#not really medieval but who cares this is my blog | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

writers-potion · 2 months

Text

Don't Fear Criticism

Creating homosexual characters can feel like planting an active grenade in the middle of your story. You start to fear bad reception of your work - even before you start!

But really, there is no need to worry. The fact that you're concerned only proves that you care.

You probably won't get it the first time.

You probably will get some criticism.

Only remember that it's perfectly normal to make mistakes. After you punch out your draft, have beta readers who are part of the community and incorporate their feedback.

No Diversity Shopping

Yes, diversity is important, but it's no checklist where you need to list all possible sexual orientations and have at least one character for each.

First of all, it would be quite impossible.

Second, that is likely to make all of them underdeveloped and stereotypical.

Check if you really need the character in your plot.

If they turn out to be homosexual, let them run their own course and shape their path. If your story's theme is related to the character's sexuality, think about the message you want to convey.

Quality over quantity, always.

Go Beyond Sexuality

Your characters exist, and they happen to be homosexual, not the other way around. This doesn't mean that it won't be an important, or that you should downplay their sexuality.

Strike a balance by showing readers their hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes, relationships with their family and friends, etc. The more holistic they are, readers are going to be convinced that you have an actual character, not a scarecrow holding up the #diversity tag.

How do their sexuality play into their broader narrative?

Develop a Backstory

Every homosexual character must have thought about their orientation and identity, with a process of how they came to recognize their sexuality.

Whether you're character is a confused teenage girl, or a middle-aged gentleman with a stable relationship, think about what brought them here.

Backstories don't have to be tragic. They can have supportive parents and find escapism in online communities who accept them for who they are.

There isn't just one "gay life". Get creative.

Normalization is Important

Sometimes, your story world will not accept homosexual people as normal. That's okay!

However, there is a difference between other character treating them unfairly and you as an author normalizing homophobia in your narrative.

Word choice and tone would play a key role.

When a likeable character is homophobic, avoid normalizing it by making it a flaw. Show that your conservative medieval village is narrow-minded when they treat them as outcasts.

Homophobes may not necessarily be the evil guys.

It's enough to state (clearly) that it's wrong.

Make Use of Tropes

Stereotypes aren't just an issue with gay characters, but when used successfully, have created wonderful retellings and spinoffs that are refreshing.

You can purposefully overplay stereotypes to show how silly they are. Deconstructing stereotypes can add humor to your narrative.

You can also use them to explore the expectations that readers have for those kinds of characters. The Gay Best Friend might be a trope, but you can get them to go deeper than the typical sidekick to realize their true potential as a cast member.

Religion and Homosexuality

In the real world, religion and homosexuality are often presented on far opposites of politics, and that makes me sad. Homosexual characters are free to be religious, find peace, support and mindfulness through any religion of their choice.

Vise versa, deeply religious characters can have wonderful relationships with homosexual characters.

It all comes down to how your characters interpret religion and homosexuality in light of those religious values. Though I'm an atheist, I believe all religions have the ability to embrace diversity at their core.

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

207 notes · View notes

peashooter85 · 1 year

Text

Dear Followers

About two months ago I lost access to my account. I thought it was deleted, but then about a month later it spontaneously returned. So most likely it was some kind of malfunction that tumblr took a lot of time to fix. Who knows.

Anyway the truth of the matter is that I really didn't care that much. My interests have changed and I was getting bored with the content I had posted. I was posting antique firearms, then antique arms and armor in general. But my interests had shifted away from such topics and on to others. That is why I created treasures-of-the-ancients. Blogging was beginning to become a chore with peashooter85.

So I have decided to let peashooter85 die. I will no longer be posting here.

I have a new blog called @memories-of-ancients. It deals mostly with ancient and medieval history, the pre-modern era, and a little bit of the 18th century up to the Napoleonic Wars, and maybe some assorted modern history that really catches my eye.

I also have @peashooter-invictus which operates as a personal blog, which will have some assorted history and antiques, but mostly is just me reblogging cat pics.

Best,

Peashooter

505 notes · View notes

lycheedr3ams · 9 months

Text

Death's Angel

Part 8: On Angel Wings

royal!fem!reader x executioner!konig

Summary: It's 1554. You're one of the eight daughters of the Austrian royal family, and your parents do everything they can to ensure their kingdom is prosperous and peaceful. No royal court is complete without their hand-picked executioner, one who stands out against the sea of black, faceless bodies that make up the profession. It just so happens that your family's new executioner, one who has made a name for himself far and wide for his skill with the axe, has caught your eye and ruined you for good.

Warnings: MDNI! smut, mutual pining, forbidden love, death (konig is an executioner duh), mean sisters, mentions of medieval-type violence, overbearing parents, konig is brooding and a perv, some predator/prey dynamics, possessive!konig, maybe dark themes bc reader likes seeing him kill people and bc he's a perv?

Part 7

I can't thank you all enough for the support i've gotten on this fic! this fic is what made my blog big and i just can't believe it's been so well-received. don't worry, it's a happy ending!!! also I'm sorry this took so long...I hope you guys like the ending. I'm super nervous my writing quality on this story went down, but maybe I'm too critical of my work. in any case, I hope you guys enjoy!

.......

series inspired by the art below!

you weren't sure how much time passed when you woke up in a warm bed. you blinked open your eyes and rubbed the exhaustion out of them. you looked around the room, and noticed konig sitting right by your side.

"Engel?" he asked softly. you had never heard his voice so tender.

"what happened?" you asked. you tried to sit up, but were immediately struck with a sharp pain in your chest. konig gently pushed you back down on the bed.

"lay down, Engel. you are hurt. you need to rest."

you looked down at your chest, and realized that it was wrapped with bloodied bandages. your dress was nowhere to be seen, but the blanket covered your lower half.

"what happened? where are we?" you asked as you could feel panic rising.

"we are somewhere we will never be found by anyone who wishes to separate us," konig said quietly. "you..." he couldn't finish his sentence as he cleared his throat.

"i what?" you asked.

konig shook his head. "you protected me. it is not supposed to be that way. i am supposed to protect you, and i couldn't." konig's head hung low in shame, his eyes now completely obscured from you.

you suddenly remembered everything that had happened right up to when the sword fell. your heart raced.

"i...my body just acted on its own. it was like i didn't have control over myself. it just happened." you thought for a long moment, and it was silent. konig's head still hung low.

"i don't regret it, though," you said firmly. konig looked at you in confusion.

"i promised to protect you, and here you are, laying in a bed soaked in your own blood," he said quietly as his eyes glassed over.

you smiled. "it's okay. i would do it again if i had to. but where are we? what happened to the knights?"

konig was silent for a little while. you closed your eyes.

"we are in france now. a little countryside town. after the soldiers patched you up, they realized that you weren't lying. they agreed to pretend that it never happened. but they will be back in a week, to make sure this is what you really want." his voice was quiet as he spoke.

"so...my parents and siblings still think i've been kidnapped?"

konig nodded.

"no. they need to know that you are not in the wrong. they need to know that i chose this."

"i don't know if that's a good idea," konig said after a moment. "they will say I brainwashed you."

"i don't care what they will say. if they don't believe me, that's on them. i will have the soldiers take a letter to them once they go back, and i will never speak to them again," you decided.

konig stared at you for a long while. he gently took your hand and stroked it with his thumb.

"i am sorry things turned out this way," he whispered as he looked at your hand.

you shook your head. "i wouldn't have it any other way, konig. i'm with you, and we can have our own life here. what is this town like?"

konig still stroked your hand as he spoke. "there are lavender fields surrounding the town, and a small forest to the east. there is an empty plot of land where a house can be built. the people are kind, and it is quiet and peaceful."

you smiled. "it sounds perfect."

konig brought your hand up to his lips as he lifted his hood to kiss the back of your hand. "i will make it up to you."

"there is nothing to make up, konig," you assured him with a smile. "everything will be okay now."

konig shook his head. "i will give you the life you deserve, my princess. i will build a house for you, and you can have as many gardens and animals as you like. you will have the finest sheets once again, and you will never want for anything."

you smiled. "as long as i have you, i will never want."

...

several months later

You walk out of the cottage that Konig had built for you and him on this warm morning. the birds are chirping and a gentle breeze blows over the lavender fields to the right of your cottage. you smile to yourself as you breath in the scent of lavender, and hear your sheep, ducks, and goats already waking up for the day. your garden, fenced off with bushes and a trellis with roses, blooms brilliantly in the morning sun.

konig quietly comes up behind you and wraps his strong scarred arms around you. he nuzzles your head gently with his nose and smiles underneath his hood.

"good morning, my Engel," he whispers gently to you. he speaks those four words to you every single morning. some may regard it as just a morning custom, but you know that konig never wastes any of his words. those four words every day, reserved only for you.

"good morning, konig," you smile up at him and gently hold his arms as they're wrapped around your waist. your goats bleat a few times, and you and konig share a gentle laugh.

...

life has been peaceful ever since the hell you and konig had gone through. you sent the letter to your parents, telling them the truth about your relationship with konig: how you weren't brainwashed, you didn't like being a princess, and this was the life you chose for yourself. your parents begged you to come back, their handwriting betraying their nerves and worry. but you never wrote to them again.

konig built this cottage for you in no time, and you two built your life together in this small countryside town in France. you helped out at the local bakery most days, tended to your farm animals every morning, checked your garden several times a day. you cooked warm meals for konig, which he always ate gratefully.

konig was no longer an executioner. he decided to leave that part of him in the past for your sake to build a peaceful life with you. the strong, calloused hands that once gripped axes to chop people's heads off now gripped saws and hammers and other tools to build houses, make horse shoes, craft swords. konig never spoke about it, but the gentle look in his eyes that grew as he got accustomed to normal life was something you always noticed and loved.

you two make a modest living; no more silk and fine china, but you couldn't have cared less. living life every day, doing what you wanted, you forgot about the endless want that material possessions creates. for the first time in your life, you are happy. you no longer had to worry about perfectly adjusting your hair, tying your corset, or matching your dress to the occasion each day. your hair changed each day based on your mood, and your clothing was simple and comfortable. no one told you where you had to be or when, you no longer had to watch every word that was spoken. you are free.

...

you hand konig his lunch basket for the day with a sweet smile, packed with fruits and bread and some salted meat. he rubs your head affectionately and kisses your forehead through his hood.

"danke, Engel."

"have a good day," you smiled up at him as you hugged his muscular chest. you gently tap his chin over his hood, and he smiles at your little signal and presses a chaste, gentle kiss on your lips. you watch as he descends the porch and walks to town.

you weren't sure exactly where you and Konig's lives were going to lead, but among your farm animals and garden and cottage and his arms, none of that mattered. the only thing you cared about was living each day with konig, living a normal life. you taught him what it meant to live, to breathe, to create things that made life better rather than take it away.

and even though you are no longer a princess, you will always be his angel.

taglist: @kneelingshadowsalome, @plumdreadful, @dumb-dumb-idiot-girl, @elichisstuff, @konig-breedme, @tr4psta, @cutiecusp, @konigsleftkidney, @local-vampire-s1ut, @ihaveaproblematicbrain, @twice360noscope, @madzeesstuff, @crazy-phan-girl13, @babygirl-panda19, @warrior-of-justice, @eluffi, @mooniesthings, @elowynnlane, @zaxlrza, @red-bed-bug, @alexdoesntlikeyou, @helmipss, @11aplacesange11, @rouge-swears, @pasta-m1lk, @ghostinvenus

350 notes · View notes

queer-ragnelle · 2 months

Note

Hi there, you don't have to post this on the blog, but I wanted to thank you for your earlier post with regard to different interpretations and iterations of Arthuriana. I really admire your work in/thoughts on all things Arthurian, and seeing you say "Each iteration is it's own self-contained world and anything is possible within that framework" was such a freeing thing. I'm currently writing an Arthurian thing where Lancelot falls for/ends up with someone who isn't Guinevere, and I often wrestle with the doubt of "if he isn't in love with Guinevere, am I really being true to the stories and the canon?" But each iteration is its own self-contained world, and I can honor the stories in other ways while still doing my own thing in this particular story/world. Anyway, all this to say, I'm sure it wasn't your intention, but I appreciate your insight and the encouragement it brings. Take care!

Hi there! Sorry for the delay in responding, but I wanted to think about this a bit beforehand. In writing my own Arthurian series, as well as reading and watching absolutely everything I can get ahold of, historical, medieval, and modern, I’ve developed a whole philosophy about it. So my reply got long hehe. Here’s what I think…

In the ask you referenced, I talked about how Arthurian legend lacks a true "canon," and how the stories all build off each other. The inconsistency from text to text and even chapter to chapter within the same story affords us endless opportunities for creative reinterpretation. I can basically be sold on any concept. I’ve read a lot of retellings at this point and I’m not married to any specific “canon.” If the writer can convince me that, in this version of the story, things played out differently, then I’m happy to get invested. For example, in Exiled From Camelot by Cherith Baldry, she develops Lyonors, Gareth’s wife, and makes her into a likable character the reader can easily ship with Gareth. On the other hand, I definitely see why people prefer Lynette with Gareth, as Tennyson did, and the majority of other retellings follow suit. Even so, I think Lynette and Gaheris made an adorable pair in Squire’s Tales #3, and it was a satisfying reveal in Squire’s Tales #7 that the pov character was their daughter, Lunette. It’s indicated through context clues who her parents are when they arrive at the end referring to each other by pet names. In the same vein, while I favor Ragnelle, Gawain can have any number of partners so long as the author writes the chemistry well. And while I still firmly believe Agravaine is gay in essentially every retelling, I do love Sarah Zettel’s romance Camelot’s Blood that she wrote between him and Laurel. I’m an Orkney Wives fan first and an Orkney Bros fan second haha!

That being said, Orkney Bros have always been inconsistent, so changing their love interests isn’t actually that drastic. In the case of Lancelot and Guinevere, severing their romantic connection is a huge departure from the norm. Undoubtedly, some people won’t “get it” or say it’s out of character. But the thing to remember is, there is no singular source for Arthuriana, so how can they ever be out of character? Let’s get into it.

Firstly, you don’t need to rationalize your narrative choices. To anybody. So long as you’re writing something for the sake of authenticity and good storytelling (rather than simply to be contrarian or edgy or quirky etc) it will resonate with your audience. That said, there’s medieval precedence for your concept. In Alliterative Morte Arthure, Lancelot is listed many times as one of Arthur’s knights. He’s there. Yet it is Mordred who adulterously marries Guinevere. In the romance retelling Lancelot by Gwen Rowley, Guinevere is not the love interest, but Elaine. Another similar angle is explored in Port Eternity by CJ Cherryh, which takes place entirely from Elaine’s point of view. Guinevere isn’t even truly in it and her stand in doesn’t fulfill the same role. In The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956), Lancelot definitely has A Thing with both the King and Queen, but a potential affair is not explored or even hinted at. He’s their bestie, their confidant, their most trusted person apart from each other. The key here is Lancelot still loves Guinevere (or her stand in), however that manifests. There’s no active dislike or hatred between them. In that circumstance, I don’t think the character would feel like Lancelot anymore. But changing the nature of his love for Guinevere from romantic to something else does not diminish its narrative value, as the above examples prove. Their friendship is the core of their relationship, as the Vulgate proves, and maintaining that is important.

It’s not so much about asking yourself, “Is [narrative choice] true to the ‘canon?’” as asking, “How do I tell a good story containing [narrative choice]?” There are examples of this done poorly, in my opinion. I’ve elaborated many many many times about David Lowery’s fumbling of The Green Knight (2021) and how that particular iteration falls short of a true adaptation (which I don’t think he set out to do anyway, to be fair) but also proved an unsuccessful reimagining of the poem due to mismanaged references and motifs. I didn’t like Once & Future by Cori McCarthy and Amy Rose Capetta or The Winter Knight by Jes Battis for the same reasons—both books felt like shallow, meandering stories lacking narrative integrity with a veneer of Arthuriana over it. Reincarnation AUs are not an excuse to flanderaize characters. Battis writes Wayne (Gawain) acknowledging how drastically he differs from his medieval counterpart, but awareness of it doesn’t negate the facts: the story suffers for it. On the contrary, Camelot 3000 gives an entire character arc surrounding this premise to Tristan, who has reincarnated AFAB and struggles with his gender identity and with accepting Isolde’s love for him, changed though he is. First Knight (1995) really screws up by making Lancelot a misogynistic creeper who relentlessly pursues Guinevere and even forces a kiss on her. King Arthur: Legend of The Sword (2017) is insultingly bad by showcasing just how stupid it thinks its audience is, brutalizing and killing women left and right, giving unnecessary screen time to obnoxious OCs, and bastardizing every aspect of the legend it drew from. Meanwhile the Fate Grand Order anime cuts out Guinevere entirely. Her role exists as a void. It makes no sense, then, that Lancelot and Agravaine clash as “fellow traitors,” because the woman at the center of the conflict is literally never present. Seven Deadly Sins anime has finally gotten around to Lancelot and Guinevere meeting, and she’s a clingy girl Lancelot is disinterested in, trying to flip the script on their roles, and only exacerbating the misogyny problem in shounen in the process.

Fear not! Loving Arthurian legend automatically enshrines anything you create in a glittering anti-garbage shield! So many versions exist that draw on the elements just because they can with no respect for the material nor their audience. You literally can’t do worse than what’s already out there and there are no original ideas! Published retellings love crackships, they love mixing it up, changing the expected, surprising us! So long as Guinevere isn’t made worse to make Lancelot’s alternative love interest better, and Lancelot himself isn’t turned inside out until he’s unrecognizable, you’re golden. Follow your gut and write something you would enjoy, develop it well within your own universe, and there will be an audience for it. I’m certainly among them!

Thanks for the ask. Have a lovely day! :^)

#arthurian legend #arthuriana #arthurian legends #arthurian mythology #arthurian literature #lancelot #sir lancelot #lancelot du lac #guinevere #queen guinevere #guinevere pendragon #writing #ask #usedtobeaduchess

22 notes · View notes

vigilskeep · 8 months

Note

Hello, vampire blood person again! Big fan of your presentations and have been getting very inspired lately thanks to you and your blog so I thought you'd be a good person to come to and ask, how do you know so much? The lore stuff is pretty easy to research on a wiki but in terms of the real world comparisons, I remember you comparing the angel and spirits and talking about how interesting the differences between andrastaism and real life is and you just seem a very knowledgeable person. I was wondering if you just grew up religious or have studied the bible or anything like that? I'll study that whole damn brick if I have to but are there any resources you can suggest to study such things and better study DA as a whole? Good luck on the next presentation and thank you for being an inspiration!

hi!!

ah so as for my general knowledge i’m religious and grew up christian, and i’m also a, uh, student on pause; i have two and a half years of a history & english literature degree that i wasn’t able to quite finish at the time. so i have no qualifications i’m afraid but my general knowledge about christianity and about history, especially pre-modern history which i vastly prefer, is, i like to think, quite good?

so i have a lot of basic knowledge yes. i’m trying to think of how someone could replicate that from scratch as it were

for andrastianism, for example, a refresher on the basics of christianity is a must, for comparison’s sake alone. here’s the first fairrrrrrly neutral (sorry for relying on the bbc. by fairly neutral i mean not actively trying to convert you) site i could find with a lot of quick information for the fundamentals as it were. where’s a good friendly starting point for the medieval church. maybe something like the you’re dead to me podcast? it’s a very light fun introduction designed for no starting knowledge, they put a comedian and a historian on, it’s a good time. try the early medieval papacy episode for a relevant starting place. as for andrastianism’s origins, you’re going to need a grasp on the roman empire and the rise of christianity to know what they’re getting at. probably a good idea to know who joan of arc is, as well. you’re dead to me has an episode on her too!

trying to think of what other historical areas are useful... judaism in medieval western europe is a must if you care about city elves as they clearly drew on that, whatever they like to pretend. i should learn more myself. the norman conquest of england would be the comparison for the orlesian occupation of ferelden that jumps to mind. i don’t know how much comparison value there is, nothing springs to mind, but if you want to know the mechanics of that kind of invasion it should be useful enough. anything about western european medieval kings and dynasties is great for building on just how those dynamics work. on i guess a heavier note i think it’s crucial to be aware of what the crusades were and the kind of myths that medieval europeans had about outsiders to recognise a lot of what’s going on with, and discomfiting about, qunari lore

in many ways the real knack is just having enough general knowledge to know what game lore is referencing from. so really just the more you broaden your knowledge the more of a uhhhh palette you’ll have to compare it all too. be a sponge for information. also all of this is super useful for understanding everything else in general not just our favourite viddy game series!! not to soapbox but i think the assumption that everyone in the west simply knows what christianity is and doesn’t need to be taught really sets us back in terms of understanding our own cultures, for instance

sorry if this wasn’t that helpful but thank you for the message!!

#long post

26 notes · View notes

demonicdeadbeat · 4 days

Text

𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯

I'm Oliver (he/they interchangable), I'm in my 30s, and I'm a roleplayer and writer who does (sometimes very) lazy literate style roleplay. I'm disabled, trans masculine nonbinary, neurodivergent and I like to think I'm a decent enough RP partner if we click. I have Discord, which is predominantly where I roleplay. I reply usually multiple times a day.

I don't care much about literacy levels or mistakes, as long as you have some grasp of English and we're having fun, why does it matter?

You must be 21+ to RP or interact with me. I have no interest in even SFW RP with minors. I don't care about your IRL gender or what have you though.

𝔠𝔲𝔯𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔩𝔶 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤

Most of these are m×m as I strongly prefer that. Enby×m is fine also. I do f×m incredibly rarely and only if I can play the guy. Trans and intersex characters are very much welcome. Some of my favourite OCs are trans masc themselves and I sometimes AU my favourite canon characters as trans masc too.

Generally I will play either half of these pairings. I also enjoy occasionally doubling up if there's a plot you really want to play also.

I enjoy writing smut and kink immensely, but do also enjoy plot too. A 50/50 split is good. I have a Kink Garden page I can give out on request to see if our kinks align.

I only use real person or solely descriptive FCs. No anime and no cartoons, sorry. I am not picky about your FC usually. I generally favour FCs over 25 at least, and tend to only play people over 30 myself.

I really like becoming friends outside of the RP, I love making playlists, mood boards, chatting, text message threads if appropriate, etc.

My characters are usually switches and vers, but I can assume a more top or Dom role, or a more bottom or submissive role, if it works with the RP.

I do not generally use Tupperbox or related bots but I could for the right RP partner!

Fandom Based:

Generally I am very open to AUs and love putting my favourite characters into them, so don't be afraid to ask if you have your heart set on an AU for any of the following.

Good Omens (Aziraphale × Crowley)

FFXIV (OC × OC only)

Baldur's Gate 3 (Astarion × Gale, Astarion × Wyll, Astarion × Halsin, Gale x Wyll, Durge × Most Male Canon Characters, Tav × Most Male Canon Characters)

Fandomless:

All of these ideas are deliberately vague, so we can plot together!

Modern with Supernatural Creatures (Vampire × Werewolf, Werewolf × Werewolf, Undead/Immortal race × Human, Monster × Human generally)

Modern with Magic (Any pairing that fits the setting, including AUs)

Dungeons and Dragons-esque/High Medieval Fantasy (Knight × Prince, Prince × Commoner, Adventurer × Adventurer, Monster × Humanoid generally, Pirates, High Society, Forbidden Romance, any other pairing that fits the setting, including AUs)

Modern (Kinky Hedonist × Newbie to the Kink Scene and other kink lifestyle based plots, Sugar Baby x Sugar Daddy, Musician × Techie, Poet × Musician, Writer × Editor, Florist × Artist, Artist × Muse, Soulmates AU, Forbidden Romance pretty much anything)

Omegaverse (Can be added onto any other plot tbh, I usually play Alpha or Beta against an Omega, but could play an Omega too if wanted against your Alpha or Beta.)

Interested? Contact me through this blog and I'll send you my Discord username!

#Pinned #Discord rp #discord roleplay #1x1 #1x1 rp #1x1 roleplay #smut 1x1 #indie 1x1 #discord 1x1 #1x1 discord #1x1 discord rp #Not looking for groups really but could be persuaded...

10 notes · View notes

incrediblemelk · 3 months

Text

I don’t know how this blog has turned into a bromance blog but I always find this bond so compelling somehow

Anyway I’ve been watching Masters of the Air and loving the Bucky/Buck dynamic

(Spoilers if you care)

I love how Bucky (Callum Turner) is the exuberant, gregarious one and Buck (Austin Butler) is the reserved and serious one. Bucky is the one who acts all cocky and knowing, but he’s really the innocent one

And in episode five when Bucky thinks Buck has been killed on a mission, he recklessly comes back early from his leave so he can lead the squadron’s riskiest mission yet

he swaps flight jackets with some random guy because “Buck always hated the sheepskin”

and after getting shot down and escaping all sorts of horrors in episode six, he makes it to Stalag Luft III

My crappy screenshots do not do justice to the way this scene is shot like the climax of a rom-com

The way Bucky’s pals are so thrilled to see him, and he’s shouting to them, “Hey! Any of you know if Buck made it?”

and then as he’s urgently craning his neck as he walks past them, offscreen we hear Buck’s still-kind-of-Elvisy voice saying, “John Egan! Your two o’clock!”

then the camera reverses to show us what Bucky sees: a luxurious tracking shot of Buck stepping up to the wire, like a goddamn groom at the altar, a slow smile blooming on his face as Bucky is marched towards him…

Bucky can’t quite believe who he’s seeing; he looks confused and hopeful and of course my own bromantic heart is leaping in my chest, and then Buck has the corny rom-com line:

“What took you so long?”

It’s such a cliché, and yet I love that WWII stories are still a powerful bromance delivery mechanism 80 years later

They are the medieval chivalric romances of modernism: amid the industrial carnage of total war, the usual monogamous heterosexual pairings are suspended and love finds other expressions through the questing narrative of the ‘mission’ and the knighthood of the fighting unit, with the airbase as their Camelot

Next episode is going to have the tension of Bucky wanting to escape the camp with Buck, who would rather wait out the war in relative safety so he can get back to his (ugh) childhood sweetheart

#bromance #masters of the air #wwii

10 notes · View notes

cyybrzz · 30 days

Text

To anyone who sees this and isn't a bot...

i need a bunch of feedback on a bunch of different topics so advice or opinions from anyone is accepted and appreciated!! i'm not new to tumblr, i'm just new to POSTING on here so to anyone with an aesthetic blog please give me wisdom 🙏

🔮 in search of mutuals!

ever since i've downloaded the app i've never posted or commented, i've always just kinda been l i n g e r i n g everywhere, reading, and going under the radar. but now that i want to start reaching out and socializing i want some mutuals to chat with and maybe even to help review/edit my writing works if i do any!! if you want to get to know me here's some basics on me:

-i'm latina <3

-unlabeled if that matters

-i tend not to get too much into 'politics' unless we're talking violations of basic human rights (cough cough palestine) and i don't care what you believe, as long as you respect my beliefs we're all good!!

-some shows i like are jane the virgin, the 100, criminal minds, and a bunch more but im leaving things to just 3 to keep it short

-i tend to like really niche things sometimes like escape the night or randomly doing research on medieval torture mechanisms so if you're like me join my little club (aka our potential friendship)

-i have a really open sense of humor and find a lot of things funny + i have a bunch of twitter memes saved in my camera roll bc those are the funniest things ever

-i love princess and the frog, tangled, and horror movies

-i love reading! romance, thriller, horror, i love it

-i'm an athlete and do/have done multiple sports

-i play the cello!! her name is cherry ♥️

-i love using emoticons :)

-i love bruno mars, mitski, gaga, LMFAO, and a some older niche spanish singers nobody knows 😭

-i try out a bunch of different fashion aesthetics but i think my top 3 are y2k street wear, classy/business casual, and homeless LMAOO

🔮 i need a theme!!

I still have no idea what i want to do with my blog and need some ideas/tips for my theme! i'd prefer not to make it fandom based though; i love this weirdcore thing i have going on but idk how to make it work and i can’t really find dividers and pictures/banners that fit this theme + i also love the city party type vibe but also cute themes or colored themes or earthy themes... i'm open to literally anything so if you have any sources or templates or any ideas that might help PLEASE lmk!! i also don't know how anything works- i don't even know if my first divider is actually a png or if i look stupid right now LMAOOOOO

🔮 i have a writing dilemma...?

i've been wanting to write a fanfic for a WHILE now, like an actual story that's so long it'd have to be put on like wattpad or something that's not meant for shorter stories. HOWEVER i am petrified that i won't be good at it and would want to test out the waters by potentially writing blurbs/oneshots for some fandoms once i figure this whole writing thing out??? so if you want to send in a request with a 50% chance of getting decent writing and another 50% of regretting ever trying to talk to me go ahead!! (please.)

🔮hi tumblr!!

so... i think that's it! i think that's everything i had to address, if you've made it this far, thank you for reading my very first tumblr post! didn't mean to talk this much but i feel like i needed to get this out there and connect with new people because i already have mutual crushes on so many people if that makes any sense, toodles!! now enjoy my pathetic attempt at writing hashtags

7 notes · View notes

mdhwrites · 6 months

Note

I really love your post about why the anti-discrimination theme falls flat on TOH.

Honestly, applied to Amphibia, the issue is taken care of. From S1, we saw how frogs are treated and the injustice and inequality in the whole hierarchy. For example, despite being called Frog Valley, there are no frog majors but toad majors like Toadstool and he used to be awful and greedy.

Then we have the toad lords and soldiers who subjugate towns like Grime used to instead of protecting them. And the newts are either annoyingly arrogant like Duckweed or inside their own world, that kind of is explained in how Newtopia looks so fancy while the rest of Amphibia is medieval and surrounded by monsters.

Most importantly, many characters have a point of view or conflict related to the hierarchy and the state of their society. The Dinner and The Three Armies showed the biases of Grime, Beatrix, Hop Pop, Tritonio, and others against each other but instead of leaving it like that to be pessimistic or not addressing it, all Amphibia faced those issues to create a more harmonious and just society for everyone.

Okay so two things first. 1: Context for Amphibia fans is that I did a blog discussing how TOH accidentally discriminates against the demons of the demon realm and only promotes the most human of them, thus making a theme of anti-discrimination... Rough to put it mildly. Link here. 2: I don't think Amphibia explicitly has a theme of anti-discrimination either. It touches on it in ways but those ways are mostly due to one of its other core themes: Community. That's not all surprising either because it's hard to talk about community without also talking about inclusivity to those communities and allowing those communities to at least have a personality.

Now yes, you're absolutely right that the end of the series actually explicitly discusses the actual bigotry that each culture has towards each other in admittedly not my favorite but a fine episode. I actually want to expand from just the literal text though for why I think Amphibia does such a good job at not demonizing any of the races despite the fact that two of them may as well exist to be villainous. After all, the toads and the newts are often adversaries to the main characters. Wasn't that a problem for TOH?

Yes... Which makes it a good thing that the first adversary for Anne is the frogs.

Actually deep diving how Amphibia handles race, inclusivity, etc. like that is FASCINATING. You could probably do an entire college essay based solely on this one aspect because the show actually portrays multiple versions of communities and acceptance into them masterfully. I'm going to only briefly touch on each but I could probably say more on all of them and this actually includes humans as well which arguably might be Amphibia's one stumble on the issue but it's not a big one.

Let's start with that inflammatory line though. Of all the races, the frogs are actually just explicitly the most racist. They are against ANYTHING they don't know. Even other humans after Anne are entirely based on their perception of Anne. It actually takes Anne returning and showing fallibility for Sasha to become her own person to the community who is on par with Anne despite all she's done for them. Before then, the closer you are to her in their eyes, the more acceptable you are. They explicitly state this with Marcy. Otherwise, you're just a weird thing to potentially be purged because you are dangerous for being unknown. This is explicitly something Anne has to overcome, including one episode where she becomes popular by becoming more frog-like through her zits. The Plantars are the closest to being progressive in the town and even Polly can get swept up into mob mentality when the people get ready to take down Marcy (if I'm remembering the joke right).

The upside to the frogs is supreme loyalty to each other. While Toadstool is self serving and selfish, even he eventually figures out that he likes the frog way of thinking. The community you are a part of means the world to you. It is arguably the most important thing besides family. They play at war with each other because no one can actually hate someone in this community. Once you are in, you have the protection of ALL. It's just getting that acceptance is hard.

So even the race we spend the most time with is actually still flawed in some way. It is not perfect. How about the one that theoretically is the most evil? One could argue the Newts but that's more got to do with the combined culture of Amphibia which we only get Andrias as a main show of besides the one episode in the past. I do not want to say Andrias represents all newts, even if his ideas are still obviously in the current culture of newts, hence why I won't say they're the most antagonistic.

The toads on the other hand are fascinating because while they are brutal conquerors and willing to subjugate others, they're also theoretically the most inclusive. They are the closest to a meritocracy in Amphibia. If you can prove your battle prowess and ability to lead, even a gangly weirdo from another world can rise quickly and take a role of power. However, this culture is also part of why they're such a joke/a problem. The passionate rise to the top while the grunts are mostly going to be complacent and the toads still push a "Got mine, fuck you" mentality so that once a job is done, selfishness takes hold. This is why they're good at taking a city but bad at keeping it because they lack discipline because as a community, they don't have either a national ideal to work for like the newts or each other like the frogs. Each one proves themselves but that also makes each of them in competition with one another. It also explains why they're willing to subjugate a people because if they were worth their own lives, they would be able to resist.

Grime is actually the exception here from everything we can see. Beatrix even takes a loss from a frog better than Grime. Grime is different from a lot of Toads though and seems to hold a more personal need to prove himself, rather than that being strictly personal. He gets knocked down lower on defeat and rises higher in triumph. It takes longer than it likely would have with other captains for him to recognize that Sasha's ability to get rid of her guard is impressive and deserving of re-evaluation because he's not willing to admit he's wrong. He is the one toad who will take a city and stay vigilant because he is stubborn enough to not want to lose those gains no matter the cost, hence why he seems to constantly look for a status quote he can keep a hold of rather than seeking endless glory. Sprig challenges that most explicitly and so he lashes out with anger rather than the admiration that he should. The admiration that the toads who Anne first met liked in her when they thought she could be ruthless and strong. Those toads in fact accepted her WAY faster than even potentially the Plantars as Sprig needed his life to be saved first.

Next let's talk about the newts. We get weirdly more time with their society than even the toads but I don't know how much I'd say we actually learn about it which is an issue with Marcy as well. Buuuut this actually is in line with their culture. They're more of a melting pot where they are both more enlightened in that everyone gets a fair shake but they're much more rigid. It's probably the closest to modern America we get where you CAN apply for an important job but you need the connections, open doors, etc. like that to get it. You can prove yourself but it will only get you so far and people will only care so much.

A large part of this is actually in how the newts specifically treat Marcy. Where as someone so high in the ranks for toads would be respected and have friends simply due to being so outstanding, see Sasha, Marcy has a position but no acceptance beyond that. Respect but no friends. They are willing to use her because she is the most useful tool for a job but they aren't going to act like they'reclose with her for that. Not without, sadly enough, a reason to. Olivia keeps her at arm's length, the other advisors don't really seem to actually have a relationship with her but Andrias does because she fits into his plans best if she trusts him.

Sprig also gets to demonstrate this because his interesting worldview gives him a position in the society but no special treatment besides getting that position. He still has to prove himself in all the same ways and while some quirkiness is allowed, you must keep THEIR peace. Even the frogs allow for more individuality once you are in their community. But again, it's a little rough when it comes to the newts because Marcy isn't actually a look into their culture like Sasha is for the toads as she never gets episodes just about her in Newtopia like Sasha does with Grime. I'd be intrigued about what the journal potentially changes about this.

ANWAYS, for the last one we have the Thai community and humanity. Or more so the former. I don't know if there's a unifying concept for humanity as a whole, which is befitting the treatment of the trio's mix of perspectives as well, but more a theme of optimism. That people may be lazy and a bit self serving but most people's hearts are in the right place. That they care.

The Thai community is the only one I really want to talk about because Thai Temple is admittedly one of my favorite episodes of Amphibia period. As someone who grew up in Alaska, I actually related to Anne not seeing the beauty of her culture really well. There's a highway in Alaska that sandwiches you perfectly besides mountain cliffs and the ocean and it is GORGEOUS. Aaaand I stopped caring about it because it became routine. I closed my mind to it. Like nature will accept you though if you are willing to give it the time, so is the Thai Community at the temple. If you show interest, interest will be shown back. That's why the Plantars are easily adopted into it because the people there want to share who they are, they're probably just not used to people actually being interested.

There's more I could say that dips more into the community aspects but how they treat Anne, Oum and Bea are a different subject (all of it positive and makes me sad as a straight white dude who doesn't keep religion honestly) but yeah, I hope this shows how Amphibia looks at acceptance, community and how different people treat those who are different in varying ways. Like I said, this is also still mostly scratching the surface as probably a lot more could be said about each. Even the original ask brings up how the walls of Newtopia cuts the newts off from nature itself while somewhere like Wartwood has to live in harmony with it.

End of the day though, it's still almost an incidental biproduct that no one in Amphibia feels half baked. Every society has a purpose and role to its storytelling and that helps make it a more cohesive work with a lot less accidents than be interpreted in awful ways. Seriously, if you have not watched Amphibia, GO WATCH AMPHIBIA.

I can guaranty the show will accept you, even if you don't love it like me.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#amphibia #amphibia critical

14 notes · View notes

ragnarokproofing · 1 year

Text

this post is going to be under construction for forever, basically.

i haven't decided on my fake name yet. i live in chicago but i'm leaving soon. late twenties. male. i hold an MFA in creative writing and a BA in game development.

i write fantasy, primarily dark fantasy, but am also interested in urban fantasy and historical fantasy. i have a decade of experience writing and posting fanfic in many different fandoms.

my writing focuses on themes of masculinity and homophobia, transness, sexuality and kink, disability, and gay love/romance.

i speak english and have a questionable grasp of french and czech. i am studying norwegian and old norse/icelandic.

i'm open to tag games and the like but it will probably take me a minute to get to them.

fiction: i'm really passionate about YA lit, even though i'm not writing any right now. my favorite YA authors are laini taylor, alex london (yes, the one plagiarized by james somerton), and margaret rogerson.

my favorite (adult) fiction authors are cathrynne m. valente, ursula k. le guin, and brandon sanderson. my favorite nonfiction authors are neil price, richard preston, and lindsey fitzharris.

film: my favorite directors are masaaki yuasa, robert eggers, and the wachowski sisters. my favorite films are cloud atlas (2012), ravenous (1999), mind game (2004), pom poko (1994), and trick or treat (1986).

i love B movies, and i have a growing collection of DVD movie packs and vinegar syndrome special editions. i have the oversized "champagne and bullets" poster hanging on my wall, and i own the miami connection soundtrack on vinyl. i am one of the only people on earth unironically interested in the history of shot-on-video movies.

music: anything in the "alternative" sphere, but i have a special fondness for folk punk and psychobilly/horrorpunk. my favorite bands are the mountain goats, AJJ, florence + the machine, aganst me!, editors, and baroness.

study/academic topics: my thesis is largely inspired by my passion for viking/medieval scandinavian history and culture. i am studying old norse/old icelandic, in the hopes of being able to read the sagas in their original language.

i love medical history and know everything there is to know about WWI-era facial reconstructive surgery, and plan to write a story about it someday (i was into it before the fitzharris book, goddammit!). i will read any nonfiction book about a part of medical history, whether it's a specific disease or a technique or field.

other: lake superior and the minnesota north shore, minnesota public radio, food culture and food writing, candles and incense that smell like the woods, tattoos that look like woodcuts, collecting enamel pins, travel patches, and mosser cats, fiber arts.

my thesis: a grand-scale dark fantasy novel about a misanthropic wizard academic and an alcoholic viking mercenary trying to save the world. main themes: cultural homophobia, misogyny, and machismo and the way they affect gay men, fascism and surviving under hostile systems, sacrifice and what makes a world worth saving, languages and the way they affect our lives, romance.

vampire story: a short story about a vampire that works at hot topic befriending a community college student in 2007. main themes: being suicidal and what makes life worth living, connection, romance.

viking story: a short horror story about a viking that gets stuck in a cave while searching for his unrequited love, who may or may not be dead. main themes: homophobia and machismo, grief and mourning.

i don't like naming things.

i don't care who follows me.

this blog is occasionally NSFW.

if you post a lot about political issues, i will not follow you. this is because i am here for fun, not to be angry, depressed, homicidal, or suicidal. if you do not like that, get bent. it will not change.

if you are weird to me, i will block you.

if you, under any circumstances, refer to me or any of my male characters as baby, baby girl, girlie, bitch, princess, or any other infantilizing, misogynistic horseshit, i will block you.

that's it.

#my posts #writeblr intro #about me #writeblr

37 notes · View notes

alpaca-clouds · 6 months

Text

How "Europe" was made

You know what? Based on this rant from yesterday about the typical "boohoo, Black people in my medieval fantasy are unrealistic" assholes, let me talk about the history of Europe a bit. This is gonna be a bit unstructured, but I also know that even people who like their diversity often do not understand the history of Europe. How could they? It is not taught.

If you even do early European history of Europe (which is a big if and very dependent on where you are and what school you visit) it tends to go a bit like this: Greece, Rome, then Rome fell and we had the middle ages happening.

One way to describe this narrative would be: Dumbed down. Another way to describe this would be: Plain wrong.

I talked before how the entire "oh, the Roman gods are just the Greek gods" narrative is wrong (i cannot find that blog again, because tumblr's search remains shit), but... here is the thing: Rome didn't actually fall. Not really. It just... changed.

Because here is the thing: The Byzantine Empire was Rome. And the Roman influence was very clear for a very long time. If anything, it kinda just slowly evolved into something else. But you cannot really point to any given time and say: "This was the end of Rome!" Well, at least not before the fall of the Byzantine Empire.

And the Byzantine Empire played a massive role into how Europe was made.

See, behind the entire idea of those folks speaking about a "white race" and "white culture" is, that there is a uniform white culture - or at least a European culture. Which is something that is very clear if you live in central and western Europe, too. Sure, if you ask people about it a bit more, enough people will still be fucking racist about Slavic people... But in general there is this idea. The idea of a European culture.

But... You have to realize that this culture was created. And it was created through what was basically colonialism.

Now, we all know that Rome had a lot of colonies - at some point throughout most of Europe. And the usual narrative goes something like this: "Rome had its religion, the colonies had theirs. Rome was accepting of this." Which is at once true and false. Yes, they just let local religions be - but they also considered their own religion as superior and folks from the European indigenous cultures would often gain acceptance through converting to the Roman religion or integrating the Roman gods into their religious practice at least. But yes, for the most part the Romans did leave the indigenous tribes alone.

And make no mistake. There were many, many indigenous cultures living all over Europe. Most people kinda have the once again simplified idea of "there were the norse, the germans, the celts and the slavs", but those were also still names given to groups of cultures that were related but differed to some degree. And there were also some cultures that did not fit any of those cultures - cultures, incidentally, about which we still lack a lot of information.

The usual depiction then goes: "Constantine converted to Christianity and then all the people saw how awesome Christianity was. There were missionaries and they spread the religion throughout Europe." But... That is not what happened.

See, in the late 4th century, the policy within the Byzantine Empire towards the old and indigenous religions of Europe shifted from "they are pagans, but who cares" to "they are pagans, we do not want pagans in our empire". And so, under Emperor Theodosius I the Byzantine Empire started to burn down religious sides throughout the Empire and hunt down the pagans, at times pushing them out of the empire or forcing them to convert to Christianity. This was not a peaceful process, like it is so often depicted, it was violence. It was colonialism. It employed many of the same strategies that were later used to forcefully convert people in the colonies a whole millennium later.

And those hunts and the burning of religious sites, religious artefacts and at times religious texts is in fact one of the reasons why we do not have a full understanding of any of the ancient religions. This shows of course most in our lack of understanding for Celtic and Norse religion (where it was made worse by the fact that the cultures themselves did not write things down) and of course our very, very lacking understanding of the smaller indigenous cultures within Europe - but it even shows in our understanding of Ancient Roman, Greek and Egyptian culture. Because while we do have a lot more records on these that were preserved, there are gaps in our understanding of how the religious practice throughout those ancient cultures developed, because certain places that held this information were partially or completely destroyed.

This entire idea of the "European Culture" was created from this. From a culture that was in the end a result of early colonialism and violence. Because originally Europe was maybe not quite as diverse as the other continents (given how small Europe is), but so much more diverse in terms of cultures, than the usual narratives tries to make you believe.

#european history #history #medieval history #ancient history #byzantium #byzantine empire #christianity #colonialism #celts #norse #norse paganism #celtic mythology #pagan #paganism

14 notes · View notes

tss-whumper · 6 months

Text

my whump intro!

hey, gang!! i'm annie, you might know me from my main blog (@prodigal-explorer). this is my side blog, and it's a place for all things sanders sides whump! whump isn't a very big thing in this fandom, but i really love it and i think this fandom has so much whump potential.

to clear things up for anyone confused, whump is basically a genre of fanfic/headcanons/content where characters (they are called whumpees) are being hurt either by other characters (they are called whumpers) or by natural elements such as sickness and weather. sometimes, there are characters who help whumpees feel better, or protect them from whumpers (they are called caretakers). whump is sort of like hurt/comfort, but there's not always the guarantee of comfort. whether or not there's comfort is up to personal preference! when it comes to whump, pretty much any kind of pain/injury/hurt is on the table, so when engaging with it, it's important to read tags carefully, just for your own safety!

with this blog, the characters from sanders sides will be playing whumpees, whumpers, and caretakers in an assortment of ways! characters will not always be named. sometimes it will just be (side a) or (side b), or it will just be labeled as "whumper" or "whumpee" if i don't really have a sanders sides character in mind for the scenario.

more info about my page and what i will and won't write below! (warning: i don't censor any of my words, so proceed with caution if that bothers you. some of the content i mention is very sensitive.)

whump themes/ideas/characters/tropes i LOVE writing:

whumpee!roman

whumpee!logan

caretaker!janus

caretaker!remus

caretaker!virgil

whumper!patton

emotional/verbal abuse

physical abuse

familial abuse

religious trauma

pet whump

whumpee turned caretaker

caretaker turned whumpee

caretaker turned whumper

small whumper and large whumpee

medieval whump

canonverse whump

non-canonverse whump

ropes/chains

stress positions

inhumane punishments (especially when they have significant meanings in the story)

sunshine character who is secretly the whumper

whumpers who genuinely think they're doing the right thing

whumpees who are bad people

caretakers who don't know how to be a caretaker/bad caretaker

unreliable narrator

eating disorders

humiliation

age gaps (as long as they're painted in a bad light)

whumpees of marginalized communities (poc, lgbtq+ besides gay cis white men, disabled, fat, jewish, etc.) because there is NOT ENOUGH OF THAT IN THE WHUMP COMMUNITY. i get it's tricky territory and you have to be careful with it, but why are little white guys the only ones getting rescued and taken care of?

descriptive fics

multi-chapter fics

one-shots

drabbles

bullet fics

songfics

scriptfics

whump themes/ideas/characters/tropes i WILL write:

blood/gore

whumpee turned whumper

whumper turned whumpee

suicidal thoughts/ideation

sa/noncon

prostitution

boxboy (though i don't have much experience, so i will be learning as i go!)

whumpee!virgil

whumpee!janus

whumpee!remus

caretaker!roman

caretaker!logan

whumper!virgil

whumper!remus

whumper!janus

whumper!logan

lady whump (it's not my favorite but i'll do it)

delusions

sick whump

emento

wilderness whump

child whump

children whumping children

whump with remy/sleep, c!thomas, and emile picani (i'll write them as any role, whumpee/whumper/caretaker)

whumpee x caretaker (as long as it's not codependent)

toxic whumpee x whumper (where it's clear that the relationship is not a good one)

whumpee x whumpee

courtroom scenes

major character death

unhappy endings

happy endings

bittersweet endings

whump themes/ideas/characters/tropes i WILL NOT write:

whumpee!patton

caretaker!patton

whumper!roman

tiny whump (just not my thing)

fem side x masc side (especially when the whumpee is the fem side)

any whump involving thomas sanders (like the real person) or any of his friends.

anything relating to bodily waste

detailed descriptions of needles (it just freaks me out lol)

feel free to send in an ask requesting anything you want me to write or react to, as long as it's not in the "will not write" category. if you don't see what you want listed anywhere, just assume that i will write it! there isn't a lot that i don't do, but i will not negotiate with the boundaries i have, so please don't try to convince me!

10 notes · View notes

shanaraharlyah · 7 months

Note

Please answer 2, 7, 13, 34 and 50 for the OC ask ♡

Thank yooouuuu!!! 😘😘😘

Thank you so much for the ask, my lovely! 💕 Answering these for Hellendil in the HL fandom of course!

2. Why'd you choose your OC's name?

I have answered this on my side blog, but I will add the answer here as well. 🤍 Hellendil Melinae is the name of an elf OC I created about twelve years ago, brother of my main OC, Sarovanya. Since I needed a magic user for HL I chose to base my MC on him. The name itself is derived from Tolkien's elvish language and means "lover of the sky" (which in hindsight is actually pretty apt for him).

7. What career path would your OC take?

Initially he is interested in a career as a curse-breaker because it would allow him to work alongside his brother in archaeology. However, once he heard Ranrok's tragic backstory and realized how poorly much of wizardkind treat goblins, he decides to pursue a career as a liaison at the Ministry in the hope of advocating for them.

13. What's the worst thing your OC's ever done?

Probably the devastation he caused to Rookwood and his followers when he found out that he was the one who cursed Anne. With that whisper in his ear, he made the connection and just snapped. It haunts him. He may not have used the killing curse, but it terrifies him that he was capable of such destruction and unbridled rage.

34. What's your OC's "thing"?

He's that long haired kid that doesn't wear his uniform and dresses eclectically (very Ravenclaw of him). lol While at school, at least, he's prone to wearing things that aren't exactly fashionable and look more like medieval leather armor. As an adult he's more fashionable, but still doesn't dress in typical fashion.

50. What do you love and hate most about your OC?

I love how genuinely kind and caring he is and how he will stand up against injustice whether it affects him personally or not.

What do I hate? Since he's so focused on other people, making them happy and doing whatever it is they need in the moment, he's the type of person who would cheat. 😞 Not for the sake of cheating or because he wants to, but because that person has a good reason to need it of him. I don't know if this will ever happen, but the possibility is there. Of course it would also eat him up inside afterward when he thinks about what he's done to his partner. He's such a lovely person overall that it's really a disappointing trait.

#oc asks #Hellendil #hogwarts legacy #ocs #my ocs

8 notes · View notes

pyrrhiccomedy · 2 years

Text

I watched Alexander two nights ago but like, Oliver Stone’s third (??) director’s cut of it, the one he did in 2014, and I’d never seen any version of Alexander before, because I’d always heard it was bad, obviously, and ridiculous, and Colin Farrell wears that indescribable Princess Diana wig

and I’ve been thinking about it ever since

like don’t. don’t get me wrong it’s still. it’s a bad movie. and you probably couldn’t find a single person on earth who wouldn’t be offended by some part of it, like whether it’s the “he’s gay because his mom is horny and domineering” part, or the weird, unnecessary almost-rape scene between him and Roxanne, or the “I’m taking my Asians and I’m LEAVING,” or the whole thing where Alexander the Great, a man who famously put all of the men from entire cities to the sword and sold all of the women and children into slavery, was just a sensitive boy who wanted to ~explore the world~

and yet

there’s something compelling about it, Oliver Stone’s frustrated third attempt to wring what surely must be a good movie out of this mess of footage. because there is a good movie in here, somewhere.

I watched this as part of a double feature with Troy (2004), a movie long-time readers of my blog know that I’m obsessed with for its absolute anodyne wrongheadedness in almost every aspect of its creation. No part of Troy seems to understand why any particular decision was made, from casting to camera angles to set design to script.

Alexander is a baffling, confusing, horny compilation of scenes that run one into another without regard for logic, or pacing, or indeed that pedestrian demon “chronology,” but it understands why it was made. It has the feeling of a child’s idea for a story they had before they fell asleep last night, and that child is now excitedly telling you every detail they can remember, out of order, unconcerned with how you, the listener, will receive their vision, because they feel that something very important is being said. Some parts are too long, and don’t make sense. Characters you have never met before are killed onscreen in dramatic confrontations, and then the movie impatiently doubles back to eight years ago to tell you who that was and why you should care. They just, like, skip the entire conquest of Egypt. Like literally in one scene Alexander has been sent into exile by his father the king, and in the very next scene, Alexander is king of Macedonia and has already conquered Egypt and is now about to finish his conquest of Persia. Why. Why. Anthony Hopkins sometimes steps in to explain events that you would much rather have watched unfold on screen. Colin Farrell still never kisses Jared Leto. Maybe it was a contract thing. That doesn’t seem likely. Both of those dudes seem like they would have been down for an on-screen kiss in 2004. I don’t know.

So it’s not a good movie. But it’s a movie genuinely fascinated by its central figure. I may not understand what’s happening from scene to scene, but I understand what’s happening to these people. I understand why all of these characters are screaming and howling and beating their breasts. I understand why I, too, should be fascinated by Alexander’s Alexander.

I wish there were more movies like it. It’s weird, and bad, and everyone’s putting their whole cunts into it. It gets into weird arthouse territory a few times, it trips over its own feet and blunders into a kind of surreal brilliance. It’s like having a kind of racist dream about the medieval romance of Alexander, where you wake up compelled by the core, vivid images, while simultaneously asking yourself, “Orientals? Did I really call people ‘orientals’ in that dream? What the fuck?”

I might sit down and watch the second director’s cut, the one that’s three and a half goddamn hours long, because I get it, Oliver Stone, I think I understand, there is a movie worth watching in this mess. I kind of want to find it, too.

79 notes · View notes