#He's still a compassionate character. He's so so good. Being angry at people that hurt you is not bad.

[sepiamestus]

It always rubs me the wrong way when people characterize atsushi as too much of a sweetheart. Like he IS a sweetheart but he's also snarky and sarcastic and most importantly he's very very angry. Do not forget this.

[ceaselesswatchersspecialboy]

I’m a little nervous talking about this, but I’ve had these thoughts for a while and want to get them down somewhere, so here we are!

There’s a common discussion within TMA of the Idea of human vs monster, and where the line between that is drawn, and this discussion especially applies to the avatar’s and their feeding habits, their desires to hurt others — their hunger. But, I think, that mentality can often lead to the real question being ignored, and that’s the question or choice.

It’s a common theme within TMA, and is prominent within the Becoming of avatars, and what they do after.

A good way of understanding Jon’s feeding in s4 isn’t through the lens of how human is he, rather it’s through the lens of how similar he and Melanie are. He and Melanie act as foils to each other during s4, their actions and choices emphasising their opposing paths.

The gist of it is both wanted to hurt people. It felt good. Both admit to this fact.

And the reason they chose it, is because they’re hurting. Melanie admits to this outright. She’s been angry so long, with little else for her, lashing out and desperate to survive, and suddenly, she has this thing etched into her bones, telling her that this anger is righteous, that hurting herself and hurting others is good. Both are aware that this isn’t good, of course, but it’s so hard to let go of that little, reassuring voice, because doing so means confronting yourself, and your struggles.

I speak as someone with C-PTSD, but this is a very realistic depiction of how it feels, at least to me personally. When you’ve been so powerless for a long period of time, and suddenly, something or someone tells that it’s okay to lash out, to hurt, it’s easy to fall into the destructive cycle, because hurting other people, taking away their power, it gives you a sense of control back, a sense of power.

It isn’t right, of course it isn’t, but it just feels so good.

This is again shown by Melanie and Jon’s separate paths.

Melanie ends up choosing to recover after the bullet is removed, when she could have just as easily found a new, self-destructive path to go down, and it’s not just because the bullet was removed. Taking away her agency here takes away from her arc. She chooses to accept help and she really does work on bettering herself. She doesn’t want to hurt people anymore. Jon doesn’t do that. He feels he can’t. He’s had his power taken from him more times than he can count, been at the mercy of people and monsters, and finally, finally he has power again. He’s put in the position of the tormentor and it feels good. He finds satisfaction in it. And, as with Melanie, there’s a little voice in the back of his head telling him this is right, no matter how guilty he feels afterwards.

He makes excuses to himself, tries to rationalise his own actions as a way of coping, finding a reason to do it again because it’s all he has. It’s a comfort. Is there a supernatural element present? Absolutely! The relationship between Entity and Avatar is one that can just as much parasitic as it is symbiotic, but I think more of Jon’s character is lost by dismissing his darker choices. If anything, the darker choices emphasise his compassionate choices, and vice versa.

Jon can be a victim and still hurt other people; that’s an important thing to acknowledge. Avatars are not just their fears, there is far more to their hunger than that, and they are who they are because of their choices and wants.

Basically, Jon and Melanie are wonderfully written characters and I really love the themes of choice in TMA, can you tell?

[brandileigh2003]

@flashfictionfridayofficial

Feel free to give me kudos or comments on AO3 too

Fandom: marauders (harry potter). Characters: remus lupin, Lily Evans. Wc: 997

CW: (+ other things that would be in tags)

talk of injuries, mental illness. Remus is trans. Post-prank. Pre-wolfstar relationship. Lily & Remus friendship

***************

“Remus?” Lily whispered, shaking his shoulder lightly. 

Remus sat up with a gasp. “Hm?”

“Why aren’t you in your room? It’s close to… Your time of the month. You have to be hurting sleeping here,” Lily sat down beside him, eyes furrowed in concern. “Were you crying, love?” 

“Um. I just. I can’t be around him,” Remus replied. He tried to ignore the crying question as well as the one about pain. Because the truth was, Remus hurt so badly. Every single joint was like it was on fire, and his stomach hurt because not only did the universe see fit to have him be turned into a werewolf before his fifth birthday, it had him born into the wrong body, and lately his period seemed to want to line up with the moons. Remus wanted to scream, or punch something. Better yet, punch Lyall. He didn’t think that Remus fully understood what it meant to take testosterone potions and permanently change his body. 

Lily’s compassionate voice broke him down and he finally told her everything about the month prior, of Sirius betraying one of his biggest secrets. He was honestly surprised that Snape hadn’t told her yet, but he supposed since the mudblood incident, she hadn’t given him the time of day. Which; good for her. He had hated seeing her in pain watching her oldest friend get in deeper with the other dark Slytherins, and although he didn’t want her to be in pain, being close to him would only get worse as the war loomed closer. 

“That’s… Oh Merlin, Remus. I am so sorry,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing his back gently.

He was crying again, and he hated himself, more than ever. He felt tired and weak, physically, mentally, emotionally. Plus  any other way that one can just feel ready to just lay down and not really care if they ever got back up. 

He wiped his face but winced at the still tender wounds on his face. Which was yet another thing that he would always have to carry from that night. The wolf was more angry than ever when he thought that he would finally have prey, not be hungry for once, and took it out more than usual on Remus. His hip still wasn’t right, and his face now was bisected with what would certainly turn into scars. 

“I was going to finally tell him, Lily. How is that for life just not letting me have anything good,” Remus finally said. Lily was one of the only people that he had confided about his feelings for Sirius. And what made it all so much worse is that Remus had been nearly certain that Sirius also had feelings for him too. But Remus should have known that he shouldn’t hope for anything. Instead of what he thought might be a new relationship, he now felt further from Sirius than ever. 

“Want to know something even more fucked up?” he continued, laughing hollowly. “I still love him. I want to forgive him. I want to run to him and throw myself in his arms. I want to write off everything that he did as pressure because of… Well. Everything with his family. You have heard enough that I am sure that you can imagine.”

“Remus, love. Nothing can excuse that betrayal. I know that things aren’t easy. And that Sirius struggles with mental health. But, he is supposed to be your best friend. His actions could have caused three deaths. Sev, James and you. Because they would either put you in a camp for dangerous creatures or execute you,” Lily said firmly but kindly. 

“I still feel guilty though. I should just let it go. It’s breaking James' heart every time he has to leave one of us to spend time with the other. Because I just can’t be around Sirius. Classes are hard enough. I go to the dorm as little as possible. I’m afraid I’ll just lose it. And any action would be something I regret. Yelling, forgiving him, kissing him. Nothing feels right. But if I just let it go back to normal, he won’t be so sad.” 

“This is about you though Remus, you can’t put everyone above yourself,” Lily said. 

“But if I don’t I will lose all three of them. James is his best friend, his brother, his soulmate, his… something. But. Eventually James will choose him. Or I will push James away so that he will be happy too. Because him and Sirius need each other. And Peter will do whatever James does.” Remus said. He had already spilled out everything else, so might as well get into his deepest fears too. 

Remus didn’t feel like arguing. “Everything hurts Lils. It all feels washed out. Dull. Food doesn’t taste good. I think I’ve forgotten how to smile. I can’t focus on homework, and I honestly don’t find myself caring either. I either can’t sleep or sleep too much. Even colors feel muted. I don’t even know how to explain it.” 

“Remus. You’re worrying me. This sounds like major depression,” Lily was playing with his fingers. 

“I’ll be okay, I promise. I am sorry, I shouldn’t be putting all of my problems on you. I was just…” Remus waved his other hand around uselessly. 

“Remus. I want you to always talk to me. I’m glad that you trust me. But. I think that you need help. Will you come and talk to Madam Pomfrey? Honestly, if you don’t, I am worried enough I will do it regardless,” Lily said, nervously. 

Remus didn’t have the strength to fight her, so just meekly followed her through the hallways and she sat with him while he tried to explain it all to the nurse. Pomfrey gave him a big hug and said that she had a few things that might help. 

Remus managed a small smile of thanks and could only hope she was right. 

**I do not agree with jkr nasty views. I love taking the characters and making them queer 🏳️‍🌈

[neatfrog]

my oc Boldizsár for @alexfeelyx, since you said you wanted to see him lol

(ignore the shitty minigun I didn’t feel like adding a bunch of detail for a sketch)

character info below the cut for anyone else interested

Boldizsár is a character I created roughly 8-9 years ago when Fallout 4 came out. He has a twin sister named Petra, and in my Fallout canon they are members of the Gunners. (*realized I forgot to add his blood type tattoo here, but he’s B+ and Petra is A-. I have no clue if twins can have different blood types like that so correct me if I’m mistaken, I genuinely tried to google but couldn’t get a solid answer)

He likes big guns and explosions, and sometimes talks himself up, but spending more than 2 minutes with him will reveal he’s an absolute cinnamon roll. Less prickly and more compassionate than his sister, he has a particular soft spot for animals and children.

They both joined the Gunners at the age of 15 - Boldizsár because they “looked badass”, and Petra followed only because she couldn’t convince her brother not to go.

(at the time of Fallout 4’s events, they’re both 19, but now that I’m almost a decade older than I was when I made these characters I might bump it up some more)

He and his sister are both of Hungarian descent, and their last name is Zsoldos (which I chose purposely because it means ‘mercenary’ and I thought it was funny as fuck. still think it’s funny tbh)

Traits/Behaviors

brave (sometimes too much for his own good)

outraged by injustice or mistreatment of innocent people

sometimes serious situations make him uncomfortable so he often compensates with humor to try to lighten the mood

struggles with guilt over past actions that harmed people

when young, he always listened to whatever Petra told him, and obeyed whenever she instructed him not to do something, but as they got older he became frustrated with her controlling behavior and started to make more of his own choices (which causes a good deal of the conflict in their relationship)

likewise, he has trouble telling her how he truly feels sometimes because he doesn’t want to hurt her (and also doesn’t want to deal with her being angry)

he has trauma from childhood events, but doesn’t realize it (and is somewhat ignorant of how bad it actually was, since Petra shielded him from most of it)

can be stubborn when he feels really strongly about something

very curious about the world and wants to explore (their upbringing was very closed-off and sheltered, they were basically raised in a cult)

is good at logic games and puzzles, and can strategize well

throughout time spent in the Gunners he became familiar with the inner workings/mechanics of explosives and large weapons (idk if it’s possible to dismantle a minigun and put it back together, but if so he could definitely do that)

the thing that would make him happiest is having a family of his own

he’s an aquarius (I gave him and Petra my mom’s birthday so it would be easy to remember lol)

can be pretty oblivious to certain things when they aren’t said/shown explicitly (yes he’s autistic why do you ask)

he’s naive about certain things in the world due to his sheltered upbringing, but is open-minded about new information and experiences

does his best to see the good in people even when they’ve done bad things (but also doesn’t tolerate purposely cruel people)

he wears that Coat all the time (he found it on a skeleton)

(during fallout 4 timeline) becomes deaf in one ear due to a bad injury (this is my reminder to give him some headphones bc the weapons he uses are loud af)

phobia of radscorpions (can we blame him? fuck those things)

-

There’s way more I could say but I think this is enough to sum up his character for now. I guess I should make a post for Petra too 🤔

[thestupidhelmet]

What do you think are the best and worst traits about each of the main characters?

Tough to be reductive about complex, often-changing characters, but I'll give it a shot. 😀

Note: I'm not including any traits I consider too far afield from the characters' consistent characterization (consistent includes character growth and devolution).

Eric

Best: His compassion, willingness to take risks outside his comfort zone, sense of humor, fighting for what he believes is right (or just), self-sacrificing, loyal to his friends, respects Donna's timeline with their sexual relationship, loves his family, is forgiving.

Worst: Can be insensitive, impulsive self-focused to the detriment of others, sexist, possessive, myopic (unable to see or understand the whole of a situation outside of how he's affected by it), selfish, vindictive, indecisive, obsessed with having sex with Donna.

Donna

Best: Compassionate, courageous, intelligent (academically and otherwise), creative, passionate, self-confidence, willingness to put her pain and hurt aside to protect Eric's ego (she does this a lot, but it's not exactly best for her), ability to see the bigger picture when she gets a reality check, sense of humor, fights for what he believes is right (or just), protective of her friends.

Worst: Becomes self-destructive as a way of getting attention from neglectful parents or to avoid feeling grief; when in emotional pain, her needs are all that matter, and she's willing to use -- and inadvertently hurt -- loved ones to try to alleviate her pain; quick temper, sometimes flip-flops on certain feminist values she holds, has a bravado she can't always backup with actions, can be selfish, can be vindictive.

Hyde

Best: Protective of the vulnerable, whether friend, foe, or relative stranger; very self-sacrificing, compassionate, takes no help he receives for granted and makes sure to show his respect and appreciation through consistent actions, willing to give people who hurt him a second chance if they seem remorseful and to have changed, sarcastic sense of humor, doesn't burn people when they're truly in pain, takes chances despite being afraid of potential consequences, doesn't allow loyalty to friends to stop him from doing the right thing (but will find loopholes if he can, as not to break loyalty and still do the right thing), eventually opens to the possibility that the people he loves won't hurt or abandon him like his parents did, is generally a hard worker (despite his declaration of laziness).

Worst: Has passive-aggressive tendencies, trouble communicating his feelings directly; is afraid of allowing his vulnerability to show, so he uses a multitude of self-protective techniques to hide it, afraid of how angry he is from childhood trauma and does his best to suppress it (and doesn't always succeed), can be insensitive, doesn't trust people can truly love him and believes they will ultimately hurt or abandon him -- or both (again, childhood trauma), will use a person's naivety for his own purposes, allows his pride to get in the way of what's best for him, paranoid (not in the pathological sense; it's really insecurity and anxiety and, yeah, PTSD from childhood trauma).

Jackie

Best: Compassionate, savvy (eventually), smart (when not dumbing herself down for Kelso), uses her own experiences to give others perspective, gives or does what she can to help her friends and boyfriends, doesn't take crap (especially once she breaks up with Kelso for good), willing to be vulnerable with someone without expectation of return, very forgiving, cares about certain people even when they don't care about her (she would never admit to any of these traits 😂), self-reflective and, thus, grows and changes for the better.

Worst: self-centered, narcissist tendencies, controlling, (these first three traits weaken greatly once she dates Hyde), self-entitled, jealous, classist, unnecessarily insulting of Donna, tends to live in a fantasy world rather than face reality, doesn't always think before she speaks, lies somewhat habitually (but this trait weakens as she grows as a character), allows her pride to get in the way of what's best for her.

Fez

Best: Strong emotional awareness and an ability to analyze other people's feelings accurately (S1), kind* (he displays both true kindness and transactional kindness), funny, academically intelligent and devoted, loving, sensitive, doesn't care about U.S. masculinity mores of the time and has no problem showing intimately platonic affection to his male friends; is a good boyfriend to Patty, Caroline, and Rhonda (except when the writers destroyed his character in their breakup episode), connected to his feelings and unafraid to express them.

Worst: Suffers from Nice Guy syndrome with Jackie, showing her kindness and respect in the belief he'll get her romantic and sexual affection in return -- feels entitled to it, in fact, due to his "kindness" so that when he realizes she won't give him what he wants, he turns on her instantly and becomes disrespectful and unkind; doesn't respect his female friends' boundaries in different ways, gets jealous easily (of male and female friends' friendships with each other), doesn't understand how far to take a joke due to cultural differences, and this trait eventually turns into what people call his perviness, can be selfish and sexist.

Kelso

Best: Very funny, has the capacity for growth and change (but the writers always return him to status quo), loyal to and supportive of friends* (unfortunately only on rare occasions), can feel remorse for his bad behavior* (once he's been wounded by someone else the same way), eventually works up the courage (with the help of his friends) to be a father to his baby, respects Brooke's sexual boundaries in actions (but is still suggestive even after she makes clear the answer is no), is a hard worker at his jobs (but not academically), is protective of his sister and mother.

Worst: Selfish, self-entitled narcissist; sex addict, habitually violates Jackie sexually (see the episode "Sleepover"), habitually violates Donna's physical boundaries or tries to, serial cheater while never intending Jackie to find out, dangerously impulsive, cruel to Fez verbally and physically (S1-S4), incredibly vindictive, hypocrite, misogynistic tendencies, often doesn't learn from his mistakes because he doesn't believe he made any, lacks common sense in a way that's hazardous to himself and others, often treats all his friends like crap and doesn't believe anyone's feelings but his own matter.

Kitty

Best: super compassionate (and passionate), a healer (emotionally and physically since she's a great nurse), joyful most of the time and wants to help others feel that way, funny, emotionally strong; does whatever she has to do (legally) to keep her family safe, like being the sole moneymaker with longer hours when Red's searching for work or can't work after his heart attack; is kind to all of Eric's friends (most of the time, lol), takes control of a situation once a line has been crossed, great cook and baker; is the epitome of the feminist ideal Midge is trying to attain, despite that Kitty doesn't think of herself that way.

Worst: Sometimes infantilizes Eric, becomes overly clingy to Eric whenever him moving out of the house seems to be his plan, becomes controlling of Eric and interferes in his attempts at autonomy when he becomes engaged to Donna, uses alcohol to narcotize the pain of having perimenopause (no more babies; although she and Red always could adopt, but that's a different subject), can be judgmental, can hold a grudge, can be devious to get what she wants, sometimes is weirdly inappropriate, can be too passive, can sulk.

Red

Best: Compassionate (but unhappy that he has this trait, lol), hard worker, has romantic/sexual attraction only to Kitty, passionate, risked his life more than once for his country as part of the navy, sees through people's bullcrap (although not always his own), helps Eric's friends in spite of himself, wants the best future for his kids (including Hyde), is open to changing his point of view (about a person, at least).

Worst: (First a note. Many of the following can be seen as stemming from his time in WWII and the Korean War and the PTSD this created in him; he has war flashbacks, a canon part of his character). Most of his feelings are communicated through anger, he's xenophobic toward people (of any skin color, including white) and also of foreign-made products; he refuses to face the reality of who his daughter is, and when the fantasy is broken, he punishes her for not living up to his idealized version of her; when Eric doesn't meet Red's standards for masculinity or makes a typical teenager mistake, Red can be verbally degrading or punishing; can be insensitive to Kitty, holds some antiquated views (even for the '70s) of female and male gender roles (wait until he learns about nonbinary people ... 👀🏳️‍🌈).

[will80sbyers]

I think Mike genuinely liked El and of course he cared about her, but the way he talked to her in s1 was lowkey dependent on whether or not she could find Will. Like in 1x04 when Will's fake body was found, he still let her stay in his house bc he's a good person but he was extremely angry and was talking to her very rudely because he thought that she lied about Will being alive. And as soon as El found Will through the radio, he was nice to her again.

Yeah, that doesn't mean he kept her around only because of Will, that's just bullshit!

You can think that he was still not in love with her without saying stuff like that about him and El because there's literally no need, he obviously wanted to find Will but he cared about El too immediately, he was sad when she died because he missed her for her, not just because "she died when he was using her"

she agreed to help them find Will and cared about Will too because she is a kind kid too and also wanted to save Will as all of them... and all of the kids in the party grew to love El in that week they get to spend time with her

Mike is characterized as an extremely compassionate kid and one that if he can help people in need he does it, he cares about all the people he gets to know so much like when he does that speech after Bob dies in season 2 or when even if he's actively fighting with Max as soon as she falls down he immediately tries to help her and asks if she's okay

Mike was not just using El to get to Will, he was angry with her when he thought she lied to him because he started to consider El as a new friend immediately, as soon as they bonded when they spent that morning together at his home!

if you thought someone you thought was your friend LIED to you about another one of your best friends being alive and instead he's dead... how would you react??? everybody would be angry!

and I think he was particularly angry with her because he felt even more betrayed because he had a little crush on her since the start (and obviously was heartbroken and shocked about Will being dead, because he had already a different relationship with Will and his death was something he couldn't stand at all) but you can also say he just felt like that because he thought they were friends...!

and this is also what Mike tells El himself in the actual show, he tells her exactly that he felt betrayed because he thought they were friends and she hurt him by lying about Will being alive, right before El shows to him that she didn't lie making the radio work and making him hear Will. In that moment Mike understood that El didn't lie to him and they were friends again!!!

He let her stay and didn't tell his mother about her when she told him that bad people were after her because he's a compassionate and kind person and he was worried about her when she had the panic attack in the closet, he was worried about her when she was gone on her own after the second fight also because he was just worried about her, not only because he needed her to find Will!

he cared about her from the first day they met and saying otherwise it's saying that Mike is a character that he's just not and thank God for that

Will would NEVER love Mike if he wasn't like he is, compassionate, loyal to extremes, capable of so much love for all the people in his life and brave since the first episode and before too!

You can say he was not in love with her and I think the same thing for that, I think he just liked her and grew to have a little crush

and you can say he never was attracted to her too

but you can't say "he just wanted her around to find Will", that's just ignoring everything they told us about who Mike is as a person and character and I can't stand this argument

[deadwardianpoltergeist]

if Raph has 1000 fans I’m one of them, if he has 10 fans I’m one of them, if she has 1 fan it’s me, if he has 0 fans I’m dead

she genuinely is a good person, and I love 2003 tmnt for how they portray him

her anger is never demonized, and the way splinter handles it in 2003 is LIGHTYEARS better than how 2012 splinter does, 2003 splints reassures and comforts raph when she’s upset, because she actually understands why raph acts the way he does

versus in 2012, where splinter reprimands him and never actually helps her with his anger, only telling him to just control it, lest it destroys her, but never actually says how he’s supposed to do that

in 2003 raph’s character is so well handled and it’s what makes this show so special to me

the way they have tender moments with him and her siblings, the way that he’s shown being a genuinely compassionate creature, and most of all the way his anger in “Meet Casey Jones” is put

he loses her temper with mikey, who won’t stop fueling her irritation, until he completely goes red(haha, red) and almost seriously hurts angelo

instead of her siblings getting mad at him for losing her temper, they just pull him off mikey, and splinter simply tells raph to go above ground to cool off some steam

no “what the (s)hell is wrong with you” or “you need to just chill out and stop being angry” just them moving in to de-escalate the situation, while still having understanding

and then he goes off in the city, saying “what the shell is wrong with me” and it just. it’s so painfully real(other than the turtle pun but it’s a kid’s show), and then she sees casey and goes “hey this guy’s like me” and then tries to help casey, trying to tell her that, hey, you have to take a minute to step back because letting your anger get to you like that only hurts people, and hurts you too

and her temper never causes a rift between him and her siblings, only differences in mindsets in “A City At War” where raph is convinced they have no obligation to stop the gang fights(although that is weird because it literally is their problem, they help innocent people and innocent people are getting hurt in the cross fire) causes an big thing where raph won’t listen to leo

and raph and mikey still very much get along, even if mike is kind of an annoying little shit(/aff)

I love 2003 raph so much, even more than other versions of raph, which is saying something because he’s is my favourite turtle in almost every version

[troublewithvampires]

@chaieyestea said: 💐 (feral about Sal, feral about flower symbolism. puts them together in a blender and shakes it)

💐 BOUQUET - create a bouqet for them! what do those flowers mean? are any of the flowers their particular favourite?

//YEAHH YEAH YEAHHHH!!!! ok before we start i wanna just call out that a lil bit ago i started writing a short story about salvatore centering around flower symbolism, but i never ended up finishing it. i kinda wanna do that now but we'll see idk it's 2 am

so i am gonna interpret this prompt as just collecting a batch of flowers that have symbolism relating to salvatore and themes around him as a character--i'll only do five, but trust me i can keep going.

but i do also wanna say i just imagined someone actually *giving* him flowers and how flustered and embarrassed but flattered he'd be. he'd call them a dumb bitch and insist he hates them but then he'd hold the flowers close and refuse to let go of them.

now. the flowers. disclaimer: i am not an expert on flower symbolism and my research into these was very brief. once again under the cut <3

Persian Speedwell - travel, kindness, loyalty, protection.

the symbolism here is probably a bit obvious--salvatore is a character for whom loyalty is important above all else. he was taught from a young age to value loyalty and to *be* loyal, never turning his back on those who depend on him. this also extends into him being overprotective of those he cares about, especially post-vampirism.

i also think travel fits in well, because i imagine him and jason travel around for a while before they settle down with their daughter. for many years, it's just them against the world, really, traveling around in jason's shitty van.

and as for the kindness part... well, sal would argue that one doesn't apply to him, but it definitely does. he's not good at being compassionate, but he *can* be very kind.

Wolfsbane - misanthropy

once again, a bit obvious. though i wouldn't classify sal as misanthropic most of the time, it's undeniable that he has a lot of anger in his heart, a lot of deep-seated rage an despair at a world that he views as having abandoned him at best, and actively hurt him at worst. in many ways, sal is deeply angry and hopeless.

another reason i list wolfsbane here, though, is that wolfsbane in particular is a plant associated very strongly with the occult. while it's more heavily associated with werewolves, i think that's a fun connection to make for a supernatural character in general.

aaand lastly. well. wolfsbane is very poisonous, and it's a staple in both historical and modern fiction for that. (not to say that it's only ever been used as a poison in *fictional* settings, of course, but still.) i haven't found a specific correlation in terms of how it's been used throughout history, but i think it's interesting that in fiction, wolfsbane (or aconite in general) is sometimes used for assassinations of powerful figures.

salvatore was never, like, the leader of the gang or even particularly powerful in the mob, but he *did* have some power as one of nickels' most trusted men. arguably, his death was an assassination in that sense. (and it also later led to nickels himself being murdered, so. welp.)

Coltsfoot - justice shall be done

i'm tying this one to salvatore's desire for revenge against those who hurt him, especially victor. while i don't think salvatore is *completely* lacking in self-awareness about his craving for vengeance, i also think he sees it as dishing out justice more than anything. justice shall be done, starting with every person who contributed to salvatore's downfall and eventual murder.

but even for people who didn't hurt him, sal does not have a hard time at all justifying killing people. not to say he thinks he's always in the right for doing so and that he's always ~dishing out justice~ but... ok a big example that comes to mind for me on this front is like. so the vampires who turned sal.... sal fucking murdered them. all of them. and he justified it to himself because he figures... vampirism is a fate worse than death, and these things would've gone on to kill and turn dozens more people if he let them go. so, it's better to kill them all.

Mourningbride - unfortunate attachment, "i have lost all"

YEEEEHAW ANOTHER BUMMER ONE!! okay anyway-

i associate this flower with sal in the sense that, like... very few of the people he was close to pre-vampirism actually reciprocated that care and devotion he had for them. salvatore has been exploited and abused throughout his life, and he doesn't really have a good sense of healthy relationships with other people, and he's incredibly easy to manipulate if you know what you're doing. "unfortunate attachment" indeed.

the other symbolism thing is pretty self-explanatory tbh. sal loses everything, and then he dies, and then he's brought back as a vampire and has to pick up the pieces.

Dandelion - overcoming hardship

i wanna end this on a good note, but i think dandelions are a really good flower symbol for salvatore. because i think they embody a lot of who sal is and the person he became post-vampirism. he was put through a horrific traumatic experience and turned into a monster, and yet he persists. he keeps going and he's not going to stop.

i also really love to connect the fact that dandelions are considered weeds in many places to the general lack of regard a lot of people in sal's life pre-vampirism had for him. he was useful, yes, but as a tool rather than a person. the person was a weed, but the tool was useful sometimes.

i'm very tired rn but like. something something the imagery of dandelions growing in cracked concrete vs salvatore emerging from the smoldering remains of the warehouse he was turned in, covered in blood and ash.

--

and as for a favorite flower of sal's... honestly, one of his faves is forget-me-nots! not for any particular reason tbh, but he likes them a lot. if he received a bouquet of those he would be very touched. they're also his go-to flowers to give those he cares about--even if he doesn't really get flower symbolism, these ones aren't hard to figure out. it's one of many ways sal may try to express love for someone without really knowing how to.

[mutsukiss]

I'm gonna ramble MORE abt Kaz you can absolutely ignore this

Also I haven't finished all the story of mgsv tpp, I'm finally in the prologue but I still have a lot of lore to see from what I've gathered? So no spoilers maybe 🙏 I know this game is from 2016 but I'll bite your hands off

OK uhm. I think the main idea behind this is what the fuck. Honestly this has no structure I just wanna ramble abt this. I'm just shocked because the buildup to what I assume is Kaz's villain (?) arc keeps on prolonging and I'm surprised about it I guess?

He's been painted as an antagonistic force since minute 0. Like from the moment you first meet him it's extremely clear that Ocelot is supposed to be your shoulder angel and Kaz fills the other role whispering in your ear to shoot down everything in your path. This is not to say that Ocelot is being a good guy and Kaz is the bad one, but there's been a LOT of effort put into making Ocelot a more neutral figure and act compassionately with others specially if they're in a position of vulnerability (he adopts a puppy!! He's extremely gente and good with the kids at the base and treats your soldiers with camaraderie, when there is an issue he tries to resolve it logically and he offers the chance of doubt over and over again) (he also tortures huey in a very sadistic way but imo that's more in character for him than the peace-maker role he has in tpp).

Kaz is completely the contrary, he's battle hungry and antagonizes everything that sets a foot in front of him. I honestly feel this is not so much as his real "him" because a lot of times I have the impression that this comes as a fear reaction. He's been hurt, badly, in not only the physical way, and so his self preservation instinct is not to flee or freeze, it's to fight. And he's obviously angry and harbors a lot of hate, to the point of being unnecessarily cruel. He wastes no chance to make sure your soldiers, his soldiers, are aware they are not safe in Mother Base, they are being put under the magnifying glass at all times (this I already felt at the first part of the game but when I saw the posters hung on the walls of MB on the prologue I was mouth agape. Like that's incredibly excessive and i don't believe for a second Venom had part on the idea and production of this, though he does allow it, so that's also a thing to have in count.) If that wasn't enough, he also hits children, he is DEADSET on making Quiet an enemy when it has been proven time and time again she is not a threat, he's rude and angsty with you- which I find very funny personally because it sometimes feel like getting angry at your mom but knowing you can't win the discussion.

On this I also want to comment that it feels like a rubber band being stretched into infinity and I'm VERY afraid of when it'll snap. I know Kaz idealizes Snake like literally everyone does but I also think he's seeing Venom is not only human, but also humane. And that sucks, because he's so driven by the need to fix this situation through blind violence, and just putting down everything that could he a threat to him or his stability or his ideals; and his superior, his saint figure, his friend keeps telling him off time and time again being non sensical and potentially putting all he has suffered for in danger. He spent 9 years waiting for your comeback, he was tortured and he's now disabled and in pain and he would be perfectly OK with it, if it just made sense in the end and he achieved what he wanted (what Big Bos wanted, in reality), and. You're not playing role!! You adopt strays and save children and let this very dangerous woman in your own house, after your men could have died from her actions! She worked with the enemy, the people that hurt HIM!! And to him your compassionate actions not only make no sense, they are an insult. He has quite literally put blood sweat and tears into this and you are playing friends with everyone you find.

So I take two points from this.

One, is that Kaz's role makes absolute sense to me. You NEED a balance in war matters and being trusting of a super soldier that was initially in to assassinate you is downright stupid. It works, because people think you're Big Boss and Big Boss is God but every other person is a mere mortal and you cannot play tea party with the enemy, and children don't belong in a military base, and you. Have. To be. Cruel. People at war die, they are killed, and a good number of times YOU are the one killing them. In my opinion the concept of Mother Base and Outer Heaven and the concept of Militaires Sans Frontières makes little sense because fighting for no one, just for the sake of fighting, makes no sense. Like, they quite literally founded their own country stemming from this which I feel completely defeates the whole point of what they were trying to defend. Belonging to a group is what makes warfare exist, outing the others and rising your people because they are superior exclusively for being your people. This is something that is seen a LOT during tpp, they dont shy away from talking about how Diamond Dogs are a legit and respectable figure and how the rest are doing everything wrong. They have the truth and the right and the others don't. So when you come in, after 9 years disappeared, and start doing your stuff by breaking those black and white dynamics it completely shatters his sense and trust in Venom. At some points you are playing both ally and foe in front of him and he can't do nothing about it because the weight your figure holds not only to the rest of the world but also to him. Big Boss/Venom Snake is quite literally the sun and stars od everyone around him and this is EXTREMELY visible in Kaz. I find it very fun to see this vision fade out of reality as your interactions with him happen, I laughed out loud when, after being told off for still torturing Quiet on the prologue, he leaves the room angrily bumping into you. Like wig I get it you're super pissed 😭 But up to this point, and after all of what you've made him go through, that's the harsher thing he's done towards you and I feel that's very significant.

The second point is, while I can see the actions that motivate his fall into despair and I think I'm not far fetched when I say he will probably end up having some sort of breakdown and turn on you one way or another, it feels,, incredibly long??? Like, as I said, this has been going on from chapter 1. Kaz has been feeling like he's gonna snap for hours and hours and he never quite gets there and I'm just wondering. When?? Is it gonna happen???? In my opinion this has been dragging on for so long I'm not sure what to make of it. The ONLY time I have seen that anyone directly confronts Kaz about his antics is in the last episode I played with the shock torture to Quiet where Code Talker is also present, and Ocelot finally tells him to snap back to reality. Quiet is not an enemy, and trying to put her as an scapegoat is completely sadistic at this point, it's dumb rage blindness and Kaz cannot afford himself to act irrationally with the responsibility he has. He mentions Kaz being possibly the spy, or even Ocelot himself which,, I don't think it's true because I kinda have sorta an idea of the plot for the end? Very loosely? And I don't recall Kaz being a spy? But they absolutely have painted that image well for him. He's cruel to your soldiers, he's cruel to your friends and he's cruel to you. It just bewilders me that up to this point no one has called him out on this. I just want the balloon to pop already tbh.

Uhm ok that was super long anyway! My brain is infected with Kaz and I'm absolutely adoring him in tpp thanks for reading if you've reached this far :)

[boypaw-s]

This ask'll be Very Long and might not even have all my Thoughts in it but I'll try to keep my ramblings nice and neat (no promises)

Something that has really stood out to me in Broken Things is Bluestar's- Arrogance? Desperation? Both? - throughout the story. Like... she kidnaps the son of a very powerful cat (well, she didn't know exactly what rank Wire had in The Kin, but still), and despite everyone, even her own mate telling her, "Stop, don't do this, it's not a good idea, and it will not end well for us if you do this" she plugs her ears and goes "LA LA LA I'M NOT LISTENING THIS IS THE ONLY WAY YOU DON'T UNDERSTAAAAND" and it just, y'know, blows up in her face like everyone said it would and Rosetail dies, she has the absolute gall to get angry, despite her her mate's demise is due to her choice! No matter who she blames instead, it'll fall back on her.

And even after all the deception, after being held as a bargaining chip, Firepaw pleads with her:

"B-but-" Firepaw stammered, moving out from under his father's protection. He held his head high, his throat exposed, a sign of trust. "I want to help, with ShadowClan. I can-"

She doesn't even let him finish.

"No!" Bluestar snapped, cutting him off. "ThunderClan doesn't want help from kittypets."

And what makes this worse, she didn't even mean it- she was just saying it to be cruel and hurt his feeling, which causes a full body recoil because the equivalent of a grown adult something like that to the equivalent of a child is... abhorrent. Firepaw already had a lot of reasons to justifiably dislike Bluestar, but after that comment? He himself said he will probably never feel sympathy for her again.

(Y'know, in regards to Firepaw... his next steps are really up in the air. Whatever happens is just another consequence of Bluestar's decisions.)

You perfectly wrote a character who cannot take responsibility for her actions/decisions, and is now getting her just deserts. Bluestar has practically sealed the fate of her and her Clan. They may not deserve but... she just might.

TL;DR: Bluestar needs to get her head out of her ass and work on thinking hard before she speaks or does anything, because as we've seen throughout the story (so far), she doesn't really have a good track record of that.

puts this entire ask in my mouth and chews on it

THANK YOU for sending this in!! i'm so so happy that you're even thinking abt this story, but the fact that your thoughts align so perfectly with what i was trying to get across!!!! youre making me feel like such a competent writer <3

the thing about firepaw is that he was raised to be a compassionate guy, who gives as many chances as someone needs, and is always trying to look for the best in people. the other thing about firepaw is that these traits are not inherent to him. they were learned, and he has limits where his father may not. i guess the question going forward is, has bluestar reached the limit of firepaw's kindness, and has she reached the limit of wire's too.

[aikoiya]

What if each of the Main Characters had killed one of the 6 humans (except for Papyrus; and in Toriel’s case, it was an accident) … What if even when the Souls are harvested, and in jars… Their Spirits can still haunt their Killers… What if the Spirits haunt their Killers, by sitting on their shoulders and quietly death glaring them (their sins; literally on their shoulders) … And only the Killers can truly see the Spirits�� Killers: Toriel + Asgore + Undyne + Alphys + Mettaton + Sans! 👻

Hmm... That could be interesting.

I already have the hc that Sans killed Justice & Undyne killed Integrity, so this works out just fine.

Though, with Integrity, she'd been running from Undyne & had gotten spiked by one of her spears shooting up from the ground. After which, she fell off a cliff & died in the tall grass we find her pointe shoes in. She had likely been hiding in the little cave we find her tutu in beforehand & it was ripped off her by a rock.

Interesting thing, in my hc, Integrity (whom I named Clarissa Bellerose) had been essentially Hapstablook & Napstablook's best friend who was very encouraging to both of them. She wanted to be a star & bring the theater to the Underground & it was their dream to do so as a trio. See, I see her as having been alive during the times where musical theater was getting big & that had a major influence on her growing up.

So, when they heard what happened to her, they reacted in 2 different ways. Blooky by closing himself off & Happy by becoming angry & driven to accomplish their dream even if it had to be on his own. In truth, Mettaton despises Undyne. Absolutely despises her. And the reason why he stopped being Alphys' friend is because he found out what she was doing to Integrity's soul.

That just... It'd really hurt him.

Clarissa actually used to talk like how Mettaton does now & it's one of the ways he tries to keep her memory alive. Like, he actually legitimately did begin talking like her while she was alive, but after her death, he really sorta embraced it.

In a way, I see Mettaton as a very angry individual who's been disillusioned by monsterkind. After all, how could they be as compassionate & merciful as they claim when they snuffed out the single brightest star he had ever seen? The 3 of them were supposed to take the Underground by storm! Shake it to its core! So, he just wants to get the hell out of the Underground & away from the people who celebrated his best friend's death.

That doesn't make him a good person, but it'd certainly explain some things.

As such, I also think that he takes out his frustration & anger at the monsters in-gerenal on Burgerpants.

I also hc that Bravery had been Paps' first real friend way back when he was a kid, that she taught him how to always keep an eye on his opponent's hp. The reason being that Bravery had been reckless in the Ruins & had accidentally dusted a Froggit or something. This traumatized her & it took her a while to recover from it. In this way, she likely stayed with Toriel the longest before eventually leaving.

She was killed unexpectedly by someone. Originally, she was killed by one of the Dog Squad & Pap overheard a member of the Dog Squad talking about how they'd sent a human to Asgore. However, he only thought that it meant she'd been taken home. In this way, he's kinda angry at them for taking her away from him, so he avoids them whenever possible, which is the actual reason he doesn't like going to Grillby's.

I mean, he also thinks it's greasy there, but that isn't why he absolutely refuses to go in there.

However, it could be someone else.

Hey, if ya'll are tired of hearing about my hcs, just say so.

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

Their are so many great examples of shows that handle justifying why we’re rooting for the main character so much better then RWBY does. As you mentioned Avatar sets up Aang as being divinely ordained to do so and the world itself recognizes his important and the role he plays in bringing peace and balance back to a war torn world. And it, unlike RWBY, isn’t afraid to really tackle morally gray and difficult situations. If you don’t want to establish SEWS as these great and powerful peacekeepers you could go the route of their being a prophecy that a SEW would rise up to stop a great power that controls the Grimm and Salem realizes it’s her and starts killing the SEWS kind of like in Kung Fu Panda 3 with the pandas all being killed because of a prophecy.

Or, the show could even just establish people being drawn to Ruby because she is a light that helps make things better for people around her even if she screws up and that’s why people trust her. For me a good example of this kind of character is Hazbin Hotel.

I know I know it’s a controversial show but at the end of the day, Charlie is a great example of someone not divinely ordained or prophesied to save the world, but you still root for her because even when she screws up and makes mistakes generally she does help make people’s lives better even if she fails (so far) at her ultimate goal of ending the exterminations. Husk is more open now about letting people in, Angel has learned he’s not alone in suffering even if their aren’t others going through exactly what he is and people will accept him, Sir Pentious became a better person and was redeemed, Charlie literally helped Vaggie out of her lowest moment, Nifty has found people she can be weird around and not be rejected, Lucifer has found his hope and has started healing, even Lucifer arguably has a certain fondness for the Hotel. And even if other people where more directly responsible for these improvements, they still happened because Charlie brought them all together and pushed them to become closer and be better.

When I think about Charlie I see what Ruby could have been. Someone who is kind and has endless forgiveness and patience for people she loves but still isn’t afraid to get angry and people who threaten or hurt people she loves while still being able to be compassionate and kind and forgiving to those around her who have caused her harm.

Ruby has none of these things though. Their is no reason the story is following her, no reason for us to root for her, no reason for anyone to root for her. The writers just keep pointing and her and saying “she’s the hero trust us” without doing anything to justify it despite it being so laughably easy to do so it’s frustrating it never did.

Okay, so I saw this RWBY meme made by a fan and I can't remember it completely but it was about Emerald switching sides. What stood out to me was the language used and how Ruby's group was specifically referred to as "The Good Guys side" and if that doesn't show how broken this show's morality is then I don't know what does. Emerald switched to the side of good, not just Ruby's side. The side that is specifically good because it's Ruby side. You're either with Ruby or against her with no in-between. Compare this to Aang's group in ATLA, affectionately called The Gaang by fans. A term that collectively refers to the group without proclaiming them as THE good guys. We know they're good because their actions show they are good. It isn't just a title grafted on because they're the stars of the show. And while they have an official grouping in the form of Team Avatar. It still isn't used in the same manner as RWBY fans calling all who agree with Ruby "The Good Guys".

Decided to start answering backlog asks! We've officially entered the post-RT discussion era. Fun! 😬

You know, RWBY is compared (unfavorably) to Avatar a lot, but this comparison is particularly interesting to me because Avatar is, well... Avatar. That's a title. And it's a title built into the fictional world, one that's so significant it's worthy of being the name of the show. The Avatar is a combined destiny/job description that, in the words of the wiki, is the "human embodiment of light and peace." Obviously free will still comes into play - I'd never ignore the significance behind Aang's personal choice of how to bring balance to the world - but there's an element of fate here, of self-fulfilling prophecy, and fourth wall-breaking knowledge. In-world, benders are (presumably) not chosen if they're unsuited to be this embodiment of peace. Once someone knows they're the avatar, they can more easily find the courage/determination to meet such high standards because this is how it's "supposed" to be (regardless of whether anything cosmic is actually ensuring their success). And the audience knows, by virtue of that title and our opening, how we're meant to view Aang: as the Good Guy of the story. All that already exists outside of the actions he takes within the show, helping to soften anything potentially suspect with a "Well, he's just a kid" or "Well, everyone makes mistakes," or whatever explanation that's technically true in any harrowing story featuring a young protagonist... but continually falls flat with Team RWBY.

Because RWBY didn't do that same work. RWBY doesn't have a handle on its own identity the way Avatar does. It laid some of the groundwork early on but then never capitalized on it, which is why I'm endlessly groaning over the failure of not doing anything with Ruby's status as a SEW/simple soul. Those could have easily been titles the way "Avatar" is a title, something that the people of Ruby's world see as cosmic evidence of her purity and inherent ability to lead them in this war. Instead, it's just a one-off, ambiguous statement and a very badly used skill.

So yeah, Emerald joins The Good Guys, which wouldn't be bad if, as said, the show had shown the group unambiguously being Good people in a war with black and white solutions. Or, if we had some reason to believe that Ruby is The One True Leader, destined/worthy of bearing this burden no matter the number of mistakes she's made. But RWBY even undermines the title aspect by making Ruby herself fairly inconsequential in later volumes. Yeah, the show is also named after this team/our protagonist... and yet that began to feel incidental as the cast grew AND many of the characters brought new - arguably better - perspectives + powers into the fray. Avatar made the simple but VERY important decision to say, "This is the ONLY GUY who can do this job. Sure, he's going to need a lot of help and saving the world is absolutely a team effort, but that team revolves around him because he is, again, the ONE PERSON who can accomplish this." RWBY failed to set that up and (arguably) failed to show the group being The Good Guys, at least to the extent that the whole world would understandably put their faith in a teenager who, frankly, just keeps making things worse. Like, that's a big consideration imo. Ruby's intentions have always been good and most fans are fully on her side regarding justifications for her choices, so in that sense she is absolutely The Good Guy, but beyond that she's just really bad at saving the world. So if she's not somehow ordained to do it and continually shows a severe lack of skill in this regard... why are the characters/the viewer rooting for her again?

[lissbutnobliss]

Okay, can we have a talk.

This ending was… questionable. But very logical. I mean, everything was foreshadowing to that, we should’ve known and I am not surprised.

I have very mixed feelings about it and I don’t really know how to explain all of them, but let’s start with that:

1. I am proud of Tommy for writing this. No matter how some aspects of these are srewed and how some are not good in the message, he still did a great job. I mean, imagine being responsible for ending ALL of this? The server that was so big and gave so much to millions of people, and you are the one to write an ending of the story.

Endings are hard to write. I am sure, everyone who’s every written a story will agree with me. Happy endings are even harder, because if you have a long and complicated story, with so much angst in it, it’s almost always troubling to find a satisfying happy ending. And successfully lead everything to that.

And the fact that Tommy took the responsibility to finish this MASSIVE story is admirable. I know I wouldn’t do that on his place, wouldn’t have the guts. I am proud of him.

2. Being proud of Tommy though doesn’t make me less irritated with the last confrontation he and Dream had. I feel like everybody here already mentioned how the fact that his character said sorry to his abuser is… not great. Awful honestly.

And it annoys me. As an always inniter and c!Tommy enjoyer, I can’t be less angry with that. Because it’s not right. Dream did too much fucked up shot to earn that apology. Even if Tommy hurt him too, it’s not something you can redeem.

3. But I understand. I completely understand why cc!Tommy wrote it that way.

Hear me out.

c!Tommy is one of the most compassionate and emotionally smart characters on that server. He was always the one to see good in others no matter what. Even if he didn’t always act that way. I mean, just remember his conversation with c!Foolish: ‘I believe everyone have a little bit of good in them’, ‘I think Wilbur is a good person, but he’s been playing a bad guy for a long time’, ‘It’s not about giving him a second chance, it’s not about giving him a third chance, it’s not about chances! It’s about not giving up on people you care about’.

If there was a character on a server to understand (not forgive, c!Tommy didn’t forgive him or joined him, he understood c!Dream) the monster, it’s Tommy.

It makes so much sense for his character to realize the part of the picture he hasn’t seen before and accept his flaws and mistakes. Apologizing to c!Dream is a bad message. But it makes so much sense that c!Tommy did that. It’s about not giving up on people, eh?

4. Which makes me a little bit happy. Not a lot, but just a smidge. Just knowing that if they survived, c!Tommy would heal. After all, sometimes to heal from something awful like an abuse you need to understand what exactly happened.

And don’t take it as me saying that ‘Tommy should’ve realized that he is in fault for everything that happened’, because fuck no. He isn’t, and he is still a victim in this situation.

I mean it as the understanding and coming to terms with it would give him the closure he needed.

He would’ve healed, if they survived.

5. And of course I am devastated. I understand why people think of this finale as an awful one. I am in shambles. It’s so hard to take in the fact that everything just got erased.

I am a big c!clingy duo enjoyer. I loved a lot of other characters too, but they were the best for me. They were the ones who I would always love, no matter what. Hell, I even watched those streams despite Dream being in them just because I would never not watch an ending of c!clingy duo.

I wont repeat what others said about why this finale is sad and awful and devastated. I will only say the thing that makes it the worst for me.

Tommy and Tubbo didn’t get to meet that end together. They were so close to each other, a few more minutes, and Tubbo would’ve be there. But they didn’t, and I am just. I just. I hope people will write c!clingy duo fix its. I don’t even really need the rewriting of that particular stuff. Just maybe them going to the Moon and being happy and raising Michael together on stories about all the friends they had. Please.

That’s kind of the mix of my feelings.

——

I also wanted to talk about messages in general.

The Dream SMP story as cc!Wilbur once said is always not characters influencing the plot, but plot influencing the characters. And that’s what was best about it in my opinion. There was no meta gaming, it was a raw reaction of people in the situation, not from the distance.

So sometimes it’s not about writing the tight message. It’s about how that character would act right there and right now.

And all of this ‘i know *blank* better than *cc blank*’ is fun and all, I also post stuff like that, and it helps to say fuck you to canon to feel better. But no, we don’t know those characters better than ccs who play them. At least because it’s not our characters. We know their fanon versions better, sure. We know our versions of those characters better. And that’s cool! That’s how fandom works! But just imagine someone read a story about your own OC and said that they understand them better than you.

Why I am writing is: we can all be pissed off at the I am sorry to c!Dream thing. We should, honestly, it’s a bad message. But the thing is, it’s not about the writing, it’s about the person (in form of c!Tommy) and what this person feel and thinks after living through everything they did. That what was making Dream SMP so beautiful. The story was the driving force, not the characters. And I kind of appreciate that cc!Tommy didn’t metagame it till the end, but just went along with what it would lead his character too.

[phoenixyfriend]

Time Travel ft. Leia and Vader

(Helped by @atagotiak)

I was reading a bunch of different time travel fics, and my brain slotted in that one "Vader hands over the Empire to Leia and is now her most devoted sycophant" dynamic and mixed it with the "Luke and Vader time-travel and Vader does the right thing but only because it would make Luke sad if he didn't."

I landed on "Leia time travels to prequels era, but her least favorite family member has also traveled with her, though it takes him a few months to find her because he has less resources without the entire Imperial Navy, but he's still a scary Sith in all black with a breathing mask and intimidating cape."

"Tiny angry lady who wants to force democracy and her giant Sith father whom she hates but has resigned herself to pointing at threats like a tank who inexplicably loves her" is a delightful dynamic.

The first few months included a lot of concern about "why do you know so much about Sith if you're not trained or looking to be one" and then Vader shows up and calls her 'daughter' and she insults him and it's like "Oh. That explains it."

Council Member: We have a Sith in the Temple. Vader: Former Sith. Leia: Listen. He is your best chance against Sidious. Also, do you want Dooku dead? Vader can make him dead. Council Member: Your father i-- Leia, scrunching up her face: Don't call him that.

Like Leia is deep in conversation when the Temple starts panicking because Vader just. Showed up? He snuck in, somehow? So Palpatine wouldn't catch him on video entering through the front door? And people try to keep her away from the trouble, because there's an entire array of Jedi Masters to deal with this Surprise Sith, except she can sense exactly which Sith it is and once she shouts "oh you have got to be kidding me!" she just starts running and, well, it's Leia. Nobody can stop her.

(Leia does have less combat training, at least less force-assisted combat training, than the Jedi. But then the Jedi don’t want to hurt here here. She's not fighting her way down, either, she's just running really fast and all the best fighters already left. They had a head start. So Leia's mostly running past random padawans and the like.)

She shoves her way to the front of the group of Masters who. Well, they're certainly ready to attack. But Vader is just standing there. Doing nothing. Still intimidating as fuck but he's not doing anything.

And then Leia bursts onto the scene like "You motherfucker."

She hits her head on a clipboard and whines because UGH he's a walking WMD and they could REALLY use him against Palpatine but also. She hates him so much.

She tries to hand him off to the Jedi council but he insists that he will only take orders from Leia herself.

Jedi: Wait, what. Leia, completely ignoring them: Did you follow me here? Vader, through the mechanical wheezing: I have no loyalty to my master and no empire to serve. You are all that I have left. Leia: Me? Me? I'm all that you have left? You committed a genocide that killed all the family I had except for the twin brother you later mutilated! Jedi: Wait what Vader, going to one knee: I pledge my loyalty and blade to you and only you, daughter. Leia, ready to explode: I. I just. Jedi, some of whom really want to say things but are slowly realizing that they just accidentally acquired a Sith Lord by proxy: What. Leia: I hate you so much but I can't even get rid of you, you're too useful. Vader: I live to serve. Leia: Yeah. Got that. Fuck. Someone get him a full medical rundown, I don't know the last time that mess of a life support system was updated. Jedi, agitated again: WHAT Leia: Listen, I don't like him, but I'm not stupid enough to throw away the second most dangerous person in the universe when I can point him at the most dangerous person in the universe. Especially not if he's going to listen to me. Jedi: But... he's a Sith. Leia: Please trust me when I say this: you might be able to take him down eventually, but he will take dozens of you down with him, and right now he's... honestly, I'm pretty sure he's more depressed than malicious. Jedi: You hate him. I can feel it. Leia: Yes, but I can be professional about it. Vader: They have not yet d-- Leia: Nope! No talking! Not until I've had a chance to process this mess!

There is a whole lot of Leia snapping at Vader to stop it whenever he starts giving off vibes like he wants to take the most violent shortcut possible.

She is not the gentle hand that Luke would be.

Leia isn't a Jedi or working for them but she's wormed her way into being an ally. They don't 100% trust her, especially not with Vader just showing up and declaring her family but like

How do you say no to a WMD walking into your house and saying "I will fight the monster you cower from at night."

There's a lot of Leia snapping off an admonishment that sounds just a little too odd and then when questioned she just says "He knows what he did."

tbh I'm not sure how long it takes for them to tell anyone that Anakin is Vader. They might hold it off in hopes that Anakin can just retire to be Mr. Amidala after the war is over.

Well, Leia hopes. Vader just lets Leia make that call and then glowers at his younger self every time they're in the same room.

I do feel like Leia tells Obi-Wan the truth first

Imagine. Imagine a Vader who’s past still isn’t known. But has gotten somewhat comfortable around the Jedi (not really but the bar for what counts and comfortable for him is low). And Obi-Wan habitually banters with darksiders, right? If Vader’s guard is down for a moment and he, without thinking, references an inside joke...

Might be the most fun in terms of ways to tell Obi-Wan "We're time travelers and Vader is what happens if you let Palpatine drive Anakin off the edge"

If Vader has decided to pledge himself to her orders after destroying her planet, then fine. She can work with that. She's not going to be happy about it, but she can make it work.

The Jedi Temple hates having Vader anywhere nearby but he is actually very good at hiding himself from people, including Palpatine And for all that Leia seems perpetually irritated with her apparent bodyguard, he does seem to listen to her.

Jedi council: We still haven't figured out how to handle Dooku Leia: Do you know his location? Jedi council: Yes. Leia: [sigh] Leia: Vader, deal with it. Alive if possible.

(Leia does need to clarify an acceptable level of violence against the people protecting Dooku.) (She needs to clarify... many things.)

Leia always says "Vader" and one time a poor fool just asks why she doesn't call him dad and she snarls out "He is not the man that raised me, and I am glad for it."

Someone less foolish later prods more compassionately and she lets them know she was adopted and didn't properly meet Vader except in passing until she was nineteen.

"And then he tortured you." "And then he tortured me, yes." "Damn." "Didn't even find out we were related until a few years later when he chopped my brother's arm off." "You... wow." "I know."

At least one exchange that is L: You mean when you tortured me? A: He did what. V: I was not aware of our relation at that time. L: Not the point! I am fully aware of your interrogation methods and I refuse to let you be the one to acquire the evidence for-- A: Wait no go back he tortured you? L: Move on, please, we already have. A: That means I'm... oh Force, I'm going to torture my own daughter what in the actual fu-- L: We're moving on.

(“I end up torturing my own daughter” If Leia’s feeling especially spiteful I can see her saying “you mutilate your own son too”)

Concept: Leia is very free with traumatizing details of her past re:Vader and Anakin thinks that it sucks but doesn’t think much of it bc Sith. And then some time later he finds out...

(I love characters who use the traumatizing details of their past to shut down conversations.)

It's such a wonderfully horrifying concept for him to try to awkwardly comfort this girl he kind of knows because having a Sith for a dad sounds like it would suck and Leia seems nice, even if she's kind of weird and uncomfortable around Anakin, but he saw her flinch around a few other tall people wearing black robes the way she stiffens around Vader so maybe it's just that!

It is not.

Vader does get a significant amount of medical treatment. Including a bunch of "holy shit, that's a lot of drugs" and similar. There is so much lightning damage.

hnnng I'm just really in love with the image of Tiny Tiny Leia sitting behind a desk for some fancy negotiation, the picture of professionalism, while Vader just stands behind her shoulder, looming, glaring expressionless death at whoever came to speak with his baby girl.

Not that he would call her that, because she'd just hate him more and he's really not sure how to fix that problem, other than doing whatever she asks with no complaints and hoping she appreciates it.

Vader: [looks at children wandering by, has complicated emotions] Leia, tired of his shit: What now? Vader: I killed them, once. Leia, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath: And you're not going to do that again. No killing children. Vader: I know that. Leia: Great. I am... regretting asking. I am so very much regretting asking.

I do really like the idea of someone asking Leia once if she wants Jedi training and she says, no, actually, she's fully aware of the fact that she's angry little ball of hate sometimes, especially towards her bio father, and she'd like to refrain from putting herself in a position where she knows enough about the Force to Fall. She wouldn't Fall. But it does make people shut up.

[greensaplinggrace]

favorite thing about North

I have to choose??! No.

Okay so first of all, she's a badass. Like straight up a fantastic fighter, a quick thinker, and the type of person who can take the lead and cover someone's weaknesses with supreme hyper-competence. Any time Markus fails at something she is always right there to cover for him. Failed drone? Boom. North smashes it to pieces. Forget to lock the door? Don't worry. North has got it covered. Knocks the guy out in seconds. Don't make it to the edge of the roof? Wham bam thank you mam, North is literally right there to help you back up again and save Markus's ass. Not to mention that if Markus dies she takes the lead without hesitation and fights for her people's rights.

I've talked about it here but she's kind as well! She has an amazingly rounded personality. She's conscious of other people's beliefs and feelings, and even though she argues with Josh a lot you can tell she trusts him and would go to bat for him in a second. Their closeness is pretty evident in scenes where he has to pull her away from Markus and Connor when they die, and also the way they speak to each other in the council room if Markus isn't there to lead them. Also also the way she fully supports Markus no matter which direction he goes, even if it's fully peaceful and she disagrees with it, is amazing. She's empathetic and always allows Markus to go to her with his worries and always offers him comfort and always helps him no matter her own feelings on the route they're taking. She's respectful of his wishes for the dirty bomb and would literally give him her heart if he allowed it.

Yet she's loyal and kind and compassionate but she isn't a pushover. She speaks her mind. She disagrees readily and argues when she feels the need to. She's so full of fire and a fierceness that I adore, and the way she channels that is just so raw and unbridled and right. She has the right to feel the way she does and speak the way she does.

My favorite thing about her is that she's willing to fight for and die for this cause of freeing her people. That she's vicious and angry and jaded and hurt and it's all for what was done to her and those around her. That she cares so much and just wants to finally be free of the tortures she was put through. And still even when she doesn't know if it will work she goes the peaceful route. She's never cruel. She never detonates the bomb against Markus's wishes. She never hurts someone just for the sake of hurting them.

She has so much agency in the way she speaks up and disagrees even when she still has the strength to follow a plan she's wary of. She's such a strong character in every way. Emotionally and physically and mentally. She's capable and vicious but not closed off. She loves with everything she has and cares for those around her. She mourns but doesn't let that loss break her. She's respectful of others and their beliefs but not afraid to speak her mind.

She's a good person. An amazing friend. A spectacular woman. A brilliant fighter. Anybody would be lucky to have her in their life. She's not emotionless or crazy or violent or 'uncontrollable' as the fandom likes to paint her. She's a complex character with a variety of faults and strengths and weaknesses and interests and passions. And by god is she passionate.

I love that about her so much.

Hell, she meets Connor for like two seconds, knows he's the deviant hunter, and immediately starts to care for him, shows concern for him, and accepts him into the fold. I don't understand why the fandom always makes her so distrustful of him in fics when she legit spends two seconds being wary before she's like, 'this is another person who deserves freedom and I will care about them with my whole heart'.

Honestly North is just the best. And playing a path where Markus fails (even though it pains me so much). Just makes me love and appreciate her all the more. This is a woman who knows what she wants, and despite being respectful of those around her and those she's trying to help, is not afraid to speak up about it and let the world know she deserves to be treated right. Good for her.

So anyways, tl;dr she's a strong, passionate, kind, vicious, angry, sincere, honest, competent, and simply amazing character who is absolutely vital to the plot and crucial to the progress of the entire game. dbh wouldn't even be the same without her. dbh wouldn't even be alive without her tbh, and neither would Markus 💖

anonymously message me one thing you want to know about me (x)

[bronzeageyuri]

(Image is so the readmore works it's long)

Psychosexual obsession with Rose Quartz that makes it so I can only get long term attached to characters that remind me of her 💔

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AZ was once considered a Wise Benevolent Leader but he's not remembered for that or his great ability as an inventor. He's remembered for an act of incredible violence he committed in grief 💔 it overshadowed everything he'd ever done until that point... That same action is what gave him his immortality... He has to live with that shame and guilt for eternity, but...

He's also a bit self centered. Selfish in a way that makes it difficult for him to understand others. His own plight is so much more important than anyone else's. His own grief overshadows the grief of anyone else. He thinks of his own sadness as so Profound that it actively drives Floette away from him. And it's difficult because it's not like he's Completely wrong about that. Sadness and grief are something everyone experiences, but not everyone experiences immortality. Certainly not 3000 years worth of it 💔

The game doesn't rly give him much of an arc he shows up like 5 times total but because I can do anything I want I'm gonna make it so unlearning that selfishness is something that's important for him.....

I don't feel like typing out how this all connects back to Rose I'm just gonna say that her being deeply compassionate yet lacking empathy + being simultaneously selfish and selfless and how she kept things bottled up because she hated herself so much she felt herself understanding of the same compassion she gave others + underestimating how important she is to other people are all in my mind rn

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Something about the idea of people getting “what they deserve” and what that means. Rose felt as if she deserved to be punished for all she had done in the past. She became the gentle loving compassionate person she always wanted to be, but was chained by her trauma and self hatred. She didn’t see herself in that way. She could only see those who she had hurt. She felt as if she deserved to disappear. That it would make the lives of those who she loved most better …

And so her death creates this weird paradox, I think RS said in an interview that Rose having Steven was both incredibly Selfish AND selfless. And it is all these things and more, but at the end of the day it comes from this intense self hatred- she felt as if she deserved to Not Exist, and that’s what happened in the end. She was unable to break the world’s shell so to speak (sorry to do a Utena reference)

(this is half MY interpretation) I think AZ was in a sort of similar position. He gave much of himself to the world. He unified a broken kingdom. He created wondrous machines. He worked miracles… There’s an idea that if someone does good things, good things will happen to them in turn. Instead, the one person he loved most gets ripped away from him. Those feelings of care and love for his kingdom turn bitter. He had been a perfect leader, yet was punished for it! He had done everything right, and yet there was still a war, and Floette still died. Though from a like karmatic sense he Deserved good things (and likely felt this way as well), it’s just not how things worked out.

His selflessness becomes selfishness. If he has to merely Create a miracle for himself he will, and he does. His machines that were once used to unify a kingdom now tear it apart. The war is ended by a powerful that equals that of the gods. AZ felt as if he deserved to have Floette back in his life, but also that he deserves to be Able to punish the world that had harmed her. I do think he was more angry for Her than he was for himself… If she had lived he would be willing to endure working without rest for as long as his reign lasted… But that was the final nail in the coffin for him.

This idea of it being “deserved” only results in him losing his best friend Twice and….. I forgot where I’m going with this 😭 just take it okay 💔

wait I found a good post on one of my other blogs I'm gonna copy paste it over here....