#'how do I interpret that human facial expression' and 'why do humans have hair on their heads'
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springagainafter · 6 months ago
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Post-Therum crew meeting!
I really miss the post-mission crew meetings in 2 and 3. In 2 it's just Miranda and Jacob talking at Shepard and in 3 I think the only time it happens is post-Thessia, when everyone's upset.
This one involves Liara - who sure is Having a Day - and PROTHEANS and Merrick just happening to have the answer to the question Liara's been spending fifty years trying to solve.
Joker was fabulous ("The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference") and shocked Liara a bit because hey, they almost died.
Apparently coping with humor is not a common trait in asari academia - Liara's comment was "It must be a human thing."
Much like Ash doesn't have much experience dealing with aliens, Liara doesn't have much experience dealing with humans.
She was grateful for being saved from the geth and the volcano (and no doubt the Prothean bubble, although she doesn't say that).
Kaidan asked if she knew what the Conduit was; Liara didn't know.
Liara: Only that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the last fifty years trying to find out what happened to them.
Merrick absolutely looked her up on the extranet before heading to Therum, so he has no grounds later to be all offended when she looks him up on the extranet.
This was prompted by a very awkward conversation with Joker earlier where Joker went straight into defensive mode and Merrick was a little startled because he hadn't known Joker was sick because he didn't read Joker's file first (because Anderson was all "why don't you talk to everyone before reading their files"). So naturally his reaction to getting a mission to find an asari scientist was "look her up on the extranet to get some idea of who I'll run into."
His main takeaway was that he was impressed by the sheer amount of research she's done, and he did notice that there were also multiple "here's why my esteemed colleague Dr. T'Soni is dead wrong" papers, which did not seem to slow Liara down any.
At this point he asked how old she was because wow, fifty years of research.
Liara: I hate to admit it, but I am only a hundred and six.
Ash chimed in and said she hoped she looked that good when she was Liara's age XD.
Liara: A century may seem a long time to a short-lived species like yours. But among the asari, I am barely considered more than a child.
Ohhhh, that is some Unfortunate phrasing coming from a character who's written as a love interest.
The intended reading (or what I *hope* the intended reading is) is what she says next: "That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories on what happened to the Protheans."
I do think it's significant that 1) other asari dismiss her and 2) the Normandy crew does not, which must make a lovely change and I'm just going to ignore the phrasing in that previous line because she acts like and is treated like an adult by everyone. Other asari in the same stage of life she's in are running around the galaxy being mercs or dancers or whatever and are also treated like adults.
The Normandy crew - aside from some mostly offscreen initial suspicion because she's Benezia's daughter - treats her like a Prothean expert and she gets referred to by her title and last name several times.
(The first conversation has Shepard calling her Liara from the get-go. Merrick absolutely gravely refers to her as "Dr. T'Soni" when he's talking to or about her most of the time, which is mostly out of respect - he'd do that even if he didn't like her - and a little bit because he's sticking with formality to hide the fact that he's attracted to her. Liara refers to him by his title for similar reasons).
Anyway, Merrick listened to her talk for a while about PROTHEANS and how "the galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction" and "I've dedicated my life to finding out why the Protheans disappeared" and finally told her the Reapers wiped out them out.
Liara: The-- The Reapers? But I have never heard of-- How do you know this? What evidence do you have?
Here comes some random human casually having the answer to the problem that she's spent half of her life working on, whoops.
Merrick explained about the Prothean beacon ("It burned a vision into my brain" - that. uh. sure is a fun choice of words - and "I'm still trying to make sense of what it all means").
Liara fortunately knew a bit more about Prothean beacons and talked about them for a bit and how "finding one that still works is extremely rare." Ooof, that is painful given what's on Thessia.
And then she talked about how the beacons were only meant to work with Prothean physiology and got a little starry-eyed at Merrick (who spent most of this meeting letting her talk and looking grim because that's just his resting >:| face.)
Liara: I am amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander.
My interpretation of Ash's rather snippy "This isn't helping us find Saren. Or the Conduit" line at this point is that it's related to the love triangle, so I'm ignoring it. Presumably she still redirected the conversation at this point since it's gotten off-track but didn't say it Like That, then Liara said she didn't have any info on how to find the Conduit or Saren.
But of course she's sticking around anyway, hooray!
Shepard: I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture. But I think we're a lot better off bringing you along.
Yeah!
The Saren's-out-to-get-Liara plot point gets totally dropped after this. I would not have minded some Fallen Order-esque "mercs occasionally pop out of nowhere to attack you" shenanigans.
Liara said thanks and that Saren might come after her again (he doesn't) and "I cannot think of anywhere that would be safer than on your ship" (aw) and "my knowledge of the Protheans would be useful later on."
For the romance, I vastly prefer this version of events rather than picking her up post-Feros. She's had a tough enough day without having to do the mind meld with some human she's known for ten minutes; Merrick would not have been real thrilled about that prospect either.
Merrick told her it was good to have her on the team (and smiled a little!) and Liara thanked him again and narrowly avoided swooning right in front of him (alas).
Kaidan asked her when she'd last eaten or slept and that Dr. Chakwas should look at her (I LOVE Kaidan and Liara being friends, aaahh) and that was pretty much it for the meeting.
And then Merrick got to talk to the Council and immediately got defensive over Liara Dr. T'Soni when they were all "are you taking security precautions since she's Benezia's daughter?" And then they were all "did you really have to blow up those Prothean ruins" and he was all "yes. there were geth" and nobody was real happy but at least it was a mercifully brief chat.
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andromedasolarsystem · 25 days ago
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We never really get much on the main groups backstories. We get bits and crumbles but I think the only few in depths ones we get are Sakura, Ume, and Endo. But I do think a lot about this page specifically for Sugishita.
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From what we know about Sugishita is that he’s an awkward and violent guy. It’s never really explored why he is the way he is, but the cast have accepted him as he is. Which is something I cannot imagine he had before. Sugishita is real big. I mean he really is built like a bulldozer his grandfather had to extend his bed so that Sugishita could sleep. He also hits his head on his doorframe!
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He has good intentions though. He *wants* to be good. He just gets a little blind sighted. He was the first middle schooler to ever be adopted into Bofurin. And it was likely because Ume approached Sugishita after seeing his ability and his want for human connection. I really think Sugishita is just,, depressed. He sleeps all the time and he doesn’t know how to cope with feeling bad so he gets angry about it. He’s awkward with people and doesn’t know how to control his facial expressions so the way he shows he cares is through acts of service.
Just look at him,,, He wants to connect with others but has no idea how to,,,
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But I do also think we get a somewhat distorted or incomplete version of Sugishita since the story is from Sakura’s perspective. Sakura and Sugishita are kinda like found family brothers and both look up to Ume and fight for his praise. Not that I don’t like it. I find it very charming! :> They’re brothers your honor!!
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OH OH OH!!! AND!!!! It’s not directly said but I do think Sugishita looks up to other people. I mean look at his hair. Look at what product he uses. He’s awkward with words and often what he wants to say comes out a completely different way so his actions speak louder than his words. I also know that Japan has a lot of superstition with hair so it might be that he’s following the ‘hair holds memories’ belief. He wants to hold and take care of these new memories that Bofurin has given him. They,, gave him his world. Before he never had much of anything- he doesn’t even have games on his phone or has things he enjoys. But he seems to enjoy things when other people are involved.
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I could be totally wrong on all this but that’s my interpretation of the character. :> I like Sugishita a lot and I feel like he’s really often overlooked.
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All of Charlie’s art in Dee Made a Smut film has always fascinated me. But today I want to focuses on a couple that really stood out to me and why I think they help teach the message of the episode.
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This painting shows a woman with dirty blonde hair and a halo ripping out a man’s heart while he’s wearing The Boy footie pajamas from Nightman. I think when Charlie painted this, he intended it to be him and the Waitress—she ripped his heart out when she rejected him after his play but he still sees her as an angel.
But doesn’t it also kind of look like Dee and Dennis? Especially with the messy makeup on the woman, the way the man’s face looks like it can have facial hair or be clean shaven depending on how you look at it. In this scene where the painting is shown, Dee is confronting Dennis with his trauma, showing everyone his bloody ripped out heart and acting like she’s doing him a kindness (killing him while seeing herself as an angel). Also super interesting in hindsight when you consider that in DTAMHD Dennis fantasizes about eating a bloody heart to sooth himself, taking the trauma back into his own body in a sense.
Let’s look at some more.
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A painting of dogs barking (at a human shape maybe? Hard to tell) and a rat covered in blood. To Charlie, I again think these are pretty straightforwardly about his life—he was illustrating Cricket’s dog orgy and the rats he bashes at Paddy’s.
But in the scene they’re framing Dennis, who is in the middle of trying to make excuses for the CSA he suffered. He’s trapped like a rat who’s being bashed, he wants to scream and howl like those dogs but he can’t. And the dog orgy is literally Cricket being assaulted by dogs and then playing it off casually so that’s also a pretty obvious parallel.
In this scene Dennis also explains that he thinks good art is just whatever the “right” people say is good art. Because he’s never been able to connect with his feelings due to his trauma, Dennis has always had a hard time connecting with art on a personal level (in sharp contrast to Frank, who sees himself in art depicting WWII so deeply he has an out of body experience). Like most things in life, Dennis only sees art for its social and commercial value, not as a way to feel connection. That’s why he’s so dismissive of all art that isn’t porn, because porn at least has an obvious tangible use. But even then, even then, when he tries to make “artistic” porn, his mind immediately (subconsciously) tries to express his trauma, using art to express his deepest wounds in a way he isn’t even aware of. And I think Dee sees that and tries to help him through her own interpretation of his art, continuing the metaphorical conversation he started, but she’s also petty, and bitter about him mocking her art at the beginning of the episode, so she does it in a way that’s vicious and public. Art can hurt you, make you think about things you don’t want to, and Dennis hates that. He doesn’t see the emotional connection he could make with Charlie’s art or Dee’s or even his own because he won’t let himself.
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transsexualhamlet · 2 years ago
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the debate opens. is sauron woman coded
please be normal im not being serious here
I must state I am insane and transgender but this is a valid and well known lens of critical analysis, and purposefully choosing to examine how a piece's themes can be interpreted to the issues of sex and gender despite them Definitely not originally being intended that way is literally a core function of the teaching and study of literature. HOWEVER this is all just fun and games obviously I'm not trying to do anything but entertain a hypothetical here
As all the Valar and Maiar choose their physical forms and are not inherently gendered, what their actual bodies are shaped like is not super important, though most of them are seen to have pretty consistent gender representations. And it must also be considered that the gender norms of Elves (whose forms the Maiar and Valar are based off of) are not those of the 21st century west or even Men(the species, not the gender). Elves do not have facial hair, tend to have softer and sharper features than humans, they do not cut their hair to short lengths, and delicacy, embroidery, style and length of clothes is more indicative of profession and situation than of gender. I.E., Galadriel and Celeborn in the movies are very similar in clothing and appearance, both wearing long loose robes and having similar facial structure and hair. But social roles and facets of misogyny still play a major part in society in the Silmarillion- though some women who take on masculine roles are praised, those who remain in the feminine are still largely seen as objects.
I see both Melkor and Mairon as more of a Loki type, body wise- whether they have boobs or not that day is pretty irrelevant. But despite that, Melkor most often takes a traditionally masculine role, and Mairon a traditionally feminine. Melkor is always seen as very strong, tall, and muscular, commanding, willful, physically imposing. His movements are bold and overt and blunt. Mairon is a servant and a homemaker, loyal, physically beautiful and desired, always trying to please. His own plans are executed through quiet control of other people through his beauty and submission.
That compounded with his immutable hierarchical role (Mairon having been delegated as a lesser being than the Valar from the start) builds up to the reality that Mairon has both the experience of a cis woman (one who was designated by their physical abilities to a lesser role and is punished for wishing for power outside of that station, as well as discredited for still being feminine) and of a transfeminine person (one who leaves their designated role in the status quo to an inherently transgressive creativity of expression, is punished for daring to question how they were made by god, and is seen as inherently 'tricking' people by the right of being beautiful.)
So, irrelevant of generally having a male body (seen as feminine to Numenorean Men already, because their definition of masculinity is different) Mairon can be seen to take a feminine role in society, mostly of his own choice. In this respect I think it is a large part of why Melkor was depicted as, although evil, a respectable leader, a powerful enemy to be feared, whereas Mairon, especially judged on his own methods after Melkor, was largely written as a jealous "seducer" with little power or will of his own, an often-used archetype, a Lady Macbeth. Did they both definitely suck? Yes! But were they women about it? Absolutely.
Of course, I am intentionally pulling these elements together to create this interpretation, and I am in no way trying to insinuate that it is actually true or to be taken seriously in any sense. It's a thought exercise. Sauron is in no way genuinely oppressed, people hate Sauron because he fucking sucks. But I do not see any harm in messing around with people's genders to explore social issues, nor in the act of enjoying villains as characters and understanding what made them become such. I'm under no delusion that the giant eye was actually a good guy. You would have to be living under a fucking rock not to realize that.
One might say, well, Rowan, representing Literally Sauron Pretty Much The Second Worst Person Ever as a hashtag misunderstood woman is maybe not the best representation. And to that I would say god forbid women do anything
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the-prophesied-disco-gay · 7 months ago
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This is not comprehensive, and I am not a professional. I am autistic, I have ADHD, I have BPD and DID. This is what has helped me, both in learning to mask and learning to interact/function whether masking or not:
- study body language. I don't mean the crap about "if someone looks to the left they're lying" or any of that nonsense. Look for information about body language in terms of the massive amount of nonverbal communication humans do. For example, the way people lean away or try to make themselves smaller and quieter when a person is making them uncomfortable. That can help indicate to you when something you are doing is scaring, confusing, or upsetting someone. Angling their body toward you, leaning closer, open body language indicates engagement and interest. There is lots more. A huge percent of human communication is unspoken, and learning the nuances helped a LOT with the "why don't people just say what they mean?!?" issue. They ARE, just not exclusively with words.
- along those same lines, tone is big. Tone of voice and volume are both part of the whole "communication beyond just the actual words" thing. Both are extremely important in both understanding others and clearly communicating with them yourself. Which makes it a bitch and a half that the 'tism makes it so damn hard to both interpret others tone and figure out how to modulate our own. Personally, I studied this like an alien observing a species I was trying to understand. There are yt videos that show the differences in tone for things like excited, happy, irritated, mocking, etc, both sound only and with accompanying facial expressions, with real people. It's really helpful for some people.
- learn the scripts, but remember they are not set in stone. Societies have social scripts for just about everything, and they will vary based on where you live and what culture(s) you are a part of. A common example is the the USAmerican "how ya doin?" "Good, you?" "Good, thanks!" Most of the time, this exchange is not communicating the actual mental/emotion condition of each party, it is an acknowledgement script meant to establish upon contact that you are not hostile toward each other. It is used with people you don't know or aren't close to. As you get more experienced with these interactions, you will find the script can vary. Sometimes a person will respond with something like "ah, rough day but what can you do *chuckle*" It's the same script function, keeping the interaction light and relatable without going into actual detail. The option for further conversation is there, but it doesn't create an obligation for it. There are also loose scripts for casual work or school interactions, job interviews, dealing with the police, customer service interactions, and many others. If you learn the *function* of these scripts, it makes it much easier to adjust when people don't follow them exactly. The words might be different but what they are communicating and expecting is still much clearer.
- try to learn the *why* behind social rules like manners and why certain things are considered rude. Much of modern "politeness" doesn't make any sense in the modern day. It's almost all holdovers from different times. For example, it's considered rude to wear a hat to the dinner table because back before cars, there was horse hair and manure and all manner of things mixed in with the dust that got kicked up into the air, and if you wore your hat to dinner, all that nastiness would sprinkle down on the table from the brim of your hat when you looked down. No elbows on the table comes from when tables would be a plank of wood set over some supporting items like stumps or rocks or logs, and leaning on it could unbalance it. Only the wealthy had enough space for a table to be permanently set up for eating, everyone else used that space for work between meals. Knowing these details won't make the rules more logical for the modern day, but it can help remind you what they are. Every time someone sits at a table with a hat on, my brain goes "lol horse poo hat" 🤣 No one else needs to know what's going on in your head, all they see is that you smile and take your hat off, and they think "gosh what a well-mannered person, how refreshing"
- there are a lot of resources for adulting. Help with creating a resume and practice for interviewing is available at most colleges and unemployment offices and social services offices. You learn what kind of information to share and what not to. All those unspoken rules ARE spoken and explained somewhere, it's a matter of finding that info. There is also info available for navigating the medical system, the legal system, school systems, housing, and more. Any local agencies or organizations that help the poor are a good place to start for educational resources on this stuff.
-if you are unsure what the social dynamic/rules are for an interaction, watch and wait before jumping in. See if you can parse it. If not, smile and laugh when everyone else does and keep responses to agreement or neutral, like "yeah" or "oh?" You don't want to be the person who jumps into a Wincest fanfic discussion with "lol yeah incest is great!" because you didn't parse the context of these being fictional characters played by unrelated actors and therefore not necessarily an expression of actual comfort or approval re: incest. Instead, stick with things that are clear from the existing conversation without the need to understand subtext, like expressing a like of the show in general or a comment about whether you like Sam or Dean better. Use what has already been made clear (they are in this fandom if they are discussing this fanfiction, therefore they like the show and characters).
- and finally, you can get away with a LOT more weird than you think. People like predictable and "normal," but they like confidence even more. What they dislike most is "trying for normal but failing." That sends subconscious signals of "not only is this person not like me, they are trying to deceive me about it, therefore they are potentially dangerous." Is it fair? No. But it is the way most human brains work and we have no control over it. We evolved as a social species and the ability to recognize that someone is different from your group, and mistrust of deceptions, are both safety mechanisms in a social species. We can teach ourselves to recognize harmless differences and attempts to blend in, but it requires knowledge and effort to so and most folks simply don't know it's even something they are experiencing in the first place. However, if you remove the deception, the attempt to blend in, people often can handle weird. How many stories do you come across every day of people realizing their dad, or uncle, or grandma were *obviously* neurodivergent, but no one clicked to it? The more you accept yourself, the more others will accept you out of pure social contract. Your mileage may vary, but I seldom have issues just bluntly saying "hey y'all it's loud and bright in here, I'm gonna take a breather" and "hot damn I like that so much saying so ain't enough, the hands are gettin involved!" If you are positive and accepting of your own traits, habits, and needs, other people will be more likely to be as well.
With people you are close to, it's not only perfectly fine, but encouraged to be open about things. It's really helpful for your loved ones to be told what your meltdown/shutdown triggers are, and the warning signs. To be told that your emotions/mental state cannot be read by tone or facial expression (if that's true for you of course). It's not any different from a person with migraines needing to avoid those triggers or retreat to someplace quiet and dim. People want to know what to do for those they care about and get frustrated and upset when they don't know how to handle something, and tend to distance from people who frequently experience things that leave the friend feeling helpless. So give them that know-how. Let them know how to help and then let them know after that they did good and you appreciate their help. Most folks love to feel helpful, that they are doing good in this world, so let them know! They'll start to associate that good feeling with being around you! Don't make a big production of it or say it over and over, or it will come across as either dishonest or overwhelming and uncomfortable, but do say it once ^_^
Some folks cannot mask. Some cannot learn these things, or not all of them, to this degree. There is a huge variety of ability and support needs out there. But if you're trying to adult on your own, these strategies might be a good starting point for you. Please add on in reblogs! Maybe together we *can* make the instruction manual for adulting! <3
I’m not sure if this is a neurodivergent thing, but I really wish there was a manual for adults. I’m 27 and feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. I also have no idea how to talk to people so I often stay silent.
Anyone else feel this way?
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piratemeansno · 2 years ago
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I finished watching The Sandman a few days ago, and - as one does - have been scrolling through the tags and references on twitter and tumblr. A common opinion I've been seeing is that Dream's get up isn't "authentic" because he looks too human-esque / is quite different from the Comics. If I recall correctly, @neil-gaiman mentioned in an interview that they did try the pale skin & black eyes look, but it just didnt work out.
Regardless of whether it could have worked out or not, I'm really happy they stuck with the way Morpheus is shown on screen, and I have a bunch of reasons for that [outlined later]. But before that, I really want to talk about how ridiculous it is to expect a human become an absolute mirror of an illustration without it looking a bit off. Resemblance in terms of looks is important, yes, but only to fulfill the context/ reasons for why the character was drawn in a certain manner - and I think these are fulfilled really well. I want to outline three aspects about Dream that the show explores and how the makeup & eyes align with it. I have read the comics, but am writing this post on the basis of the show in isolation (as much in isolation as is possible)
1) Dream's Nature
We see right from the beginning of episode 1 that Dream is not someone who is particularly loquacious. Now of course it's understandable why one might not want to converse with their captor, but we see this throughout the season - with Death, with Hobbs, even with Matthew. Dream is someone, er, something, that only talks when it's required of him to do so - largely when he has to demand something or express authority. It's precisely because of his reticence that body language becomes the medium through which the audience is able to interpret his behavior and emotions.
In the comics, each reader has their own view of what Dream might look like, and there are the narrative / descriptive speech bubbles to help set the atmosphere & tone of a particular action or exchange of actions between the characters. In the show we only have the lighting, music, and of course, the way Sturridge carries himself. This is where the makeup & hair department shines.
In not giving Sturridge the big poofy hair that seems integral to Dream, it allows the viewers to concentrate on his face without any distractions. This is crucial, because anything the viewer wants to know about Dream has to be ascertained through Sturridge's eyes & facial expressions. In not giving him pitch black eyes, Dream is emotionally an open book - we see him flinch when Jessany dies, his eyes cloud up when he learns about the theft of his tools, and the twinkle of amusement everytime he meets Hob Gadling. So yes, for the audience to get a feel of what lurks behind Dream's seemingly emo boy exterior, it is essential for us to be able to focus on his face. And Sturridge does this portrayal exceptionally well [although that's for a different post]
2) Dream's Relationship to Humanity
I think unarguably, this season is about Dream understanding his position with humans - right from the torture & frustration at being kept in captivity by Roderick Burgess, upto him acknowledging his companionship with Hob Gadling. I'd put forth that this exploration was successful because of how human Dream looks.
Every moment in episode 1 when the camera focuses on him, we're able to sense the pain in his eyes, the intensity of losing Jessany when he flinches, and the anger of being treated so horridly while captive. He is stripped down to a fragile being, and the audience is compelled to view him as a helpless human. With the demonic like appearance as in the comics, it would be difficult for an audience to accept that he was truly captured and couls not escape. Interestingly, one of the few (only?) times across the season when we do see Dream's pitch black eyes is when he blows sand into the security's eyes after stepping out from his prison & when he goes to exact revenge on Alex. It's a reminder that Dream is not human, but more importantly it comes at a point where Dream no longer wills to have a relationship with humanity, his only aim is to destroy those that hurt him.
Dream understanding that his purpose is to serve humanity is a product of him interacting with humans, or being compelled to observe humans (by Death). His appearance (and costume) here becomes integral to how people perceive him as well. Johanna Constantine looks him over when he approaches her, and even goes as far as to ask him who he is. Hob Gadling is curious each century as to Dream's identity. Both these sets of interactions were able to play out because Dream looked human. Both these people played significant roles in reminding him what he should be doing - Johanna when she reminded Dream that humanity was right in front of him, and Hob by just being Hob. Dream having humanlike characteristics makes it convincing & believable to the audience that he wants to serve them because he genuinely cares and understands his purpose - and not just because it was an obligation given to him upon his creation. It also shows his growth from being someone who plotted revenge for a century to someone who wants to help people.
3) Dream is Not Human
One can argue that Dream is not supposed to look human because he isn't - he's a menace, he's terrifying, he's the lord of dreams and nightmares. But the humanlike appearance is exactly what allows the direction to focus on actions and qualities that make him not human.
Gwendoline Christie [for those of you unaware, she plays Lucifer] in an interview with Cinemablend mentioned that the complexities and conflicts of Lucifer portrayed very human qualities of the character. "You believed that was a person, you could see it." The same goes for Dream - the audience, although aware that Dream is a member of the Endless, still sees some human-ness to him, and views him as a person. And it's this human-ness precisely that shows us how much he is not. His moments of tenderness when he gifts Abel the gargoyle egg or helps Shakespeare achieve his dreams of being a playwright contrasted with moments of abject harshness when he unmakes Gault or takes Hector away from Lyta are marks of the power that rests with Dream. Power is such a human thing to want - but to have so much of it is decidedly otherworldly, and wr are constantly reminded of the same. Dream is terrifying because he looks human but has power beyond the scope of human capacity and imagination.
tl,dr; I like that they didnt make tom sturridge look like comics dream because we were able to witness all the wonderful eye acting and walk through Dream's journey with him, while still being reminded that he is a Lord of the Endless
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softmary · 4 years ago
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Here, have a self-insert two alien bois with a S/O who is extremely shy because I'm procrastinating again:
Yautja (Predator)
He is confused. Why are you constantly looking around? Why do you touch your hair so much? Why do you speak so softly? If you want to survive out there, you must strike fear in your enemy, not look like easy prey!
He wants you to be comfortable. Seriously, seeing you like this makes you look like you're are afraid of everything and he doesn't like that. You are in a relationship with an alien capable of killing a xenomorph, you should feel safe around him!
He wants to protect you. You are the least threatening being he's come across, it's only natural that your mate wants to keep you as close to him as possible and whenever he is unable to be around you, he leaves his hunting hound with you even if he needs it. He'll take a little longer to come back home with dinner, but he can manage.
You are very easy to read. Despite your timid nature, you are surprisingly good at unconsciously exteriorizing your emotions. He can interpret every single manerism, posture and facial expression of yours. When he notices you are unusually awkward, he steps in front of you and snarls at whoever is making his tiny human insecure.
Lots of reassurance. You are all small and harmless and he finds that very endearing. He loves to hold you, sit you on his lap and cuddle you. He could do that for hours. Whenever he is unable to do either of those things, he will gently place his forehead against yours and purr sweetly while holding your hands.
He will train you. There are no excuses! You can't just go around without knowing how to properly kick some ass. You will start out with basic self-defense and escalate little by little to more effective battle techniques. Don't worry, he knows you are different from him so he is very patient and praises you whenever you make any progress (in a very special way 👁️👁️)
Venom
Also confused. How can a simple task such as speaking be so tedious for you? And even when you do it, you are almost whispering (at least, so it seems to him) Though, he really appreciates your quiet tone of voice as he doesn't take kindly on loudness.
You are amusing. He just LOVES to tease you and get a reaction out of you, be it by making escandalous comments or straight up touching you in questionable places. Don't worry, he may be a jerk sometimes, but he knows when to stop.
Surprisingly gentle. Your skin is so warm and tender, he could eat you right up! (quite literally) But he won't. You are way too precious to become his meal. He is aware of how easely intimidated you are and while he uses this for his benefit, most of the time he is very careful with you.
Damn, he horny. Seeing you so submissive really arouses him. He might be an alien, but he still has his needs that need to be fulfilled and you are the perfect candidate. He can be a little animalistic when pleasuring you: he licks, bites and scratches.
Definetely has a size kink. No, but for real, he will take any chance to remind you just how short you are compared to him (you know, in case you forgot) This is just one of his many ways of teasing you.
P u r r i n g. I don't care what others say. If he comes from space and sometimes behaves like an animal, he purrs. Fite me. When you are more confident around him and start cuddling, he tries to hold back but ends up purring. He might get salty if you point it out or call him "cute", but deep down he likes to be praised and spoiled with love, too.
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royalwilmon · 3 years ago
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Behind the scenes of Rosh, Ayub, and Simon suspecting the Wille Simon is texting is Prince Wilhelm?? Those conversations in ch10 got me wondering about how their first convo about it went down.
- Kai💜 purplehoodiesimon
idk why this was impossible to write but several days later, here it is, lmao. simon really came to believe wille=wilhelm veryyy gradually, so this is just the initial "lol what if" to rosh&ayub
an angel ain't what i need (call me up late irl #10)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
(8:23) I really wish it were that simple
(8:24) Why isn’t it??
(8:26) Let’s drop this, Simon
All day long, Simon thought about the conversation he had with Wille during his morning bus ride. Wille was so private and clearly had some secrets about his personal life that he was trying to keep under wraps. Of course Simon wanted to respect his privacy, but he was only human. His curiosity was bound to get the better of him sooner or later.
Simon spent the middle portion of his day training with the rowing team in the gym. Every now and then he’d catch a glance of August. Ever since August had approached Sara about her medication, his presence has put Simon on edge. Now that things were complicated further by August owing Simon a sizable amount of money, he was even more uncomfortable during their interactions at school.
Simon still felt guilty about letting the stress he felt with the whole August situation bleed into his interactions with Wille. He had no good reason to take it out on him, especially when Wille had been so patient and understanding with his sudden distance and change of mood. Simon was grateful for the way Wille had allowed for him to be able to rant a little bit about his situation. Wille had been right - bottling it up wasn’t doing him any good.
Still, Simon wondered about Wille’s reaction when Simon had started to air his grievances about the way Hillerska’s upper crust treated him. Wille was vague and quiet in a way that at this point felt uncharacteristic of him. What little he did say could possibly be interpreted as defensive, which might have had something to do with the fact that Wille himself seemed to belong to a similar social class as those Simon was complaining about. At this point, though, this was all assumptions and guesswork on Simon’s part.
As he caught a glimpse of August through the mirror, focused intently on keeping pace on the rowing machine, Simon remembered how he had brought up August’s connections to Crown Prince Erik to Wille yesterday. And then, something in the back of his mind caused Simon to remember about Erik’s younger brother.
In truth, Simon didn’t know very much about Prince Wilhelm. He had a potentially outdated mental picture of what he looked like: straight brown hair parted down the middle and a facial expression that always looked a bit lost. Simon knew he was a couple years younger than Erik, and he also vaguely recalled him being in the tabloids a month or so ago, but at the time, he hadn’t cared enough to figure out what for.
Wille could be short for Wilhelm, Simon thought slowly, and the rest of the puzzle pieces continued to fall into place in his head.
Simon let the thought simmer in the back of his mind for the rest of the day, until Ayub and Rosh joined him on the bus ride back home after school. The two of them were very aware of Simon’s new mysterious texting friend, and had spent the past few weeks offering their own thoughts and theories. After greeting his friends, Simon resolved to get right down to business.
“I’m going to say something and you guys are going to think I’m crazy.”
Rosh and Ayub exchanged a look that Simon understood immediately to mean that they already thought Simon was crazy. He had a feeling this wasn’t going to go over very well.
“That’s a given,” Rosh said with a nod. Simon rolled his eyes.
“Remember the guy I’ve been texting? Wille?”
“Simme, you talk about him every day,” Ayub laughed. “What do you mean ‘remember’?”
Simon swallowed and closed his eyes, not wanting to see his friends’ reactions to what he was about to say.
“I’m wondering if maybe he might be Prince Wilhelm.”
Rosh let out a bark of laughter. “You’re not texting the prince, Simon. Come on.”
“Is the prince even allowed to have a phone?” Ayub asked. Rosh rolled her eyes.
“Of course, dumbass. It’s not the middle ages.”
Ayub shrugged. “I didn’t know if it was a security thing.”
“What makes you think you’re texting Prince Wilhelm?”
Simon shifted in his seat, glancing down at his phone, which he currently had opened to his text conversation with Wille.
“I mean, Wille could easily be short for Wilhelm. And he comes from money and has a brother that went to Hillerska.”
“A lot of rich people have brothers that went to Hillerska,” Rosh replied, unconvinced.
“Right, but a lot of sixteen-year-olds with names that start with W?”
“Probably, yes.”
“Also, you have no way to know the guy you’re texting is telling the truth,” Ayub supplied. “He could be dropping hints to make you think that he’s rich and royal just to fuck with you.”
“I guess,” Simon replied with a shrug.
“There is absolutely no way you’re texting Prince Wilhelm.” Rosh was firm with this statement, almost making Simon feel embarrassed for even having considered the possibility.
“I mean, it’d be fucking huge if you were. I mean, can you imagine?” Ayub’s voice was softer, calming Simon’s nerves. “Plus, like, Sweden having a gay prince?”
Rosh laughed loudly. “I’m sure the stuffy old traditionalist royals would have a fucking field day with that one.”
Ayub shrugged. Simon’s head continued spinning.
“Nah, I’m shutting this one down quick,” Rosh said. “I was more inclined to believe your mafia theory.”
“See, I told you you guys would think I’m crazy,” Simon admitted, giving up. “It’s probably just some guy. My imagination is just getting the better of me.”
Ayub gave Simon a friendly slap on the back before changing the subject and launching into conversation with Rosh about the game the three of them were currently playing together. Simon tried to listen, but his mind was still lingering on the previous topic.
Simon knew that the odds of him actually texting the prince were less than slim. Still, he couldn’t shake the memory of the prince with his soft hair and sad eyes. Simon felt something swell in his chest as he worked to push the idea from his mind.
He couldn’t forget the eyes.
He continued to picture them every time his phone buzzed with a new message from Wille. Even when his friends would continue to try to convince him Wille was anyone else, it was always Wilhelm’s eyes.
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anonymousfiction211 · 3 years ago
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Okay first off Hi!! I just found your Tumblr and I love your writing! So I wanted to request something. This may sound odd but a fic where the tesseract turns into a human? Lol... I was watching avengers and at the beggining Dr. Selvig referred to the tessrract as a her. (Reader doesn't have to be a female! Totally up to what your comfy with! But fluff or light smut. Maybe loki is possessive of them? Sorry if that was way to specific or not enough. I've never requested something before...So you totally can ignore this if it's bad. Thanks💓
A/N: Thank you so much for the compliments! I never thought about this scenario and I loved it! Your request can be as specific or vague as you want, depending on how much room for interpretation you want. Hope you like it :). I followed the Avengers plot, so Loki is in his underground base.
His Kjæreste 'Excuse me, WHAT?’ Loki roared. Are these midgardians going mad?
There was sweat breaking out on Dr. Selvig’s forehead. He trembled slightly when Loki raised his voice. ‘I- It’s.. We we’re done with building your weapon. And suddenly she changed’ Dr. Selvig tried to explain again.
‘She?’ Loki asked.
‘Yeah, the Tesseract suddenly changed into a woman’ Dr. Selvig answered.
Loki held his hand up, not interested in anything Dr. Selvig had to say. If Loki hadn’t put him under mind control he would have expected this to be a poorly executed plan. Now he wondered what chemical reaction in the lab had caused all his servants to imagine something ridiculous as this. He got up from his seat and quickly paced towards the lab. Dr. Selvig was stumbling behind him, trying to keep up.
The doors of the lab burst open right before Loki entered. What is magic for if not a dramatic entrance? he thought. Hoping it would remind his servants of the strength and power he holds. He scanned the lab with his eyes. There were two guards on either side of the door who visibly flinched, which made him smirk. Barton was in the middle of the lab, staring at the corner. She stood in the corner. A beautiful young woman, pushing herself against the wall in the hopes she would disappear. She tried to hide her facial expression under her wavy brown hair. When she looked at Loki he noticed her ocean blue eyes, eyes in which he could drown.
It took Loki a moment to realise the woman was naked. No wonder she is scared Loki thought. He saw that Barton had grabbed a lab coat from the chair and he was making his way over to the woman. Loki wasn’t having it. He practically sprinted towards Barton and pushed him aside. The woman watched this exchange curiously.
‘Everybody leave’ Loki growled. Without hesitation, every brainless servant quickly made their way outside. ‘Barton, close the door’ Loki added. When he heard the doors closing he turned his attention back to the woman, who was still cowering in the corner.
‘Relax, beautiful. I’m not going to hurt you’ Loki cooed as softly as he could. He slowly made his way over to the corner. The woman eyed him with slight fear, but he noticed the curious twinkle in her eyes. Loki let his eyes wander her body when he approached, not hiding that he liked what he saw. When he stood right before her he took off his leather jacket and helped her into it. She was hesitant but accepted. He zipped the jacked up, she was much smaller than him and it looked like a dress on her.
She flinched when Loki grabbed her chin. He made her look at him and he looked intensely in her eyes. Her eye colour was the bluest Loki had ever seen. It was hypnotizing. He didn’t question if this woman were the Tesseract, he could feel it. The amazing feeling of power that attracted Loki in the first place, was still emitting from her. He couldn’t help but inhale the scent of her hair. And he didn’t fail to notice that made her blush.
‘Interesting, I didn’t know you could change forms’ Loki said.
‘I don’t do it very often’ the beautiful woman whispered to him.
‘Hmm.. and do you have a name?’ Loki asked while his lips caressed her neck. The woman holds her head back, giving him better access. Her breathing has sped up and Loki could tell she was suppressing a moan.
‘No, just the Tesseract’ she answered.
‘That will not do, I’ll call you my Kjæreste for now’ Loki said.
With a snap of his fingers, the lab doors opened. Barton walked through but stopped halfway through the lab. ‘Sire?’ he asked.
‘Will you escort my Kjæreste to my room. After that I need you to find her some clothes and fetch her something to eat and drink’ he ordered Barton. ‘I will be with you shortly’ Loki told her and gave her a kiss on her cheek. When she giggled his whole face lit up, that was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. He reluctantly pulled himself away from her and walked towards the exit. Right before he left he turned around. He saw that Barton had exchanged his hand, not clear of his intention Loki wasn’t having it.
‘The first person who touches her dies a very painful death by my own hand. That is not a threat, but a promise. Make sure everyone knows’ he said. He smirked when Barton quickly put his hand back down his side and made his Kjæreste follow him to his room. As much as Loki had wanted to escort her himself, he unfortunately had some things to work out before he could make his move on this pathetic little planet.
After an hour Loki was done and he walked back to his room. He was excited to see his Kjæreste in a beautiful green gown reading a book on the couch. When he entered she put her book away and smiled brightly at her. Before he could go to her there was a knock on the door. Loki opened the door to see one of his guards standing with a plate of food and a variety of drinks. The guard tried to peek over Loki’s shoulder to get a look at the woman. Loki quickly grabbed the plate and shoved the door back in his face. Apparently, he wasn’t the only person in the building drawn to her, but he is damned to let anyone else have her.
He walked towards her with the plate. ‘You hungry?’ he asked.
She nodded and got up from the couch to accept the food, but Loki had different plants. He sat on the couch and pulled her onto his lap in one motion. She gasped but giggled when he kissed her neck. He sat the plate on her lap and started to feed her a variety of finger food and drinks.
‘Why did you change your form if I may ask?’ he asked in between feeding her.
‘I thought this form might be more appealing towards you’ she blushed.
‘Hmm, I do like you in this form. But why now?’ Loki purred.
‘I saw your plans for this planet. Now that you have build your weapon I thought I could help you in other ways’ she answered.
‘Other ways?’ Loki asked suggestively, liking where this was going.
She nodded ‘I still have all my powers in this form. Why stop at one planet? We could take them all’ she said.
That took Loki back a bit. ‘You want to concur all the nine realms with me?’
‘Of course, you’re very powerful. And a king’ she said.
The wheels in Loki’s head were spinning. If she were willing to help him, they could take all the nine realms. She is connected to the other stones, he could get them before Thanos and take everything he deserved. And this while having a beautiful queen by his side. She looked questioningly at him when he didn’t answer.
‘Unless this is not what you want? I can revert back if that is what you prefer’ she said while averting his gaze.
Loki pulled her closer against him and started to cover her neck in bite marks. ‘You do no such thing. You’re MINE and I’m keeping you’ he growled.
After she had eaten enough he showed her around his base. He loved the way her arm linked with his and how she put her head against his upper arm sometimes. The word that Loki would kill everyone who touched her had gotten around quickly. Almost every man immediately averted their gaze when they saw her. Despite that, Loki made sure to mark her neck clearly for everyone to see. She didn’t seem to mind. Apparently, she was as drawn to him as he was to her. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow when the two of them would start to plot their schemes.
By the end of the night, he escorted her back to his room. Their room. He loved how she blushed when he pulled her close against him. Then Loki did something he wanted to do the first time he saw her. He gave a deep kiss, making her knees go weak. He supported her with his arms and walked her towards their bed. ‘I’m going to make you scream my name so loud, everyone on this planet will know you belong to me’ he growled. And he meant it. Nothing and nobody would ever take her away from him. His Kjæreste.
Tags: @delightfulheartdream @the-best-phineas @theaudacitytowrite @pescadoavocado
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princecharmingwinks · 3 years ago
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i cant believe you said you dont write for fandoms!! these are ending up AMAZING! have another fail date for you to make better: we went four-wheel driving over the dunes out bush, we took my car but he drove because he's done the route before. we were the second car in the convoy and because my car is a little smaller than the others it couldnt make it up the last dune! it nearly made it over before sliding back into the sand and ended up half buried! (1/2)
(2/2) the rest of the group had to drag and push us out with planks and chains etc while we were stuck inside because no way in hell i was opening the door to let the sand in! so three wheels in the sand, waiting on our rescue, irl it was a bit awkward but im hoping you'll rewrite a better ending <3
Awww concussed dragon, you are sooo sweet! Thank you! Your unique failed dates are great to work with. Alrighty, let's get into this one! So the pack got big in this one and while most don't have lines, I liked the idea of everyone being there (or almost for anyone I missed haha). I left some of the couple combos up to interpretation so feel free to ship at your leisure.
---
The pack, after much pestering from a certain human/spark, were finally going on their camping trip. The alpha had finally conceded when Stiles had shot him a pout and hopeful eyes. Derek had reluctantly agreed and ignored the snickering of his betas in the corner of the room.
On the morning of the trip, everyone was pairing up into groups of drivers and passengers so no one drove alone and there were less cars.
Derek and Stiles were the last members out of the rebuilt Hale House. Derek had been locking up and Stiles was finishing off some wards to ensure there were no unwanted visitors while they were away. He was still learning to harness his spark but small wards of protection were easy enough. Defensive magic was easier, offensive was another story.
Stiles threw his bag into the back of the jeep and glanced around.
"So, who's joining Roscoe and me?"
Erica snickered, "Derek."
"What?" Stiles and Derek snapped in unison. Well at least Stiles had a punctuation mark, Derek's not so much.
"I'm with Danny, Lydia and Jacks." Kira spoke up. "Scott, Malia, and Isaac are with Allison."
"I'm obviously with my boy." Erica jumped onto Boyd's back, who was used to his girlfriend's antics and easily caught her. "And Theo is meeting us there after picking up Liam from work. Everyone's paired up so that just leaves you two."
Stiles felt his heart flutter but managed to keep his voice even as he spoke, "Alright Alpha My Alpha, let's get going."
Derek didn't say a word as he slid into the passenger seat of the jeep. Everything would be fine.
Everything was not fine. Stiles was definitely going through a quarter life crisis at the realisation most of the pack were in couples. How did he not realise that? When had it become a prerequisite to start dating a pack member? And now it was just Stiles and the alpha. The alpha he had been in love with for years. Great...
"What's wrong?"
Stiles was pulled out of his internal panic by said alpha's soothing voice. Derek had softened over the years, showing care and concern for each member of the pack. He now bought scent-free nail polish for Erica (so the acid smell didn't upset all the were's noses), stocked Isaac's favourite gummybears and even hugged Kira willingly at her university graduation. Derek Hale was a softie.
"I'm fine, nothing wrong here, no sir." Stiles prattled. Even he heard the blatant lies without supernatural healing. He glanced to his side and was greeted by raised eyebrows.
"Ok, so I may have just realised how paired up everyone in the pack really is."
"Except us."
"Yeah," Stiles sighed. "Except us. Do you ever think about that? Like, why you haven't dated anyone since..." He trailed off. Derek didn't have the best track record for his love interests but he hadn't even been on a date for more than 3 years.
Derek looked out the window at the scenary, they were driving into the sand dune part of the journey, and for a moment Stiles thought he wasn't going to answer.
"I've been waiting."
Stiles blinked. Huh?
"For someone so smart, you're really clueless sometimes." Derek huffed, glancing back at Stiles.
"What have you been waiting for?" Stiles dared to ask. They had paused to allow Allison's four-wheel-drive to roll up the last sand dune, waiting for their turn. Roscoe would be the last time to make the climb.
"I thought it was my imagination at first but then you kept coming around and..."
It was Roscoe's turn now and Stiles slowly prepared for the final climb of the dune. He tried to keep focused on the task at hand, allowing Derek to speak his thoughts. You never rushed the alpha when he was being vulnerable.
"I know you kind of like me?" Derek voiced it as a question but all Stiles heard was sirens in his brain. Derek knew? Stiles' foot slid off the peddle and they immediately started rolling backwards, fast.
"Shit! Shit, shit shit." Stiles acted quickly but it wasn't enough. Roscoe descended the sand dune and sank, refusing to move. Sand on either side of them blocked the bottom of their doors. They were officially stuck.
Stiles rested his head on the steering wheel and slowed his breathing. There were multiple crises going on but most had solutions.
The others would work out they hadn't made the climb soon enough or Theo and Liam would find them on their way through. So either way, Roscoe being stuck wasn't a massive deal. The real dilemma was Stiles' outed feelings for Derek.
The same Derek that was eyeing Stiles with concern as he called Kira to request some assist. Stiles heard him hang up before the sound of a door handle being jiggled. He snapped his head up.
"Whoa there sourwolf, there is to be no sand storm in this car, thankyouverymuch." He reached out and tugged the alpha's hand away from the door.
"I figured me getting out and pushing was the preferred option to sitting here with you in a state of panic at my assumption."
Stiles pulled his hand back. "What?"
"Look, we can just forget I ever said anything, alright? I get I'm not the most desirable crush to have. It's probably just familiarity and your sense of loyalty that's fueled your scent around me anyway. Don't worry about it."
Stiles shook his head, "Oh no you don't. You opened that can of worms and I'm no coward." The spark met Derek's gaze. Had he been planning on ignoring his feelings for the alpha? Sure. But was he going to run away from a moment like this? Nope. Stiles Stilinski was a lot of things but after running with wolves and other supernaturals for most of his life, he knew when he needed to tackle something head on.
"Now, before you go down your rabbit hole of I'm-not-good-enough crazy talk, I've got something to say."
Derek nodded like the soft alpha he was and turned to face Stiles more fully.
"You, Derek Alexander Hale, are amazing. A little on the martyr side but that's because you are so protective of your pack. I'd be crazy to not fall in love with you. That's right, love not like. I've been in love with you for years but how was a kid like me going to catch the alpha's eye? I didn't want to ruin our friendship. This," He gestured between them. "This is important to me. I don't want to ruin it."
Derek released a sigh of relief? Stiles couldn't read his eyebrows which was disappointing when he was the most expert at interpreting the alpha's facial expressions.
Then Derek was darting forward and claiming Stiles' lips in a searing kiss. Stiles went with it, almost unbelieving that any of this was happening.
Derek eventually pulled back and rested his forehead against Stiles'.
"Worth the wait." The alpha whispered, grinning, bunny teeth all on display.
"Two way street here. You could've said something too. How long have you liked me?"
Derek blushed and it was only because they were so close that Stiles saw the pink of his cheeks and ears.
"I've always liked you, even if I didn't always show it. But love? I think I've loved you since you woke me up on an elevator floor by punching me. You could have left without me but you didn't."
Stiles pouted, "Since then?"
Derek raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"
Stiles pushed Derek back and clumsily crawled across the gear stick to straddle the alpha's lap.
"We could have been having the best sex of my life for years, Derek! Years! We've got a lot of making up to do." Stiles dove in to kiss Derek this time. The alpha happily drew Stiles in closer, curling his arms around the spark's slim waist.
A knock on the window, interrupted their make-out session. Boyd's face appeared with judging eyebrows to rival Derek's.
"Heard you needed a hand." Boyd spoke loudly with a smirk as Derek's hand moved away from Stiles' ass to rest safely on his back.
"What's Erica doing?" Stiles asked, leaning over Derek to squint at the blonde chatting wildly on the phone. Derek focused his hearing.
"Turns out I'm not the only one who was waiting." Derek grinned, "And everyone apparently owes Lydia money."
They did eventually get Roscoe out of the sand dune thanks to the advantages of going camping with multiple supernatural creatures. By the time everyone was settled in the camp and Erica had informed Theo and Liam on the events of the day, Lydia was a very rich woman.
Stiles couldn't complain though. Not when the alpha was snuggled between his legs as Stiles sat on the log and Derek roasted them marshmallows. Apparently no one trusted Stiles near an open flame following the incident with that vampire clan. Stiles combed his fingers through Derek's hair and looked around at the pack. This camping trip was the best idea ever.
--
Ok so I must confess I do not camp like...ever and have no idea how four-wheel-driving works so please forgive any major errors in that department. I tweaked things a bit from your prompt sorry. I just couldn't imagine Stiles letting anyone else drive Roscoe. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for popping in!
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Sander just hits different.. like I was rewatching S3 and ep 3 came on and I was like this is not Willem DS this is Sander. They are so different and Willem played him so well with a certain vibe that can only be Sander. I miss him :(
He truly did an amazing job with Sander (and I will always be sad that we didn’t get to see more of him in that role—I’m still shocked at how little we actually have after 3.5 seasons. Wtfockdown was an absolute gift to humanity, albeit an occasionally cringy gift, but it’s basically the best thing that happened in 2020, at least for me, and it was Sander centric!).
To address your ask (kind of?), I honestly struggle sometimes to even believe Sander is the same person between ep 3-5 and ep 8-10, let alone the lovesick marshmallow we saw in wtfockdown. I mean he is, obviously, but there’s this physical transformation he undergoes throughout the season that just amazes me. His cool, edgy vibe becomes so soft and the best word I can think of is cuddly by the last episode. He literally melts before our eyes—that cool, impenetrable exterior slipping away as he realizes he does have value, he is lovable, and he is enough, that he is worthy of the love he seeks.
His hair is symbolic of that transformation. I interpret his blond hair, much like the leather jacket and docs, to be an armor that he wears to protect himself from the world—to project a confident image and act as a barrier (I answered an ask about this not long ago, but as far as we know, he doesn’t have close friends—is this a conscious choice, like does he purposefully set himself apart bc he feels he doesn’t deserve friends/love? God that makes me sad). Back to the hair, I feel like they made a conscious choice to have his hair look more sharp, more strategically styled before he knew Robbe liked him, and then in the scenes where he’s sure of Robbe’s affection it’s much softer, fluffier. By wtfockdown, it’s a wild mess. Of course, that’s just his cut growing out, but I think it parallels Sander’s emotional journey as well. He’s trying so hard at first, trying to project this cool, edgy look, both to attract Robbe and to hide behind. But once he knows how Robbe feels, and gains a better understanding of himself, he relaxes and everything looks more natural, wavy, fluffy, like he’s dropping the armor. By wtfockdown he doesn’t give a shit bc he is confident in Robbe’s love and his place in their relationship. And that’s also why as much as I loved his blond look, I feel that brown haired Sander post season 3/wtfockdown makes so much sense. He doesn’t need it anymore. He’s comfortable in who he is. He’s happy. He can let go of that armor completely and be himself bc he knows he’s enough, that someone knows exactly who he is and loves him anyway. Ok, that’s the hair saga I’ve been sitting on for a year.
BUT, the real transformation is in how he carries himself, his expressions, and that’s all DS. How did he do that? Like the Sander from Dinsdag 16:19 (ep 5) and from Vrijdag 20:18/21:03 (ep 10) are so completely different in how they move, how they carry themselves, their facial expressions. In the first, he’s closed up and angry, standing rigid and so tall, almost leaning away from Robbe, trying to be aloof. In those last clips he’s so relaxed and loose, his posture and his face. The lovesick expression on his face when he smiles at Robbe across the room or the way he lets Robbe twirl him are such a stark contrast, and for me it’s his whole journey. Sander’s arc is so complex. And that’s just one of many contrasts. We meet him in full on flirt mode, but we also see seduction, scared, hurt, confused, excited, etc. Maandag 11:03 is still the pinnacle for me. He’s absolutely brilliant there and totally believable. The range he showed throughout season 3 was just stunning, and it was a whole body transformation (which is why I think you see Sander and not DS bc he IS Sander in that moment, just as he was Max and Tuur?). It’s funny bc I praise Herbots for the exact opposite skill—that he can express so much with so little movement. We always know what he’s thinking.
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They did a great job designing Sander’s character, probably my favorite overall change from the og, but how he acted, his portrayal of Sander, was truly something special. I think that’s why it feels so real to us (bc they’re so good at what they do).
Sorry for writing another novel in response. Analysis is pretty much my favorite thing. I never had anyone to share these thoughts with during season 3/wtfockdown, and by now I’m sure everyone has already said all of this. I just missed it.
I miss him too, anon. Thanks for your ask!! Hopefully I answered you at least somewhat coherently. 💖💖
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bestialchorus · 3 years ago
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“The Invisible String” (Falling for Donna Beneviento)- Chapter 2
The head of House Beneviento covers your hand with hers, instinctively making you look at her for a split second from the corner of your eye, before darting your gaze back to the doll on the desk. You pray the glance was more subtle than it felt, you’re not even sure if it was as quick as you imagined it for everything suddenly feels off, as if something uncanny was bleeding into reality. Whatever surrealism you speak of you don’t see, only feel as Donna’s contact continues to linger over your hand, making your anxiety start to rise by the second.
Seconds feel like eons as Donna stays frozen in place, her veil making it impossible to interpret what she could possibly be feeling or thinking.
You follow her lead by trying to keep a neutral face, staying silent as your mind begins to race. To say you were overthinker would be an understatement, you try unpacking everything from the gesture’s meaning to its sudden appearance, and whether or not this was all just a cruel dream. You’ve had daydreams similar to this situation but none that ever felt like this, none that ever felt so…..engulfing.
You feel that flutter in your heart, a flutter from the word you desperately try to avoid day in and day out whenever Donna crossed your mind, hope. You immediately fight back any hope of the woman ever returning your feelings, even the smallest semblance of it. A woman as distinguished as Donna Beneviento would surely never fall for a common painter…..would she? Donna had power, she had wealth, she had talent and passion of the likes you’ve never seen before….she could have anyone she wanted…so why do you find it difficult to come up a platonic explanation for her action right now?
Regardless of the reason, you feel your skin burn under her gentle touch. Even the simple gesture has Donna written all over it; deliberate but not hostile, soft but not limp. You also can’t help but notice how smooth her hand feels against yours, you wonder if it’s the result of an extravagant lotion or if she’s simply this soft.
The ticking from the old clock fills the air as neither of you react.
You decide it best to hide your internal distress, well at least as best as you can. You keep your face as blank as possible as you gently lower your paintbrush down. You stare down at the small doll, assuming it best to allow her the time to properly explain herself, away from the pressure of your gaze. You try your best to focus on how anxious she must also be right now as communication had never come easy for Donna.
Her voice almost doesn’t sound real as you sit in a dream like daze.
“I…what I’m about to say does not put you at risk, Y/N.”
The clock’s sounds are drowned out by your heart beating through your ears, your gaze stays on the unfinished doll.
Despite her concealed face, she turns her head away from you as she continues, her hand never leaving yours. She takes a small pause before continuing.
“I harbor feelings for you, Y/N. But I chose not to tell you for several reasons.”
Your mask instantly falters the second you hear the confession, eyes widening in disbelief and shock. You jerk your head towards her, she catches your incredulous expression from the corner of her eye, still not meeting your gaze. Something begins to flood your system, excitement? Fear? Hope? You’re not entirely sure but it feels as if each of your senses have awakened to an extreme.
“For one, I feared you would never return my feelings...” She ends with a whisper.
The statement makes something in you snap.
“But I do!” You immediately counter, louder than you intended, your tone earnest with a hint of desperation. You mentally chastise yourself for how dramatic the response must have come off.
The raise of your voice finally makes her look at you as she isn’t used to it. Once again, you have no facial indictors to tell you how she’s taken the response. But you realize her hand feels warmer…that must be a good sign, right?
You try to hold back as you feel months of repressed emotions try to take control of your tongue. The last thing you want to do is overwhelm or embarrass her.
“I care deeply for you, mistress…you don’t have to worry about that.” You say softly while instinctively leaning closer to her.
The dollmaker’s face is hidden but you assume she must be taken aback by her feelings being returned; you know you are. She silently processes your words until you suddenly notice her start to mirror your distance, whether by instinct or by choice you can’t tell.
Time starts to melt away as the image of Donna leaning towards you makes you both want to run away and never look away. You use every fibre of courage you have to keep going, you’re eventually close enough to smell the smallest hint of a floral scent, which is strange since normally Donna doesn’t wear perfume.
You’re both just a breath away…when suddenly Donna pulls back at the last second, removing her hand in the process, you instantly miss the contact. At first you wonder if you’ve been too bold, assuming too much but she quickly explains herself.
“No. You don’t understand, I’m not what you think. This veil hides my true nature….and it is unworthy of you. Unworthy of what you should have.” She says with sadness in her voice, tightly holding her hands to her chest while shaking her head. Even with the veil you notice the contempt behind her words, contempt clearly directed towards herself.
You start to frown the more you process her statement.
You feel a sting in your heart as you realize something. The rumours of Donna Beneviento having a monstrous disposition were more than just rumours, for her they actually held some weight. Whether it was an event, a person, or the entirety of her life leading up to this moment- she truly believed she was unworthy of experiencing one of the largest aspects of life, love.
Even if every rumour about her is true you don’t care, for you’ve fallen for the woman with the veil, regardless of what lies beneath it. Donna Beneviento isn’t a scary story, or a title to you but a real woman whom you’ve grown incredibly fond of. You lightly shake your head as you refuse to accept her words.
“You’re wrong. Even if you are headless under there-“
You notice her tilt her head in response to the comment but not the small smile that also emerges on her face, appreciating how you always seem balance out her melancholic nature.
“It won’t matter to me because…I already think you’re beautiful, Don-mistress.” You quickly correct yourself, still unsure if she’d be comfortable with you referring to her by her first name.
Once again, you miss the warm expression on her face as she addresses your self-correction.
“You’re more than welcome to call me Donna, Y/N. I believe we’re past the point of titles…..”
She looks away as she finishes her sentence, “…I think I’d like hearing you call me Donna.”
For once her veil can’t hide the flustered tone in her voice, you imagine her hands must also be getting warmer again. Unfortunately, Donna is not the only one effected by her confession, your own cheeks now wear a slightly pink colour to them.
But before you can answer her, you notice her hands slowly reaching towards her veil, fingers trembling. The room feels off kilter as you hear the courage in her voice.
“I truly don’t want to lie to you, Y/N. I want you to decide for yourself if this is what you really want….if I’m what you really want.”
You almost try to stop her, not for your sake but to make sure if this is really something she wants to do but you’re too late. Her voice lowers as she finally lifts her veil up.
“…I’ll understand if you never want to come back.”
And just like that, you’re finally face-to-face with Donna Beneviento.
A heavy silence follows as you take in her bare state, completely engrossed by how human and occult she is all at once.
The dollmaker shrinks under your gaze, anxiously rubbing her hands together as she looks at the floor.
At first your eyes can’t help but fall on the mutation over the side of her face. Her right eye is covered with small mounds as visible veins sprout from them; an image akin to eldritch horrors. You now understand how important her veil is to her, how much courage and trust it took for her to show you the flesh that laid beneath it. Anyone else would have run by now, screaming towards the hills of how Mistress Beneviento is as monstrous as the rumours spoke of but not you, for even now- she is anything but monstrous to you.
You take a step closer as you process the rest of her features, your hands moving by themselves as you gently hold her face to study them. The gesture makes her quietly gasp but she doesn’t pull away, she instead focuses on fighting back a blush as she fails to avoid your heavy gaze. You’ve never seen such alabaster skin, it almost glows under the light. But what stands out the most is how her dark hair and eye contrast against it. Without thinking, you lightly push a strand of hair away from her face, lightly grazing her soft skin. Every instinct within Donna is screaming for her to run away while also wishing the moment will never end, no one has ever treated her with such tenderness.
The air surrounding you both feels warmer as you stand just a breath away.
Your eyes finally fall onto the woman’s plush lips, and you can’t help but wonder if they’re as a soft as they look. You look at the woman in complete awe as you process the full picture of the woman you’ve fallen for and as you predicted, you love her all the same, perhaps more.
You feel yourself lean in closer and she mirrors your movement. Neither of you can hear the grandfather clock anymore as you become lost within your personal world.
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anxious-logic · 3 years ago
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The Power of Family: Prologue
Masterpost
Chapter Warnings: blood mention (not a lot), food mention, (what could be interpreted as) very brief self-harm, mention of chronic illness in and future death of an off-screen parent
Word Count: 1,882
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Virgil narrowed his eyes as he felt something tug at his core, gentle but insistent.
"Yes?" he murmured to himself, closing his eyes as he traced the pull back to its source. His eyebrows lifted in surprise as he saw where the call was coming from.
Virgil didn’t know mortal years very well, but a boy who couldn’t have been more than sixteen was kneeling at a temple in a small town. The temple wasn't much - four columns of wood, capped with a woven roof barely holding itself together, acting as a safehouse for all six of the gods. The boy was in front of the single altar, which was made of a large, flat rock, his heels tucked underneath him. Virgil heard the boy’s words echo in his mind as he began to speak.
"Remus, God of Life; Roman, God of Stories; Patton, God of Trust; Virgil, God of Strength; Janus, God of Truth; Logan, God of Wisdom.” The boy exhaled shakily as he placed a small wooden bowl filled with berries and fruit on the altar, bowing his head. "I ask for your aid in this time. I... My mother is sick. Dying. She cannot live much longer with our doctors and medicine." The boy sat back, closing his eyes. He swallowed, and firmly nodded once as though he had decided something. "I offer anything you ask in return for her life.”
He reached into a pocket in his cloak, withdrawing a knife. Virgil tensed as the boy drew it across his palm, letting blood well up over his skin and drip onto the altar next to the bowl.
"Please, spare her."
The boy wiped the knife on the ground next to him, cleaning the blade. He pressed his palm to the rock of the altar, staying there for a moment before standing, a smear of red remaining on the stone.
Virgil's eyes snapped open as the soft pull dissipated. He broke into a dead run.
~~~
Virgil rubbed at his forehead in frustration as he stared down at the stone at his feet, his eyes tracing the carved rune corresponding to his abilities.
“What are we doing about this situation?” Virgil asked. He was trying his best not to reveal just how panicked he was; the unsettling feeling that always permeated the air of the ritual clearing was making the attempt far more difficult.
A teenager – barely more than a child – was offering his life to them. All of them. In return for his mother’s continued life.
“We don’t have much of a choice, do we?” Patton’s voice was wavering, the god of trust barely able to keep tears from spilling down their face. They were sitting curled up just behind their own runed stone.
Roman, the god of stories, gritted his teeth. “There should be an exception. Isn’t there?” They turned to Logan, the god of wisdom. “There must be. For young mortals? Who don’t know what they’re offering?”
Logan spread her hands, her face sorrowful. “He knows full well what he is offering. He understands what it meant when he spilled his blood on the altar.”
Patton’s knuckles were white where he was gripping the god of truth’s hand. “He had such… trust in all of us. That we could do it.”
“He spoke the truth when he said he was willing to give anything.” Janus’s voice was quiet, but it cut through the silence regardless.
Remus jumped up, pacing frantically back and forth. “There has to be something.” He raked his hands through his hair, his face contorted in concentration. “I can- I can create something. An exception. Right?”
“Not without the belief, knowledge, and trust to back it up,” Virgil said. “And you three can’t spread it that quickly. Regardless of what we could do otherwise.” He looked apologetically at where the tears had begun spilling over Patton’s cheeks, the god silently sobbing.
“We can’t take his entire life force,” Logan said forcefully, her face unusually emotive. “We need to figure out another solution.”
Virgil closed his eyes, trying to trace back what he knew about this child. “His mother fell ill when he was only a child,” he offered weakly. “He was forced to grow up much too quickly, beginning to do daily hard work to support his family even before his voice dropped.” He opened his eyes. “Can we do anything with that?”
Logan’s eyes suddenly held a glimmer of hope. “Pull it forward more, to today,” she said eagerly. Virgil frowned in confusion, but closed his eyes to do so. “What do you see?”
Virgil bit the inside of his cheek as he very carefully located Thomas again, nudging at his past ever so slightly to get today’s records. He gasped as he came upon something extremely unusual.
“There are extreme abnormalities,” Virgil whispered. “At approximately the time he contacted us. Is his plea to us the reason why?”
He heard a rustling, then Logan spoke. “Describe the abnormalities.”
Virgil probed at the area, wincing slightly as it seemed to resist his attempts at further exploration. He crouched down and placed his hand on the carved stone at his feet, the magical conduit boosting his abilities just enough to assess Thomas’s strength in more detail. “...It’s all over the place - strong, then weak, then practically nonexistent, and back again. It’s resisting all of my attempts to look into it more.”
He opened his eyes to see Logan pacing back and forth excitedly.
“And after?”
Virgil frowned. “It’s- different,” he said haltingly. “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s familiar, for some reason, but certainly different than it was before he contacted the six of us.”
Logan turned to face him. “Trace me.”
Virgil reared back, startled at the sudden change of subject. “I- what?”
“Trace. Me.” Logan stepped closer, her presence intimidating despite how small she was compared to Virgil.
Virgil shook his head slowly, then looked into Logan’s eyes, diving into her mind. He felt the familiar resistance, then the usual sparks that came from the other gods’ inhuman powers.
“That’s enough,” Logan said, blinking her eyes and pulling out of the trace. Virgil shook his head slightly to reorient himself. “Now, how similar was Thomas’s mind to mine?”
Virgil’s eyes widened. Oh. “He’s not human,” he breathed.
Logan tilted her head from side to side. “Not completely,” she corrected, before her face split into a grin. “Don’t you see? We can- do more things with him, his life, now that he’s no longer entirely mortal.”
“We don’t have to take his entire life.” Janus’s eyes were filled with hope.
“Precisely.” Logan quickly walked over to Janus, grabbing the other god’s hands and squeezing them tightly, bringing them to her chest. “We should be able to- split his life force, for lack of a better word. Wherever we like. And likely manipulate it slightly, so we won’t be bound to a year for a year.”
Remus pulled his gaze up from where he was looking at the ground. “Yes. We can.” His voice was filled with hope.
“What could we manipulate it to? That it’s a life worth living?”
Remus’ eyes began to glow a bright green, and he was silent for a few moments. He blinked, his eyes going back to normal, and squeezed his hands on his thighs before speaking. “We could take twelve of Thomas’ years and make it twenty-four of his mother’s. She would live to sixty years; that is far closer to the typical mortal lifespan, is it not?”
Logan nodded. “Longer, even.”
“So- twelve years of Thomas’ life would make him quite young, would it not?” Patton seemed excited at the idea.
“He would be four years old,” Remus said, nodding. “Very young.”
“He could not live in his village,” Roman murmured. “Especially as we do not know the extent of his- otherness after sacrificing himself to us.”
Virgil took a deep breath in an attempt to center himself. “No,” he whispered.
“He would lose both memories and appearance after the transfer,” Remus added. “For all intents and purposes, he would not have lived a day past four years.”
Patton snapped their head up suddenly. “Can we-” They cut themself off as all of the others looked at them, pressing their lips together.
“Can we what, love?” Janus asked, thumb rubbing over Patton’s knuckles soothingly.
“I know we have not… done it before. But could we- could we take him in?”
Roman inhaled sharply, the only noise heard in the silence that fell after Patton’s words.
“I know it… it’s not something that any of us – or at least I – have considered at length.” Patton swallowed, looking around at the other gods. “But… well. I will not pretend that I would not… appreciate the chance to raise a child, mortal-born or otherwise.”
Janus was looking at Patton with a facial expression that Virgil had no hope of deciphering. Logan looked considering, and Remus was looking at his partner like they were the center of his universe. When Virgil looked over to Roman, squeezing his hand where it was still on his partner’s thigh, he didn’t see any immediate negativity towards the idea.
“I would love that,” Remus breathed, breaking the silence that had fallen over the clearing.
“Would he be- um.” Virgil licked his lips, carefully measuring his breathing as everyone looked at him. “Would he be just… yours?” He gestured to Patton, Remus, and Janus. “Or would he be… all of ours? Together? I mean, I just. Um.” He shrunk back a bit. “Yeah.”
Patton exchanged a glance with Remus, then looked over to Janus, the three of them seeming to have a nonverbal conversation for a few moments.
“I don’t think we would be able to do it on our own,” Janus eventually said. “And it would be incredibly difficult for any of us to raise a child without them seeing all six of us as parental figures, considering how entwined all of our existences are.”
Virgil nodded his head, conceding the point to Janus. “I suppose,” he said in agreement.
Logan exhaled, standing up straight and bringing her hands to clasp behind her back. “So we are in agreement, then? We intend to… adopt… this mortal child and raise him as our own?”
Nobody disagreed.
“Well,” Logan said. “Let us go, then.”
She held out her hand to Janus, who took it and extended a hand to Patton in turn. They offered their hand to Remus, and the rest of them joined until Roman closed the circle by clasping Logan’s other hand.
Patton looked around the circle, making eye contact with all of the other gods. “Last chance to back out,” they offered quietly. Nobody spoke up.
“Okay,” they said, closing their eyes and taking a deep breath. They all stepped onto the stones inset into the ground in front of them, the runes carved into the rocks beginning to pulse with power. As the gods began to whisper under their breath, they glowed brighter and brighter until it was no longer possible to see them.
After what might have been seconds and what might have been years, the light faded. The clearing was empty, except for a small child sleeping peacefully in the circle of carved stones.
Next chapter
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p1harmonyofficial · 4 years ago
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[📰] K-Pop Rookies P1Harmony Are Writing Their Own Coming of Age Story
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By Crystal Bell
K-pop group P1Harmony debuted three months ago with their audacious single "Siren," and member Jiung is already dreaming of the perfect solo vacation. The 19-year-old singer wants to emphasize that this is a trip he'd like to — no, needs to — do alone, when he can safely do so. ("You need to bold the word 'alone,'" leader Keeho adds in English, a knowing glint of mirth in his eyes. "Put it in italics too.") So, more about this excursion: "If possible, I want to go to a foreign country," Jiung tells Teen Vogue from an office in Seoul, South Korea. He doesn't have a specific place in mind, just somewhere new and exciting and, most importantly, a place where he can be alone to freely organize his thoughts without any other responsibilities.
It sounds like a lyric ripped from the pages of his notebook, or the plot of a coming-of-age movie his 17-year-old groupmate Intak would enjoy: a young man on a voyage of self-discovery, chasing a feeling to a faraway land to escape his adolescent ennui. For now, however, it's just a lofty resolution for the new year.
"I also want to travel alone because I've never done it before," youngest member Jongseob, who recently turned 15, enthusiastically offers in Korean. Jiung, always one to help the younger sort out his feelings, is quick to quash the teenage rapper's theoretical plans. "That's not very realistic," he says. "You're too young to travel alone." Undeterred, Jongseob carries on: "Then my goal this year is to drink more milk."
"He wants to grow taller, but I don't think milk helps that much," Keeho comments, shaking his head while his teal quiff stays firmly in place. "I heard that's a myth."
Technically, they're not wrong. Unaccompanied minors can't travel internationally without a parent's formal consent in South Korea, and there's no proven scientific correlation between dairy and height. But spoken aloud, this interaction sounds more like playful goading among good friends. It's a testament to Keeho, Theo, Jiung, Intak, Soul, and Jongseob's comfortable dynamic as a group that the copper-haired youngest just earnestly smiles through the minor sting of his hopes being swiftly dashed.
For all of the training that goes into a K-pop artist's career, perhaps the most vital lesson is learning how to symbiotically coexist in close quarters with someone who is unfamiliar to you. Like most things, it is a process. Harmony isn't achieved overnight, especially among six teenage boys who have differing definitions of the word "clean." Cultural differences present unique challenges, too. When Keeho left his home in Canada to pursue his musical dreams as a trainee at FNC Entertainment in Seoul, he didn't have much trouble fitting in. Or so he thought. "He was funny," Jiung says in retrospect. "But I don't think we were able to communicate well." It wasn't that they couldn't understand what Keeho was saying — the soulful singer grew up speaking Korean with his family — but rather they couldn't understand him.
"Everyone would be stressed out, and I would be like, 'Guys, relax. Why are you stressing out over this?'" Keeho says animatedly with his hands. "They couldn't understand why I was so relaxed. How could I not care about anything? And I couldn't understand why they were always so stressed about things. It took a while to get on the same page."
That's where communication comes in. "The key is being honest," Jiung explains. "We have a lot of talks." These regular conversations allow the members to resolve potential issues before they spiral into larger, more disharmonious problems. Keeho is refreshingly open about this. "We're always stuck together," he adds. "We live together. We see each other 24 hours a day. Seeing anyone 24 hours a day, you'll eventually be, like, ugh, get away from me, but because we communicate so much, that [feeling] is reduced." Establishing rules and boundaries also helps. "We have a basic rule that you clean up the mess you've made," Jongseob says from where he's perched behind Jiung. (This rule is especially important to methodical Jiung.) And then there's vocalist Theo, the eldest member who also takes on the role of the group's even-keeled mediator because he's a good listener, and he likes giving advice.
"I'm not very opinionated," the blonde says. At 19, he's a few months older than Keeho but harder to read. He's both lighthearted and enigmatic. "I'm not good at expressing my feelings," Theo explains. "But the members are really good at expressing themselves and their emotions, so I'm learning how to open up because of them." According to Keeho, Theo is "bad at being serious," adding, "We'll have to have a serious talk, and he won't be able to take it. He's always trying to lighten the mood. He's the comedic relief."
Keeho makes a habit of describing the members' various idiosyncrasies in fervent detail. It's a very leaderly thing to do, to make sure that everyone feels understood. Occasionally, he also jumps in to help interpret their answers into English, or to encourage others to speak. Soul, who is half-Korean but was raised in Japan, could be described as a quiet person: an introvert who wears a lot of black, listens to metal, and has a particular obsession with massive skull rings and accessories. But he's also acutely perceptive. He'd rather listen and observe than be an active participant in the conversation. "I like when the rest of the members are discussing an idea," he says quietly in Korean (he's still learning the language). "I like watching them talk." It's not that he's not involved, but as Keeho puts it, "He's always supporting us silently and observing us." For Soul, it's more fun to sit and watch.
You can get a sense of these dynamics as they unfold on the last track of the group's debut EP, Disharmony: Stand Out. It's a skit, or audio recording of the members — then, just trainees — as they talk candidly about their dreams to perform and contemplate the implications of such aspirations. "I work hard here for the debut, but when I go to school, I wonder, 'What am I doing here?'" Intak says on tape, recalling how strange it feels to not have the same priorities as his classmates who are all preparing for their college admissions. Theo quells his concerns, telling him how lucky he is to already be working toward his dream. "That's a cool thing," Keeho adds, as Soul silently listens in the background.
While his peers prepared for their academic futures, Intak was spending his evenings dancing, rapping, singing, and writing lyrics, while also stunt training alongside his groupmates and preparing to become a… movie star. A few weeks before the release of their album, P1H: A New World Begins hit theaters across South Korea in early October. The first K-pop origin story to hit the big screen, the feature film introduced P1Harmony and their sci-fi lore to the masses. Long story short: After a deadly virus spreads chaos and violence around the globe, six boys with extraordinary gifts are humanity's only hope for survival. The filming experience was invaluable for the artists, who until that point had only ever studied music and performance. "Acting training really helped with my facial expressions," Intak says. "I learned how to portray my emotions on stage." Keeho agrees, adding, "We got very friendly with the camera."
Singers who rap, rappers who sing, dancers who act — the boys of P1Harmony forgo clearly defined roles in favor of being versatile and, well, good at everything.
As for their music, Disharmony: Stand Out is a snapshot of Gen Z unrest, simmering with angst ("Siren") and bucking wildly, vibrantly against convention ("Nemonade"). Teenage turmoil has been fueling the K-pop industry since the very beginning, and there's a certain nostalgia to P1Harmony's no-holds-barred approach. Members Soul and Jongseob both credit B.A.P and their hard-hitting style with inspiring them to become artists, with Zelo influencing Jongseob to pursue rap in elementary school. You can hear those more aggressive, hip-hop-tinged influences on Disharmony, as well as softer, more lyrical R&B flourishes ("Butterfly").
"We wanted to convey feelings and situations that are not harmonious," Jongseob says. "We want to say don't be afraid to stand out and to say what you want to say — speak your truth, and do it with courage and confidence." Despite his age, the young rapper carries himself like a veteran. By all accounts, he's earned the title, having won the competition series K-pop Star 6 at age 12 in 2017 and competed in YG Treasure Box less than two years later. These experiences, he says, helped him feel more comfortable performing. By the time he came to FNC, he was already a prodigy with the confidence and flow of a performer twice his age.
"There are so many people, our age especially, who aren't always able to speak courageously and confidently," Keeho adds. "So we wanted to encourage everyone, especially ourselves, to never be afraid to say what you want to say."
And they practice what they preach. All of the members are credited lyricists on the album, with all six collaborating on the roaring hip-hop track "That's It." Part cypher, part vibes, "That's It" is teeming with boyish swagger and possibility. "Even though it was the first time all six of us worked on a song together, surprisingly we were all on the same page from the very first meeting, and it came together quickly," Jiung recounts, adding that each member wrote their own verse. "It was fun," Keeho chirps.
That creative energy is also channeled into their performances. "Because we do take part in a lot of the songwriting, we also want to convey that in our dance," Intak explains. Though he's part of the group's rap line, his first love was dance. He started taking lessons as a child. "My mom is a dancer, so she's where I got my love of dancing," he says. As such, he's well-versed in conveying emotion through motion. "We always have an idea of how we want to portray these emotions with our bodies," he says. The members choreograph their own center gestures. These movements are a small but significant part of any performance, because this is where their charisma and individuality shine brightest.
"I wanted to become a singer because I wanted to perform onstage," Theo says. "So being able to be on music programs performing on real stages, surrounded by bright LED lights and visual backdrops, I feel like a main character. When all of the lights are on me, I feel like a star."
Unsurprisingly, even when he's offstage, he's still singing. He even likes to call his friends and take song requests. "I like to sing to my friends through the phone," he says. "I'll sing anything they want. I play piano for them, too. They're very open to listening to me." Next to him, Keeho adds, "My friends would not want me to sing to them." (The internet respectfully disagrees.) Meanwhile, Jongseob turns to making music and writing lyrics in his downtime. It's a great way to relieve stress, he says. These days, Intak turns to animated films to ease his mind. He's a fan of Studio Ghibli films, and he really likes the Japanese manga characters Doraemon and Shin Chan.
"I watch a lot of coming-of-age stories about these innocent kids who are in the process of becoming adults," he explains. "I get inspired by watching them. I don't want to lose that innocence, so watching those animations make me feel youthful." It's hard to imagine Intak without his boyish sensibility. It's seeped into every social media post and YouTube vlog (or, #PLOG). Yet, as an artist, as a teenager, it's an unusual phenomenon to be perceived by thousands of fans before having the clarity to perceive yourself. It's something no amount of Miyazaki or training prepares you for.
Initially, Theo had a hard time opening up on camera. The mere thought of it made him nervous, but the more he did it, the easier it was for him to parse his own feelings. "I'm not very good at expressing emotions like thank you and I love you," he says. "But it's a lot easier to express those feelings now because I feel them so sincerely. I can say thank you for loving me [to fans] because I truly mean it."
"There are people from all around the world who leave me messages, and that makes me so happy," Intak says. "It drives me to do more and to give more to them."
And there will be more to give. Disharmony: Stand Out was just the beginning, and Keeho already has some very big goals for 2021. At the top of the list? "Rookie of the Year, come on!" he says spiritedly of the K-pop industry's coveted award. "It's definitely possible. I'm manifesting it right now." He also wants to make more music, maybe release more covers. "We want to come back a lot," he smiles. "I'm thinking [of] at least three releases next year."
Then there are more personal goals, like Jiung's solo travels. "I want to take better care of my mental health," he adds, noting that it starts with a more positive mindset. "I want to be a better person overall." Intak wants to, for the first time in his young life, maintain a consistent routine for a healthier lifestyle. That includes getting enough sleep when there aren't any schedules. ("He could sleep, but he chooses not to," Keeho jokes.) After monitoring his fancams, Theo has decided that he wants to build more muscle. And Soul hopes to go home to Japan to see his dog, a Frenchie named Mochi.
As for Keeho, in true Libra fashion, he wants to maintain a sense of balance: "I want to stay true to myself," he says. "I don't want to be like, oh, the fame is getting to me. I don't want to change. I want to stay grounded and stay thankful and be grateful, always. I also want to make some more money." He laughs, then adds, "I can't lie!"
No, he can't. Honesty is the key to harmony, after all.
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Writing Tips (Pt. 3): Writing Believable and shippable relationships in literature.
Hello friends! First of all, let me say a HUGE thank you for the support on the Kataang post! I worked really hard on it and it means so much to me all the little notes you give it and reblog it! I know it’s not at a huge number of notes, but I like knowing that people took time to read through the endless rant and reblog it! I’m planning on doing another full analysis on Zutara and why specifically it doesn’t work. I’ll make it respectful though as I know that a lot of Kataang fans are REALLY defensive and anti-zutara. I promise I’m not one of those people, and believe that no matter who you ship, your opinions on fictional characters are your opinions and you are FULLY entitled to ship and like whatever you want (as long as it’s not incest or a huge age gap. PLEASE don’t ship that stuff lol. U nasty mfs know who u are.) Speaking of ships, let’s talk about writing them. Writing ships for movies, books, shows, etc. can be surprisingly hard. Writing characters themselves can be hard enough as it is, but writing a pair of characters that fit together like a puzzle piece can feel impossible. Nevertheless, I’m here to make that process a little bit easier. When I’m trying to set up a relationship that’s going to happen, here are some things that I keep in mind to make sure that I and the audience of my writing  ship the characters I have end up together. 
DISCLAIMER before I get a’rantin: I am by NO means telling you how or what to write and am by NO means a professional writer of any sorts. I’m doing this mostly because I write a lot and speak from my own personal experiences with writing and because these are just the things that I found work best when writing my own stories. I also read and analyze a lot of others work on my own personal time, and these are just the details that I pick up on that I find makes a piece of writing effective. With that in mind, remember that writing is and art form, and the beauty of that is that there’s no one right way to do it. Ever. You can read the same thing as another person and interpret it in a completely different and unique way. 
1. Complementary Characters usually work out best. 
This is more than the classic “opposite’s attract” theory, and characters don’t necessarily have to be opposite to be complementary. Some things to think about when thinking of and writing complementary characters:
-Complementary doesn’t necessarily mean complete opposite in every single way. Often times I find it much more helpful to have characters share a common interest in hobbies, upbringing, childhood trauma (that one’s a bit overdone these days), etc. so that they’re not butting heads all the time. Just like yin and yang, theres a bit of darkness in the light and vice versa. To keep the balance harmonious, you can’t have characters be polar opposites and have no common ground. That leads to what many people consider a toxic ship, and will either lead to an unrealistic balance that inevitably leads your characters to be fighting all the time. 
-Keeping common interests in mind, often times the paces where character’s contrast is in their personalities. (Shy and bold, heart and head, bubbly and brooding, quiet and gregarious, etc.) Different personalities often are able to balance each other out and hold each other accountable for their weaknesses.
-Going off of that, one character’s strength is another’s weakness, and all traits are both. A character’s empathy can lead them to be loved by many, but may cause them to starve themselves and drain their cup so there’s none left to take care of themselves. A character’s logic may lend them top of class or calm in stressful situations, but can lead them to be insensitive to others and even their own emotions. Your characters should balance each other out and work well together, and part of this is helping each other grow from their weakness. 
-This one isn't as important, but what I also find super compelling, especially in film and tv shows is when the authors/writers deliberately choose to give the characters complementary color palettes. (I dove more into this on my Kataang analysis so go read that if you’re super interested.) If the character’s look ascetically pleasing together, it makes shipping them a whole lot easier. Focus on orange and blue, yellow and purple, red and green, and any variation of those colors together. 
2. Buildup
Often times one of the biggest critiques of ships that just don’t work out is that there’s not enough buildup or foundation to have a romantic relationship. It seems obvious, but if you’re going to have them end up together, there’s going to need to be some buildup or else the entire relationship will feel wrong and contrived no matter how pleasant you make it. 
Some tips for increasing and establishing buildup:
-Have your otp spend time together as friends first. I personally find that the healthiest and most successful ships are friends before they’re lovers. This is why Kataang specifically works so well, but Korrasami, Romionie, and Liesel and Rudy from the Book Thief are all good examples. If you observe these ships, all of these characters spend time together as friends first. Korra and Asami were able to bond and become friends over a toxic guy (cough cough MAKO) and eventually developed feelings for one another. Ron and Hermione weren’t romantically interested in other people and were friends until they started seeing other people and found out they liked each other. Liesel and Rudy were best friends before anything else and Liesel didn’t realize her feelings until it was too late. 
-Time together. When your otp spends time together, make sure that whatever time is being spent together is time that they both enjoy. No, the activity itself doesn’t have to be enjoyable to both characters, but the time spent together should be. If the characters really aren’t enjoying the time spent together, then it’s never gonna work out. I’ll use the ship that I’m writing as an example. Currently, I’m in the process of writing a third atlas series and we’ll use my characters Liang and Hana. (Yea I used my own name for one of my characters. I think it suits her bc she’s basically my clone, just, she’s the avatar. I’m going to change both of their names once I do more research and can find culturally and historically accurate names.) Liang REALLY loves pro-bending matches. Hana, not so much. She still goes with him to see matches and attends his matches when she can. On the flip side, Hana really loves going to her favorite tea shop. Liang vastly prefers a strong cup of coffee, but he goes with her anyways. Why would they choose to do something that they don’t necessarily like? Because that’s more quality time spent with each other and doing something for the other person. 
3. Romantic Gestures
Going off of my last point, we have the art of romantic gestures. These can range to things anywhere from a hug, to an elaborate firework display, to a locket with both of their pictures in it. Make sure that the romantic gestures are there! It’s gotta be clear that both characters are thinking about one another and consciously choose to do something for the other person. Here are some fun ways to do it:
-Remembering a gift the other character wanted. This one’s cliche but it works, because often times the best way to show affection is through physical gifts and objects. Think coffee from a favorite shop, handwritten notes, that piece of clothing the other has been eyeing, etc. 
-~symbolism~ *add chime here* By that I mean have an object to symbolize their relationship with, like Korrasami’s iconic hair pin or Liesel’s book that Rudy retrieved for her. This way, the readers not only have a visual representation of their favorite ships, but the object can physically link characters together and make a vague relationship full cannon. (I know for sure that someday when I get a tattoo, I want the hairpin tattooed on my wrist, ankle or side of my body.) 
-PDAs. Works best in film and visual stuff, but still applies for everything. I’m talking cuddles, kisses, falling asleep in each other’s arms, the whole shebang. I mean how much clearer can you make it than a pda?
-Love languages. Each person loves in their own unique way. Have characters figure out and learn each other’s love language. It really shows and adds a whole other layer to the cake. This one can make a ship that feels a little bland have more depth and realism, because in the real world, healthy relationships are formed and aided by learning and applying each other’s love language. 
4. Dialogue. This one can be hard to master, but once you do, it’s a breeze. First off, I recommend getting all your ideas out, and editing. DON’T EDIT AS YOU GO! This is often tedious and super annoying, so get everything out first, and go from there once you have a decent amount to work with. Dialogue is tricky, because dialogue in and of itself is meant to communicate and express feelings. Here are some tips and steps to at least get a start: 
a. Know EXACTLY how your characters feel about one another, and make that evident through communication. It seems obvious (again) but this really helps and I find that putting myself in the character’s shoes for a second and really thinking about it helps to decide exactly what they would say in a given situation, especially if the scene you’re writing involves confrontation about feelings for one another. 
b. Dialogue is more than just talking. Body language, tone, facial expressions, etc. are all part of dialogue too and are SUPER important! In the real world, humans communicate through more than just words, and sometimes a playful grin, grimace, crossed arms, or pout is much more effective than a character outright saying something. 
c. Once you’ve written the dialogue out, be concise and smart about your dialogue and pare it down as much as you can. Often times, adding too much dialogue can make a scene boring and flat. Use your words sparingly! The purpose of writing is to covey a story or message and often times this can be done effectively with less words rather than more. The main point in dialogue itself is to provide necessary context and information. Otherwise, don’t use it.
d. Make sure the conversation is two sided. This (say it with me now) SEEMS OBVIOUS, but make sure that both people are talking/communicating. it’s a conversation, not a speech. (Unless it is a speech or declaration of some sort.)
Before I go: A QUICK (Long) PSA ON TOXIC SHIPS: 
The concept of a toxic ship is very common in a lot of literature. Often times writers choose to include elements that may be toxic to heighten romantic tension in a story. While I do recognize that this sometimes may be a stylistic choice, there are MUCH better and effective ways to create tension that having something be toxic. Toxic relationships in my opinion share one purpose, and that is to establish a relationship’s toxicity and ineffectiveness. I don’t recommend writing these into a story unless it’s an obstacle for your characters to overcome, and having a character forgive the toxic actions of another character and still end up with them isn’t the right move because it completely disregards and diminishes the effects of what happened previously.
One of the best examples I can think of is Reylo from the new sw trilogy. I did touch on this briefly in a couple of my earlier posts (The Effect Of Modern Day SW characters and My Tips for Writing (In General) which I highly suggest you go read bc they both took me a bit of time and state the purpose more in depth) but I think I’ll quick reiterate and say that it wasn’t a good choice on the writer’s part to have some of the dialogue be so intense and vicious and then have them end up together. I still like the idea of Ben Solo and Rey together and ship them together out of cannon, but in cannon, it’s the perfect example of an ineffective ship. There was little to no build up, the dialogue was often spiteful and sharp, and it escalated a bit too quickly. I would’ve liked to see more of Ben Solo (NOT Kylo) and him feeling sorry for and repenting for the bad that he’s done before he and Rey end up together. Yes, we’re all suckers for the enemies to lovers trope, but PLEASE make sure to filter out the toxins before boarding your ships and watching them sail. 
That’s it for now! I hope this helps a little when writing shippable characters! I’m always free to rant to and to critique. I’m going to start posting as much as I can, because these guides help me too! Check out my other ones if you’d like to know tips for writing in general and I made another one on how to write characters. 
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wouldntyoulichentoknow · 5 years ago
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STYLIZING LIKENESSES: A MOUSE GUIDE
Learning how to translate a specific face into your own art style can be a largely individual process, but here’s a hopefully useful guide to getting started!
(This guide assumes a basic understanding of constructing the face; the intent here is to apply that understanding in a more specific way!)
A couple important things to keep in mind as you’re drawing: art is a process. It may take a few tries before you land on something you’re happy with. And because you’re going to grow and change, it’s always a good idea to reevaluate your process every now and then!
I’ll be using Alex Kingston as my example here, because I’ve been drawing her for 7-8 years now (and also I’m gay).
The first step when drawing anything is to collect references—plural because it’s important to get as complete a mental picture of your subject as possible! Adding something to your visual library, especially something as subtle and complex as a human face, requires the study of more than a single image/angle.
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(...lesbian emotions not required. but strongly recommended!!)
Ask yourself as you’re studying your references: what stands out to me about this face? What makes this person recognizable as themselves?
Focus on SHAPES: jaw and cheekbones, eyes, nose, mouth. Where are the straight lines in this face? The curves?
Don’t be afraid to draw on top of your references to get a feel for the shapes!
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Once you’ve identified the prominent shapes of the face, it’s time to see how you can combine your new knowledge with your current stylistic choices! What do you personally emphasize in your style? Do you lean towards larger eyes? Expressive mouths? Some of this will come through naturally as you’re studying and drawing from your references; take advantage of that! The important thing is to preserve the impression of the shapes that you’ve already learned make this face recognizable.
In this case, the features listed in the previous image are what stand out to me about Alex’s face, so those are what I want to keep in mind as I’m drawing her. My art style tends to emphasize slightly oversized eyes, defined jaws/chins, and facial expressions, so when I draw from references, I end up sharpening the jaw and chin, enlarging the eyes, and exaggerating the emotion (at least with more subtle reference images).
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Alex has very distinctive features in my opinion, which made her a great subject for me to learn this skill on! I was able to focus on nailing the likeness of one feature at a time as I practiced, which led me to how I draw her today. I started with her nose as my primary learning focus, because for me, that’s the feature that can make or break a depiction of Alex.
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This leads into CHARACTERS and avoiding same-face syndrome, even when two characters literally have the same face! Drawing a character played by an actor, after all, is not the same as drawing the actor themselves—someone very skilled will easily be able to “shift” into a different character in a way that, while not changing the physical features you’ve already studied via references, is recognizably a representation of someone else.
When studying a character, you’ll want to repeat some of the questions you asked while studying their actor: what stands out about this face? What about this character is specific to themselves? Because you’ve already studied the person behind the character at this point, what it comes down to now is the expression of personality through acting choices, such as body language and facial expression. This part can be very subjective, because it relies on your individual interpretation of a character!
To demonstrate what I mean, I’ll use the two of Alex’s characters that I draw the most often in example: Elizabeth Corday (ER) and River Song (Doctor Who).
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When I think of Elizabeth as a character, I tend to think of her expressiveness as being focused in her eyes and eyebrows, so I choose to emphasize her eyes when drawing her. There are other factors that play into my depiction of her, such as her hair being fairly long and less upwardly voluminous than River’s, but they are largely secondary to my focus on her eyes/eyebrows. 
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River, on the other hand, I see as having more expression and tension localized around her mouth, so I pay more attention to that when I draw her. You may have noticed she’s one of the few characters who has consistently delineated lips in my art—this is why! (I still don’t think I managed to convey exactly what she’s doing with her mouth in the first image below, but it expresses SUCH a precise mood.)
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Once you’ve gotten comfortable with a character, you can put them anywhere in anything and, as long as you’re keeping in mind their personality, they’ll remain recognizable in your style. Here’s Elizabeth and River having swapped costumes: see how you can still tell who’s who despite the wardrobe mixup?
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(gay note to self: put Elizabeth in denim more often hflskjflskhg)
Lastly, as I said at the beginning of this guide, it’s important to practice! Repetition helps your brain get familiar with things. It may seem daunting at first, but the more you practice, the easier it’ll come to you! :D Now get out there and capture those live-action characters in your own beautiful art style!!!
This post sponsored by Patreon! Thank you, patrons! All images in this post are available on Patreon to view full-res for everyone.
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