyone can be anything, especially in places like this valley. You don't have to define yourself by those standards anymore.' Muddler explained.
Fuddler stared at his father with a thoughtful expression on his face 'Like I don't have to define my family by any of those standards...' he looks back down at the flower in his paw.
'That's the spirit!' Muddler punches his child lightly on the shoulder 'And whatever the problem was... I hope you can fix it, it's not easy but... It'll be better for the long run.'
'Right...' Fuddler flicked the flower into the lake, it simply dissolves in mid-air rather than land into the water or anything 'I'm sorry about... Everything. I'm still very, very dumb.'
The Muddler laughed ever so slightly 'You'll get it in time, I promise.'
'... Maybe.' Fuddler said rather hopefully. The Muddler seemed to dissolve away like the flower did and the world faded into full color. It looks like that episode was a wrap, one might say. Now it's time to figure out why it had to be made.
33 notes · View notes