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#or maybe all my favorite characters are being turned into watered down tropes of themselves in order to sell to a wider audience
galionne-speeding · 2 years
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By popular demand, here are some RP/Fanfic ideas I've written down over the last few months! (All of them being about the Deadly Six, because what else did you expect?)
If you like any of these and want to use them for stories/AUs or just take general inspo from them that's totally fine by me! Some of these ideas are ones I like and would like to see developed ; but don't feel like developing myself. So feel free to nick anything you like!
Putting everything under the cut to save your dash-
TITLE: Terror Temple
Starting with my two favorite premises which I might/probably will still do something with, but also really want to share because I think they're cool-
CHARACTER(S): Zavok, Zazz, Zeena, Master Zik, Zomom, Zor, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Eggman, Metal Sonic, Orbot, Cubot
GENRE(S): Adventure, Supernatural
SUMMARY: As Eggman attacks Lost Hex once again and is chased away by the Deadly Six, he runs into an old temple where he is subsequently followed by both the Zetis and Sonic's group. As it turns out however, the abandonned temple may not be as harmless as it first appeared…
TITLE: Aftershock
(The Temple's Curse makes people's fears materialize ; such a filling a room with water due to Sonic not being able to swim and being afraid of drowning)
CHARACTER(S): Zavok, Zazz, Zeena, Master Zik, Zomom, Zor, "Mysterious Foes" (Optionnal), Sonic (Optionnal), Tails (Optionnal)
GENRE(S): Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Family
SUMMARY: When Zavok returns from a brief scouting mission around Lost Hex, he is horrified to find that someone attacked Zeti Castle in his absence. His home is ravaged, the mechs are in pieces- But worst of all, his pack has been gravely injured in the assault. It's now up to Zavok to pick up the pieces and care for his family, at least as best he can…
TITLE: Building the Pack
Some much sweeter, family-centric ideas-
CHARACTER(S): Master Zik, Zavok, Zeena, Zor, Zomom, Zazz
GENRE(S): Adventure, Family, Hurt/Comfort
TITLE: Junior
SUMMARY: Master Zik, renowned warrior and sage, has decided to form a group of young warriors to protect the Lost Hex. He takes his young student Zavok with him on a quest to find more members for their pack.
CHARACTER(S): Zavok, Master Zik, Zazz, Zeena, Zomom, Zor, "Zetling"
GENRE(S): Family, Humor
TITLE: At Your Own Pace
SUMMARY: The Deadly Six's training grounds are a secret location, hard and perilous to reach… So when the group stumbles upon a small, lonely zetling, it's pretty obvious the poor child was left there… And needs to be cared for.
CHARACTER(S): Zavok, Zazz, Zeena, Zomom, Master Zik, Zor
GENRE(S): Family, Comedy
SUMMARY: Lost Hex, over a century ago. The Deadly Six won't exist for several decades, and Master Zik has only just taken five young students under his wing. He watches tenderly over Zavy, Zazz, Zeena, Zomom and Zor as his students train, grow and slowly find themselves, day after day.
EXTRA(S): Trans!Zavok, NB!Zor, Maybe more??
(This one was written specifically to explore some headcanons about the D6 I don't usually use when writing them)
TITLE: The BIG Swap
And the last two, which I don't really know how to classify-
CHARACTER(S): Zavok, Zazz, Zeena, Master Zik, Zomom, Zor, Sonic, Tails, Eggman, Orbot, Cubot (+ Possibly more)
GENRE(S): Comedy, Adventure
TITLE: On the 6th Floor // Mobius City
SUMMARY: Another day, another fight between the Deadly Six and the Mobians invading their territory. What happens, however, when one of Eggman's experimental weapons malfunctions, causing everyone to… Swap bodies with each other?! Wait, isn't this a really cliché and overdone trope-?
CHARACTERS: The Deadly Six, Literally anyone/everyone else
GENRE(S): Family, Friendship, Fluff, Comedy
SUMMARY: (Alternate Universe) A modern version of Sonic's world, set in the bustling town of Mobius City. Everyone has their own life to lead ; going to school, to work, falling in love, paying taxes, chasing their dreams, going grocery shopping… Hopefully with a little bit of fun and chaos sprinkled in.
(AKA the daily lives of a group of Zetis living on the 6th floor of their appartment building. Zavok is a succesful but tired salaryman, Zor is a uni student, Zik is a retired yoga teacher ; the others all have some kind of part-time job to support the family)
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film-bones · 3 years
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marvel really is the queen of having fascinating story concepts and then immediately processing them through the disney/military machine in order to make it consumable and influenceable to children
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alfredolover119 · 3 years
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I looooove your zukka rec lists! I recently became Avatar-obsessed, never got a chance to watch it as a kid and only just got through it all! I was wondering if you'd consider doing a specifically angst rec list? I love fluffy zukka everything, but sometimes you just gotta have your heart ripped out of your chest and put back in after being thoroughly blended.
thank you! i relate heavily to “recently became Avatar-obsessed” haha. as for the angst list, i sure can try! warning: all of these have happy endings because im a crybaby who can’t read unhappy endings. also, p much all of the fics in the completed section were featured on my other lists but this is specifically the ANGSTY ones >:^)
angsty zukka wips
first, most obviously, feels like we only go backwards by @oldpotatoe
-currently at 102k with 19/27 chapters posted; rated teen
-the amnesia fic. the amnesia fic. the amnesia fic. you know. i haven’t actually read it yet because, as previously mentioned, i’m a crybaby and am waiting for it to finish up but, from my understanding, this fic will murder you in a dark alleyway with no remorse. if u like zukka angst, you’ve probably already read this, but just in case!
An injury leaves Sokka with amnesia. His last memory is of the failed invasion, of leaving his father behind in enemy territory on the Day of Black Sun. Of hopelessness. Rage. // But then he wakes up, and the war is over. Suddenly, he must come to terms with the fact that years have passed, and that he's somehow the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador to the Fire Nation. He is also supposedly friends with banished-Prince-turned-Fire-Lord Zuko, of all people. Close friends.
Yeah, nah.
and i’ll do anything you say (if you say it with your hands) by @goldrushzukka
-currently 38k with 6/8 chapters posted; rated mature
-holy shit. holy SHIT. modern au based on the “my cat likes my fuckbuddy and i am falling in love” trope(?). maybe it’s just because of how the last chapter ended, but oh my god. this one made me cry. made me want to commit violence. when it’s not angsty as hell, it’s pretty funny, but holy shit. ao3 user nebulastucky please.
It’s supposed to be a one night stand. Pick up some guy at a bar, barely remember his name and never learn anything real about him, send him packing in the morning with a thanks for the ride and a cup of coffee to-go. That’s how it’s supposed to go. // But then it’s the best sex Sokka has ever had, and he thinks he’ll hate himself if he never gets to have it again.
Violet Blossoms and Celestial Objects by @hollypunkers
-currently 15k with 2/? posted. rated teen.
-this is the sequel to blue (an angsty, zukka rewrite of book 2-- go read it if u havent!)! !! this is a book 3 rewrite. only two chapters in and mrs hollypunkers is really abusing the miscommunication tag, as zukka writers seem to enjoy doing. im excited to see how the world and story develops with the changes to the story! you should be too!! its very good! obviously spoilers for blue lmao
Having sided with the Avatar in Ba Sing Se, Zuko not only must navigate his new relationship with Sokka but returning to the Fire Nation as a banished enemy. His own journey of self discovery and personal growth must now coexist alongside the personal struggles of every other member of the Gaang as together they blaze a treacherous path toward an unsure victory against Zuko's own father and nation.
breakable heaven by @fruitysokka
-currently 71k with 9/11 chapters posted. rated teen
-swt ambassador zuko! soon to be chief sokka! fake dating ur best friend to get out of an arranged marriage! what could go wrong!!! i also haven’t read this one ((see: i’m a crybaby who is being hurt by too many zukka wips already)), but it has been hanging out in my marked for later for months. from what i understand, this fic has: angst.
With his twenty-first birthday looming just around the corner, the Southern Water Tribe Elders have decided that Sokka, next in line to be Chief, needs to get married. Sokka does not want that, but he does need to get them off his back until he can figure his way out of it. What better way to do that than to pretend to date his best friend (and newly minted Ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe) Zuko? // Seriously, this is a foolproof plan. Maybe one of Sokka's best. Absolutely nothing can go wrong.
angsty zukka fics (completed!)
(i’ll put these in wc order)
lighthouse beam by @incorrectzukka
-7k, rated g
-a modern college au!! zuko’s inner-monologue is very angsty in this fic. typical zuko. also per usual, theyre both fucking dorks. they sort themselves out in the end, but not before The Angst. zuko is semi-deaf in this fic and also he has a bit of internalized homophobia.
Sokka’s breathtakingly beautiful and he’s smart and makes other people laugh. Zuko has a half-burnt face and a deaf ear. It’s not rocket science. // Or, Zuko falls in love with the boy in his Philosophy class.
This Isn’t My Idea of Fun by @khaleeseas
-9k, explicit
-moon spirit/nwt prince!sokka, no war to be found here! admittedly this isnt THAT angsty but like. the angst IS present. zuko is still the prince. a lovely childhood friends (though they hated each other for a minute haha) to lovers story. 
If you asked Zuko, he and Azula saw far too much of Chief Hakoda of the Northern Water Tribe’s children growing up. It wasn’t until they were older, and Azula pointed out that - duh - their families were trying to set them all up, that he realized why. // He was told by his mother to be polite. These people were their friends and allies, and though their nations were as different as they came, harmony between nations was the most important thing. // It wasn’t his fault the Chief’s children were so annoying.
put your lips close to mine (as long as they don’t touch) by @celestialceci
-9k, teen
-modern au! zuko and sokka are college roommates. zuko goes to spend the summer with sokka. again,, not really that angsty but-- its there!! the detail and feeling of Home in this story make me happy. zuko is insecure as hell here too. if ur into that. 
Zuko hates his home. He likes college alright, but he likes Sokka even better, his assigned roommate turned best friend. Spending the summer with Sokka will be fun, a welcome change of pace he desperately wants. It probably won't awaken anything in him... right?
the thing about dancing by anodymalion
-9k, teen
-yes. this one right here officer. it makes my heart ache. also trans sokka! which is cool. but the zuko angst in this one. hurts me. not so much relationship angst as it is zuko learning he deserves happiness angst. i’m sure u know The Type.
The first time a attendant spills Zuko’s tea and doesn’t immediately fall to her knees, begging the Fire Lord’s forgiveness, it is not anger but a resounding warmth that fills his chest.
i could (never) give you peace by @zukkababey
-10k, mature
-OUCH. OUCH OUCH OUCH. boys please learn to communicate im begging u. also zuko.. zuko, dude. as the tags of the fic say, hes “really going through it” in this one. YOUCH. post-canon.
Zuko almost said it. He almost said the words I think I’m in love with you, but he choked them back down at the last second. // Zuko would never be able to be what Sokka wanted. They might have needed each other during the summer, when two boys with too much weight on their shoulders found comfort in each other in the only way they knew how. // But now Zuko was Fire Lord, and Sokka was leaving.
this love burns so yellow (becoming orange and in its time, exploding) by @meliebee 
-18k, teen, major character death 
-i lied. THIS is the one, officer. found family.. good mai and zuko and toph friendships.. . ozai escapes prison and tries to overthrow zuko. OBVIOUSLY angst ensues. poor boy. he Does heal in this but it gets worse before it gets better. angst angst angst angst.
Ten months after Zuko is crowned at seventeen, he faces his first coup.
Anything for You by beersforqueers
-23k, explicit
-istg. this is probably one of my favorite zukka fics. its PAINFUL. modern au where theyre broken up but sokka hasnt told his family yet so zuko goes home with him for kataang wedding. a bit smutty, but the plot oh my god ohgm y fuvk. made me cry the first time i read it. (see: crybaby!me) insert that one picture of the horse with the caption PAIN. 
In which Sokka and Zuko have broken up but Sokka hasn't told his family yet. So when Katara and Aang's wedding weekend rolls around and he doesn't want to break Gran-Gran's heart, he asks Zuko to pretend to be his boyfriend for one last weekend. // Things don't go as planned.
Moving Mountains by @thefangirlingdead
-64k, mature
-so. when i read this the first time it was in one sitting. soulmate au set within canon era / the comics, to an extent. soulmates can hear each others thoughts. i will happily say this is slowburn, jesus christ. champagne without the cham. 
Soulmates are chosen by the spirits and can hear each other’s thoughts. Sokka thinks it’s cheesy and dumb. Zuko thinks it’s poetic justice that he doesn’t have one because he doesn’t deserve it. Cruel irony is finding out that the prince of the Fire Nation (and the person currently hunting you) is your soulmate.
In the Soft Light by @voidcenturyscholar and @romancedawning
-83k, teen, graphic depictions of violence
-moon spirit!sokka living in the northern water tribe. zuko is sent to the northern water tribe as a cultural liaison. iroh is the fire lord but while he is away taking care of lu ten after his injury ozai steps up. i cannot express how many emotions this fic made me feel. background yuetara. i would almost say found family?? but. anyway. plenty of angst to spare here with a healthy dose of enemies to friends to lovers.
As the newly appointed cultural liaison to Northern Water Tribe, Zuko is the first Fire Nation Citizen to step foot inside the city's walls in nearly a century. He's determined to prove himself—to the Fire Lord and to his father—even if the Water Tribe's spirit-touched prince seems to want nothing to do with him.
That Midnight Sky by @zukkababey
-103k, teen
-now now now. tms... modern college au where sokka agrees to tutor zuko in physics because zuko has to maintain straight a’s and physics is just not doing it for him. so. thats cool but THEN azula moves in, randomly, with zuko. to hide the fact that sokka is tutoring zuko, they fake date! what could go wrong!! the mutual pining in here combined with the angst... wonderful, tasty. everyone read it rn. also SLOWBURN 
In Zuko’s strict family, needing a tutor is just about the worst thing you could do. Failing a class, however, is even worse. The only rational solution? Take up Aang on his offer to find him a physics tutor and have Sokka—beautiful, smart, handsome Sokka—tutor him in secret. // When Azula’s arrival threatens to reveal Zuko’s secret, it’s up to Sokka to convince her this definitely isn’t what it looks like. See, he’s actually… Zuko’s… boyfriend? // Hmm. There’s no way this could get complicated, right?
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lordmomohismomoness · 4 years
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Here are my top Zutara fanfiction recs.
The biggest factor in my ranking and why I recommend them is because I had a hard time putting them down. Other than that, they are pretty all over the place in terms of content and setting.
  His Majesty Prefers Blue by Shamelessliar
Rated M  212K+ words  Completed 2012
A year after the war's end, the gaang returns to the Fire Nation for a week of diplomatic meetings. There, they hear rumors about a vigilante who wears a blue mask and Katara finds herself digging deeper into his identity and motives. Blue/Zutara Lemons
Trigger warnings: rape, torture (1 scene)
This is my absolute favorite fic. It has a little bit of everything: romance, humor, drama, suspense. There is an actual plot too! It is also one of few fics which show Zuko and Katara being a great team.
  When The Mask Comes Off by Jamie Hasaku
Rated K  73K+ words  Completed 2006
After freeing her and her friends from capture, Zuko has no choice but to care for a gravely injured Katara, who was left behind by accident. The trick? Keeping his face hidden so she doesn’t hurt herself even more by trying to fight him. Zutara Blutara
This is not your average capture fic. Katara is still pretty badass. The scene where she finds out who is behind the mask made my heart melt. Hanae is one of my favorite OCs ever! It does have a sequel which has been abandoned, but that doesn't change the fact that this story is wonderful by itself.
  The Dragon and the Siren (AO3) The Dragon and the Siren (ff.net) by CultofStrawberry
Rated M/T  147K+ words  Completed 2012
Zutara, Hades x Persephone inspired. In a land of gods and spirits, Katara is the daughter of the Sea, and Zuko is the powerful and reclusive God of the Fire Realms. Zuko has been pining for her for too long... so he finally takes action.
Being a huge fan of Greek mythology and A:TLA, I did not think I would enjoy this fic. I was pleasantly surprised as the author combined the two seamlessly. The worldbuilding is amazing and the tale is not an exact replica of the myth. The AO3 link contains smut, but is incomplete. The fanfiction link has the completed story.
  Subterfuge by Smylealong
Rated M  113K+ words  WIP last updated Oct 2020
Thirty years ago, the Fire Nation attacked, throwing the world off balance. Katara entered the Fire Nation war camp at Ba Sing Se as a healer, prepared to do whatever it takes to play her part in stopping the war. Getting kidnapped with the Fire Prince and falling in love with him were not parts of the plan. AU. Zutara.
Trigger Warnings: Sexual Assault, Incest, Graphic Depiction of Violence
This fic is VERY dark. However, the writing is amazing which more than makes up for it.
  Dancing in the Dark by DamageCtrl
Rated T  61K+ words Complete 2006
Post-Season 2 AU: While in Ba Sing Se, Katara and Toph hear a rumor about two tea servers in the lower tiers of Ba Sing Se and sneak away go to investigate only to have their suspicions confirmed. On her personal time, Katara tries to teach herself to dance and fails so badly, a masked man takes pity on her to try to help.
In case you haven't noticed, I LOVE the Blue Spirit. This fic is full of fluff, and awkward Zuko is my favorite Zuko. It does start slow, but once you get into it, it is a pretty cute story. Zuko is the one with multiple suitors for once.
  Twist Me to the Left by Grapefruittwostep
Rated T  91K+ words  Complete 2017
So here Zuko is, with no family, no band, and no more record contract. Just another punker with a guitar who thinks he's got what it takes. Then he meets Avatar, the band breaking all the rules. They've got everything going for them, the rising star, and they're everything Zuko isn't. But maybe, just maybe, they want a new guitarist. As long as the pretty keyboardist with the blue eyes doesn't murder Zuko first.
Warnings: References to Drugs
This is a college age AU with an angsty emo/punk Zuko. A fluffy enemies to lovers trope, but fun nonetheless.
  Don't Stand So Close To Me by Cinemascope08
Rated M  76K+ words  Abandoned 2013
Katara and the Gaang are in full swing at Ba Sing Se University when interactions with a new professor start affecting Katara's life in increasingly complicated ways. Rated M for scenes of a graphic nature.
Trigger Warning: Torture, Murder, BDSM, Incest
Another really dark fic, but it takes a bit to get there. Once it does, you are hooked by the suspense. It is abandoned, but still a good read.
  So let us melt and make no noise by LittleLostStar
Rated M 69K+ words  WIP last updated Jan 2021
When a mission to the South Pole goes awry, Prince Zuko awakens in the home of a healer named Katara and finds his heart is damaged and his bending has vanished. His quest to find the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe is his destiny-- the one chance to regain his honour and return home. But as time passes and Zuko's heart heals, it becomes clear that Katara is protecting an ancient secret of her own, and that both of their destinies are entwined in ways never before thought possible.
We get to see Zuko at the mercy of Katara here. And this fic has an actual plot to it, which is an easy way to get into my good graces. There is a lot of mystery and suspense. It has slow updates, but the author has commented that she intends to complete it.
  Butterflies and Hurricanes by Rerbirth of the Phoenix
Rated T  103K+ words  Complete 2012
"You may find yourself capturing hearts that you are forbidden to keep." She is a servant. He is a Prince. Together they are about to go against everything that keeps the world at peace. Zutara
This one took me a bit to get into, as I was bothered by the ages at the start. Fortunately, it takes place over several years so we see the relationship develop. No spoilers, but wow the ending really got me.
  The Penance Series by delectate
Rated M  39K+ words  Complete 2010
The road to forgiveness is long and arduous...just ask Zuko. Season 3 Zutara, following the episodes past 312. Rated M for Mature.
Warnings: BDSM
Zuko is taken prisoner at the western air temple. As it turns out, Zuko is a masochist and Katara lets her freak flag fly. I like this one because it does such a different take on the characters, and it actually makes sense that Zuko would be a masochist since he has such a messed up family.
  Lotus Lake by Rebirth of the Phoenix
Rated T 65K+ words  Complete 2006
Zutara AU. An orphaned Katara and her brother find themselves at boarding school. Katara's first thoughts are that her life will now be filled with boredom. How wrong she was!
Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse
This is a bonus rec. While not super high on my list, it is still an enjoyable story. Plus, I really like the boarding school premise since I love shows like Rebelde and Het Huis Anubis. I would have liked to see more drama with Jet though. Still a good one if you are looking for fluff.
  I added some more to my top recs!
  Indigo Summer by Serendipitea
Rated T  21K words  Complete 2020
Zuko takes up a life guarding job the summer before going off to university. What he doesn't expect is to be completely distracted by the surfer girl with bright blue eyes.
This one is just so darn cute
  And expectations she won't meet by Gxldentrio
Rated  T  8K words  Completed 2020
Katara’s organic chemistry TA is an asshole ----- or is he?
A texting/social media fic that I reread all the time because it is just that GOOD! I love the way the author uses all the character's interactions to tell a cohesive story.
  (if my wishes came true) it would have been you by TheDecension
Rated  T  34K words  WIP Last updated Mar 2021
Katara overshares on the internet. Zuko makes it a point to only lurk. Good thing there's nothing tying their online adventures to their real lives — right?
Or, Katara and Zuko have something of a history, and when they reconnect after months of silence, there could be more going on behind the scenes than they realize.
If you haven't heard of this one, you should! It is though social media posts and text, and it is just wonderful!
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reversemoon255 · 3 years
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Healin' Good Precure
I finished another season of Precure; yeah! It's not that I didn't watch Hugtto or Twinkle, but I had issues with the sub groups I was following during both seasons, and fell off half-way through. Which sucks because I heard Twinkle ended up being really good. I do have all the episodes I haven't watched saved somewhere, but whether I'll get to them or not is up in the air as I'm really bad at binging shows.
But we're not here to talk about those seasons, we're here to talk about the latest season, which I quite enjoyed. It was definitely on the more mellow side of the spectrum, but it had a very well-rounded cast of both humans, faeries, and villains, which fits the more slice-of-life attitude the show rolled with. Is it my favorite? No, but I think it still had a lot of positive things going for it.
The Good: Let's start with the characters. Nodoka was a very chill pink, which is a nice change of pace. Pinks are usually very energetic and outgoing, and Nodoka still has those characteristics, but a much more laid-back personality. Her backstory is also very poignant for the series, and how it ends up tying into the plot was not unforeseeable, but still well executed. Chiyu is a standard cool blue with chinks in her armor, but like Nodoka is usually very laid back which helps her stand out amongst the crowd. Despite how generic she seems on paper, I can't really think of another blue that acts like Chiyu, which is a point in the positive. Hinata has the quirky yellow thing down flat. In terms of general personality, she acts more like a pink than Nodoka does. She's also two character tropes we haven't seen in Precure yet: Gyaru and Dumb. I don't mean anything bad by that, but Hinata definitely acts very anime-gyaru, which is very funny to me as I feel like Gyaru are typically not portrayed as role models. She's also not smart; and don't get me wrong, there are plenty of Precure that aren't geniuses, but Hinata actively tries and doesn't have the attention span to do it. It makes her far too relatable as someone who was not the biggest fan of school. Asumi was an interesting take on the fairy-turned-Precure idea, basically being a husk that has to experience emotions for the first time. She is also very mellow, making it 3-for-4. It's a very laid back team.
Rabirin, Pegitan, and Nyatoran are all very good faries. They can carry entire scenes and episodes on their own, and despite their cute appearances are able to do it with as much weight as a human character. Latte may also be my favorite fairy ever, as she's a non-talking dog, and just acts like a very smart dog. It's both adorable and hilarious. The Pathogerms are also pretty well done. They all have very standard personalities and drives, but there's nuances to how they act and do things. When we get to them evolving, each of them creates their own way of making more powerful Mega and Gigapathogerms. And the fact that none of them are redeemed is very different for Precure, but not unwelcome. They have their funny moments, but they were bad guys through and through.
I'll also say that the character development for this season was very different than what we normally see. Like, most of the time it's "I'm shy and want to be more outgoing," "I'm aiming for my dream job," or something along those lines. Here, other than maybe Pegitan, nobody really goes through that type of standard, measurable progression. Nodoka's big character moment is realizing she doesn't have to put herself at risk to help others if she doesn't want to. Chiyu's is realizing she can have multiple interests. And Hinata is just realizing she's ok as she is and doesn't need to try and change. None of them are bad revelations, it's just none of the characters really go through anything that fundamentally changes them as a person; they're all pretty much the same from start to finish. Which, they're all 14. It's not super weird.
The plot feels very in-style with what Toei's been doing for a bit now. It's very episodic. Not a ton of huge shake-ups, and those that we do get are resolved pretty quickly so people tuning in for the first time or skip episodes don't get lost. It's the type of show that feels formulated to attract new viewers, and I'm ok with it since everything was well written. I can't think of an episode I didn't think was at least decent, and there were a few gems sprinkled throughout. The one-off characters from all those episodes have very distinct personalities, and nothing ever felt too rushed.
One thing though; I get this is the doctor series, but I find it strange that they went with the usual Earth-Water-Sky motif, and not have any aspects of the animal partners be incorporated into the actual costume design. They didn't have to go all out, like in Kira Kira, but I don't think they even had a paw-print on anything but their weapons.
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The Bad: So I mentioned one-off characters earlier, and one of my problems with this show is that it's filled with one-off characters. Other than the parents, there are no real reoccurring characters. No other friends they all hang out with. It's just the main cast most of the time. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as it allows more time for developing the characters you care about, but at the same time it makes the focus of the show very narrow, to the point that  near the end of the series you can't help but think "Oh yeah, this takes place in more than a small town." And while I feel for the characters when they're going through something tough, there weren’t that many moments like that. There’s a lack of overall investment. Even near the finale, I never walked away from an episode begging for more. There were plenty of times where I'd just binge through a month's worth of episodes while doing other stuff. And, again, that's not a bad thing, but, even if I didn't finish it, I got that feeling of investment from Star Twinkle, from Kira Kira, from Maho. Maybe it's because the Precure themselves were seldom attacked? The only mess-with-your-character moment I can think of is when Nodoka get infected, and that was just because she stumbled onto Daruizen; he wasn't actively targeting her. It's more that the chill nature of the show has a double-edged nature to it. It's cute and fun and easy to watch, but you're not going to walk away with it changed in any way, like I was with Go! Princess.
And on the ending, it was very abrupt. I know a few episodes got cut, but that would have been known near the start of the series, and there was plenty of filler. As much as I complain about the time issues associated with the epilogues in accordance to new series and crossover movies, this felt like a season that could have used it. In fact, I think it's the first since Princess to not have one.
Overall, I'm fealin' good ‘bout Healin' Good. It's a nice, easy watch with some fun characters. It's just not very meaty, and I could have used a little more. I'm looking forward to Tropical Rouge. It's already starting out with some interesting premises, like having Summer copy the Zenkaiser color scheme, staying away from the typical colors, etc. Also, whenever I try and design a Precure season (because I get bored at work and do that sometimes) I always do an ocean theme in a seaside town. In fact, Coral is usually the name I give my pink. But enough about how my mind wanders; let's hope the next season is just as fun, but a bit more compelling than this season.
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durotoswrites · 3 years
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🧑💎🎁 i hope you feel better soon by the way! i’ve never had heat exhaustion but it sounds scary 😦
Ask me about my writing processes and stories!
I'm feeling mostly like myself this evening. It wiped me out a lot more than expected it to. Thank you everyone for the get well wishes!
🧑 Favorite character to write:
Short answer: Harvest Moon’s Cliff (all incarnations)
Long answer: I don’t think it’s really any secret that my favorite Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons characters to write for are the ones that reside at Doug’s Inn. I see Doug, Ann, Gray, Kai, and Cliff as a large, dysfunctional family – AKA Doug and all of his children, haha. There are so many different personalities in one small space playing off of one another, and there’s so much fun to be had. I loved how all the guys in shared a room in the GBA version of Mineral Town. It kinda reminds me of those cheesy sitcoms where clashing personalities all reside under the same roof. That being said, there is a particular shy, reclusive young man who blossoms with confidence as he finds purpose in his life. Bonus: he comes with a vague, tragic past that has tons of potential for exploration. I have a hard time resisting woobie-type characters.
💎Favorite trope to write?
Ah, there are so many tropes out there…
I really like writing characters who appear to be strong, but if they get hit in that crack in their armor, they just fall apart. Kinda like how in TSN Karen is very soft for her friends despite coming off as sassy and in control, and more recently some stuff has been going on with Gray, who typically can keep a stoic (or at least pissed-off) expression. Having those “stronger” characters actually lean on someone is really satisfying to write, and it’s also a great way to showcase how the “softer” characters are actually really strong themselves. On the flipside of that, I also like writing softer characters slowly realizing their strong points and becoming more confident, too.
Do those count as tropes?
Other ones that I like (not a conclusive list):
SLOW BURN
Found family
“It’s not what it looks like!”
P I N I N G
Awkward flirting
Begrudging friendships that turn into besties
Smartass with a heart of gold
Liquid courage
Party scenes in general
Cameos
Only one bed
🎁 Have a quote from a WIP?
I would take this to mean a quote for something upcoming. Here's a snippet for the next chapter of The Shy Newcomer that I drafted last night. Spoilers under the cut!
Cliff rinsed off his razor and continued, realizing how long it had felt since he had washed up and shaved on his own. He frowned; Elli was likely worn ragged from all the care she put into him. He thought of her kind eyes as she had helped him into the bath, her gentle voice as the warm water lapped over his skin. The nurse had told lighthearted tales about her and Stu or silly moments she and Mary had shared to keep the mood light and eliminate any awkwardness between them as she tended to him.
He had caught her eye from time to time as she had cut his hair, her cheeks blushing to a bright pink as she let out a nervous laugh, continuing her work. She really had been far too kind.
I asked too much of Elli...
I asked too much of everyone.
Maybe I always have.
The shaky smile he had forced on his lips dropped as he caught his eyes in the reflection of the mirror.
It's not a 'maybe' – it's a 'definitely'.
He focused on the tired bags under his eyes; they had been getting better but last night left him looking as exhausted as he felt. His face had lost a lot of the boyish roundness that was in his family photo. It had only become slimmer since he moved into town and he couldn't tell if he simply looked older or sickly. His gaze traveled down the scars that crawled up his arms and he let out a heavy sigh when he spotted an offensive row of marks and fading bruises left from the IV treatments Elli gave him; he avoided fixating on his reflection for a reason.
So pathetic... I'm not even allowed to lift things at work right now...
His gaze moved down his bare torso, and he sighed at his narrow waist. He was a far cry from his strong, barrel-chested father. Surely Flint had been much more capable than Cliff was when he was his age.
You can still almost see my ribs. It's like I undid a lot of the weight I managed to put back on...
I'm sorry Elli had to look at... all of this.
Bright sapphire eyes with flushed cheeks and wisps of golden hair made his heart throb, remembering the other evening.
Why would Claire ever want to kiss me? I'm so-
He was grateful for the smart rapping at the bathroom door.
“Yo! You can wear another one of my sweatshirts if you want today!” Gray's voice sounded more like a command than an offer. “Supposed to be cold...”
Cliff tore his eyes from the mirror grateful his trance had been broken. “Oh, uh... I have something I can wear...”
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Dragonball GT is the worst series of all the Dragonball series.
I recently watched a video created by Totally Not Mark about which series is better out of GT and Super when it came to the franchise in general and part of me remembered my huge dislike towards the series so I figured I’d get on my keyboard and do that good ol’ fashioned “post an opinion” onto Tumblr because that is what the site is mostly for. So Instead of posting about how I think super is better I’m going to just post why the hell GT is a horrible show to me and the things it gets right and why in general the show is horrible. Now before I get into that context I am in no way a super fan or the type of person who says that subs are better than dubs because we all love anime and shouldn’t restrict others from liking their thing because we fill we are superior to each other based on our willingness to read or because we think “that the voice actors in Japan are so much better and you lose the feeling you get when you watch Americans try and fail at it”. Look as a filthy casual who usually never gets angry or upset at most things my reasons for disliking GT aren’t going to be what most people would see as a bad thing or even say the reasons I like GT are the exact same reasons and if you can come to appreciate the reasons I give that’s cool and if you disagree that is fine as well as long as it leads to civil discourse because again, it’s anime and no one is superior in their likes to another just because of some arbitrary reasons. In the end, it’s all just cartoons. So before I get into why i dislike GT at every turn I see it show up I have to praise it for what it does right to me. That is the visuals of the how the characters looks. See I get that it’s like 10 years into the future or something like that and some people now look way too old like Krillin or just don’t show up ever unless it doesn’t matter but with who we got they look great and I would never take away how good they look. Also the villains as much as I will get into them are actually kinda cool in their own right and aren’t the worst ideas just implemented in such a poor manner that any real good they do is kinda mitigated by the fact that they are almost identical to some other villain in the end. So now with that out of the way I’m going to get into why GT is one of the worst anime of all time. At least to me.  So what makes Dragonball so great is it is a comedy genre even near the final seasons. They either had shitty reasons to amass an army or in general did silly things like make a holiday after themselves when they finally succeeded in ruling the world but in the end the genre of action anime is pretty much parodied with how it is a child who goes in and defeats these muscle men. We have a child who was never really raised by a normal adult trying to fit into a world outside of his normal views and fights these villains who against normal people would lose but in the end they all end up losing to a little boy. It’s a nice adventure with laughs and enough action to really get people to enjoy it. As much as I like Dragonball I never really liked it as much as Z. Yes I do know that it is mostly just Z over here in the west but I don’t see them really being the same manga with the shift in tone that the two had and the styles of adventure they ended up having in Z is so vastly different in comparison that to me they are totally different series when compared to each other. Also I was growing up when Z first came over to America so I didn’t see Dragonball until after it made its first debut on Toonami. So again, totally different series to me.  As for Z? Well Z is my favorite anime of all time. It’s by far not the best anime ever but I do believe it is the best action anime of all time for a couple of reasons. 1: I love how in the end they just fight better versions of the previous final boss. Vegeta? That’s just stronger Raditz who can transform. Frieza? That’s just stronger Vegeta who can transform multiple times. Cell? Thats just stronger Frieza who can transform multiple times, Regenerate, Use everyones powers, and also absorb people. You get the picture by now. Everyone else who comes after is just a “better version” of the last and that tickles my fancy. 2: It helped make certain parts of the genre of shonen manga via the introduction of tropes. Transformations weren’t really a thing before Z came along and pretty much every action anime since then has used tropes that Z has introduced. 3: It still holds up today in being a good anime and manga and in general the popularity of it was so big that even now when I’m a 30 something year old that it got a new series to continue even after GT finished it off in Super. These are the reason I think it’s the best action anime of all time but again, feel free to disagree if you want to.  As for why GT is such a shit show to me it all comes down to the fact that it introduces absolutely nothing new when it comes to itself that even the villains and the characters are a little in general copies of other characters. That and no one matters compared to Goku. If we start it off sure we have people like Trunks and Pan and even “insert comedy character who is only here because plot that could just be ignored and even removed” A.K.A. Giru. See the series starts off pretty generic in that Goku is training Uub up in the look out. He just disappeared and is finishing his time in what I assume was a 10 year training session. We are introduced to our first “villains” in Pilaf and his crew. They are finding out about not only gods look out but they also find a new set of dragonballs. Convenient plot details that are either confusing or just there to set up the series. Firstly before I get into that why was this never said before, Why did Bulma never pick up on these dragonballs, Why did pilaf just now find them if he’d been searching his entire life after dragonball? So many questions in general but still. Not the point. The point is this, they don’t have a real reason except to introduce our first main villains. Pilaf and his gang. A little weird when you look at it cause Pilaf has been bested so many times that him succeeding now seems like a stupid thing to happen. Thankfully his success is only to again, push the story. Goku and his gang have to now search for the dragonballs. Which is exactly what happened in Dragonball. This time, it’s across the universe. This is where my ability to really in general compare the shows ends. That is until in general I get to the final stretch. See there are very few things I can equate to Dragonball besides the adventure of the day aspect. You have the obvious nod towards Oolong with Zoonama who both want to marry a girl and end up falling for a boy in drag. You have the fact of Goku with a tech savvy Briefs person as well as a spunky fighter. Goku is a kid. Maybe a couple other things if I looked it up and compared but the main thing is that first section of GT is based heavily on Dragonball in general. The final stretch part begins with the “Red Ribbon Army” copy in the General Rildo part with Dr Myuu who is just also a copy of Android 20. So after this part finishes it kicks into the saiyan saga of DBZ. Baby is by far a complete knock off of 3 villains in DBZ being comprised of Vegeta, Frieza, and Garlic Jr. Why is this so? let’s face it, If you compare those 3 with him its basically a one for one beat on what he does with someone else. Firstly he’s in the body of Vegeta and even when he starts losing he goes and just becomes a great ape. Pretty much what Vegeta does in the first saga of Z. As for Frieza they can both survive in space, Has multiple different forms and lastly he hates saiyans. Now sure the reason is different but the disdain for them is pretty much comparing blue to a lighter shade of blue that looks just like blue. We could even mention that Baby is like Cell in that they are both made by science but the comparisons end there. As for Garlic Jr Baby does the same thing in taking control of people and making them the same as with the black water mist. These are what make Baby pretty much a whole of 3 separate people. Next comes the Androids and cell. Super 17 is pretty much just perfect cell. You have past villains returning to take out Goku. Those of which are Frieza and Cell. Which funny enough Frieza comes back but dies by trunks who warns of 2 androids coming to fight against Goku and kill him. Which comes in the forms of Dr Myuu and Dr Gero. Both of which, are you know, not the main androids being talked about. In fact it’s actually 17 and hell 17. Both of which are going to fuse and make one super android who changes forms into basically cell in that he can absorb energy and also has infinite energy as well. These are basically the main parts except that the end takes multiple people to fight off and kill Super 17. To which they then wish back people with the dragonballs because one of the Z fighters died and they want to bring them back. Seems that it would be fine except for the small little detail of its an evil dark dragon who when after granting the 7th wish he creates these evil dragons. Before I get into those dragons lemme question this. If Kami and Piccolo fused and the dragonballs stopped existing for a bit and it took Dende a new person to create new dragonballs wouldn’t he know of the evil dragons as well as also in general start a new chain thus stopping 7 evil dragons from existing? Oh well, at least we get 7 different dragons for Specifically only Goku to fight against. I can see people saying how can you compare the evil dragons to Buu which it’s a lot easier than you would think. How many different forms of Buu are there? would you guess about maybe 7? Cause there are 7 different forms of Buu. 6 of which are different forms when he absorbs other people. So lets take it this way. Omega Shenron also absorbs 6 different “people” in the 6 different dragonballs that aren’t his. Sure, he only gets one more form in that he has now been transformed into Omega from Syn Shenron but still. Transformations are a check. So what are the 7 different forms of Buu? 1:Kid Buu 2: Buff Buu which is when he absorbs the southern Supreme Kai. 3: Fat Buu which he gets from absorbing the Supreme Kai. 4: Evil old Buu. 5: Super buu. 6: Super buu with Gotenks absorbed. 7: Super Buu with Piccolo absorbed. 8: Piccolo with Gohan absorbed. Now some of you might be saying “that’s 8 different forms of Buu and not 7″ But in the end Syn and Omega are both different “forms” thus making 8 different forms of dragons as well. The main part that gets annoying though is how they defeat Shenron. Firstly they use fusion and then don’t win even though they could have in the end. Why? Arbitrary reasons. See in Z it was because Vegito wanted to be fused to save the others. In GT it’s cause they needed to defeat him with the spirit bomb. Just like they did with Buu. Both spirit bombs are also involving a larger amount of people than normal. In Z it was all of earth. Every person. In GT it was the whole universe. That’s not even the final part of how it’s the same. At the end of Z Goku says goodbye to his friends and fucks off. GT does the exact same thing. The show is honestly pretty much a beat for beat of Dragonball and Z. It adds nothing to the universe and what it does add  is half assed. Things like Vegeta having an epiphany that Goku is better than him twice at the final end villain or having Goku lose a tournament as a child or stuff like that fill in the cracks of the shit cake that is GT with more shit that doesn’t help or make it better. GT even fails to make what it had that was great good. The use of a new level of SSJ to defeat Baby was also used in the same ways of how Kaioken wasn’t enough to beat Frieza and then SSJ was also attained then. Everything is on a bigger scale while being comparable to the smaller scale before it. The reason I don’t compare this with Super as that even when it takes from earlier seasons of DBZ or anything else it is fresh in comparison. Goku and Vegeta doing their rivalry? not beat for beat. Older characters? They have use. Repeat villains? Frieza is almost a completely new person with his arc in that he now knows he needs to train and actually does and also does some good and even respects Goku. That’s why I don’t compare the two because they are incomparable. GT? It’s pretty much a shitty version of what came before it.
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morfinwen · 4 years
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For the OC ask: Aidan, Niner, Q, Ian, and Lauren, if you please. :)
Full Name: Ian Alan Grayson
Gender and Sexuality: Male, straight
Pronouns: He/him
Ethnicity/Species: White, human.
Birthplace and Birthdate: Undetermined date, somewhere in Tennessee.
Guilty Pleasures: Twinkies. 
Phobias: He’s not afraid, exactly, but deep or fast-moving water sometimes sets off a “what if I tripped or something grabbed me” hypothetical scenario in his head. Swimming pools are fine, shallow streams are cool, lakes are usually okay, but oceans or any river that goes deeper than his waist can worry him. 
What They Would Be Famous For: He hopes to be reasonably well-known as a musician someday. His inability to sing well is a bit of an obstacle, he’ll admit, but he’s got ideas for an instrumental guitar album of original songs he’s working on.
What They Would Be Arrested For: There’s been a couple times where he’s driven into a restricted area by accident. So far, it’s never been anywhere serious enough to get him in actual trouble, but it’s a concern Lauren has expressed on multiple occasions.
OC You Ship Them With: No one at present.
OC Most Likely to Murder Them: None of them, though Lauren has threatened to once or twice.
Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Ian likes really old classics and comic books -- big epics with larger-than-life characters. He also likes sci-fi or fantasy drama shows.
Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: It was all just a dream.
Talents and/or Powers: Music, particularly guitar. Getting lost. Annoying people who are rude or hurtful to others.
Why Someone Might Love Them: Easy-going, funny, a great listener, supportive but won’t take any bull, and willing to step in when someone needs help or someone else is being awful and needs to stop.
Why Someone Might Hate Them: If you deliberately hurt someone, especially one of Ian’s friends, he is very, very good at being obnoxious.
How They Change: Haven’t gotten there yet. 
Why You Love Them: At its zenith, Ian’s story had maybe four paragraphs in it, but he has become such a distinctive character anyway.
Full Name: Lauren Eleanor Winston
Gender and Sexuality: Female, straight
Pronouns: She/her
Ethnicity/Species: White, human.
Birthplace and Birthdate: Undetermined, somewhere in Tennessee.
Guilty Pleasures: Cigarettes. It’s not precisely a pleasure, but every time she coughs or sees an anti-smoking ad, she definitely feels guilty.
Phobias: Chasing away everyone and ending up alone.
What They Would Be Famous For: Like Ian, she hopes to be a famous musician someday. She’d rather get into the classical music scene than bluegrass, but for now, it’s what she’s got.
What They Would Be Arrested For: Nothing serious. When she blows up at people, it cools down relatively quick, and she’s got enough of a grip on it that she would never hit someone or throw something dangerous at them.
OC You Ship Them With: No one at present.
OC Most Likely to Murder Them: She’s certainly aggravated more people than Ian has, but not to the point of murder.
Favorite Movie/Book Genre: She doesn’t read a lot, and when she does, it’s usually something she read and liked as a child, so technically Children’s. 
Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: If you kill this one person, you are as bad as the mass-murdering villain/the villain says “You and I aren’t so different after all” and the hero admits they’re right
Talents and/or Powers: Music, particularly piano. Strategy games. She can also write nice poetry, but she doesn’t see the value in it yet.
Why Someone Might Love Them: Lauren has an instinctive sensitivity to justice, and will get just as angry on someone else’s behalf as her own if she believes an injustice has been committed. She doesn’t let disapproval or confrontation stop her. 
Why Someone Might Hate Them: She is not an easy person to get along with, and can take things too personally.
How They Change: Not certain yet.
Why You Love Them: Same as Ian.
Full Name: Niner
Gender and Sexuality: Female, whatever.
Pronouns: She/her, “hey you”
Ethnicity/Species: Werecat
Birthplace and Birthdate: Birthdate, sometime in the summer, twenty-odd years ago. Birthplace … dunno. South of where she lives now. Probably east, too.
Guilty Pleasures: Hot, melted cheese. Batting around a ball of yarn. Snuggling up with Connie in cat-form (he’s so warm).
Phobias: Not a fan of being wet, or thunderstorms. On a deeper level, getting trapped or otherwise losing her independence.
What They Would Be Famous For: Nothing, really. She has no particular talents or skills that lend themselves to fame, and she would actively avoid fame if she did.
What They Would Be Arrested For: To be arrested, she would first have to be caught doing it, and then actually caught. Both of which would be very difficult to do.
OC You Ship Them With: No one at present
OC Most Likely to Murder Them: She and Aidan … have issues sometimes.
Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Not much of a reader or movie-watcher.
Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: The occasional TV show or movie has caught her interest for a little while, and none of them lose it faster than those where a character changes themselves for the approval of others. Even if the story ultimately has the moral that you shouldn’t do that, Niner will never know, because she won’t be watching anymore.
Talents and/or Powers: She can turn into a cat. As far as Niner is concerned, she doesn’t need anything else.
Why Someone Might Love Them: Niner has her own ideas of who she is, and takes zero input on who she is supposed to be. 
Why Someone Might Hate Them: Niner has her own ideas of who she is, and takes zero input on who she is supposed to be.
How They Change: Not sure yet.
Why You Love Them: I don’t think any of my other OCs are quite so determinedly independent. 
Full Name: Quincy Odell Free
Gender and Sexuality: Male, straight
Pronouns: He/him
Ethnicity/Species: White (English), human
Birthplace and Birthdate: Somewhere in England, July 3, 1989.
Guilty Pleasures: There aren’t many things he enjoys he would admit to -- less because they’re guilty pleasures he’s embarrassed about, and more because he is very cautious about opening up to people. That said, there is an animated kids show he really liked that he has episodes of saved on his computer that he will never, ever tell anyone about.
Phobias: Both afraid of being known and manipulated through it, and living his entire life without ever forming a real connection. 
What They Would Be Famous For: If he wanted, he could suck up enough to his aunt and uncle to get named the heir to their hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate, businesses, corporations, foundations, etc. 
What They Would Be Arrested For: Nothing terribly dramatic, and once it happened his aunt and uncle would most likely cover it up or sweep it under the rug as soon as possible.
OC You Ship Them With: No one at present
OC Most Likely to Murder Them: They would never dirty their hands by actually doing it themselves, but if Q was stupid enough to cross his aunt and uncle, there could definitely be an … accident … in his future.
Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Fantasy or adventure stories, the more exciting and epic the better, and with happy endings.
Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Evil twins/evil mentors/bad guys disguised as good guys in general. He has nothing against morally gray characters or believable development from hero to villain or villain to hero, but most of the time the “this guy was evil all along!/the characters are fooled by the villain!” tropes feel like cheating for manufactured drama.
Talents and/or Powers: He’s picked up a lot of odd knowledge and abilities from his education and time spent with his family, most notably an excellent poker face, understanding of human body language, and generally able to persuade people to do what he wants them to -- not that he uses it often.
Why Someone Might Love Them: He’s got that “confused everyman in weird circumstances” thing going on that a lot of people seem to like. If you really got to know him, underneath his bland, indifferent attitude, he’s incredibly loyal.
Why Someone Might Hate Them: Q doesn’t really make enough of an impression on most people to be worth hating.
How They Change: Basically, learns that not everyone is like his aunt and uncle: learns to open up more, accept help, and connect emotionally with other people.
Why You Love Them: He’s got an interesting background that’s shaped him in interesting ways, and he manages to be an everyman compared to his roommates while being an outlier for the rest of humanity.
Thanks for asking!
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paladin-andric · 5 years
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11/11/11 Tag
Tagged by @corishadowfang! Thanks, this is a long one but I always have fun blabbing on and on!
Rules: Answer the 11 questions, make 11 of your own, then tag 11 people.
1: Do you have a favorite WIP? Tell us about it!
Blackheart for sure. It’s the only one finished (first draft), and I’ve put way, WAY more work into the lore, setting, characters and world than I have with any other project I’ve ever worked on. Not that I’ve ever completed anything else, aside from one I scrapped a while back...
I really, really fell in love with the characters. Everyone’s great, and god damn I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to meet them.
2: What’s something you’re looking forward to writing that you haven’t gotten chance to yet?
Party conflict/Suspected traitors in the midst. Not in Blackheart, but that’ll come into play in Stay the Night, a sort of slasher-horror-mystery thing set in the same world about a group of five that find themselves trapped in a mansion with a murderous cult and a highly suspicious owner.
3: Do you have a clear idea of what your OC’s look like?  Show some pictures!
Alright, I’ve actually been having an artist friend draw the cast of Blackheart and they’re turning out amazing! Keep in mind these aren’t finished yet, some things may change. Also, this is only about half the cast, we’re still working on the rest!
Knight Alexander:
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Cleric Leianna:
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Senci, Andric’s Son Protégé:
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Tourthun, the Dragon of Havel:
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Razorwing (Half finished):
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Paladin Andric:
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4: What animals would your OC’s be?
Huh. Never had good answers for these, but I’ll try.
Alexander - Lion (Courage)
Leianna - Honey Badger (Don’t mess with me fool)
Lexius - Bee (Diligent, hard-working)
Senci - Uhh...alligator? (Dunno, just kinda resembles an animal version of him?)
Tourthun - Do dragons count as animals??? (Komodo Dragon???)
Wurie - Wolf (He’s literally a bipedal wolf? Something about loyalty too)
Razorwing - Eagle (See above, but an eagle instead of a wolf)
Paul - King Cobra (Dangerous, keep your distance!)
Charles - ...dragon? (He’s half-dragon, half-human...maybe jaguar cause he’s a loner?)
Andric - Some breed of dog (Brave and protective of others)
5: Is there any trope that would make you put a story down immediately?
The everyone’s evil/chivalry’s dead thing. Also the no happiness or good endings sort of story. I like having hope in my stories, and constant misery and edginess without anyone standing against it just makes me groan. If no one’s redeemable or even the least bit likable why should I even bother following this group of jackasses?
6: Coffee, tea, or something else?
Coffee’s alright, but I take it light and sweet for the taste. Caramel makes it great too. Basically I like coffee when it doesn’t taste like coffee. Maybe soda or water?
7: What’s your WIP’s aesthetic?
Misty cities, ruined buildings, twilight and darkness, lone figures standing against the hordes.
8: What’s one piece of writing you’re really proud of?
This isn’t from Blackheart, but from a short story set in the same world, but in the future. Dragons call a council to discuss what to do about humanity as their power grows and the dragons’ dwindles. To do this, they use telepathy to meld all dragons’ minds so all of them know each other’s positions, stances, and can hear everyone else’s arguments in seconds.
It felt as though a hook was lodged into his brain, then began to pull violently. Then another. And another. Now, it was as if his mind was being pulled in hundreds of different directions at once.
He reeled, feeling disorientation and confusion wash over him. He felt a palpable degree of fear as well, until at last he understood.
He was not only in his own mind…but in the minds of others. Just as he was being pulled in all directions, it felt as though his mind had lodged itself in hundreds of others and pulled at them as well. With this equal force, the feeling of pulling, of vertigo and confusion faded. There was balance.
Now, he was not just at the front of the crowd…he was in the back. He was in the middle. He was left and right, up above and down below. He was everywhere and nowhere.
Patriconius at last understood. The telepathy of the elders was nothing like the standard affair. They had brought their minds together, instead of merely making them able to hear one another. The red dragon felt revulsion, fear, joy, determination, hopelessness, confidence, love, hate, anger, fearlessness and boredom. He recalled memories that were not his own, heard thoughts that did not belong to him.
In these moments, all dragons were one.
“State your cases.”
The Speaker’s voice reverberated from all directions, for as she spoke to each dragon’s mind, Patriconius’ mind, abiding in all the others, heard it each time.
9: Favorite character archetype?
A combo actually. The Tragic Hero combined with the Classical Hero. Someone who has suffered misery and heartache, sometimes to a horrifying degree, but refuses to be broken or changed, still unwavering in their morals and standing for what’s right no matter what. Something about that is just so heartwarming and inspiring, I just absolutely adore those kinds of characters. Dunno if there’s a name for that.
10: Do your OC’s have any unusual hobbies?
Charles usually loves reading, but he’s actually gotten a bit into knitting and tailoring because of Merjim, the Seemstress of the Guild of Dragonoids. She taught him how to weave and modify his own clothes! She does this for other half-dragons because of how costly it is to have clothes modified to account for dragonoids’ wings and tails!
11: How did you first come up with your WIP idea?
Just randomly started writing. Alexander and Senci came from some other unfinished story from middle school, though their characters were so massively transformed they’re nothing like what they used to be. They’re basically the same in name and profession only. I remember wanting to make an actual fantasy story, and, fresh off of being inspired by Demon’s Souls aesthetics, came up with the corrupted, ruined city. Everything else got fleshed out way later.
As for my 11 questions...
1: What’s the most important key to improving your writing, in your opinion?
2: Would your characters have the discipline and nerve to handle high risk, high stress jobs? S.W.A.T. or Air Piloting for example.
3: Do you have any scrapped stories or ideas?
4: Favorite number of characters to write in a group or scene? (Duo, Group of 4, Solo, etc.)
5: Listen to music what writing? What kinda stuff?
6: Favorite mythological creature?
7: Have any Rookie/Veteran dynamics going on?
8: Which RPG stat would each of your characters have the highest in? (Strength, Charisma, Dexterity, etc.)
9: What’s something that’s in most of your work that makes people say “Oh yeah, this is definitely by _!” ?
10: Something your characters REALLY hate/find stupid
11: Hands down, your favorite thing to gush about your own work?
Tagging @lady-redshield-writes, @oceanwriter, @urbanteeth, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, @homesteadhorner, @sheralynnramsey, @dragonauthor, @nightskywriter, @dreamywritingdragon, @elliewritesfantasy, @elaynab-writing
As usual, no pressure! Feel free to skip if you don’t want to do this.
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epen409 · 5 years
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My Top 18 Favorite Movies, TV Shows and/or Cartoons of 2018 (in no particular order) Part Dos
10. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
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Ignore the neckbeards who have nothing better to do, so they complain about reboots of cartoons from the quote on quote "golden age of animation, the 80's". She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is a really great show, that yes, is better than the original 80's show. It's able to create a more fun and engaging story, while also having a lot of memorable and likable characters. It also has a theme that I found very interesting, where the villains aren't born evil, they are just misled in the wrong direction and don't truly know wrong from right. It's quite a bold theme for the show. If there is a kind of big flaw, the animation is a little wonky. Some shots and scenes look great, while others are very easy to see where the animation mistakes are. That said, it's still a great show that takes advantage of all of it's fun and interesting characters, and brings them together in a new show that blows its predecessor out of the water. And yes, LGBT fans. It's very, very gay.
11. Spider-Man Into the Spider verse
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What a comeback story. Who would have thought that the studio that made the whole world of animation cry last year would end up making the best animated film of the year? But anyways, Spider-Man into the Spiderverse is not only able to live up to all the hype it's been getting for the past year, but it also blew our expectations away. First of all, it looks GORGEOUS. It's able to make a visual style that's not only very beautiful and interesting, but it also happens to create a loving tribute to the original medium of comic books. Second, they put just as much effort in the story as they did with the visuals, which is not only a very fun superhero film, but also manages to be a very engaging emotional story as well, with lots of fun, interesting and memorable characters as well. If there is something to say isn't perfect, I did notice at least one plot hole that left me a bit confused, and they kind of blew the wad for putting in a few too many characters, where, while fun and memorable, don't have that much screen time and don't leave as big of an impression as the main characters. But still, it's one of the year's best movies, so go watch it NOW!
12. Flcl Progressive and Alternative
The first anime I ever saw was FLCL. It was insane, had gorgeous animation, memorable characters and I loved every minute of it. Do its sequel series' live up to the original's legacy. Well, let me put it this way. I very much enjoyed both shows, equally too. I thought they were very fun shows, and their themes, while sometimes a little hit-and-miss, still got their points across, the new characters were very fun and memorable, and the action scenes were also animated very well. With all that said, they still don't hold a candle to the original show. But that's okay, because I imagine it'd be very hard to. I still think that both of these new shows were very good, and although not as great as the original FLCL, was still lots of fun, and somewhat worthy successors to one of the greatest animas of all time. I still recommend both, since they still were good in my opinion.
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13. Hilda
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Miss Gravity Falls and Over the Garden Wall? Then have I got the show for you. Hilda is a great show from Netflix that manages to capture the spirits of  both those shows, but also having its own identity and voice. One thing I appreciate about the show is that not only can it be calm and laid back in more character and establishing moments, but it also can be equally as exciting and fun for its more adventurous and action scenes. The characters are all very charming. Hilda is a free-spirited and adventurous young girl, but she's not a pushover or overly cheery either. Her friends both regular and supernatural, can sometimes fall into familiar tropes, but also are very fun and enjoyable to watch. (Alfie's my favorite). It's a great show to watch, especially on days you want to cozy up with a cup of hot liquids of some kind, and take it all in. It's a great show, and I highly recommend giving it a watch.
14. Christopher Robin
I missed Winnie the Pooh. Yes, an 18-year old male misses the adventures of a talking teddy bear. Deal with it. But anyways, for a while it seemed that Disney had somewhat given up on the bear with little brains, but they've given him another chance with this new film, but this time, mainly focusing on his human friend, Christopher Robin. One thing this movie gets right is the feeling of Winnie the Pooh. Pooh has never been known for incredibly convoluted stories, just mainly simple tales that it's colorful cast of characters can bounce off of, and this movie nails that feeling down. It's also close to the original cast of characters, since deviating away from their personalities would be considered a form of blasphemy. Also, the performances here are great too. Evan McGregor makes a surprisingly good Christopher Robin, Hayley Atwell is charming as his wife, the girl who played their daughter was pretty good too, and of course, our friends from the 100 Acre Woods are played very well by the new cast, especially the one and only Jim Cummings, the only modern voice for both Pooh and Tigger. Now it does have flaws, like the story is kind of the typical "Dad's too busy for the kids", and although I've grown to like it over time, but sometimes it got a little too dramatic for some scenes, and at time Christopher Robin himself came off a bit as whiny and unlikable in some scenes. With that said, it's very easy to see that the whole film is a big love letter to Winnie the Pooh. No, it's not the best movie of the year, Or anything like that, but if you want a nice, enjoyable and cute movie to watch, then Christopher Robin is the perfect film to watch.
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15. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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I'll break my rule just this once to include a video game here. Super Smash Bros Ultimate was the biggest game from Nintendo this holiday season, and boy did it deliver. The last Smash Bros. game, was lots of fun, with it bringing all of our favorite (popular) video game characters together for a huge brawl. This next one, takes it up to 11. One thing I walkways admired from the games is that it's not the world's most complicated fighter game, while also still being oodles of fun. Only one big flaw: no Waluigi. Nah, just kidding. It's a great game, and a great farewell to the world of Smash from it's director, Masahiro Sakurai.
16. The Dragon Prince
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Here's another show that didn't get that much attention on Netflix, The Dragon Prince. Made by the head writer from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the creator of the Uncharted games, comes a massive fantasy epic focusing on the Battle between humans and fantasy creatures like elves and dragons. One thing I really love about this show is just how complex the characters and their morals are. It's a show that takes a lot of advantage from this theme. It's also filled with lots of fun, yet also very interesting characters. You will probably get attached to them by the end of the show, which may break some hearts too... But yeah, might as well address the elephant in the room, the animation. In fact, I do think that maybe the reason it didn't immediately catch on was because a lot of people were turned off by the animation style. But I still recommend it and ask that you give it a chance, because not only was it lots of fun, and very interesting, but the story and characters help redeem the animation, plus it does improve itself over time. Please, please, please give The Dragon Prince a chance, it's a great show.
17. Ralph Breaks the Internet
Don't worry. It's not another Emoji Movie. Ralph Breaks the Internet is not only a worthy successor to the original film, but it also manages to expand a lot on the heart from the original. This time, instead of arcade games, it plucks our characters into the Internet, and unlike the Emoji Movie, manages to make more clever and creative ideas while being on the Internet. And yeah, maybe the scene when Vanellope visits the Disney website might be Disney patting themselves on the back a little too hard, but it's still a very funny and enjoyable scene that also helps move the plot forward. But one thing the movie was amazing at was expanding on its characters and their development. It even manages to avoid the typical happy ending, which, without spoiling anything, actually makes a change in the characters lives. If there is a flaw, like I said, it's 10 times better than the Emoji Movie, but I will admit, between the cameos from Youtubers and the one scene where Ralph becomes a meme, did kind of make me roll my eyes, but thankfully, unlike the Emoji movie, it doesn't dwell too much on these scenes all that much, and knows when to move the plot forward in the right direction. I still say it's a worthy sequel that's worth your time.
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Also, Yesss is my new waifu.
18. Mary Poppins Returns
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Here's one of the few live-action Disney films in recent years, I feel are very worthy to the legacy of their original film. Mary Poppins Returns is just a complete and utter joy of a film, not unlike the original classic. The performance of Emily Blunt as the titular nanny is a worthy successor the original by Julie Andrews, and character in general. Lin Manuel-Miranda not only does a great job in continuing the spirit of Dick Van Dyke from the first film, but also in writing a plethora of great songs that are amazingly performed and choreographed by the cast, while also giving tribute to the Sherman Brother's original songs. Even the kids, who I kind expected to get on my nerves, are actually pretty likable and fun, and are given, eh passable performances by their actors and actress. The animation sequence brought a tear to my eye, not only because it was lots of fun, but because I'm just happy to beautiful 2D Disney animation on the big screen again. If there is some flaws, yeah, the story is yet another Dad needs to spend more time with kids plot again, and it does bring some more action/suspenseful moments that I don't feel are completely in spirit to the original film's more laid back tone. But regardless, it's an overall great and very charming new film from Disney, and although I would like them to try doing some more original stuff with their live-action movies, I hope can keep the spirit of both this film,and a lot of the classic live-action Disney movies (like the original Mary Poppins, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure Island, Darby O' Gill, Swiss Family Robinson and some others you guys probably never heard of).
So that's about it. Thank you all for sticking around listening to me talk about all these Movies and TV shows are worth remembering from this year, and there's a lot I'm excited for next year, and I hope that this next year can be an improvement, with more kindness and joy from the world and from people. Yeah, it's wishful thinking, but it's not a bad wish to have. Thank you all for supporting this page for the last year,and I'LL see ya in 2019!
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The Worm Reads: Empire of Storms, Ch 1 - 2
 Book: Empire of Storms
Author: Sarah J. Mass
Ah, my dear readers, what can one say about SJM? While I do admit there is some value in a few of her books (I quite enjoyed the early t0g novels) to say her writing has stirred controversy is a bit of an understatement. There are arguments for and against why her series are problematic and toxic, why her world building is atrocious and her characters overpowered and unlikable, but I believe every author deserves a chance. Let’s see if we can give EoS a good fair shake to see whether it holds up or not, shall we?
The prologue of this book starts right off with Princess Elena Galathynius and her broad shouldered boy toy Gavin (we all know SJM does enjoy herself a broad shouldered man or two) angsting over the inevitable doom and deaths of their friends while planning to flee the battle to buy themselves more time. I won’t bore you with details; it’s separate from the main plot, short, and doesn’t offend me that much. Moving on!
Chapter One
The real story kicks off with Elide Lochan, a character from the previous novel, running through the woods. Elide was one of the few characters I found myself endeared towards, for her sweet yet strong personality and her relationship with Manon.
Weeks. It had been weeks since Manon Blackbeak and the Thirteen had left her in this forest, the Wing Leader ordering her to head north. To find her lost queen, now grown and mighty—and to also find Celaena Sardothien, whoever she was, so that Elide might repay the life debt she owed to Kaltain Rompier.
For those not aware, SJM is extremely found of em dashes. Like, she uses them a lot. I’m guilty of this too, but at least I have the sense to edit them out before publishing works! Also oof, I can smell Celaena gushing coming up.
Unfortunately, Elide had learned the hard way about what water to drink. Three days, she’d been near death with vomiting and fever after gulping down that stagnant pond water. Three days, she’d shivered so badly she thought her bones would crack apart.
While I like the imagery used here, since you get the full picture of how cold she was..... Shouldn’t the sentence be “For three days”? Just stating three days and what she was doing has no connection.
She’d run out of food a week ago and had taken to scavenging for berries. They were all foreign, but a whisper of a memory from her years with her nursemaid, Finnula, had warned her to rub them on her wrist first— to see if they raised any reaction.
I actually really like this, It shows Elide is smart, has a good memory, and is resourceful. SJM, please don’t mess her up.
Maybe she’d made a wrong turn. How would she know when she’d crossed Terrasen’s border, anyway? And how would she ever find her queen—her court?
Unghhhhh she doesn’t mean Aelin does she? If Elide is used only to gush and fangirl over what an amazing queen Aelin is I’m gonna be ill.
Elide hears wyverns flying by and hides, before realizing....
Not witches or wyverns or beasts. But someone—someone was watching her. Someone was following her.
Manon has come to sweep her girlfriend off her feet! Right...?
Lorcan Salvaterre had been running from those gods-damned beasts for two days now.
Oh god no.
Here’s the thing; I like Lorcan as a villain. He was a threat that at least made the main characters sweat a little in the previous novel, to my memory. Surely he will continue to be a villain, perhaps Elide’s main rival in this novel? After all we have a paragraph describing how he tortured and killed some witches, so surely-
He’d been hiding here first, listening to the clamor of [Elide’s] clumsy approach, and had watched her stumble and limp when she finally heard what swept toward them. She was delicately built, small enough that he might have thought her barely past her first bleed were it not for the full breasts beneath her close-fitting leathers.
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I’M... SPEECHLESS. Why is that what Lorcan notices about her?? Not her mature vibe, perhaps the determination on her face, but her breasts? He doesn’t even know this girl!! Also, just because a girl has big breasts doesn’t mean she’s older. I know girls as young as 14 with huge breasts. And while I like that SJM does acknowledge periods, which so many YA authors act like they don’t exist, the focus of it here makes me... uncomfortable.
The demon-possessed girl limped up the streambed, that useless knife still out, her grip on its hilt wholly ineffective. Good. And so Lorcan began his hunt.
Oh, so maybe he is going to be an enemy during this novel? I’d read a showdown between them. Preferably with Elide outwitting and kicking his ass.
Chapter 2
Crouched beside the brook, empty skins forgotten on the mossy bank, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius extended a scarred hand over the rushing water and let the song of the early-morning storm wash over her.
*inhales* Oh Aelin. A character most hate, and one I just honestly don’t know. There’s times where I like how arrogant and show off she can be, but other times she aggravates me, mostly due to the whole lost queen thing. 
She breathed in the chill mists and fresh rain, dragging them deep into her lungs. Her magic guttered in answer, as if yawning good morning and tumbling back to sleep.
I actually like the way SJM describes magic, as if its its own sentient being that lives within its owner. Too bad there’s no magic system or anything actually done with this imagery. 
Across the brook, atop a mossy boulder tucked into the arms of a gnarled oak, a pair of tiny bone-white fingers flexed and cracked, a mirror to her own movements. Aelin smiled and said so quietly it was barely audible over the stream and rain, “If you have any pointers, friend, I’d love to hear them.”
The Little Folk illustrate my biggest issue with SJM; she comes up with cool fantasy concepts and characters, and never does anything with them. The Little Folk serve little purpose (ha), but I love them!! I love this scene with the Little Folk mirroring her movements. But I’m willing to wager SJM is never gonna bring them up again.
But they’d left small gifts just outside the border of Rowan’s nightly shields, somehow deposited without alerting whichever of them was on watch.
I’m stanning the Little Folk. They’re magic and skilled enough to outwit even Rowan and they bring them cute handmade gifts? Give me a Little Folk spin off.
Soggy leaves crunched behind her, and Aelin knew it was only because Rowan wanted her to hear his approach. “Careful, or they’ll leave something wet and cold in your bedroll next time.”
*inhales* Hoo boy, Aelin/Rowan time. This should be... interesting.
Strong hands slid over her waist, tugging her into his warmth, as Rowan’s lips grazed her neck, right under her ear. Aelin arched back into him while his mouth roved across her throat, heating mist-chilled skin. “Good morning to you,” she breathed.
And already they’re acting hornier than teenagers right now. Great. I mean, I’m not opposed to characters being in sexual relationships or expressing this, but God, these two take it waaaay too far. They think about sex 24/7 and it gets exhausting after a while. 
“If you want to take a bath so badly,” Rowan murmured against her neck, “I spotted a pool about a quarter mile back. You could heat it—for both of us.” She ran her nails down the back of his hands, up his forearms. “I’d boil all the fish and frogs inside it. I doubt it’d be very pleasant then.”
(...)
A dark laugh against her now-burning skin. It was an effort to keep from taking one of his hands and guiding it up to her breasts, to beg him to touch, take, taste.
Like, can we get them having a nice romantic moment without them being so sex hungry for once? I barely have any feel of a connection between them aside from the fact that they are DTF. I wouldn’t have an issue if this was an erotica novel, but this is supposed to be epic fantasy.
Aelin expositions about how they’re planning to meet some lords from Terrasen, and how Lorcan is under the impression that he has the real Wyrdkey. Hopefully this means we’ll be getting some awesome fantasy content soon.
He gave her a wry smile and aimed a pointed look at Goldryn, sheathed across her back, and the various knives strapped to her. “And besides: I thought ‘cloak-and-dagger’ was your middle name.” She offered him a vulgar gesture in return.
Wait, why is SJM censoring the middle finger? I’d understand if this was an actual YA novel, but this book has graphic sex scenes. Why can’t she write Aelin flipping someone off? Unless Aelin is doing some other hand gesture?
No matter that Aelin was the bearer of a weapon capable of wiping out this entire valley, along with the gray Staghorn Mountains watching over it. And that was just her magic.
*sigh* We get it SJM, Aelin is the most special powerful sorcerer to ever exist. 
“You trust nothing.” She met his eyes. “I trust you.”
If this was for a ship I liked, I’d be squealing with delight. But then the two of them proceed to make out yet again, and immediately the smile on my face dies as I am forced to yet again read paragraphs of Rowan forcing his tongue down Aelin’s throat.
So Aelin kissed Rowan gently, his hands again locking around her hips. “Fireheart,” he said onto her mouth. “Buzzard,” she murmured onto his.
Okay, I will admit. Couples having special nicknames for each other is one of my favorite tropes. I’ll admit, Aelin calling Rowan buzzard is kinda sweet if you ignored how shitty their relationship is.
Evangeline howled, “Fooooood!” Fleetfoot’s answering howl followed a heartbeat later. Then Lysandra’s snarl rippled toward them, silencing girl and hound.
Lysandra!!! Another character I loved. She is so strong and overcomes her abuser and her trauma to become a badass warrior, and plus she has girl friendship with Aelin! I’d read a series about Elide and Lysandra traveling around the world together.
When she looked back, Rowan was halfway to the camp, Evangeline’s red-gold hair flashing as she bounded through the dripping trees, begging the prince for toast and eggs.
....... eggs and toast? In the middle of the forest? Not what I’d expect, but alright.
And Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen, knew the time would soon come to prove just how much she’d bleed for Erilea.
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Sure, sweetheart. Also, you’re not a queen yet. You haven’t been crowned or declared ruler officially.
We switch to Aedion’s POV. I suspect if SJM let him have a motive and personality outside of worshiping Aelin, he;d be a good character.
[Lysandra] had used these weeks of travel to try out new forms: birds, beasts, insects that had a tendency to buzz in his ear or bite him. Rarely —so rarely—had Lysandra taken the human form he’d met her in.
I love Lysandra. That is all.
[Aelin]’d grown quieter the farther north they’d traveled. Perhaps weeks on the road had sapped her. After tonight, depending on what the lords reported, he’d try to find her a quiet place to rest for a day or two before they made the last leg of the trek to Orynth.
Again, had this been any other characters, it’d be sweet of him to know his cousin so well that he knows when she’s tired and want her to rest. But like, Aedion’s entire character revolves around Aelin it’s tiresome.
“Darrow was your uncle’s lover,” he added, stretching his legs out before him. “For decades. He’s never spoken once to me about your uncle, but... they were very close, Aelin. Darrow didn’t publicly mourn Orlon beyond what was required after the passing of a king, but he became a different man afterward. He’s a hard bastard now, but still a fair one. Much of what he’s done has been out of his unfading love for Orlon—and for Terrasen. His own maneuvering kept us from becoming completely starved and destitute. Remember that.” Indeed, Darrow had long straddled a line between serving the King of Adarlan and undermining him.
Oooo, a LGBT character! Very nice! However, from that description of Darrow being a supposed bastard, I’m worried he might be the villain. Which wouldn’t be a problem if there were other LGBT characters, but since Darrow is the only confirmed one that comes to mind at current, this might turn out bad.
The flames pulled apart like drawn curtains to allow [Evangeline] and Fleetfoot, sensing the child’s fear and pressing close, passage to an inner ring that would not burn her. But would melt the bones of their enemies.
Um, why is that a fragment? Shouldn’t the phrase read, “(...) passage to an inner ring that would not burn her, but would melt the bones of their enemies”?
So they are startled by the arrival of a messenger and Rowan puts a knife to his throat. I’d understand if he did this until the messenger tells them who he is, but seriously? Keeping a blade at the guy’s throat? He’s the messenger of the people you want to be allies with!
Even as Rowan nudged him forward, that cruel knife still angled at his throat. Aedion jerked his chin at Rowan. “He can’t very well deliver the message with a blade at his windpipe.”
Lmfao it literally takes Aedion pointing this out for Rowan to chill out.
Her magic simmered in response. And that [amulet]—that hideous power hanging between her breasts—seemed to open an ancient eye at all the commotion.
Again, a nit pick, but why is SJM so fascinated with the amulet being between Aelin’s breasts? It seriously takes away from the impact of the sentence, which is trying to make the amulet sound dangerous but all I can think about is the amulet squished between her boobs. It would’ve been better to simply say the amulet around her neck or something.
So the messenger tells them the lords won’t be coming out to the forest, which is honestly understandable. They’re old and can’t travel as well as the younger characters, and it’s raining outside. 
So those were the first two chapters. Well, it isn’t too bad so far, but not great either. Honestly, I’m just weirded out by SJM’s focus on the women’s breasts. If this was an erotica novel, I’d have zero problems with it, but considering this book is supposed to be epic fantasy, it just pulls me out of the story every time it is focused on. But we’ll see if SJM can do better with the next chapters.
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mylifeatwar · 6 years
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Book 2, Chapter 2, Page 3
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It’s still not midnight in my timezone yet so this page totally counts as being on time! In all seriousness though, Matt had this page done hours ago but I was kind of in the middle of a tattoo session and wasn’t really available to post it. That’s on me, not him
I really love this fucking page by the way, especially the shading in panel 2. There’s also some great foreshadowing here, but I’ll let you folks find it yourselves.
Something that Matt and I were joking about recently was language and accents in the MLaW verse. While the language that Free Marketeers is essentially supposed to be English (though they call it Treadspake) the accent is pretty different. It took me forever to find but here’s an example of what someone with a heavy Free Market accent sounds like to someone who doesn’t speak Treadspake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa-lmcdlq4A&list=FLWEkhqIkBE080OHhK-mC85g&index=1
You can already imagine how that colors most people’s perception of the average Free Marketeer.
Thanks for reading!
– Luther out
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lhsc - Oh ho, Lulu is going to defend her favorite asset. Always bet on the Lulu.
Gillsing - So Free Marketeers aren’t big on enunciation, huh? I guess I’d need to hire a translator to understand them then. Oh. I see what they did there.
Killercow - BOP DAP BOODLY DAP DAU. Also, is lulu like, majorly huge? She looks at least a foot taller than the guy next to her, and she’s taller than Big Al by quite a bit.
plaintextman - Yeah, mista Patenge mentioned it during the long-winded discussion started around chapter 1’s cover: http://www.mylifeatwar.com/?p=26“ Lulubelle merely appears at a normal height because she’s been shown standing next to Captain Theroux, who is a very… very large ogre of a man. We made them this way as a response to the mecha genre being full of diminutive female characters, most often relegated to a non-combat role who spend way too much of their time stating everything they feel.” And MLAW is slowly but surely defying that “softy women” trope more and more (without — so far — overdoing it).
Mr. Patenge - Lulu-Belle (and her friend Missy) are around 6’3″. It’s all those chemicals and hormones in the milk man… also in the soda, the water, the coffee the air, the beer and, for some reason, the toilet paper.
Killercow - I gotta get me some of that toilet paper! Being 6’4 without, I’d probably be a freaky giant!
Iarei - Dat reflection.
Grudgesettler - Fridge with legs versus Lulubelle. Taking all bets, remember the house charges a 15% gratuity from all proceeds. A question, if I may. This one is regarding the competitive nature of the Free Market and their attitudes towards monopolies. From your answer regarding an earlier question about the util, I gather that for the most part, monopolies are disliked. My question is this: what guarantees the continuation of this competition instead of the eventual creation of a series of monopolies? I suspect that the Free Market doesn’t have much in the way of Anti-trust laws. Excellent page. I especially love the perspective shot in the second frame.
Zarpaulus - Three words: Mega-fun food inc. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that they do a thing to prevent monopolies, real life economic Libertarians don’t so why would fictional ones?
rfaramir - You don’t have to fight monopolies, so long as you have no State which can grant one. So-called “natural monopolies” are rare and not a problem to the free market. Think of a one-of-a-kind mineral mine. Consumers did fine before the mine was discovered, life got better when it’s otherwise-unobtanium made production more efficient, but if the price goes too high, the free market will work at creating alternatives or doing without, going back to previous production modes without the others-unobtainable substance. Potential competition keeps monopolists from charging truly damaging monopoly prices.
Iarei - That simply is not true. You’re drawing an imaginary line in the sand between ‘monopoly’ and ‘dictatorship’ that does not exist. “A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned”. In any hypothetical ungoverned free market, the most powerful monopoly necessarily assumes the role of governance. You’ve heard of ‘company stores’ right? Any barrier to entry for competition that exists under a corrupt government is going to exist in a free market system. The only difference is that the company wouldn’t need to bribe any politicians. A question was raised earlier in this comic – “How can Fizziz stay in business if their product is both foul and poisonous”. If you’ve been paying attention here you should already know the answer.
Killercow - No, it tends to be governments that aid monopolies. In a perfectly free market, in theory, a monopoly can’t hold any power because as soon as the price becomes too dear, another company can come and offer competition at a lower price. These are opportunistic people, who would jump at a chance to undercut a company that was being a little too excessive with their prices for their worth, and without a government to aid in forcing opposition out of business, or breaking strikes and such, monopolies would be much harder to obtain. Not impossible, but extremely difficult. For example, look at the role the security contractors play. On one page it is mentioned that Mega Fun Foods is subsidizing their losses to keep them fighting, and it is mentioned that “Few enough companies can do our job”. While they don’t hold a monopoly, because of the couple of other security companies, which keep them from overcharging, they are a specialized and presumably expensive commodity. They have skills that are rare and useful, and charge more for it. But even those skills are not unique to one company. As for Fizziz, I think that was supposed to be more of a joke than a serious commentary on monopoly, but it may have also been something else, like it has a niche market of… I don’t know, horse pee lovers or something. Or it might be an acquired taste. Or maybe they used to offer good products and now people just blindly buy the brand.
Iarei -  Monopolies help themselves, they don’t need a government to do so. All they need is thugs they can pay to shoot anyone not working the line or a sufficiently high barrier to entry. What magic power do you think you have over a monopoly that you don’t have over a government? A working government acts as a check against monopolies. Like, the government that’s literally fighting a monopoly owned mercenary company in this comic? The comic you’re reading? As far as monopolies you might be familiar with go, how about your ISP? If you live in the US I can all but guarantee you you’re overpaying. That’s in a country where the government nominally has legislation intended to prevent monopolies. In this example, it has nothing to do with the government, it has to do with the fact that those companies are better off ripping off the customers in their respective fiefdoms than expanding their infrastructure into areas with competing services with competitive rates. What do you think would happen if your gas, electricity or water were held by a private entity that could set it’s own prices? I’m sure some competing company can come out of nowhere and set up competing utility lines, right? Free market magic, goo! I’m sure you can find your own solution when prices for necessities become to prohibitive, right? Want a drink of water? Hope your rain barrel’s full or you’ll be buying from T. Boone Pickens. Oh no your house is on fire? Don’t worry, Marcus Licinius Crassus is here to help! Someone’s robing your house? Store? Did you pay your protection fund? Oh, and while this is getting beside the point remember that without a government there’s no regulation on things like ‘can that company dump toxic waste in my river’ or ‘can that company sweeten it’s drinks with lead acetate’. Is our governments perfect? Are they even moderately close to good? No, probably not. It still beats the ever living hell out the alternative.
Plaintextman - Remember that regulations like ‘minimum wage’ and ‘standard bread price’ come from governments. These are made to keep monopolies in check, or rather, to effectively grant the common man some power over companies, in turn evening out the concentration of power. However, also true that insane-level OHSA requirements, government-tendered projects to large companies and overtly strict permit regulations are all government-implemented things that can make it hard if not impossible for small players to get in the game, thus supressing competition. So yeah, it’s not really so much a question of whether there is a formal government or not. More a question of how those in power act, for they are the ‘government’. And this is ultimately determined by what kind of rights (formal and de facto) the common man is granted. Do you have the right to shop somewhere else without fear for your life? The right to your own property? Freedom of speech? I love the idea of free markets. They’ve been so successful over the centuries because of that awesome self-correcting mechanism of ‘competition’; just about every city ever had a market place where businesses could offer and compete, much more than can be said of less natural systems like communism. But “total objective freedom” doesn’t really exist, so no market can be truly “free”. Illegal (drug-) industry is example of an ‘anarcho-capitalist free market’ environment that’s also extremely unfriendly to just about everyone except those in power. And the reason why boils down to how uncaring those in power (“government”) are and how little power the common person (consumer) it given: as long as they pay nobody really gives a shit about them. And if they stop paying by say, buying from a cheaper supplier, they might as well die along with that supplier.
motorfirebox - I like the tan lines.
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lyssala · 6 years
Text
Parental
Pairing: Terra/Aqua
Rating: K
Words: 4140
Notes: Another one that ended up vastly different than I originally intended lmao I wrote the memory and then started the present part and went OH YOU KNOW WHAT haha One of my favorite tropes for female characters is that super badass lady who don’t need anyone to be who they are but they still have this sweet maternal way about them. I love mama Aqua, you can see it so easily in the way she interacts with Ven and the other kids. I just thought it was a sweet idea for her to secretly enjoy the thought of children herself (and in turn getting flustered over the idea lmao)
AO3
Aqua loved her home very much; she wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else but she absolutely loved it when Master would say the words:
“Go on and get ready, we’re leaving in a few minutes.”
It always meant they were getting to leave their world, even if just for a few hours. She and Terra would race back to their rooms to change into clothing less appropriate for training and more appropriate for seeing people in. Then they’d race back to docking bay where Terra almost always won, she had no idea how.
Usually it wasn’t for exciting reasons; normally meetings or formally meeting other masters or people in high ranks. But traveling to new worlds was always exciting. Even standing in front of the ship, Aqua could barely keep a bounce out of her step. Terra seemed a little calmer as he stood next to her, his arms crossed against his chest. She looked up at him to see his eyes looking out at the new area but before she could follow his gaze something caught her off guard.
When did he get so tall?
Aqua swore just the other day they were even heights. Yeah sure she knew he was fourteen now, but still.
“I want you both to be on your best behavior,” Master told them, drawing their attention back to him. “I have to be in a meeting for a little bit so I’m letting the two of you have your free time in town until I’m done.”
Aqua tried not to let out an audible noise but judging by the way Terra snorted in laughter it didn’t work super well.
“But…” Master Eraqus held up one finger. “That doesn’t mean you’re not being watched, so behave and try not to cause any trouble.”
“Us? Master, how could you think such things?” Terra asked, feigning such innocence Aqua rolled her eyes.
“Us?” Master Eraqus arched an eyebrow. “Don’t lump Aqua in, I was talking to you.”
Terra’s shoulders slumped but she knew he wasn’t actually upset. “Harsh.”
Master chuckled as he reached to ruffle Terra’s hair. “Go on now, stay together and be safe.”
Aqua couldn’t hold in it any longer, she ran past them heading towards the town before she turned to jog backwards. “C’mon, Terra, don’t be so slow!”
There was a glint in his eyes that she knew all too well. He couldn’t ever resist a challenge. “Slow? Excuse me?” He was already chasing after her when she turned to run again.
Master might’ve called something after them but Aqua honestly didn’t hear what it was, she was already skidding to a stop onto the main street of the town, Terra not too far behind her.
“Told you not to be slow,” she said as she turned around to face him, hands victoriously placed on her hips.
“You had a head start,” he said.
She laughed a little but turned back around to look at the busy street in front of them. People were going about their daily lives, running errands, shopping, cleaning, getting from one place to another.  Aqua’s world was so quiet all the time; it was always exhilarating to be in a world so bustling with people and things to do.
She didn’t even realize she was staring until Terra started to walk a head. Despite how happy she felt, her heart started to sink at seeing his retreating back. He was her best friend, and yet lately he had been taking more time to himself, running off on his own without her. She always tried to not let it bother her, knowing she had stronger feelings for him than he probably had for her but that didn’t mean it still didn’t hurt. It made her feel like she was losing the one person who meant the world to her.
Aqua hurried to catch up. She knew they were told to stay together but she didn’t want him to feel like he had to spend time with her. As much as it made her want to cry on a public street surrounded by strangers she had to give him the option. “Hey, if you…you know wanna go do something else it’s okay. I mean, I’ll be okay on my own.”
Terra turned to her, an amused sort of look on his face. “What? You trying to get rid of me?”
“No,” Aqua said, probably more defensively than she needed to. “I just meant…” She honestly had no idea what she meant.
“It’s fine,” he said, reaching a hand up to push at her head lightly. “Where do you wanna go?”
“Umm…” She looked around the area, trying to remember where things were, and trying to ignore the much lighter feeling in her chest. “The overlook.” She pointed forward where she could almost see the cliffs over the vast ocean of this world.
“Alright,” he said, starting to make his way through the street nearly full of people.
She followed after him quickly trying to stay by his side, you know, like she was told to do and all but the closer they got to the market place, the harder it was to actually do that. People weren’t being rude but they had places to be and things to do, so pushing themselves between any gaps in the crowd they could probably didn’t seem all that problematic.
There were vendors calling out their goods, women and men all around moving to get to which booth they wanted to. Some laughter caught her ear, making her turn her head behind them. It was a mother with a little baby wrapped against her chest, her hand holding the much smaller hand of a toddler who was giggling as they walked. It wasn’t unusual Aqua supposed, this was a town full of people but she didn’t see young children very often. Seeing them with their mother who was speaking to the little girl as she gently rubbed the baby’s back, all smiling and happy, made Aqua’s chest feel warm in kinda a weird way.
She looked back to where she was going and nearly ran into the back of someone. She quickly looked around for Terra but he wasn’t anywhere in sight. One moment she had been walking with him and the next thing she knew she was surrounded by people she didn’t know. They weren’t pushing or anything, just trying to get to the market. She tried to look up to see if she could see his head anywhere but she couldn’t see past the crowd of people.
She tried to keep moving her way through, kinda remembering the way to the cliffs. She was more than capable enough to get there on her own but she couldn’t stop the sinking feeling in her stomach. Had Terra even noticed she was gone? The answer was probably yes, but also that he knew she could get there on her own and probably went on without her. It was the truth, but it still made her feel stupid.
Aqua took in a breath and started to maneuver her way through the crowd but before she could get very far a hand grabbed a hold of hers, pulling her through the thick crowd of people. When she finally could breathe again, she saw she was standing on the other end of the street, past the busiest part. Terra’s hand was still holding onto hers and almost unreadable expression on his face.
Before her face had a chance to heat up over the fact that he was still holding her hand, that he did come back from her, he gave her slight smirk. “You’re getting too short, Aqua, I could barely see you in that crowd.”
“I am not getting too short,” she said, using her free hand to hit him in the arm. “You’re too tall, but apparently not tall enough since I couldn’t see you either.”
He opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off before he actually could.
“A flower for your girlfriend?” a flower seller asked, coming up in between them.
Aqua almost felt her face turn as red as the flower the woman was holding at the implication she was giving. Aqua couldn’t even stutter to deny it, she could only stare and barely be able to glace over at Terra.
He seemed a little surprised, like he was caught off guard by the question but he recovered far better than she did. “No, thanks,” he said simply. He did let go of her hand, much to her relief and disappointment all rolled up in one, moving his hand to the back of her head to push her slightly. “Keep moving before you get lost again.”
“I didn’t get lost,” she grunted, crossing her arms against her chest. “Maybe you got lost.”
He snorted but he didn’t say anything else. It didn’t matter too much, because a few moments later Aqua was completely distracted by the ocean.
She ran the last few feet to the overlook built for people to sit and enjoy the view. She went right up to the railing, kicking her feet in between the bars so she could pull herself up and get a better view over the fence.
They had a lake and streams back home but it wasn’t the ocean. There was just something about the salt air, the way the waves crashed against the cliffs, the sea foam bubbling on the edge of the water; not to mention the giant waterfall in the distance that poured off a tall cliff, making it loud and soothing.
There was that laughter again. When Aqua turned her head, she saw that small family again. She watched the little girl climb up into the lap of a man who judging by his happy greeting was her father. He picked her up, swinging her above his head as the woman sat down next to him. He leaned in to kiss her when he placed the toddler in his lap and Aqua quickly turned away.
Terra eventually caught up, leaning his back against the railing next to her though he didn’t seem too interested in it.
“Do you not like it?” she asked, her face feeling unusually warm as she could still hear the happy family talking behind them.
“It’s just water,” he shrugged.
“It’s not just water. It’s a whole ocean full of water with its own creatures and life system to support them. And it’s pretty, just look at it.” She gestured down to the water rippling in the wind. “It moves like…I dunno, like its dancing or something.”
Terra didn’t look towards the water, but he did look at her. She expected some sarcastic response but instead he smiled. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
She gripped her hands down on the railing. In that moment, Aqua thought maybe his smile was nicer than even the ocean. She wondered if it would look as bright as that man’s did, if Terra had a little girl to swing into his arms too. Aqua could almost see him much older than now, tall and strong and holding a cooing child over his head, small hands reaching out to him. Maybe she’d have vibrant blue eyes like his, and maybe she’d have blue hair.
Aqua forced herself out of her mental image with a cringe so hard she couldn’t help but curl her body slightly around the railing, hiding her face that she could feel was burning up from Terra. Oh gods. She couldn’t believe she just thought that. It was more embarrassing than she even knew how to comprehend. If he ever knew…
“Hey, you got sun burn already?” Terra said, reaching a hand out to her chin to tilt her face over to him.
“No!” she exclaimed far louder than she needed to, but her heart was still racing in her chest, pounding in her ears. “I’m fine.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You don’t look fine.”
“I am.”
Terra didn’t look like he bought it at all but he shrugged, looking back out over the area.
Aqua placed her chin on the railing and closed her eyes, letting the salty air blow over her face. Sometimes she wished she could just stop feeling the way she did about him. She wished it would just go away.
“Please behave yourselves!” Aqua called after the retreating backs of her students. It didn’t look like any of them were paying attention any more, not after being let loose to do as they pleased in the town.
At least Sora turned around to give her a thumbs up before Lea grabbed the back of his collar, dragging him off with the rest of them. When even Ven was out of sight she sighed, feeling a mixture of pride and dread.
“You worry too much.”
“I do not worry too much,” she said, glancing over at Terra who was leaning against nearby railing.
“They all did plenty fine before they ever knew you, I’m pretty sure they’ll be perfectly okay in a contained town for the day.”
He was probably right, and yeah, sure, maybe she worried too much. She was pretty sure if she vocalized that, Terra would reaffirm there was no maybe about it. They were all much older than she and Terra were when they were given more freedoms in regards to training and she had seen them all triumph in ways that shouldn’t even be possible. They had barely been living in the castle for half a year and yet she still felt a desire to protect them all, to make sure they always were smiling and happy.
“I guess,” she relented.
Terra rolled his eyes as he straightened his back. “They’re fine. We were always fine, weren’t we?”
He had a point. “Mostly.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
She still knew he was right but she crossed her arms against her chest anyways. “And why aren’t you worrying more? You’re just as responsible now.” She paused for a second looking over to him. “Master Terra.”
After all this time, it did feel very nice to finally be able to call him with the title she always knew he deserved. He passed the exam with no problems what so ever, just like she said he would and she had no problem reminding him of that.
He tilted his head up towards her, a sly sort of smile on his lips. He reached his hands out to place them on her shoulders, leaning in so his chest was against her back, his lips close to her ear. “Oh, please, keep calling me that.”
“Oh, knock it off,” she breathed, though it was a little hard to ignore the shivers on her spine with his warm breath so close to her neck. Aqua did manage to elbow him in the gut though it admittedly wasn’t too hard.
“Relax,” he chuckled, pressing his hands down on her shoulders. “They’re not babies, they’re teenagers. C’mon, I’m not letting you stand here all day and wait for them to come back.” He dropped his hands from her shoulders, just to grab her hand instead.
Aqua started to follow after the last place she saw the kids go, it was a fairly big world after all, chances are they wouldn’t run into them.
“The opposite direction, Aqua,” Terra said, though he sounded more amused then mad as he tugged at her hand.
He was probably right, she was being ridiculous. She followed after where he led, down some other streets to another open area of the town, some sort of performance center in the middle of the large clearing. She heard the waves of the ocean crashing against the side of the cliffs even from she was.  They weren’t her children, they were her students; even Ven more like a brother than anything. Once they passed their exams they’d move on, she was there to teach them and help them grow. It was never to be permanent.
Terra walked over to the edge of the area, dropping her hand to lean over the railing overlooking the vast ocean. He seemed content enough so she leaned her back up against the railing near where he was standing, eyes looking out over the people walking through.
She didn’t know why, considering she didn’t even know some of the kids all that long but the thought made her want to cry. Even Ven would be able to be a master himself soon. He wasn’t that small scared child who came to them so long ago.
“Hey, what’s the matter?” Terra asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she waved him off, though she really felt ridiculous now that she couldn’t even mask her feelings from him.
“Liar.”
When she looked over to him, he was watching her with those deep eyes of his, like he could see right through her. She didn’t have it in her heart to lie to him.
“Ven’s gonna be a master soon too.” Hearing the word’s aloud like that made her feel like she was going to exclaim in joy for him or start to actually cry.
“Yeah, he is,” Terra said, clearly not quite following.
“So will the other kids.”
“Yeah, that’s very true.”
“I don’t want them to.”
He laughed, he actually laughed and she was about ready to hit him. “Yes, you absolutely do. You want them to move on and be the best people they can be. That’s why you agreed to teach them even though we had barely had the world back together. That’s why you’ll accept the next group of students that may come our way, and the next, and so on. That’s who you are.”
Terra was unsurprisingly right. She didn’t actually want them to stay because that would mean they wouldn’t be able to live their lives to the fullest potential she knew each one of them had. “Then why does it feel so bad?”
He had this knowing smile on his face. “You’ve always been a very maternal person, Aqua. You always took care of me even though I was older than you. You took care of Ven when he had no one else in the world. You took care of these kids to help them reach the next part of their lives. It is what makes you a good teacher, because you genuinely care about them and raising them to be good people. But that also mean you have to watch them leave your care, and yeah, sometimes that may be sad, it’s for a good reason. Hell, I don’t even know how I’ll feel watching them move on, especially Ven. He’ll probably stick around with us, but even then he’s not a child anymore.”
It was against her will, but she felt her face heat up at his choice of words. Maternal, he said, like a mother. Aqua looked away, towards the ocean and the cool breeze blowing over her. He wasn’t really saying anything she didn’t already know about herself but there was something about Terra calling her motherly that made her both want to hide her face in embarrassment and also feel a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t sure why her emotions seemed to be all over the place today but it was hard to feel any way than how she was feeling.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she said.
“Probably?” he snorted and that time he did get hit on the chest.
He didn’t say anything else and neither did she. Aqua took to looking around the plaza again, watching the people as they came and went, some hurried like they had something to attend to and others more leisurely wandering. There were individuals, there were couples, there were groups, and there were families. Children chasing the birds in the center of the area, teenagers looking over the edge of the railing, babies cooing as their parents entertained them.
It was a carefully guarded secret of Aqua’s, one she held very close to her heart and never let anyone else have. She had a feeling Master Eraqus might’ve known but no one else, not Ven and especially not Terra.
She very well knew keyblade wielders didn’t live conventional lives. They were protectors, they were peace keepers. They had a job that required travel and careful negotiations; it required battle and the ever lingering danger of Darkness. A lot of the masters she had known in her life weren’t married and didn’t have families; there were a few exceptions of course but not many. She knew from a very young age, it would probably never happen but she could never quite let it go.
Aqua never wanted to give up the life she loved so much but as she watched a small child run into the arms of his father, she couldn’t deny that part of her who always wanted that too. She never dared tell anyone she wanted the house, the husband, the children knowing the answer would be doubt that it would be the best thing for anyone. She understood, she did; she saw what the people she loved, what she went through. Their lives would always be hard. It was safe right now sure, but peace was never a guarantee.
She looked back over at Terra who was still watching the water. She couldn’t quite tell if he had anything on his mind or if he was just enjoying the break. The wind blew his hair around slightly. It was longer than it even used to be, so much so that he was starting to pull it back. It reminded her so much of their master that Terra had to have known it too. Maybe it was his way of paying tribute to the man who trained them, and really the only father the two of them ever knew.
Aqua wondered if Terra ever noticed how much he took after Master Eraqus, not just as a person but as a teacher too. Terra was always patient when he needed to be and strict when he needed to be. He encouraged them but let them learn on their own and never accepted “I can’t do it” as an answer. He took care of Ven and those kids just as much as she ever did.
Though she’d still never admit it, she barely did to herself let alone to him, sometimes watching Terra interact with them she couldn’t help but imagine how he’d be with his own children. The thought used to make her almost cringe from embarrassment knowing the look he’d probably give her if he ever found out. Now it made her face flush with a mix of embarrassment and a strange sort of pleasure knowing that at the current time if he ever chose to have children, it would be with her.
Aqua knew she shouldn’t because the likeliness for her small little dream world to happen was rather slim but she couldn’t help but see it so easily. Sometimes she could see it as herself playing with Master Eraqus before Terra even came to live with them, smiling and laughing over a game she made up, Master Eraqus playing along effortlessly. Sometimes it was Terra with a little girl who looked like him, playing with just as much enthusiasm and joy, making the child feel just like Aqua did when she looked up at their master.
It was a silly thought maybe, but it made her smile.  
Terra glanced over; an amused sort of smile on his face that nearly made Aqua jump, some silly notion in her head that he could actually read her mind. “What?” he asked.
“What?”
“You were staring at me with that sappy face of yours.”
She felt her face heat up a little at being semi-caught. He didn’t know what it was but he knew it was something.
“Oh, you’re blushing, now I really wanna know.”
“Terra,” she started as a warning but it really lacked any force.
He dropped it easily enough, just a smile and a shake of his head. She turned around so she was facing the ocean too, leaning in to nudge her shoulder against his.
“Finally stopped worrying then?” he asked, eyes glancing over at him.
The answer was probably no but she didn’t know if there would be a day she wouldn’t worry about Ven and her very first students. “They’re gonna be okay.”
“Yeah, course they will,” he said, no ounce of doubt in his voice.
Aqua leaned her head over against his shoulder causing him to lean down to nudge his head on hers. She really was happy just how her life was, but maybe one day she’d be able to share the one thing she never shared with anyone before with him.
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vintagegeekculture · 7 years
Note
What do you think of Jack Kirby? Ya' ask me, he definitely deserves the title of King of Comics, and Marvel and Stan Lee definitely screwed him over.
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My favorite comic of all time is Fantastic Four. Do you even need to ask?
One skill I think is undertaught, and which Kirby had inspades, is the ability to tell a story smoothly with the panels, the “filmschool” ability to make still panel shots “cut” together to tell a story. Beinga comics artist is like being a director. For instance, Kirby is one of theearliest artists to not need “transition captions,” that is to say, the oftenparodied “Meanwhile…” If you cut your panels correctly and pace correctly,transition captions are unnecessary. That’s the visual language that Kirby wasa master of, and everyone else imitated. (I’ve never liked narrative captionsunless they express information that can’t be seen in the panel, like givinginformation for all five senses. Anything else is the writer “competing” withthe artist.) 
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Likewise, his comics were smart enough to never use what in filmthey call “dutch angles,” a tilted camera that gives a sense of unreality;unless you have a specific intent in mind, never ever tilt the horizon. Basically,if you want a free course on comic storytelling, read Kirby and see how he doesit; it reminds me of how Orson Welles caught on to the language of film bywatching John Ford’s Stagecoach overand over and over.
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With really important creative people, people always pointto tangible, surface-level texture details about why their work works, likeKirby with his dramatic splash pages and “energy” (feet being five feet apart whenever someone throws apunch), or Joss Whedon’s quippy dialogue, self-awareness, and willingness to “inverttropes” (his stories work because they are structurally good, not because ofthe dialogue, which is surface-level, and his trope subversion always answerthe question the story asked and are not an end in and of themselves), and howpeople dwell on Rod Serling’s gift for “twist endings” over his gift forlunch-pail, unsexy structure. But people respond to these things without beingaware of what it is. For instance, ever notice that you can sit down and devourissue after issue of Kirby’s Fantastic Four, but it’s a slog and stop-and-go toread more than one or two issues at a time of comics from the 1950s?
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Kirby is great not because of his energy or design formachines, although he did very well at both, but how he figured out how to turn comic panels into a story.In fact, I think the texture level things are maybe the least interestingelements of Kirby. People talk a lot about Kirby’s idiosyncratic inking stylewhen he inked his own work, the so-called “Kirby Crackle,” mostly because it iseasy to make fun of and duplicate like the comic equivalent of doing animpression of Jack Nicholson or William Shatner. But Kirby’s art, rated onsheer draftsman ability, always looked so much more polished and clean andbeautiful when it was inked by Joe Sinnott, maybe the greatunsung hero of Fantastic Four.
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Nothing is more boring than resurrecting ancient, long-deadfandom arguments, but I’ve never, ever gone along with the Gary Groth/Comics Journal 1980s idea that “JackKirby did everything, Stan Lee did nothing.” Kirby reminds me a lot of GeorgeLucas: unquestionably brilliant and with his own voice, but someone who worksbest when paired with collaborators who reign him in and bring out the best inhim. Nobody achieves success on theirown. I don’t think I’m saying anything controversial when I say that JackKirby’s best works were the ones he did witha plotter.
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If Kirby can be compared to George Lucas, than his 70s DCbooks were basically his Episode One. Like Episode One, the hype could not havebeen higher: these books were called “Marvel-killers,” but they were canceledafter 20 issues. You know how people say “the book was better?” The FourthWorld was extremely derivative of a much better and more fascinating book,maybe my favorite science fiction novel of all time, Roger Zelazny’s “Lord ofLight.”
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The Fourth World, I think, had a few interesting ideas, but itfailed at “the basics,” which is why people don’t respond to it, and why nobodyever lists Fourth World comics as their favorites or shell out big bucks for anOrion or Lightray action figure. Remember that great Red Letter Media review ofEpisode One where they asked you to identify who the protagonist was for thatmovie? You can’t do that to New Gods. RLM’s great review of Episode II made afascinating and under-analyzed point about the need, in overly complex scifiworlds, to have a fish out of water character to analyze what’s going on aroundyou, otherwise you get lost...another lesson in the basics which Fourth World could have benefited from, too.Almost all the characterization in Fourth World is “tell don’t show” stuff,like how in this panel, we are TOLD Glorious Godfrey is a smug sophist whomanipulates words…but who doesn’t actually do or say anything a sophist would.Nobody ever has to tell us that the Thing is a gruff, tough-minded guy with an outsize personality and a bad temper, who can be almost a childlike softy sometimes...we are SHOWN it.
Also, Thanos is cooler than Darkseid.
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reactingtosomething · 7 years
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Recasting Game of Thrones
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The Setup: The three of you who read our Baby Driver reaction may remember that in response to our mixed (okay, mostly negative) feelings about Jon Hamm being romantically paired with a (good!) actress two decades his junior, we ended up recasting most of the movie just for kicks.
This is of course a time-honored Fun Thing to Do in pop culture fandom, and since we said we wanted to do it again and possibly even regularly, Kris thought the end of Game of Thrones’s seventh season was as good an occasion as any.
Over the next week or two we hope to post a handful of these. Partly as a demonstration for the sake of some of the folks he’s invited to pitch in, below is the first of two recasts from Kris.
So for my money, one of the simplest, biggest missed opportunities in Game of Thrones casting has been the whiteness of non-Westerosi characters. Yeah, we have Grey Worm and Missandei, and they’re great, and so was Khal Drogo. (Not great: it sure looks like most of the Dothraki right now aren’t actually played by extras of color.) But you know who else is originally from various places in Essos? Varys, the Spider. Syrio Forel, the former First Sword of Braavos. The master of the House of Black and White, formerly known as Jaqen H’ghar. Daario Naharis of the Second Sons. The Red Woman Melisandre, and her fellow R’hlloran priest, Thoros of Myr. All of these characters are played by actors of European descent. 
Now, I’m not saying that everyone in Essos should be non-white, or appear non-European, any more than I would say that everyone in Westeros should be white. (Also, I’ve enjoyed all of the performances mentioned above, especially Conleth Hill as Varys and Miltos Yerolemou as Syrio; the latter’s introduction remains my very favorite scene in the entire show.) But to the extent that Game of Thrones has seemed to want to simplistically suggest that everyone “native” to (north-of-Dorne) Westeros is white, then making more non-Westerosi characters people of color would have been an easy, intuitive way for the producers to demonstrate the wokeness they like to pat themselves on the back for pretty hard.
With that in mind, after the jump you’ll find my suggestions for a Game of Thrones lineup that assumes everyone I don’t recast is still played by the mostly white actors we already know and (maybe) love. This will not be the case for a longer recast I’ll post after some of the others have chimed in. But until then:
John Cho as Varys
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I don’t actually have to explain this, do I? He’s John Cho. I could’ve named him for any of a dozen characters and it would probably make sense. I picked Varys because the pragmatic spymaster is one of my favorite supporting characters, or at least he is when he has things to do and say. If I needed a quietly dangerous, unsentimental advisor to deliver difficult truths occasionally leavened by dry wit, and I wasn’t too bothered by his suspicious knack for outliving several employers, I could do a lot worse than one played by John Cho.
Elodie Yung as Thoros of Myr
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Yung is probably best known to you as Netflix-Marvel’s Elektra Natchios. If she’s best known to you as, like, Hathor from Gods of Egypt, get the fuck out of my sight and watch season 2 of Daredevil. As Thoros hails from one of the Free Cities of Essos, it seems to me he could just as easily be a she, or a they, and the hard-drinking Red Priest would let Yung unleash all of the Fun Elektra energy The Defenders squandered. 
Plus, Yung could do a lot of her own fighting, and in this alternate universe I would have her live through “Beyond the Wall” to continue kicking ass and taking names. (I mean, hopefully in this alternate universe something as stupid as “Beyond the Wall” wouldn’t have happened, but I’m trying not to be too greedy here.) Instead of killing Thoros, I’d give Beric Dondarrion the last stand he seemed to want, and let him take one of the lesser White Walkers down with him. That way we’d also get to avoid a deeply silly “Is Jon dead? Of course he’s not” beat, so everyone wins.
Sofia Boutella as Syrio Forel
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(You’re welcome, Miri. Also sorry, Miri.)
You know Sofia Boutella as Gazelle, the blade-legged killer in Kingsman; Jaylah, the marooned martial arts and engineering savant in Star Trek Beyond; and possibly Delphine, the closest thing Atomic Blonde has to a “cinnamon roll” character. I always thought there might have been an element of condescension in Ned Stark’s allowing Arya to be trained by Syrio Forel. Like, “He calls himself a ‘water dancer,’ how intense can this be”, you know? That’s a reading that could be amplified if Syrio is a woman. Doubly so for Meryn Trant’s sneering dismissal. And it seems like Braavos is a pretty socially permissive place.
Again, Miltos Yerolemou’s Syrio Forel is a favorite of mine; I don’t know the guy’s training but he brought a unique quality of movement to those lesson and fight scenes, a grace beyond martial efficiency. Boutella, a trained dancer, could do the same.
Aldis Hodge as Daario Naharis
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Aldis Hodge might be a little on the young side for a veteran mercenary captain, but not so young that I absolutely couldn’t buy it in the world of Game of Thrones. For a guy like Daario, a strong arm counts for a lot and you probably expect to die young anyway. Maybe you’ve seen Hodge do comedy (and crime) in Leverage, or drama (and action) in Underground. He also makes watches? He seems to be one of those infuriating people who’s good at everything he glances at and decides “Hey, I’ll give that a shot.” I haven’t disliked either Daario, but I love Hodge, and think he could bring a lot of life to a kinda boring character sketch.
Ruth Negga as Jaqen H’ghar
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Jaqen H’ghar isn’t really a character I’m invested in -- partly because I'd been hoping from the first time he said “just so” in A Clash of Kings that he’d turn out to be Syrio Forel -- but Ruth Negga (of Agents of SHIELD, Loving, and currently AMC’s Preacher) definitely has the right smoldering charisma, and capacity for surprising hardness, to pull off the assassin/death priest who trains Arya to be the terrifying little sociopath a lot of us got tired of this season. Plus, the Faceless Men seemed like a super obvious opportunity for another gender-swap.
Gemma Chan as Melisandre
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Chan is an actor whose work I wish I knew better; she’s very good in a pretty difficult part in the first season of Humans -- an android slowly (re)gaining full sentience, oscillating between warmth and distance, subservience and toughness -- and at some point I should get around to watching the second. She’s also been cast in Mary, Queen of Scots. 
Melisandre’s supposed to be from the “far East,” and doesn’t “exotic beauty” seem like exactly the kind of Problematic that this show would trip on in casting this character? All the way around I don’t really understand how Carice van Houten happened. I like her a lot, don’t get me wrong! And on some level, as an Asian American I’m relieved that we didn’t get this show’s take on the “exotic” trope here. Whatever her ethnicity, Melisandre’s a character who would be easy to mishandle. But even in the single performance I’ve seen, Chan demonstrates the range and the subtlety to get it right.
Hope you enjoyed this first installment of what I guess we’ll think of as “Reacting to Something Recasts...” I’m not sure which Reactor or Guest Reactor will send in their thoughts next, but I’m looking forward to it.
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dinahinthehat · 5 years
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PART I
BASIC INFORMATION.
What is your character’s full name ?
Dinah Moon
How is it pronounced ?
ˈdaɪnə mun
Is there a meaning behind it ?
The name Dinah means judge or judgemental. It’s a biblical name that appears only once: as a daughter of Jacob who is raped and then avenged by her two brothers.
She doesn’t particularly feel identified with the name’s meaning and backstory, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t interesting to read about. She’s asked her parents many times before why they’d chosen said name, to which her mother often answers with a wonderful tale ( different every time ) about a lady she met with said name on one of her many travels. His father has confessed the name was actually just picked out from a magazine, but she chooses to ignore this piece of information.
Does your character have any nicknames ?
Little kitten
When and where were they born ?
Born on March 4th, 1998, in Carthay.
What’s their zodiac sign and what traits do they most relate to ?
Sun Pisces: empathetic, intuitive, imaginative,
Rising Cancer: sensitive, nostalgic, creative
Moon Gemini: cheerful, open-minded, need to communicate
What’s their nationality ?
She holds two passports, one for the United States of America and one for the Republic of Korea (South Korea).
What’s their occupation ?
Student
What gender do they identify themselves as ?
Female
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE.
What’s their eye color ?
Brown
Do they wear glasses or contacts ?
Neither. Only wears glasses when she feels her sight is tired.
Hair color ?
Dark Brown
Have they ever dyed their hair or wanted to ?
Yes, she has dyed her hair multiple times, though she’s rarely ever kept the color for more than a couple of months. Most of the times, she’s gone for pastel tips and a caramel brown.
Height ?
5′ 4″
Body build ?
Slim
Do they have any birthmarks ?
A small light brown mark on her stomach’s right side. It’s no wider than a quarter and shaped like a paint brush stroke.
Do they have any piercings or tattoos ?
She has both of her ears pierced ( one in her right lobe and two on her left lobe– one just above the other ) and a small tattoo on her right ankle: A handful of daisies in colorful ink.
If not, do they want to get some ?
She's not entirely sure if she’d want any more. Probably only an extra piercing on her right ear to match her left one.
Do they have a healthy life style ?
Hell no. she doesn’t smoke or drink often and she’s never done drugs, but, Dinah hardly ever has a healthy meal on purpose and considers exercise as her mortal enemy. Yoga and tea are probably the healthiest parts of her life.
How easy do they get sick ?
Yes. She constantly has the flu and gets throat infections at least once every three months. That’s about it though, her stomach can handle just about any abuse by now.
Any marks on their body ( injuries, … ) ?
Surprisingly, no. Most of her scars fade.
What’s their personal style/how do they like to dress ?
She loves dresses and sandals. The color pink is very present in her closet and she’s hardly ever spotted outside without a piece that glitter– whether it’s a shimmering shirt, glittery shoes or shining jewelry. If she’s spotted wearing full-length jeans, you should stop and ask if something’s wrong.
What is their favorite and least favorite feature about themselves ?
Favorite: Her hair because she loves to play with it.
Least Favorite: Her height. She doesn’t mind it sometimes but it just makes things hard. She hates not being able to reach things.
PERSONALITY.
Positive traits ?
Creative, optimistic, adventurous
Negative traits ?
Selfish, sensitive, scared
What do they consider to be the best and the worst part of their personality ?
Best: Her open mind.
Worst: Her dependency on others.
Are they more extroverted or introverted ?
Extroverted whenever they know you, introverted the rest of the time.
Any talents ?
Collage crafting, flower growing.
What are their fears ?
Ending up alone, horror movies, large bodies of water and creepy things in the dark.
Do they have any phobias ?
Large bodies of water.
What is their soft spot ?
Flowers, art and Alice Lee.
List 3 pet-peeves they can’t stand ?
People talking with their mouths full, when my nail polish chips & whenever anyone judges me for not making my bed.
EDUCATION.
How far did they go in school ? Are they still studying ?
She's a College Junior. Currently majoring in business– not that it was her choice. She just doesn’t really identify herself with a single major, but her parents insist she must get herself a degree in something.
Do/Did they like school ?
She did, the social aspect of it. Classes where interesting and meeting new people was great, but that doesn’t mean she was specially fond of homework and exams.
What type of student are/were they ?
She was the kind of student that pays attention whenever she’s interested and daydreams whenever she’s not. Very brilliant in some subjects such as history and literature, but hardly ever the straight-A student since she struggled to actually sit down and do her homework or study.
What is/was their favorite subject ?
Art
And their least favorite ?
P.E.
What were they/would they have been voted as “most likely to…” in the yearbook ?
Most likely to sleep through an earthquake.
FAMILY.
Who are your character’s parents ?
Hanna & Joe Moon
How would your character describe them ?
She would describe her mother as one of the strongest, yet kindest women she’s ever met. Her father is a big softy, though he’s more of a logical thinker ( which might just be the reason why he has such a hard time understanding his daughter ). They’re both very caring, yet independent. A couple of overachievers that have decided not to owe anything to anyone.
Do they have any siblings ?
No.
Are they close with their family ?
She is very close with her parents, she trusts them with everything.
ROMANCE & SEXUALITY.
What’s their romantic and sexual orientation ?
Pansexual.
Are they seeing anyone right now ?
Nope.
Have they ever been in an relationship ?
She has, but nothing ever that meaningful.
Have they ever been in love ?
With nutella, yes.
How easy do they fall for someone ?
Not that easy. She develops crushes every now and then but she hardly ever sees them as nothing more than a pleasant view. While she’s a romantic at heart, the fact that romance might be found in real life and not only in her dreamland escapes her some times.
In their view, why didn’t any past relationships work out ?
Because she wasn’t what they were looking for.
What do they look for in someone ?
An open heart, caring ways and a sure companion for her many adventures.
Do they believe in love at first sight ? or fate ?
Fate maybe, but not love at first sight. She thinks it takes a little more than a glance to know the other person’s a compatible.
What’s their views on romance ? Do they go after it or avoid it ?
She doesn’t go after it, but she doesn’t avoid it either. She believes it must be the most beautiful of adventures.
Did they have their first time already ? How was it in their point of view ?
She has, but it wasn’t exactly the best experience ever. She felt used rather than loved and that feeling didn’t sit well with her.
What is their view on sex ?
She thinks it’s a nice and fun adventure. Not that big of a deal, really. BUT, that doesn’t mean she goes about her life giving free sex to anyone. Sex itself is nice but... it’s like this: If somebody goes to the movies with you just because they want to see a movie and you’re the only one available, then the experience is kind of sad because they don’t actually want to go with he movies with you. Going to the movies with someone is only nice when they want to go to the movies because they want to spend some time with you. Otherwise, you’re better off watching the movie on your own.
What are their turn ons and turn offs ?
Turn ons: DIMPLES, pretty eyes.
Turn offs: The smell of cigarettes or fish.
Were they ever cheated on or have they cheated on someone ?
She’s been cheated once by some high school boyfriend. She’s never cheated on anyone, though.
Do they want to get married in the future ?
She thinks so, yes.
Have kids ?
She’s not sure about that one just yet.
QUIRKS.
Are they right or left handed ?
Left-handed
What’s a word that’s always on their lips ?
Gosh & pretty!
Is there a saying they keep on repeating ?
Not really.
Do they curse ?
Never. If she does, then she’s super scared or angry.
What’s their worst habit ?
Secretly resenting her close friends whenever they spend time with other people.
Do they drink or smoke ? How frequently ?
Almost never.
Are they an early bird or a night owl ?
Night owl, definitely.
How tidy is their room ?
Not at all. However, it’s not dirty. Things are just all over the place.
How long to they usually take getting ready in the morning ?
About two hours.
FAVORITES.
What’s their favorite color ?
Pink
Favorite movie ?
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Music Genre ?
Pop and alternative rock??
Food ?
Sweet
Book ?
Emma by Jane Austen
Favorite non-alcoholic drink ?
Green Tea with Jasmine.
Ice Cream Flavor ?
Strawberry
Indoors or outdoors ?
Both, really.
PART II
The cutie
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheCutie
Dinah fits quite well in the trope. She’s cute, she’s sweet and she can be a little childish. Although her voice is not child-like and she’s not exactly naïve in many subjects, she remains a sweet natured girl with a cute personality.
Innocent flower girl
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InnocentFlowerGirl
Although the trope states this girl is supposed to make a living out of growing and selling flowers, Dinah fits in every other aspect. She’s nice and kind, with a good heart. But most importantly, she loves to do all kinds of things with flowers: from growing them in her tiny garden, to making flower crowns and flower pressed art with them.
Spoiled sweet
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpoiledSweet
She grew up never needing anything. Although she’s not crazy rich, her family is wealthy. Meaning, Dinah grew up a little spoiled and pampered. This did not affect her good nature, though. She remains to be generous, kind and only a little selfish when it comes to the attention of the ones she loves the most.
Spirited young lady
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpiritedYoungLady
A very proper lady. Grew up knowing all about etiquette and proper speech and good education. And though she applies most of it into her everyday life (by having correct posture, never swearing and always being polite), she’s got that spark the spirited young lady has. The one that makes her go off into adventure and makes her eyes be curious ones.
Flower in her hair
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FlowerInHerHair
It’s pretty simple. She’s the kind of girl that wears flowers in her hair. She often seeks the company of others that too love making flower crowns and braiding pretty daisies on their braids, so they can do each other’s hair.
Desperately looking for a purpose in life
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife
Although she’s a happy child, Dinah can get a little sad sometimes– Not that she’d let anyone see. It’s just... growing up. She sees all of the people around her growing up and getting a sense of purpose and she’s just left feeling kind of stuck and alone. She’s yet to find her own thing.
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