#((portraYAL NOTES))

[nobroth]

ALISTAIR LIKES BOYS!!!!!!!!!

[howetragic]

I mentioned this earlier but Nathaniel x Anora is one of my Beloved Dragon Age Rare-pairs. I have a fic for it even.

When I first started writing for Inara, of course, she and Alistair stayed together and Anora took the throne alone (as it should be). Nathaniel then, through a visit to the capital with Inara, reconnected with Anora, and the two began a years-long affair. I never had them marry because, well, Nathaniel is a Howe and a Grey Warden.

However, if I extended that timeline out to now, knowing what we all know, I think that after the Mess in the South (the extent of which I mostly choose to ignore tbh, that's silly), they could probably get married after the defeat of Elgar'nan. The country would be shattered, and I'm sure Nathaniel would make himself a hero.

(Inara would still be alive in that timeline as well, if she didn't die in the turmoil in the VG timeline).

But by then, Nathaniel would have redeemed himself, saving Fergus Cousland's life after Awakening and earning Delilah an estate of her own. Then, after the Combo Blight, I think everyone could move on and some of the Grey Wardens would be granted leave from the Order. Nathaniel could marry Anora and be King.

I think the two of them would vibe really well. Nathaniel is straight-laced, ruler-minded, but respectful. I think he would be more than happy to let Anora take the lead, and he wouldn't overshadow her in name. Forgiving Rendon's crimes, he carries noble blood from the Rebellion that's just a shade less powerful in line to the throne than the Couslands.

And he fucking loves a woman with a fire in her. The woman he romances at the Tourney and Velanna prove that pretty well. Plus, Rendon and Loghain were pals, and so they probably at least vaguely knew of each other or had some kind of report at some point. He clearly didn't care much for Cailan.

And Anora... Anora deserves an adult with a sharp mind and a strong capacity for actually doing his job and doing it with honor. Nathaniel has the blood, the brain, and the heart to make him an asset. And he's a good man, and would treat her like she deserves for once.

[varietales]

Carrd page (includes About, HCs/divs, Verses, Threads, Bonds, Tags)  |  Trivia

Below are points I consider to be important regarding my muse and I hope they will be kept in mind during plotting/writing. Links to specific headcanon or divergence posts may be included in the below and I may add to this post in the future, as I go back over the manga or think about things further.

Note: filler arcs/chapters and the 100 Year Quest are not included as canon here.

Disclaimer: In her main verse, she is married to Alzack and they have a daughter, Asuka, per canon. However, on the chance that an Alzack RPer comes around, I would just like to be clear that it doesn't guarantee shipping, as it all still does depend on the chemistry between the muses.

Related to the above – Alzack and Asuka are obviously very important to her and are a huge part of her life, so they will be mentioned in threads and interactions at times and may feature in some writing as NPCs.

Again, relating (maybe a little contradictory) to above – as much as Alzack and Asuka are important to her and I love them and their relationships, I will be looking to develop Bisca outside of her role as wife/partner and mother as well. She is her own person and not Everything needs to relate back to her family.

Alternative verse: As well as developing her individually in her main verse, I’m interested in exploring an alternative where she and Alzack never got together. They never acted on their feelings for each other, and the feelings passed, leaving them as good friends and occasional teammates only. Aside from them not being married or having Asuka, this verse would follow the rest of canon events. Bisca is still a member of Fairy Tail and is perhaps a bit more reckless than in her main verse.

Clothes – I’m not totally against her canon attire, I think she’s gorgeous and iconic, it’s just that her outfit is (like many in the series) not very practical for her job. I’ve begun putting together an inspo board of her clothes for alternative to canon outfits and to show her general style. Basically, don’t assume she’s wearing her canon outfit (bikini, mini skirt, open cropped vest).

History – this is still a work in progress but so far I’m considering that she ran away from her home in the West to Fiore, due to pressures with her family. She cut her hair short the moment she left, symbolising the great change and cutting off her previous life, and she has been growing her hair out since then. Per canon, she struggled to make ends meet when she arrived in Fiore and she ended up posing as a Fairy Tail member in order to scare people into giving her what she wanted. This resulted in her gaining a certain reputation and eventually having a run-in with Erza, which later led to Bisca joining the guild.

Bisca joined FT part way through X782, about half a year after Lisanna ‘died’. Erza and Levy in particularly helped her settle in (Levy helping her with becoming more fluent in Fiorean and whatnot). She moved into Fairy Hills, which helped her connect with the other female mages within the guild. After a time, she met Alzack, and since they were both from the same country, they got along well and would begin to train together and sometimes go on jobs together. Eventually they would be going on more jobs together than separately. And the rest is history. (needless to say, she does not live at Fairy Hills anymore and shares a house with Alzack not far from Magnolia)

Among the members of the guild, Bisca is known for being honest (sometimes Too Honest), driven (sometimes Stubborn and Competitive), and reliable. She keeps her promises, follows through, and is very loyal. She’s also known for her good sense of humour and optimism and the way she can get a little awkward/flustered when it comes to talking about feelings.

[orenji-iro-no-sora]

We all know that haikyuu is packed with life lessons, especially about growth and competition but one of the things that brought me so much comfort in life is the story of Miya twins. Both Osamu and Atsumu were hard workers but what differentiated them when it comes to volleyball prowess was their priorities. Osamu being a naturally gifted athlete was a major push in Atsumu's life; they made each other better (and worse in some ways). But it was Atsumu's choice to become a professional player and a great setter that pulled him ahead. Atsumu was dedicated to it and if Osamu wanted he could've reached the same skill level (or maybe even more).

Basically as long as you love and want something enough, despite there being "better" people out there, you'll reach greatness in your own right. And I think it's beautiful that consistent effort, even if it takes longer than "natural talent" (which is a topic for another day), will get you where you want to be.

Also, you can be good at something and even have potential to be greater and yet not choose it. You don't HAVE TO pursue anything just because it's expected or even possibly the most natural course for you to take. What matters is what you love.

[aprilblossomgirl]

Is school your most important thing? Resigning from school is not enough. You need to give up on a more important thing. Do you think what I’m giving up is school? Then what is it? Do you really not know? The most important thing that I’m giving up. It’s not school. It’s you, Shin. I’m giving up on the chance to be with you.

HIGHSCHOOL FRENEMY | EP.07

[reachhforthestars]

Sonic 3 spoilers!!! Talking about the mid credits scene/what people have been saying about it under the cut

feeling like the only one who doesnt want reverse sonamy for the movies </3

or more accurately, fine sonic can have an obvious crush on her but i dont want ‘reverse sonamy’ to mean ‘amy doesnt have a crush on sonic.’ she can be lowkey about it or whatever (like sonic is sometimes in the games/other media) but to me part of Who She Is is that shes this super cool, super strong, intelligent fighter but shes also still a young girl who has crushes and believes in fate and is guided by her compassion, not by her strength or her mission or her love of adventure.

shes such a good character because while she is physically strong and possibly slightly magic, those are equally as important as her love and compassion and care for the world and people around her. preserving amys girlhood is important to me like loving sonic isnt her single defining character trait bc she ‘has to have a crush on a guy’ but it is a main character trait because thats just who she is. a loving person who sees the good in the world and wants to protect it and loves sonic because she sees him as the embodiment of that

[apotelesmaa]

I don’t think ppl give enough credit to rui for his dedication to fucking with people (outside of tsukasa of course) like. Knowing & acknowledging that nene wants nothing to do with him and Tsukasa on her first day of second year and deliberately following tsukasa to loudly ask if she’s getting along with people (just to be a jackass)? Implying his gift to akito will explode even though it won’t bc he wants to bug akito? Like I think rui at his core is full of love and a desire to make ppl smile but I also think he’s 200% committed to the bit first and foremost. If something will be funny he’s going to do it regardless of the consequences. Guy filled with zero social anxiety & a never ending desire to embarrass his friends.

[bbcphile]

Mysterious Lotus Casebook and Complex PTSD Representations: Part I

One of my favorite things about Mysterious Lotus Casebook is how surprisingly nuanced and unusual its portrayal of complex PTSD is. So many shows either introduce character trauma to make the character Sad and Brooding, Angry and Violent (if they’re a villain) or Hesitant to Start a Relationship (if it’s a romance), and that’s usually as in-depth as it gets. If they address the unique after effects of child abuse that lead to complex PTSD at all, it’s usually either explain why a character is a homicidal monster (which is all sorts of problematic) or it’s limited to a single phobia, which can be overcome by the Power of Love, or it’s just something that crops up occasionally for Plot and then forgotten about the rest of the time. 

Mysterious Lotus Casebook gives us two deeply traumatized characters–Li Lianhua and Di Feisheng–who each have clear symptoms of complex PTSD, and yet, their cPTSD manifests completely differently because of the types of traumas that caused it and their relationships to the people causing the traumas. And their manifestations of cPTSD affect just about every level of their being, including their sense of self, their decision-making, and their relationships with others, and it includes some of the incredibly important manifestations of cPTSD that are almost never shown in media while avoiding the most insulting stereotypes! 

PTSD vs cPTSD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder caused by experiencing a single (or short lived) traumatic event (an accident, assault, medical emergency, fighting in a war, etc), where the symptoms last for longer than a month. Symptoms include things like reexperiencing the event (flashbacks), avoidance (of things related to the event), changes in mood (depression, anger, fear, etc), and issues with emotional regulation (hypervigilance–being constantly on the lookout for threats–irritability/angry outbursts, etc.).

Complex PTSD happens if someone has experienced long term, chronic/repeated trauma that induces hopelessness and no chance of escape (survivors of extended child abuse, human trafficking, domestic violence, prisoners of war, slavery, etc.). It’s also often interpersonal in ways a car crash or medical emergency is not, and is particularly linked with chronic trauma during childhood: chronic stress hormones introduce literal physical changes in a growing brain, particularly the amygdala (which processes fear), hippocampus (which is responsible for learning/memory), and the prefrontal cortex (which is responsible for executive function), so it can affect every aspect of life and also affect a child’s progression through developmental stages. In addition to these physical changes to the brain, the prolonged trauma–particularly the helplessness–distorts a child’s sense of self, the perpetrator, and the world in ways that alter their decision making, their memory, and their future relationships. 

For instance, whereas a traumatic event that caused PTSD might make you depressed or not trust the person who harmed you (or to fear driving), the trauma from cPTSD might make you suicidal, blame yourself for your victimization, decide to isolate to avoid interpersonal relationships to keep from getting hurt, or become obsessed with never being harmed again.

Basically, cPTSD has the core symptoms from PTSD with some extra challenges, including issues with emotional regulation, self-concept, interruptions in consciousness, difficulties with relationships, perceptions of the perpetrator, and systems of meaning.

DFS and LLH: CPTSD Symptoms

There’s so much more to say about this than I can cover in this superficial introduction, so this will be the first of a series of metas; I’m hoping to go into more depth about some of these categories in future posts (the DFS and emotional regulation/violence one is already drafted, so stay tuned). 

Difficulties with Relationships (problems with trust, communication, missing red flags): Both DFS and LLH have a history of trusting the wrong people and not trusting the right people, both in the past and in the present of the show: in the past, LLH missed the fact that SGD hated him and DFS missed the fact that JLQ was obsessed with him, and as a result, both sects were destroyed, many people died, and the two almost destroyed each other. If they had communicated with each other instead of fighting at the donghai battle, they might have realized they were being set up and could have worked together, but their difficulties with trust after perceived betrayal made that impossible for them. They both have a history of overlooking red flags in the present–DFS in particular, keeping the red-flag-personified-JLQ around despite her history of poisoning people, including himself–and they both tend to struggle with relationships in the present: LLH runs away from and/or drugs the people who care about him, and DFS sends endless mixed messages by not telling Li Lianhua most of his plans to help him. 

Self-Concept (Self-hatred and self-fragmentation): Li Lianhua is basically the poster child for having a negative self concept: he has an overdeveloped sense of self-blame and responsibility, even believing he deserves to die for leading his men to their deaths, and once he learns he was manipulated and SGD was behind it all, he seems to think it’s his own fault that he was manipulated, lied to, and abused. His self-loathing is so extreme that he imagines his earlier self, Li Xiangyi, to have died, and tries as much as possible to be nothing like that earlier persona. His repeated insistence that Li Xiangyi and Li Lianhua are NOT the same person is reminiscent of the fragmentary sense of self that comes with more extreme trauma, like Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or Other-Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD), where traumatic experiences are so painful that people form different alters, or differentiated self-states, that can have different names and skills and memories and identities. 

Di Feisheng doesn’t have the self-hatred or guilt that LLH does, and it seems like he tries to skip over questions of self worth, blame, or hatred by focusing exclusively on staying true to his code of ethics he’s developed for himself and focusing on gaining the strength necessary to fight for his freedom from mind control and the Di Fortress. But even though he’s kept his Di name, kept his goals the same since escaping Di Fortress, and hasn’t tried to separate himself from his trauma the way LLH did with LXY, he’s even more willing than LLH to take on different identities: it’s literally one of his martial arts skills. The Bone Constriction Skill lets him become someone else for a time, whether that’s a child or Shi Hun. It fits well with his willingness to be whoever he needs to be to accomplish his goals: he’s perfectly willing to be seen as a heartless villain if it lets him protect LLH, and he’s willing to flirt with and pretend to be jealous of JLQ to get information from her, and he’s willing to be LLH’s a-Fei, both with and without his memories.

Interruptions in Consciousness (Amnesia and nightmares for Everyone): LLH and DFS both have nightmares and flashbacks/memories of traumatic events, and as mentioned above, both have interesting hints of having fragmented/fluid senses of self. They both also dissociate, or separate themselves from the present when dealing with traumatic things:  LLH spaces out and gets stuck in his past memories about SGD when talking to FDB after burying SGD, and DFS dissociates from physical pain so as not to make noise both after he’s been stabbed and poisoned with Wuxin Huai and again when JLQ is torturing him in her water dungeon.

They both also have dissociative amnesia that takes away trauma memories, although one is from a poisonous incense plus the magic of qi macgyvering:  LLH forgot the existence of his older brother who died in front of him, and DFS as a-Fei had just about all of his memories (except a few of killing as a child) taken away. Amnesia is a huge part of cPTSD, because it’s the brain’s way of trying to protect you from truths that you might not survive. It can manifest as blocking out one single traumatic event, a bunch of thematically or temporally linked traumatic events, a skill set related to the trauma, or, in the case of something like DID or OSDD, just about everything. It’s endlessly fascinating to me that the show gives us one example of definite traumatic amnesia through LLH, and then seems to almost transform the experience of having DID and being a new part and finding yourself with a new name and very little else into an exaggerated fantasy setting (interestingly, people often report experiencing debilitating headaches when they try to regain memories behind the amnesia barrier). I doubt this is what they were actually going for, since DID is almost universally portrayed incorrectly and offensively in media (one of the alters is almost always portrayed as a serial killer, but that’s a rant for another day), but the different names and the presence of amnesia with LLH made it a fascinating enough parallel that I had to mention it.

 Problems with Emotional Regulation (Lashing in vs. lashing out): Li Xiangyi and Di Feisheng are polar opposites when it comes to struggles with emotional regulation: whereas LXY turns his anger inward, directing it all toward self-hate in what’s often called a “toxic shame spiral,” both after the donghai battle and after he finds out about SGD’s role in his shifu’s death, DFS lashes out physically at those who have harmed him, usually via choking people, although he is usually exerting an impressive amount of control over his emotions and strength. To put in perspective just how different their emotional strategies are and how much effort DFS puts into emotional regulation, compare how much more calm he is than LLH during any revelation of past betrayal or painful information, any scene where they confront the people who have abused them, or any scene where they learn they’ve been wrong about something big; LLH is most likely having an emotional flashback (re-experiencing the emotions from the earlier traumas) and DFS is probably compartmentalizing them or dissociating from them to process later/never so he can stay semi-functional and not show a potential opponent a weak spot. 

NOTE: This means that DFS is loooong overdue for a very dramatic breakdown when it eventually all catches up to him and he can’t distract himself from it anymore.

Perceptions of Perpetrators: In this way only, Di Feisheng has one advantage: he knows the head of Di Fortress is a cruel, abusive tyrant. While he clearly still fears him, even as a physically strong adult (he has nightmares, flashbacks, and dedicates his life to being free from him, which means he still to some extent feels young, small, and helpless when he thinks of him), DFS knows that he hates him and wants to be free of him. This is probably part of why he’s spared some of the self-hatred LLH experiences: he knows he didn’t deserve the abuse because seeing it happen to other children means he knows the abuse wasn’t a personal reflection on him. It does, however, motivate him to want to be stronger and invulnerable so as to never be helpless again, and that obsession is what drives him to have a single-minded focus on reaching the pinnacle of the jianghu.  

It’s so much more complicated for Li Lianhua (and for a more detailed analysis, check out this meta): the childhood perpetrators were manifold–a slew of bandits, whichever children and adults on the street would abuse him for existing and being poor–it probably felt like life itself was to blame. It’s no wonder that when his shifu and shiniang took him in, they were the ultimate rescuers whom he hero-worshipped, so when he felt he made a mistake and his life fell apart, he blamed himself: at least there would be someone to blame that way and something he could do about it (try to kill his past self and hate everything about him). It’s also very telling that LLH doesn’t blame JLQ or YBQ all that much when he learns they poisoned him, and that he’s more angry that SGD murdered their shifu than he is that SGD set him up, hated him, and was the real mastermind behind everything he had blamed himself for; he struggles to stay angry at people who harm him, and would rather blame and hate himself for being tricked than hate the person who tricked him. So, whereas DFS tries to destroy the people who abused him, LLH tries to destroy himself.

If you read this far, thanks! I’m probably going to be posting the DFS and emotional regulation/violence against perpetrator meta next, because it’s drafted, but if there are any of these you desperately want me to talk about more sooner rather than later, let me know! :D 

[schneiderenjoyer]

Was browsing through the wiki to get some reference and I've always found it interesting that Portrayals gave off the hint that Vertin captures their form's essence (through film most likely) and the descriptions of them are insight of the character from Vertin's perspective.

If we go by that logic...Schneider's Portrayal description ruins me.

[mossy-rainfrog]

[Several drawings of Ahab, Starbuck, and Fedallah from Moby Dick reimagined as women. More detailed ID in ALT.]

hi everyone today i bring you. more women :)

a continuation of this last post, Ahab openly presents as a woman aboard her ship because she has enough job security at this point to do whatever she wants and her gender identity is essentially "call me sir, but beyond that who cares". Starbuck is still bigender as usual, so she initially went "undercover" as a man to get into the industry and then stuck with the disguise long term because she likes the way it feels to be Nathaniel. Meanwhile Fedallah is free balling tbh, she's under Ahab's protection on the Pequod and everyone's an asshole to her anyways so she truly could not give less of a fuck. All three use she/her, except for when Starbuck is undercover.

also *said through tears* ahab and fedallah are FRIENDS btw. they LOVE each other and she's FINE. melville when i GET you

also, side note because I don't think I ever mentioned it, but Starbuck is ID'd as "middle aged" in my art because (s)he is based on @pocketsizedquasar 's adaptation, where Starbuck's age has been interpreted to be around 40. <3 aging :)

anyways GIRLS! I've heard of them 👀

[nobroth]

Inara and Nathaniel aren't huggers, but Alistair will hug you if you need it.

Probably.

Unless you think it's weird that he offered, in which case nevermind.

[howetragic]

Nathaniel's type:

elven

angry

can kick his ass

wants to kick his ass

didn't murder his father

articulate

disciplined

practical

[maybe-boys-do-love]

Throughout the Trainee, I’ve been waiting for the shoe to drop—for some big reveal about an ultimate problem at the company or for someone to be fired who had gone too far—but the show is too mature, it has to much compassion towards all of its characters (and towards people’s humanity in general) to do that.

I saw so many instances of mistakes happening, some more obvious, some subtle, some key to the plot, some seemingly background fodder, some addressed by the characters explicitly, and some that the characters or the show just seemed to observe without commenting on. Some of these mistakes didn’t amount to anything, like the broken hard drive, and some of them caused real physical harm to people in the show, like the cosmetic mix-up during testing. I presumed there was a kind of accumulation happening. I thought that the mistakes were adding up to something, a bigger conclusion about this work environment, or a commentary on work environments and society at large. The Trainee, however, refuses to construct a larger theory about work and life’s problems. It refuses to condemn anyone or any one thing to that extent. Each mistake is its own problem. And each person is capable of contributing to it and finding a way to move past it.

You see, what Jane says here is the core theme of the show:

(GIF by @ryansjane )

Don’t assume; ask questions; talk it out with the recognition that everyone is coming to the table with different backgrounds, skills, areas of knowledge, flaws, fears, and hopes. They will not be perfect, and neither do you have to be. The Trainee wants its characters and its audience to find the courage, like Ryan and Jane, Ba Mhee and Tae, or the lovely moments between Pah and all his coworkers this week, to speak up with curiosity and openness.

Then, the next step it shows so wonderfully is how you can appreciate what complexities you contributed to the situation. You can acknowledge and apologize for your role once you understand it—not because you are wrong or right, but because acknowledgement and sorries are ways to show other people that you didn’t find a way to help avoid the problem either that time. It’s important to note, as I see some discourse rising up about who apologizes in the conversations during the show, that Thai and Broader Asian cultures in general have a VERY different culture around apologies, humility, and shame so that those feelings and their related gestures are used to build connection and positive feelings, compared to negative shame in Western culture; book rec if your interested in that topic and more—Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions.

The show doesn’t have some moral argument to say about a systemic HR issue at this office. It also doesn’t depict its office as devoid of deeply troubling systemic issues like sexual harassment. Its recommendation to address the issues, though, is not through stricter enforcement of rules or the perfecting of one’s behavior. It’s to communicate when the time is right on with self-respect and compassion.

There is just so much love and care in every element of the Trainee, and I already know it’s gonna be a comfort show to return to again and again in the future because it’s intricately produced tone and its story just release the tangled knots of perfectionism in me without discouraging me from my desire to grow and improve. You can just tell it’s done by people who love their jobs and their work environment. How rare to see a workplace in media be simultaneously so realistic in its depiction and still so positive about the overall experience 🌻

[varietales]

Introducing...

A fine specimeeeeehhn.

Ichiya Vandalay-Kotobuki!

Carrd (About, hcs, verses, threads, bonds etc) | Trivia

Quick Disclaimer: I’m not exactly intending on writing him, (although there may be some Shenanigans), but he is a prominent member of Blue Pegasus – therefore is relevant to my Jenny and Lisanna. And I want him to be a good character, and more importantly, a good man. Honestly? The potential is there, and he has even had more moments to sparkle Shine than most side characters in the manga (including Lisanna). So, I’m going to retcon a few things and establish some headcanons to develop his character further.

Canon Divergences:

He does not get in people’s personal spaces and sniff them.

He has not made any advances or comments towards Erza, there is no ‘my honey’ here, he has never implied or allowed implication of anything between them.

He is not lecherous or perverted (these terms have been used in canon and in spin offs but I don’t recall him actually displaying these traits aside from maybe the stuff with Erza and sniffing people, which I’m removing anyway)

History:

His mother was a mage and a hard-working woman running an apothecary business in a small village. She did her best to raise him on her own after her husband left her, it was a difficult but rewarding life. Young Ichiya helped out around the store and learnt a great deal about the medicines she crafted.

When Ichiya was around 8 years old, a nobleman (of the Vandalay-Kotobuki family) who had been travelling the area needed urgent medical assistance and stopped at the apothecary. Ichiya’s mother helped the man and the two fell quickly in love and eventually married.

Ichiya and his mother moved into Lord Vandalay-Kotobuki’s estate, adapting to the different lifestyle and enjoying a happy life together. Ichiya was adored by his adoptive father.

Due to his parents being overprotective of him (and also wanting to fuel the idea that Ichiya was a secret, legitimate heir that had been protected on the estate the whole time), he did not leave the Vandalay-Kotobuki estate until around his 18th birthday, when he insisted on doing some travelling to experience the world.

The outside world was too overwhelming for him, and he returned home after just a month, but he was inspired by what he’d seen and decided to dedicate himself to learning more about his mother’s old craft. He also began to host parties at the estate, as it seemed easier to bring the world to him than to go out himself.

After a couple of years, he did begin to venture out himself some more, for several months at a time. But he still loved having parties.

At one of his parties, he met some mages from Blue Pegasus and Master Bob himself. Ichiya was immediately taken by the noble idea of being a guild mage and becoming someone who could help others even more (he was already donating generously to charities at that point but wanted to be more actively involved in helping others).

He joined Blue Pegasus in X780 (when he was 25, believe it or not), after studying magic and honing his own unique gifts.

Portrayal Notes:

He is incredibly generous and kindhearted, always willing to help others. He spent his early years watching his mother working hard to provide for them both and to help others. She has always inspired him to take care of others and do whatever he can for them. Joining a wealthy family showed him the power of money and what it can do for people as well, and he did not develop an attachment to wealth himself – he gives very generously to charities. He is always one of the first to offer assistance if someone seems in need of help in any way.

Spending the majority of his life within a noble family, he was taught the values of good etiquette and respectability. He is a total gentleman and holds himself to a high standard of decorum. Having a unique mix of noble and ‘commoner’ influences from his parents, he does his best to treat all people with equal respect.

In line with his gentlemanly behaviour, he does tend to view it as his duty to protect other people – particularly women and children, in whatever way he can. (reminder of a point earlier – we are removing instances of him being weird with Erza and sniffing people, my Ichiya is not a creep)

People outside of Blue Pegasus might still view him as eccentric character and a weirdo (or yes, a creep, because people are mean), however, within his guild, he is highly respected and beloved (this is a canon fact. I mean I know its for a sort of comedy factor but still). He is popular within the guild as he is very caring and genuine, always helpful, and is actually a very skilled and knowledgeable mage.

To some people, he might seem like he is the type that loves the sound of his own voice and would talk for hours (and sometimes this is true), however he is a very good listener and is always willing to lend an ear to anyone who needs it. He also gives very good advice and usually only offers his advice/opinions when asked for it.

Trivia:

He has a lot of thoughts buzzing around in his mind, and quite often he will have entire scenarios and conversations in his head and then start talking about it out loud or ask about something, and anyone around would likely be completely confused about what he’s talking about (an example being where he asked the band at the ball to play “That song” forgetting he hadn’t actually said his prior thoughts explaining what ‘that’ song was). There are few within the guild that are able to follow his half-internal conversations, and most are quite used to the seemingly random jumps in topics and simply go along with it.

Mentioned above, he is a very good listener, however…truth be told, sometimes he is only a good listener because he’s not actually listening, he’s daydreaming or thinking about something totally random that was sparked in his head while listening.

Pisces sun, Gemini moon, Leo rising

He loves music, theatre, and dance.

While a great deal of Blue Pegasus mages tend to have a certain type of ‘persona’ of sorts, he doesn’t really, he’s just himself 100% of the time. There have only been a few times where he has felt the need to conceal his true thoughts/feelings and present himself differently – and in these cases it was usually a matter of him not letting his sadness or worry show, as to not give his guildmates cause for concern.

He’s really quite gullible for the most part, he is open minded and likes to believe the best in people, so falls for things quite easily.

He has a highly successful perfume business – he’s not business minded at all so the actual running of it is left to a recently appointed trusted friend (as above, he is gullible and trusting, and so had to learn a hard lesson after a rather serious incident with his previous business manager’s dodgy dealings). Ichiya designs and crafts the perfumes and leaves everything else to his loyal employees to handle. Most of the profits are donated to charities.

He is typically quite emotional and easily moved, and he is a very empathetic and loyal sort (canonically, for the 7 years the Tenrou group was gone, he never gave up the search for them and would often cry endlessly at the thought that they would never return, as he was so saddened by their disappearance)

He struggles with back pain and other body aches frequently, and this is due to the toll using his Power Perfumes takes on him – the intense change in body type and stature is not an easy thing to deal with and it takes a while for him to recover.

As someone with great knowledge of natural remedies and such, he crafts his own skin care products and actually has incredibly soft and smooth skin. In the same way, he takes very good care of his hair and makes his own products for that as well. His hair is very thick and soft, and it grows (unusually) fast and has a healthy shine to it.

Magic, skills, abilities:

Most of his abilities (as well as his general appearance) are a result of magic and other influences he was unintentionally exposed to during his younger years when helping out his mother at her shop.

Heightened Sense of Smell: Of course, this is a notable ability for him. His sense of smell is so well honed that he can easily distinguish individual elements within a particular smell and recognise people as well. He can determine a mage’s strength and base affinity/type of magic based on smell alone. In terms of tracking via scent, he could be on par with the dragon slayers.

Emotions, particularly strong ones, in others can also register as scents to him, allowing him to be aware and attuned to the emotions of those around him. Along with his empathetic nature, this gives him great emotional intuition and good skill in reading other people (for the most part).

Related to the above, he has the ability to limit his sense of smell or ‘turn it off’ if he needs to, otherwise he would be constantly overloaded by everything around him.

Perfume Magic: he is noted as having ‘perfume magic’ which is described as a Holder type magic that relies on the user having a variety of perfume vials on their person. Ichiya does carry a myriad of vials with him at all times, however there is more to the magic than most people know. (and I will eventually do a post getting into the specifics, as soon as I work it all out)

Although his magic is most used for support or for ranged/distance attacks and spells, he has had training in hand-to-hand and more direct fighting styles. Without aid from his perfumes however, his physical capabilities are quite lacking. That being said, his knowledge of the human body and pressure points has come in handy a few times in battles.

Somehow, while he doesn’t have great endurance for fighting, he does have it for dancing. He knows various styles of dance and is surprisingly skilled, enough so that he beat a mage that specialises in Dance magic during the Grand Magic Games one year.

Ichiya and Jenny:

(This is of course based on my own Jenny muse and can be adjusted for other interpretations of her character.)

Ichiya joined Blue Pegasus the year before Jenny did. Always welcoming of new members, he was friendly to her and offered to help her if she needed anything. At the time, Jenny was dismissive of him, as her focus was on her idol, Karen. After Karen was killed and Master Bob talked some sense into Jenny, there was a shift for Jenny herself. She took more notice of her guildmates and began to make an effort with them, including Ichiya.

She apologised to him for the way she had treated him, and he waved it away, assuring her it was fine. She had thought him a strange man, yet after spending some time getting to know him, she found herself becoming fond of him.

They have been guildmates for over ten years now and their friendship and fondness for each other has grown over those years. Jenny knows he is someone who will always listen to her, regardless of topic, and that he will give good advice if she asks for it. She goes to him for recommendations on anything hair, skin, or health related and she trusts his judgement. He knows she is much smarter and more skilled than she lets on, and while he believes she should embrace that part of herself openly, he respects her decision to keep her cards close to her chest (as it’s a benefit for the guild as well, Blue Pegasus does well from not revealing too much and being selective about what is known).

Having known him for such a long time, she is particularly protective of him and will throw hands defend him if anyone was to give her cause.

[spineless-lobster]

Okay but like being into greek mythology growing up and seeing everyone portrayed as thin, white and muscular nonstop vs now getting back into it and seeing how beautiful and diverse the art is now is an absolutely incredible feeling and it’s a wonderful thing to see

[numbuh424]

Please hear me out..... Jdrama!Light and Musical!L.