#I dislike that perception of her character a lot so I just want to make that clear lmao

[a-star-that-burns-brightly]

So I had a vision (inspired by @purgemarchlockdown's diagram posts)

[immortalthunderstorm]

Criston Cole and Fandom Perception

There seems to be this idea that Criston's character and motivation solely revolves around Rhaenyra, which seems to be a fandom-wide belief. I won't deny that she plays a part on his development, but even that is more about who he is than what she means to him.

I'll provide my personal interpretation.

The overarching theme for Criston, something that was deeply explored by Jaime as well (who in the books refers to Criston as a man of duality), is that the idea of knightly valour in theory is rarely applicable in practice. A knight in theory is meant to be honour-bound, fearless, principled and chivalrous, obey each of their vows. Their name and the Ser they have earned is a badge of prowess and honour.

Especially the Kingsguard, having sworn off all "earthly" pleasures in order to serve their monarch for life, have a deep sense of focus on this as their duty is a singular one, while also having sworn their knightly vows before their Kingsguard ones. The Kingsguard is seen as this incorruptible, elite force of the very best of knights, a high office to have and the dream of even many of the highborn knights. The societal regard for this office is also very high.

Criston is not highborn. He's the son of a steward, Dornish, and unlike many highborn sons who are trained and fostered to rise the ranks and bring glory to their already established name at tourneys, he had to get there the hard way. The show makes this explicitly clear in the scene where Otto suggests choosing a knight with a good name to the Kingsguard, and Rhaenyra chooses Criston for his real experience (points can be made that she's also attracted to him, or impressed by his tourney feats, but she is not in the wrong here. Most knights at this time have never seen real battle, as Rhaenys says to Corlys)

His vows represent everything he has accomplished for himself "all that [he] has to [his] name" - his entire self worth.

Criston's speech on the boat is not about him being in love with Rhaenyra. He explicitly says he thinks it's the only way to wash the stain off his honour and name. He's desperate and of course it's a bad plan, but it's the only way out he sees with the prospect of death and torture now looming over his head in ever waking hour (see Ser Lucamore the Lusty). That's why he's so jumpy the whole episode and the next. He's paranoid about being exposed, and that's why he's so angry that Rhaenyra simply wants him to be her "whore". She's not in love with him either, it's all just about sex for her while it's a life or death situation for him. That's why he breaks down to Alicent so quickly and almost unprovoked, and confesses and asks for a swift death.

"I took an oath. As a knight of your Kingsguard. An oath of chastity. I've broken it. I've soiled my white cloak. And it's the only thing I have to my fսcking name! I thought if we were married, I might be able to restore it."

His devotion for Alicent also isn't primarily motivated by his dislike for Rhaenyra. To him, she's his second chance to live up to his ideals. She's his "Lady of Honour", the person he sees as the perfect example of a dutiful woman (as fostered by the society they live in) . Her he can chain his own sense of honour to, safely devote himself to without conflicting feelings, and be his idealistic version of what a white knight should be.

I'm not saying his behaviour is logical, knightly hypocrisy is one of the central themes across GRRM's work, but it's a lot more complex than what a lot of people make it out to be (everything is about Rhaenyra)

I'm also tired of this situation being simplified to "he's just an angry Incel" by this fandom. It's much deeper than that and I don't get the absolute demonisation of Criston who's a very complex character.

People just love to look for some ulterior reasons to justify their hatred for a him. It's absolutely fine to dislike Criston if they want, but applying these pseudo-psychological frameworks to him is getting old very quickly.

He is not an incel, he pretty much tells Rhaenyra he's been with at least a couple women before joining the Kingsguard, and it's not like he's angry at her because she doesn't want to sleep with him, on the contrary she pretty much offers him to be his 'paramour' and he gets upset because he doesn't want to be used for sex at the risk of his life. The whole point is his extreme sense of honour and paranoia of breaking his vows.

Similarly the Madonna-Whore complex doesn't check out because this only applies to his dislike for Rhaenyra, not sexually active women in general. Criston hates one (1) woman and that's more for personal reasons than religious extremism - he's very respectful and polite to the prostitute in ep 9, does not treat her as someone lesser or sullied or sinful despite being religious. He pretty much says to Aemond that all women should be treated with respect.

This man insults one woman (who he has personal beef with) once, and immediately apologises for it, yet the fandom seems hellbent on him being some raging misogynistic incel.

(If we want to start throwing stones, Daemon calls people bitches, whores and cunts in almost every episode lol.)

[nymph-ette111]

pls write Simon henriksson headcanons I’m gnawing at the walls of my enclosure 👩‍🦲

WARNINGS; SUBSTANCE ABUSE (SMOKING/DRUGS) MENTIONS OF MENTAL ILLNESS (DEPRESSION/ANXIETY) MENTIONS OF INTERNALIZED MISOGYNY, UNHEALTHY COPING MECHANISMS (SELF-HARM)

AUTHOR'S NOTE; FIRST CRY OF FEAR REQUEST LET'S FUCKING GOOOO !1!1!1!1!1!!1!! kind of short, still new to the fandom so my headcanons of the characters might change overtime.

-it was confirmed that Simon is a fan of heavy metal and DSBM :3 personally I am not an avid listener of this genre, I think it's pretty cool. I'd like to headcanon specific bands that I think are suiting for Simon but I barely know anything so I don't really have a say on this.

-probably has some sort of internalized misogyny. he grew up all alone, his mother being quite overprotective didn't help with that at all and seeing no mentions of his father in the game makes me think his parents were divorced quite early in Simon's life. being exposed to such settings at a young age might have messed with his perception of love and healthy romantic relationships. despite that, he doesn't care much about gender norms now that he's older. left that mindset long ago.

-picked up on his coping mechanisms in his early teens. he was a bit scared at first of trying something like self-harm, it took him him a lot of time and internal conflict but then decided to just fuck it, he had nothing to lose. felt guilty at first, dropped it for a bit and then picked up on it again. he knows it isn't a healthy way to deal and cope with his negative thoughts but he couldn't care less at that point.

-isn't unfamiliar with drugs but not that crazy about it. not as much as cigarettes, although he does it occasionally, he could still smoke like a pack in one sitting if the situation really called for it. usually just sticks to 2-3 cigs, thinks it's a good enough amount.

^ can you tell I have no idea what I'm talking about.

-you'll never get that crusty ass grey hoodie of his off of him. it's like a cartoon where the character's never change outfit throughout the entire show. besides the fact that it's a literal video game, even in his daily life he almost never switches things up. not necessarily dirty, just worn out and stained with stuff that doesn't want to come off no matter how many times he washes it.

-has a mini fridge full of energy drinks in his room. and by full I mean like two cans because the rest have been consumed and thrown somewhere onto the ground.

-cannot save money for the life of him. as soon as he gets his hands on some cash, it's immediately spent on either a pack of cigarettes or some useless shit. he doesn't even remember what he spends it on, it's just gone.

-hadn't picked up his camera in quite a while, he's slowly loosing grip on his interests. not necessarily because he is starting to dislike them, just doesn't have the motivation.

-but it's usually full of recordings of him on the train, lonely streets of Stockholm or some stray cat that has grown a liking to Simon for some odd reason.

-one time Sophie took his camera without telling him and recorded a small video of herself, just doing something simple like a peace sign or showing off a little doodle she drew in her notebook. despite trying his best to move on, he watches that video from time to time.

[cripplecharacters]

hi! i have a side character with down syndrome. it's not the main point [she's a caregiver and help MC in her first days] but i still want to respect ppl with DS and my SC. what should i avoid, and how to characterise properly? [it's in an ancient world, and no dx. she was sbondand as a baby bc of her disability, but grew in a good place and have a good life]. thank you!

Hi!

In this post you can find some links on what people with DS enjoy seeing when it comes to representation and some basic information stuff! You can also take a look at this post for advice on intellectually disabled characters in general, a lot of the points I'll mention below will be very similar to these. There's also this, which might be potentially helpful to you when it comes to characterization!

The main thing to avoid is the infantilization - which you already seem to be avoiding, considering the SC is a caregiver, which is probably the exact opposite of infantilization. I will also say that I have never seen an intellectually disabled character in that role, it's nice to see something new!

I would stray away from any angel/can do no wrong/"pure soul" association. Obviously it doesn't mean she has to be mean and rude, but people with DS can be frustrated, can fuck stuff up, can dislike people just as everyone else. They can drink, smoke, have sex, do drugs, whatever. They're not little kids.

Make sure that the character has a hobby, friends, etc.! A lot of intellectually disabled characters tend to be written as extremely flat; there's often just nothing there. It depends on your setting of course, but show her participating in various activities - does she like foraging for mushrooms? Is she really bad at sculpting but trying to get better at it? Does she drag her friends to go birdwatching when the season starts? Does she despise cooking? Try to make her into a three-dimensional character with her own likes and dislikes (which might seem obvious, but it's missing in so many characters with ID/DS! it's weird).

I will also add that if it works for your story, I would love to see a character with DS who has a romantic interest, or is at least considered in that way. The public perception is that people with Down syndrome don't ever get in romantic relationships, which isn't true! So showing her having a partner, or wanting one, or having one in the past would be very nice to see. Also, ID people can be in interabled relationships! So while her partner could also have DS (or another condition that causes ID, I know quite a lot of people with DS who have an autistic partner), they could also have a different disability, or be abled.

Thank you for your question! I hope this helps :-)

mod Sasza

[twistthescript]

☯️ for Ricky?

Okay, I have another (very delayed) list comin y'all's way.

Ricky's likes and dislikes, here we go:

Likes:

As a child, he did actually like dogs. There was an old pitbull who lived down the street and was known to wander and it always showed a lot of love to the cats at his house.

He enjoys testing his own limits. This could mean his physical, mental, or emotional limits. He knows what he should be doing, and what he can do, but someone will probably find him stuck in a corner somewhere because his wheelchair got caught.

Careening off of the previous point- he likes listening to people and helping them with their issues. He enjoys being helpful, because in the back of his head (in some very messed up way), it means that he's being included. Plus, he's just a very selfless character and very realistic. If he can help, he will. If he can't help as much, he'll listen.

During his more achy days when he uses his wheelchair, he enjoys speeding down the halls after school because there's no one to stop him.

He adores Cats: The Musical- he even has a 21 year old, scraggly gray cat named Grizabella who's older than he is- and he treats her like the queen of her own castle (she is. duh)

He sometimes makes his own stickers to put on his crutches. You know, the notebook paper drawings that you press between two layers of packing tape? Yeah- he's drawn all of his cats and adhered them to most of his things. He puts them along the inner side of his crutches so when he sits down, they're facing him.

Dislikes:

Contrary to popular belief, and however well-founded it would be- Ricky doesn't hate Ocean. He hates her way of thinking and her attitude towards him and other people.

He hates onions. He doesn't cook with them, nor does he keep them in the house (his parents went along with that). His reasoning? They're toxic to cats.

Dogs. The pitbull from earlier was fine. When that dog died, the next puppy in its place attacked one of his cats and bit the rubber grip off of Lady Marzipan.

Math. Mostly because all of his teachers believed him to be incompetent- and Ocean was always in his class. He's actually very good at it, but mucks up the test answers just enough to barely pass. They can believe what they want about him, but their perception of him is not his problem... and he'll play along for shits and giggles.

That's all I have for now! Cheers!

[lesbiansforboromir]

Why you don't like Galadriel?

WELL. I mean this would need a complex answer, for one thing because you could say I don't actually dislike Galadriel as a character really. She's interesting, she has layers, her position in the story creates intriguing mysteries and insights into elven realities and her actions are always percieved in multiple different ways by different characters. She is both an object of world building and a lense to view it through, she had only contempt for Feanor but is the character MOST like him in the end, there's lots going on!

So as usual what I'd say I dislike is more fandom's perception of Galadriel than Galadriel herself, although don't get me wrong in terms of sympathy for her I have none to spare. But to the fandom she's like... well she's whatever anyone wants her to be, so long as that's pretty much perfect and always more right than anyone else around her. Idk if this question came because of my RoP Galadriel tirade post of a week ago, but the fact that people seem to believe Galadriel's right to the 'good guy' role is so irrefutible that it makes any negative portrayal of her 'bad' and 'tolkien's rolling in his grave' etc etc- it's just flabbergasting to me and is a symptom of this problem.

Like Galadriel's entire motive for coming to middle earth, declared and narrated, is to rule over people. She wants to be a Queen of a land that she controls with people inside it whom she has power over. That's it. Now, far be it from me to be on the Valar's side, lord knows I don't support their right to unquestioned rule either and the Eldar's urge to rule themselves is completely valid and Galadriel's no worse than any of her male counterparts who were also looking for the same thing. (In fact, given this is something she is apparently required to 'overcome' when none of those male elves must do the same, I'm inclined to believe this is another of those 'eowyn must reject violence for peace because war is bad except when men do it and for sure the men do continue to do it that's fine' misogynist tolkien moments.)

BUT STILL.. that's not like... a GOOD motive is it? It's neutral at best, right? And Galadriel never actually does anything that could be called more than polite for the rest of the time we know her. She never risks anything for the good of middle earth, she never solves any problems, she goes from place to place to avoid any conflict that threatens her until she and her husband finally decide to usurp a Silvan kingdom and magically isolate it from the rest of the world. They change Lindórinand's name to Lothlorien, thereby overwriting the language of it's native population and Galadriel then uses the power of her ring (that was given to her she didn't make it heself) to EMBALM (tolkien's words) the forest in time just so that she could make it appear as much like Valinor (her home, not the silvan's) as possible. Like!! This is not some paragon of virtue character!

Honestly RoP's portrayal of Galadriel is actually vastly more sympathetic than her actual character. PTSD, survivor's guilt and the maladaptive cope of needing to hunt down evil fanatically for all eternity is, to my mind, 100% more understandable than just... staying in Middle-Earth because she still wanted to rule over people and never believed she did anything wrong in the first place. Which is the canonical reason she's still in middle-earth post the first age, technically a sin by the Valar's standards! Galadriel is rebelling against the will of the west in doing this, but apparently SHE gets all the grace and chances to 'reform' in the world, unlike some other characters I could name >:|

... Maybe she aggravates me a little, but she does so IN COMPARISON to the criticisms other characters must bear as 'the reason they had to die to redeem themselves'. Like if Boromir wanted to take the ring once in order to save his people, is death really the only way to atone for that when Galadriel has been power hungry for 7000 goddamn years nonstop, acquired and used her own ring of power to satisfy that power hunger and then managed to 'overcome it' at the very last minute JUST before middle-earth became 'less elven' (and therefore her position there would be less prestigeous) to demurely sail off home to a gilded cage paradise where literally all her family are alive and waiting for her. Like is 'power hunger' really the sin Boromir comitted here that he needs to die for. Is Tolkien really criticising the desire for power. Is the narrative of lotr really so cohesive and consistent as to allow you to put all the characters into good and bad little boxes and declare those categorisations infallible?

Am I making sense, is this coherent. Does it make more sense if I say like... I do not dislike Galadriel as a character, I dislike what her fandom-reputation reveals about the way the story is engaged with by and large? When I am getting heated about this or that misconception or aspect of her character, it is not because I hate she has that aspect, I like a lot of morally questionable characters, what I am railing against is the double standard that her having that trait reveals. (And I'm not even really angry about it I'm more just very activated by what it reveals about the story, like it makes me feral) The narrative loves Galadriel, Tolkien loves Galadriel, characters regularly threaten violence in order to defend Galadriel from even mild verbal criticism and no one appears to see this as a kind of ominous aspect of her when she's done very little to deserve it. Other than, of course, be ontologically 'pure' and 'divine' due entirely to the circumstances of her birth. I'm a bit manic right now so I hope literally any of that made sense.

Actually addendum example just to further affirm my point. So catholic tolkien scholars will tell you that Denethor's use of the Palantir was a sin, apparently even using a tool you have 'the right' to use to observe reality as it actually exists and then extrapolating that observation into a prediction of the future (ie seeing frodo is captured and the ring gone and extrapolating that the enemy has it and you're all doomed) is a sin. Because only god is allowed to see into the future. And this is somewhat backed up by the way characters treat Denethor's use of the Palantir, it was apparently foolhardy and bad and reckless and nebulously wrong etc. Remember, the Palantir is not a mystical artifact, it is like a satallite imaging tool + a one way video only skype.

.

Galadriel's mirror literally sees the future 😂LIKE? WHY DOES SHE HAVE IT? WHY IS SHE ALLOWED TO USE IT? WHY CAN SHE JUST SHOW IT TO OTHER PEOPLE? It's because she's holy!! But that doesn't mean anything about her actual character, it's just an attribute she inherited from her family and her place of birth that actively changes what her existence means entirely by it's own virtue. Imagine living in this world for a second, imagine if it was ontologically true that you (an unblessed child of eru) would never be as right or as good as Galadriel, no matter what the reality of both your actions were. LIKE. !! WOULD YOU LIKE GALADRIEL?

[sandyferal]

Admitting that Tootie and Timmy are the only version of the “girl is obsessed with boy and he doesn’t like her back but they end up together eventually” that I’ve seen done right was painful. I mean I think it’s the truth for the most part but it’s hard to give credit to FOP for writing anything well because they ruin basically all of that in the later seasons. Like they demolish it.

They literally just brought in a random weirdly designed pretty perfect new girl for Timmy to actually successfully woo… when it feels like the whole fucking point was that him disliking Tootie and being attracted to pretty perfect girls without considering their character was a symptom of his immaturity and superficial view of relationships. Also in general what was it with the fucking later seasons only letting girls be perfect or evil. (Except Wanda and Timmy’s mom. Who are literally just “nagging wife” and “mother.” Not much better.)

It’s incredibly funny to me too because I feel like they got so close to making Chloe from the later seasons an actually decent character (outside of her first ep.) Like she was kinda unhinged and flawed and it would’ve been so so easy to reveal that her outward “perfection” was the result of her holding herself to ridiculous standards that actually made her miserable. Crazy that even her saying “no one wants to be friends with me” when that was obviously false could’ve been good writing. Showing her perception was so warped that she thought her not being fully perfect meant she was an awful person and everyone secretly knew and hated her for it. They could’ve still portrayed her parents as good loving people who accidentally implied that they only loved Chloe because they didn’t see her flaws. But like no. The reason she’s “miserable” is just stupid, and she’s not a good enough character that the audience can overlook that.

That’s not even mentioning Trixie. Don’t get me started on Trixie. This show did a lot of character flip flopping even during the good seasons, but Trixie was just. Something else. Like the show really felt like it was actually trying to set up that she was a genuinely nice girl with good values that got buried when she was under the scrutiny of her popular friends, but then it did a turn and decided she was just shallow and/or crazy. And they continued to flip flop on whether Timmy pursuing her was even a good idea. Like man none of the characters actually GOT lasting character arcs but she specifically felt like she was in a position where it would’ve made the most sense to have one.

Insanely grateful character arcs are allowed to exist in A New Wish. I’ll admit, the girls still haven’t particularly benefited from them as much, but at the very least we have Dev. And at least Hazel is a likable character and not just slotted into one of the old “girl” stereotypes. Hell I’m glad ANY character is good. Like just. I cannot believe how bad the last seasons of FOP got. It was that serious man and the girls got it so bad. They really refused, like straight up didn’t try to bring back Trixie or Tootie for a love interest episode when that was Trixie’s entire purpose in the fucking show. But I guess they wanted to give him a win for once. Man.

And importantly, Wanda and Cosmo not only have a better relationship in New Wish, but Wanda is NOT a punching bag. Like it may be a slight exaggeration to call her that, but fuck man, some of the later season eps thought it was so fun to beat her up for literally no reason.

[theheirofthesharingan]

Hello, may we know what are your thoughts about ita/saku

I dislike ItaS*ku. A lot. Detailed answer below the cut.

I don't understand this ship and it's the only Itachi ship that makes no sense and that I cannot tolerate. Everyone else he's shipped with acknowledged him in some way, understood him to some extent, and thematically they were compatible. Even if I see Itachi and Sasuke's relationship as perfectly, strictly platonic, I understand why people see the potential for more in them and why they want to explore this in their fics or art. It's the same with ShiIta and KisaIta and the rarepairs like KakaIta and ItaDei. But ItaS*ku is a pairing that makes zero sense to me.

Itachi is perceptive, thoughtful, puts his own needs aside, takes up the responsibility when he does wrong and tries to change his approach, doesn't need and ask for other people's help, and has self-respect. Sakura is the complete opposite but in a bad way. She isn't perspective, is selfish, her own needs come first - the world can go to hell, and has no self-respect. They aren't a match in any way. Their "polar opposite" isn't endearing under any circumstances.

She has a "girlboss" like personality or that's how she's presented. She's badass, a quick learner, strong, powerful etc., but she's not compatible with Itachi just for those reasons. To make them work as a ship, Sakura's characterization would have to change enormously. She'd have to be completely ooc for that.

In canon too, she saw Sasuke change his mind about Itachi, and while Naruto and Kakashi at least acknowledged it, Sakura never bothered to know about the truth. He, too, never acknowledged her presence except for a scene in one of the movies. In canon, never. She was nonexistent to him and he was just Sasuke's enemy to her. Why would I really ship them together.

With Itachi's other ships there's love, understanding, and compassion, and/or at least some thematic relevance which Ita/Saku entirely lacks. It's not the case of 'she's too good for Itachi' as many of her fans want to claim in regards to both Itachi and Sasuke. She's not a bad character and I like her, but ItaS*ku doesn't work as a ship.

I'll be tagging this post properly, so if anyone comes here with flaming response they'll be blocked. In case you read it this far, feel free to ignore if you ship these two characters or are a Sakura fan.

[luthinks]

I think a lot of people really need to go back and read all of Rafayel's story if they think he's not fully capable within his own resolve to feel and act that way. I'm not saying he can't be influenced in the segment of the story we see in the trailer by some higher power, but everyone seems to forget be "wants to settle the score" with MC is there are heavy implications all over his story that he believes she did, in fact, betray him. Whether he knows why or how or if she was also influenced by something else is unknown. I just need the fandom to fr stop trying to princess this man who is capable of mass murdering people who have hurt and hunted Lemurians and can both love and resent MC for whatever jumble of memories he holds. The biggest problem this company created was giving Rafayel purely sappy cards to cater to his huge fan base in China. It's made everyone forget he is dark and angry.

Rafayel is definitely fully capable of taking action on his own against the people who have wronged him and his people and he does so many times. But the mass murdering aspect is also kind of exaggerated. The only people he has canonically killed which we as players have seen are, the person in the theater from Siren's song anecdote and possibly Raymond. Other instances we hear are from other characters — like the sea monster murders and stuff — I take that with a grain of salt cuz the people who were murdered, who worked for ever and experimented on lemurians, left ever group before they got murdered. It could also be ever group killing them and landing the blame on Rafayel. We'll never know, it's upto us what to believe. Knowing papergames, it's not going to be this straight forward but we'll just have to see how they expand on it.

And coming to the "he wants to settle score with MC" part, to me, he didn't sound malicious while he was saying that ... The first thing he did after coming back to linkon was to look up information about MC and make sure she's safe. He even confronted one of the raincoats to inquire if MC was on ever's list. In my personal opinion him settling the score with MC here probably refers to her having forgotten him. I don't think he's even going to hold it against her if she ever betrayed him. He has had multiple dialogues that say, even if she's leading him into a trap, he'd willingly walk into it.

He's definitely bitter that she had forgotten him and everything that happened but he doesn't want to harm her. Like in chapter 7 while he was going to fight the big sea monster, he told MC to stay away because he can't ensure her safety otherwise. And when MC invokes the bond and tells him to not go, he's melancholic that she forgot everything but even then she insists.

Tbh I think one of his major fears is MC will come to dislike him when she comes across his changed self (as he mentioned in omnipotent perception).

In my opinion both the extremities, that Rafayel is all sunshine and roses who's just a brat doing his bratty stuff, and that he's a cold blooded killer that despises MC and wouldn't hesitate one bit before killing even her are two ends of a spectrum. How people feel about him lies between that depending on their own interpretations.

While I believe him to be somewhere in the middle, (I'm team "Rafayel is never going to harm MC no matter what it looks like unless he's possessed, but he'll end anyone who tries to harm her or his lemurian subjects no questions asked" 😂) but at the same time I think it's okay for people to have different beliefs on that scale. Some might have liked the innocent care free side of his more which led to a sharp contrast with recent branch PV, so the angst is inevitable... It's okay for them to lament the loss of this sunshine aspect of his character ... While others might be excited about the dark aspects of his character being explored more, that is also fine. It's a game where all of us are playing at a different pace, and also some of the lore locked behind limited cards ends up with different people having different interpretations, even the timeline of how we get all the content is out of order. So it makes sense that, a complex character like Rafayel would generate a spectrum of opinions 😅.

All in all as long as people aren't being rude to other players I think it's fine how they personally interpret Rafayel's character... I personally believe that the sunshine carefree Rafayel and ruthless cold Rafayel are both part of his personality, neither is more real than the other. But my interpretation might not be in line with others, and that's completely fine too.

P.S. I'm very sorry if this came off as preachy or condescending. I'm not very good at expressing myself while writing 😅

[heyclickadee]

Saw another “why would Tech even be interested in Phee” take out in the wild, so here’s a partial list of Phee’s many attractive qualities, because the double standard of every other character vs Phee is exhausting:

(Quick disclaimer—this isn’t me saying anyone has to like the ship. You don’t. It’s fine. Don’t ship things you don’t want to ship. Dislike the way it’s been written in the show if you want. Ship these two with other people or with no one if you want. I don’t care. This is just me being tired of people being weird about Phee):

1. She’s smart. She can improv her way through dealing with death traps and she’s got an area (areas) of expertise that Tech knows relatively little about. That makes her interesting. Also hot.

2. She’s gorgeous. Look at her. She’s ridiculously pretty.

3. She’s a great storyteller. Yeah, she changes her stories every time, but that’s at least part of why Tech is paying attention, because he notices that.

4. She’s a stone cold badass. And she’s a FUN stone cold badass. Disarmingly charming stone cold badass.

5. She’s a remarkably good person. She steals artifacts so that refugees can hang on to a bit of their culture in diaspora. This seems to be what pushes Tech from, “Oh, she’s interesting,” to, “OH. SHE’S BRILLIANT AND I MIGHT BE IN LOVE.”

6. She’s not nice, but she is kind, and that’s honestly a quality that she and Tech share. Phee isn’t soft, she’s not going to talk in therapy speak, she’ll push a little hard sometimes, but gosh darnit if she isn’t the person who would always stop to help someone with a flat tire (or respond to finding out some friends are broke, jobless, and on the run by immediately taking them back to her secret refuge so they can rest and recoup).

7. She’s incredibly direct and unafraid to speak her mind and…okay. This is going to get long. And I know some people will disagree with this, and that’s fine because everyone is different, and wants different things. But. Speaking personally from my point of view. The fact that Phee gives as good as she gets would be a really reassuring quality to have in a partner. I see a lot of myself reflected in Tech, but one of the many, many ways in which we’re very different is that I’m a consummate people pleaser, and Tech is very much not. At all. I don’t think he has a people-pleasing bone in his body.

But, here’s the thing—about half of my people pleasing comes from being terrified that I’ll say or do something that inadvertently hurts someone, and that person won’t just tell me or give me the chance to explain or make things right. And for how that relates to dating, I had people—friends and family—keep trying to set me up with incredibly shy men through most of my early twenties, no matter how many times I objected, because they had this perception that I was soft, wishy-washy, and needed to be treated with kid gloves. And…no. I’m opinionated as hell. I’m relatively confident about certain things. I just shut down my ability to project any of that because I was terrified of running roughshod over people without meaning to. But when I’m around someone who I know is willing to disagree with me, who I know will explain why, and who I know will push back if I take something too far? About 90% percent of my people pleasing and social anxiety evaporates. I know I don’t have to walk on eggshells around them—and that they aren’t going to walk on eggshells around me, either. They’re going to be direct about their issues and treat me like a freaking adult.

And, honestly, the fact that Phee doesn’t walk on eggshells around Tech (who also gives as good as he gets—Tech isn’t soft, nice, or shy and retiring; he’s confident as hell and he should be, because hot damn)—is. I don’t know. I like that she’s direct, and that she will recognize and pull back if she’s gone too far. This is projecting a bit, but, speaking personally, I would rather be with someone who treats me like an adult and tells me what’s up even if it’s uncomfortable than someone who never, ever tells me when they’re upset because they’re afraid of hurting my feelings and just lets me stew in social confusion all the time.

8. She can more than hold her own in a fight and she carries a sword around. That’s hot, I’m sorry.

9. Phee’s fantastic with Omega. She talks to her like she’s a person, she doesn’t ever shut Omega down, she’ll tell her stories, she’ll joke around with her, and she’s generally very respectful while also not holding her to the same standard she would if Omega were an adult. She’s even a little protective of Omega, even though Omega isn’t at all her responsibility. I think the moment that took Phee from ‘cool’ to ‘fantastic’ for me was towards the end of ‘Entombed’ while the Deadly Giraffe of Death was collapsing; Phee’s right there trying to shield Omega alongside Hunter. And. Like. Omega is Tech’s baby sister, he’s probably going to notice that how Phee treats her. Massive points in her favor for this.

[rosehippiefield]

I love that no character is one-dimensional:

Sara is not goody two shoes protagonist with unwavering hope (I like Makoto it's not his slander I really promise I love kind guys), she has the highest chance of winning. It can't happen to ultimate cinammon roll. The balance between her caring side that wants to protect everybody and using charisma to her advantage is so tricky and yet it works (though I am a bit baffled at how she changes without Joe in AI simulations).

Joe is not only cheery cheesy best friend that dies just so you can cry about it (even if it's true as well). Joe is distrustful, he is scared and he kind of wants to escape with sacrifice card knowing what it entails. So he came up with a plan where good people being majority would live, and if not he can feel less guilt. Amazing idea! And we all know how he returns in second chapter. A sing of ungrounded guilt that doesn't correspond to reality whatsoever but can't be combated with logic alone. In best case scenario it is defeated with reminder of how real Joe behaved, showing how faulty our perception can get from trauma.

Keiji is not just sexy detective that supports Sara, oh no. This guy gets close to our heroine on purpose and I dare say kind of uses her for own gain. Then, his trauma doesn't equal all of his character nor it magically justifies killing Megumi, it simply explains his current actions. And of course I really want to believe that he is not some creep flirting with people in most suspicious way. He just needs excuse for evading akward questions. This man, deprived of sleep because of his sins, is both cunning and kind, capable of cruelty and striving to be like his idol.

Kanna and Gin are not annoying children that constantly need saving or exist to evoke sympathy. In Kanna's case sympathy is natural, but it is not the only thing going for her. Kanna is about giving a chance, letting go regrets, making thought-out sacrifice and when it fails moving on to make sure it doesn't have to happen. She develops constantly, bringing ideas to the table and trying to get all group stay united. Kanna makes conscious choice to spend time with Shin to get information, so while she can be manipulated it's not always the case and she's not all naїveness. Her arc of overcoming trauma and insecurity may seem familiar to characters from other media, but it is unique and distinctive.

Gin is autism representation without making him vilain or weird. He has some pecularities, for example, wearing animal-like clothes and repeating animal sounds, and yet nobody bats an eye, so surely he's no outcast or useless (on the contrary, he is quite useful remembering names in the bar, using scent, helping morally etc). Gin's the least morally gray of the cast, but it doesn't mean he is cardboard nice support kid either: he has his dislikes or his own thoughts (he is quite distrustful toward Kanna because he's younger and doesn't use age as justification for her actions).

Reko seems simple enough, a hot-tempered rock star, emo/punk lady many would like to date. Strict to the strong, kind to the weak. She had a lot of changing in the past and it continues here, she is becoming softer. But it's not her only trait: she's a talented singer that was interested purely in music and it's perfection. She ignored to some degree her happiness, her band, her beloved brother for the sake of art. She wasn't indifferent, but appeared as such. And now, finally having a better understanding of what's important and bright future ahead she ends up in a death game with Alice. Their plotline is prominent in second chapter and is devastatingly tragic.

Alice looks like comic relief with his exaggerated reactions and bizzare choice of words (personally I love this type of speaking it's cool). But he is actually not only a scaredy cat: he is a person without a purpose. He searched for it in a path with sister, but no happiness came, only murder of Midori. Alice hides his soft side to not be hurt, he on purpose builds a wall and appears so arrogant because when he was openly kind the close ones were indifferent (not to mention prison, I admire how Alice kept his sanity at all).

Shin is a prime example of morally gray character done right (majority here are morally gray but with him being antagonist it's far more prominent). I have seen various post about fandom interpreting him either as "totally evil manipulator", "Kokichi/Nagito kinnie", "cinnamon roll he did nothing wrong" or "what a loser". But he's not just good or bad, him having antagonist status doesn't make him Ouma copycat or Komaeda's successor, and while I get him being a loser is funny it's not the only thing to define him (though it's more of a joke than serious interpretation). Shin is very insecure and distrustful guy who "sees shadows where there aren't any" (quoting Sara) due to 0% and wants to live, using all methods... until he gets attached. He plots mainly against people he considers his enemies (to tell the truth, with 0% anybody could be classified as enemy), and I think he wouldn't abandon those close to him like Kanna, perhaps partly due to guilt of using her. In general, his actions, while obviously not the best (and he knows it perfectly well), come from fear of death and paranoia rather than pure malice or craziness.

Nao may appear as mentally weak girl you constantly have to help and can't rely on. Yes, Nao has problems with dependance on other, but she has her own aces up her sleeves. She's creative, smart, open-minded. For me her advantage lies in unexpectedness: who knew she saw through AI's lies? For her own sake and for the group Nao is capable of difficult actions like puching fake Reko. This girl is about growing more responsible, learning to trust your own judgement (she has great intuition by the way) and becoming independent.

Kai is quite too unique for stereotypes in my mind, a mysterious but awfully suspicious man. He looks so feminine but don't let that deceive you: he's assasin. Assasin that doesn't kill. Kai is the person escaping from his bloodied, horrible, traumatic past into right, calm, tranquil future with only householding chores and not killing attempts to protect... wrong people (Sara is not bad person, but her father is likely to be tied to Asunaro). So poor househusband is leaping from one abusive enviroment into another, but now being genuinely loyal and unaware of all skeletons kept in closet.

Q-Taro is certainly not only kindhearted big muscular guy (that dies in certain chapter) or stupid. Yes, he looks like parody on American, yes, all his accents make his speech a bit silly and stereotypical. No, he's not dumb. In fact, many plot twists involve him in some way (especially the banquet). Also, he could sacrifice his life for somebody, but he is equally capable of doing the opposite. Q-Taro is quite honest but not above tricks to leave this place, he cares for th group (taking into accout his team-spirited profession) but prioritises himself until later; he knows how sinful people are including him and that allows him to forgive quickly.

Finally, Mishima dies so early you don't hope to see him after 1.1. But if you think he's the shock value first victim that dissapears after, you are not quite right. Mishima, being dead, yet has influence on story as well, either through mystery of his head or AI that appear three times (maybe something is really up with him). Not to mention Ytts where his character shines and not burns. Him being almost perfect doesn't ruin anything, it motivates to become better as well because he wasn't always like this. Plus, he's no ideal, Mishima understands how world works but is passionate to a fault, not to mention his suspicious behavior. He is example of a person that matured, overcame his main faults and inspires the same in others.

Of course, everyone can interpret these characters differently and it's great, those perseptions can be true all at once. They are so interesting and captivating thanks to many layers of depth where everybody can see something unique.

[immortalthunderstorm]

Aemond Targaryen and the Brothel Madam: A Case of Vulnerability? 

With the final trailer out and conversations running rampant, @liv000000 and I have been bouncing off ideas and theories on that Aemond shot and our thoughts on it. Obviously none of these are set in stone and need to be taken with a very sizeable pinch of salt as we don’t really have anything concrete to base it on, so a lot of this really is us just weaving scenarios together and trying to craft a narrative and character exploration based on a few crumbs.

Before we start off, we’d like to just say that we are not necessarily in favour of these. House of the Dragon has a history of often brushing over sexual trauma without giving those moments the recognition they deserve - we aren’t confident that this show is the right medium to accurately present such sensitive topics and that the writers really wish to do this in depth beyond victimisation and shock value. Neither is the fandom as we’ve now gotten to know it at large mature enough to accept and analyse these, especially if it involves a character they aren’t particularly fond of, as we’ve seen with the Alicent-Viserys rape scene or the ‘Foot Scene’ with Larys which got turned into a joke and yet again was squarely placed at Alicen’t feet as something that is somehow her fault and not the guy’s who was sexually assaulting her.

But, although we dislike the overall sentiment, we still want to try to make sense of it. 

We’re here to talk about this scene:

Some eagle-eyed fans have connected the hand holding Aemond here to the one of S1EP09’s brothel madam which he encounters with Criston Cole on their search for Aegon (there’s a scar beneath her knuckles that the actress, Michelle Bonnard, also has). For this analysis, we will pretend that this is confirmed.

For reference, we’re talking about this lady here:

A bit of background of what we learn of her and her ‘connection’ to Aemond:

“Aegon brought me to the Street of Silk on my 13th name day. It was his duty as my brother, he said, to ensure I was as educated as he was. At least that's what I understood him to mean. [...] He said, ‘Time to get it wet.’”

For his thirteenth nameday, Aegon took Aemond to the Street of Silk to lose his virginity, no doubt as a right of passage to essentially have him become a man, as fostered by Westerosi culture (we could write an entire other meta about this and Aegon’s perspective but won’t get into it here). Notice that Aemond expressed that he himself wasn’t sure of the advantage/purpose of this and just parrots what Aegon said to him without actively supporting this as his own opinion. It’s something he clearly didn’t really want to do himself but went along with because his older brother told him to.

Cole asks her about Aegon, while Aemond stands next to him, silent. At the end of the conversation, she says (flirtatiously):

“I wish you luck, good Ser. And my best to your friend. [to Aemond] How you've grown.”

This is personal, she recognises him. Was she the one to take his virginity? It seems likely. He clearly also hasn’t been back there since that day.

How does Aemond react to this?

He clearly still feels very uncomfortable around her even three years later, can’t maintain eye contact, shrinks away etc. This has no doubt ruined his perception of sex and engrained in his mind, the act of sexual intimacy is something unpleasant, humiliating, and potentially painful.

@darksvster also posted the script of this scene, which has Aemond ‘clearly shaken’ over being confronted with his abuser.

Since we know he hasn’t been back to the brothel since, him going there willingly now invites the presumption that this requires some sort of extreme trigger moment for him.

The two moments we’ll delve into for this are Blood & Cheese and Rook’s Rest, in which members of his family get hurt either directly or indirectly as a consequence of his actions. This also adds up with the leaks that the actress of the brothel madam is going to have a nude scene in either episode 2 (post B&C) or episode 5 (post RR).

Theory 1: Self Punishment

(we found this gif on Reddit, please let us know if you are or know who the original creator is and we’ll credit them)

In this shot, Aemond looks mentally defeated. His cheeks are wet, but he is not actively sobbing. He’s despondent and catatonic—empty. He also looks the most vulnerable we have ever seen him. His eye patch is off (something that we know from the book he rarely exposed on accounts of insecurity and ‘scaring the ladies’), he is naked and lying in a foetal position while someone (the brothel madam?) is holding onto his arm.

As we’ve explored how traumatic his first experience with her must have been, and how he was unwilling to even look her in the eye, much less seek her out for intimacy. This could be a form of utter self-punishment, a willing reenactment of the second most traumatic experience in his life. After B&C, he’d feel troubling amounts of guilt, so this is his way of putting himself through as much mental and bodily harm as possible. If this was about pleasure or comfort, it is doubtful he would go back to the woman who never gave him that feeling. Neither does his body language here show anything other than anguish. He’s partly disassociating.

There is also a theory floating about that rather than having 6 year old Jaeheara threatened with rape as in the book, this will be given to Helaena in the show (understandably so, as little Olive was only six at the time of filming).We could see the taunts being passed onto Helaena as her mother is tied up and can do nothing to help her, and it works just as well as it serves as humiliation to Aegon, as she’s his wife. In the shot below, Cheese has Helaena by the hair, very close to his body, and he’s delighting in her torment. This would hurt Aemond deeply, as he’s shown to be fond of Helaena and takes it upon himself to defend her whenever necessary. So, he’s essentially putting himself (guilty) to what his sister (innocent) was subjected to in his grief.

Theory 2: Emotional Incest

Emotional incest is a family dynamic that oversteps healthy boundaries between children and parents. It's a type of abuse in which a parent looks to their child for the emotional support that would be normally provided by another adult. The effects of covert incest on children when they become adults are thought to mimic actual incest, although to a lesser degree. It’s normally found in adults, but if you have people pleasing children (or parentification), they sometimes want to take on the role of the partner, rather than the child.

There are a few instances in this season, hinted at in the trailers and supported by the book, in which Alicent and Aemond won’t see eye to eye - she will not be happy with how he killed Luke and essentially ended all chances of peace. She also seems to advocate for caution and diplomacy alongside Otto whereas Aegon and Aemond will be out for revenge and full war. If we go by the book and Aemond also is the one to injure Aegon at Rook’s Rest, she will probably give Aemond the cold-shoulder after he’s willingly or unwillingly endangered his own brother. She’s shown to want to take the slow and diplomatic approach in this war, to avoid bloodshed as enough has been spilled, whereas her sons are eager for battle and war to get vengeance for the tragedy that has befallen them. She no doubt will give him an “I told you so” lecture, and Aemond will perhaps seek comfort, as he’s grown a twisted sense of his abuser after revisiting her in the brothel.

This adds to the theory that young Aemond chose the brothel madam specifically out of a need for comfort. In a situation like the one he was subjected to he chose a whore who at least looked like the person he feels safest around, his own mother who is a source of comfort for him and who he loves deeply. If that is the case, this paired with with the mental consequences of this encounter, it could develop into him being attracted to and seeking out women who remind him of her. This could also impact his later relationship with Alys Rivers.

We really dislike this, as much as it could make sense. Aemond is one of the few men in Alicent’s life who loves her without desiring or exploiting her, their relationship in season 1 was very soft and if the above is the case it adds a bit of a sinister and sexual note to a parent-child dynamic which so far has been relatively unproblematic.

[spotlightlowlife]

Stolas Missed opportunity. He's a Helluva good villain.

Imagine a story where we have a someone who is respected royalty but doesn't hold the same degree of responsibility of others, a nepo baby who doesn't run a region and doesn't appear to run a business, free to chill in his palace and deal with his boredom and frustration by abusing his power and status, by calling on someone to entertain him, entertaining being of the sexually nature and the entertainer being of the uncomfortable corner commoner trying to better his life variety.

Once an innocent child who made a friend for a moment with a kid who was paid to hang out with him, he would form his first ever connection with another, however after decades of absence this one sided friendship would escalate to the transactional exchange mentioned, initiated by him when he was sad and mad and could do with a pick me up. He had no issue using someone he had a taste for but was ultimately disposable as a springboard to cause a scene and fallout.

This same someone grew up in his palace void of any parents but with servants who, are as far as this society is concerned, a social class just a step up from animals who superiors are welcome to treated as objects.

The awkward fuckbuddy is of this class.

All this alone would be the making of a great powerful villain. All this is Stolas content.

Only there's much more to it and it only makes things worst.

His backstory that was clearly intended to make us sympathize with and like him more, only it all added to his villain origin story.

There is no sex positivity surrounding his character, he was betroved as a small child following rare quality time with a powerful, very out of touch parent who just got done buttering him up, he was forced into a marriage where there was mutual dislike and forced to have a child as a teenager. This chaos was bought into his home. He remained in this marriage where he is regularly berated because he wanted his child, the only person he's decent to aside from his superiors, to live a normal life..

What does he know about normal?

At this point his perception of every and any relationship could be off.

Stolas is a lot like two fictional villan characters the audience root for dispite their victims being totally innocent.

Stolas is pretty much Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) and The Beast (Disney's Beauty and the beast).

With Patrick, so many similarities, hanging out at the social mixers he has no place being at, decadence and superiority, existing to work, the meaningless sexual relationship, sex negative interactions with sex workers, zero relationships with family (excluding Octavia who Stolas was made to have), many acquaintances to tolerate, zero regard for those with nothing and little proof of self awareness and understanding decency because both are very privileged and powerful individuals living in a hell like place where they can do whatever they want with no consequences because those they hurt don't matter.

Only this Patrick has had a spark light in him when he finally saw a plaything as a person and someone heroic, this was after Blitzø helped find Octavia, not that he had any choice in that matter, not like he was ever at fault for her absence i the first place that occurred on Stolas's watch at home as he entertained himself bickering over the phone during a visit and the grimoire she stole is her dad's property which he fails to safeguard away from home.

Accountability is lacking with him and generally highlighted when it comes to Octavia, the previous occasion he failed to hear his daughter the first occasions we saw him think about his ways.

His love for his daughter is evident, yet these examples show how much she is needed in his journey to decency.

Still there's a common audience trigger right there, he's not a great dad.

Stolas is comparable to The Beast as someone else who grew up in his own castle being raised by the workforce who would one day have an 'agreement' of sorts forced upon him. Years pass by and it takes that one person who he trapped but began to warm to for him to learn some decency, over time he wanted the best for this person even if that ment giving them freedom.

Though Disney's Beauty and the beast is child friendly, the beasts was pretty ferocious (totally lost in that bland live action) and Belle did have few options but to reluctantly be in his company. Belle, like Blitzø, is a strong willed and quick thinking individual (with an attraction to books), they may not seem the typical victims but this doesn't take away from their situation.

In other news.

Stolas has the most beastly looking transformation.

Mammon has been put forward as the leading powerful villain and as interesting as whatever his revenge could be, he's quite frankly adorable in comparison to Stolas. Ozzie, Mammon and Bee pretty much got bigger and a little more detailed whilst Stolas has the most intimidating looking transformation, one that appears to step outside of the artstyle.

His other form also got the most sinister introduction, he truly got to be creative and show us how twisted he was when he went to rescue I.M.P, the company run by his plaything who has his grimore, the transaction for sex.

He has been right there the whole time. It's unfortunate that the tone and a lot of the audience seem so opposed to a character intended to be a loved and charismatic figure also being controversial and certainly in the wrong. We have a sympathetic predator who appears to be learning and growing.

[saytrrose]

Someone reblogged your Kinger and Queenie comic and I saw your reblog on curious anons, so here I am.

Anyways, dunno if ya have done this before but ya got headcanons on Kinger's relationships with everyone on TADC?

Like, besties with someone in specific, we get along even if he doesn't know we get along, that kind of stuff.

Ooh!! I really love this question eee

Kinger Headcanons! With.. EVERYONE! (Im including the abstracted characters, they are so so silly in my brain rn and i have a strong perception of them)

—————

Queenie:

- Queenie and him started out with a mutual.. dislike? Dislike from Queenies side, and general uncomfort from Kingers side.

- From the start their relationship was more so small bickering, mutual pining even, They both possess a sarcastic side to them, (I personally believe before Kinger went crazy that he used to be rather analytical and in control, a lot smarter yk.)

- They both were constantly compared for their likeness, which of course gave them a sense of need to.. prove themselves better? To stand out? Saw eachother as an obstacle until FINALLY they tried actually having a conversation.

- Their relationship dynamic is very much golden retriever x black cat.

- Once they actually were in a relationship, Queenie definitely keeps her sassy personality but she’s very soft spoken around Kinger.

- Kinger also changes, they act more differently around eachother than anyone else. Their general idea of “we are different” changes to “we are the only ones that truly understand one another”

- Oh they bickered SO MUCH it’s so silly, Queenie loves to tease, seem like she has a large ego but in private around just him she’s very very vulnerable and relies on him for comfort. She doesn’t feel like she needs to act a specific way around him or ever get really defensive.

- Kingers personality doesn’t change as much as Queenies does around people, however he does lean into feeling more vulnerable around her as well. He tries to seem calm and mostly friendly, but in private with just her he feels like he can actually rant and get emotional.

—————

Wriggle:

- Kinger and Wriggle have a very funny dynamic, as Wriggle is Queenies “best friend is the whole wide world” (quoted by Wriggle, not Queenie)

-They often like to wriggle in between Kinger and Queenie, (hahaha look at me I’m so funny I love puns please don’t unfollow me) they are bit clingy towards Queenie which Kinger doesn’t particularly mind in the slightest.

- Putting Queenie aside, those two I’d say are good friends too. Wriggle loves to ramble on and on to Kinger about things they enjoy or made or did- the list is endless and it’s usually Kinger when it comes to this because atleast Kinger looks like he’s paying attention, whereas Queenie has that.. blank stare.. (autism, your honor)

- Think of Wriggle as a wingman also, They know Queenie well, and things she wouldn’t tell Kinger? Thats Wriggles job. For example, Queenie talks about how it’d be cute to receive flowers but doesn’t want to outright ask for them, Wriggle goes to Kinger and keeps jabbing him in the side with their tail until his attention is gained, and tells him “you know what you should do!!” you get what happens fr

- The wingman job was specifically asked of by Kinger, to which Wriggle, being the snooty little “hmmm idk if I like you enough” worm they are.. obviously decides not to share Queenies private words. (I’m still deciding if Kinger persuaded Wriggle into the idea that it’d make Queenie happier in the long run or if he just dropped to his knees like PLEASEPLEASEOLEAZEPLEASE-)

—————

Slinky:

- Slinky and Kinger have a good relationship, they aren’t really friends that hang out on their own time, but if they are ever in a group then they’d interact.

- Slinky loves to knit and crochet, and she made a task to knit everyone a tiny plush to have. She gave Kinger a tiny stag beetle plush, and he adores it so much, it’s right on his bed. ☠️ (perhaps I could make another post listing all the plushies Slinky made for everyone but idkkk only if it’s inquired about)

- They are the two shyest? Of the whole group, not inherently shy but the most quiet unless spoken to and definitely most anxiety filled. They have an unspoken code of certain looks they give eachother that they can instantly understand.

- In Kingers full honesty, if he was given the chance to choose a person to be in his team for an adventure and Queenie was taken, he’d choose Slinky. She’s just a very patient individual and he thinks he goes well with someone like that.

—————

Kaufmo:

- Their friendship is like trying to combine oil and water.. they don’t mix easily… They have respect for one another, an extent of it and Kinger probably has more than Kaufmo but they have very different conflicting personalities.

- Kaufmo is prickly and pessimistic most of the time, however I do want to think around Kinger he hold back a little. These two ended up being the last of the old cast, they’ve been through alot together…

- Kaufmo hates lovey dovey stuff, god forbid Kinger even rests a hand on Queenies side or something- he WILL point it out like a toddler grossed out by seeing their parents kiss.

- I think after Queenie abstracts it really changes. I want to assume that is when Kinger finally fully lost every marble he was hanging onto and Kaufmo.. well he realized how much he really missed those two together.

- Post Queenie, I think their relationship evolves from annoyance to much more understanding, not knowing eachother too personally as one would hope, given their circumstances but they would still go out of their way for a quick “are you okay?”

—————

Peepo:

- Peepo is a super sweet guy, and I’d say he was a good acquaintance of Kingers just for the fact there wasn’t too many guys and they were both very friendly.

- Peepo was the first to arrive of this old group, so he was much like in Kingers place with the current crew. However he’s not crazy because this is likely to beginning of when people started to get trapped in the game still, and not too much time had even passed. Aka, more people were entering than abstracting most definitely.

- Anyway, to touch up on the above one, because of this he has a sort of natural leadership over everyone, people seem to seek him out on information about the world just because he’s been there the longest. This includes Kinger! To Peepo, if he needed a right hand man he actually really relied on Kinger.

- There’s a small place by the digital lake that no one knows about except Peepo. When the sun starts to set he almost always likes to just.. go outside the tent and walk to it, and the only person he ended up showing was Kinger. It became sort of a spot for just them to talk, which is likely what made them closer. Kinger later would use this exact spot to ask Queenie out…Jumping to canon, the only person who knows of the spot now is Kinger, and he often goes there to seclude himself.

—————

Moppsy:

- Even though I put her here, I can’t really come up with anything! I use Moppsy as the first abstraction Kinger would witness, and likely didn’t really know her or have a relationship with her. Putting her here to include this though!

—————

Pomni:

- Woo!! Og cast now!! I think Pomni and Kinger will get along well given time. While Kinger is certainly.. eclectic in his personality at this point in his stay in the circus, I think Pomni would be comfortable talking to him about things more than Jax or Zooble, who knows! Just based on what I know from the pilot.

- Kinger used to invite anyone and everyone into the pillow forts he made, but once majority of the old cast abstracted I’d assume he stopped completely, instead using it as his own safe haven. However, Pomni is the first one that he very awkwardly asks if she would like to come inside, which leads to him feeling more inclined and comfortable to invite the others.

- Kinger notices and thinks Pomni is very different than the others, anyone he’s known so far infact and he probably outright tells her this because he lacks the ability to really filter his thoughts anymore. She doesn’t quite understand the nonsense he babbles out about it, but in the series if Pomni finds the exit or changes the circus for the better or WHATEVER goes on as she’s the protagonist, I’m just gonna say Kinger had a gut feeling from the start.

- Pomni seems to care the most when Kinger wants to show someone a bug, and that can be left up to the interpretation that the others just got tired of him doing it all the time and Pomnis not used to it yet, or she genuinely just tries to nod along and it makes him very happy to get a response.

—————

Ragatha:

- I think during the whole old cast abstracting and being replaced, if we look at the lineup of how everyone entered, I think Ragatha was the only one to actually know Queenie. Atleast see in person for a while, perhaps.

- I think those two would have gotten along SOOO well but!! This is about Kinger,, and I think Kinger and Ragatha also get along very well. She reminds him of Slinky…

- They both know they don’t talk or vent about their own problems at all, atleast anymore for Kinger. They are both bad at keeping it bottled up inside and while they both understand this about eachother, they don’t pry.

- If anything they have tea together often, and only they know alot about tea and really really enjoy it so it’s like their own bonding thing in a way.

- Ragatha came out to him first as a lesbian for some interesting strange reason, though if we follow my beloved trans Queenie hc I like to apply to things sometimes then she likely did it because she knows Kinger isn’t judgmental on lgbt topics.

—————

Zooble:

- I enjoy thinking of Zooble as an angsty teenage child compared to Kingers senile old dad energy

- I think in Kingers eyes they seem to get along a little bit but he’s just a tad intimidated. In Zoobles eyes they wouldn’t let anyone know how much they really like Kinger, afterall he’s nothing but sweet when being spoken with. It’s a nice break from.. Jax or Caine, even the others who are very emotional. Yes they can be kind too, but it’s like you don’t have to try with Kinger because he’s so finicky that he doesn’t remember every detail of your interaction to judge you on it anymore.

- I like to think whenever Kinger needs help with something Zooble lets out a dramatic sigh and goes to help him (no one asked them to and anyone else could’ve volunteered but okay Zoob we know you just genuinely like his company)

- Zooble gave him a weighted blanket as a gift to include in his pillow forts once and he had a panic attack while under it once because he couldn’t move (he loves it so so much I promise)

- Again hhh Dad Daughter vibe I really enjoy it I think Queenie would’ve adored Zooble like a mother too plsplsplsolsolsols

—————

Jax:

- Jax would call Kinger a boomer a lot and it stresses Kinger out so much because he doesn’t know what it means and when he asked Zooble to explain it to him they convinced him it was slur and so Kinger got Caine to censor the word boomer

- Kinger is like genuinely terrified of Jax and how much of a menace he is, he’s never known anyone that acts like this mf its insane

- Kinger does infact has some pet bugs in a large terrarium in his room and because Jax has keys to everyone’s rooms he with steal Kingers bugs (an example, the centipede he put in Ragathas room? Probably Kingers..)

- Kinger honestly tries his best to avoid Jax hhshs

—————

Gangle:

- Kinger is probably the closest to Gangle of everyone in the current cast.

- Gangle likes to draw and write and ramble and everything to Kinger, even when she has her tragedy mask on, he seems to cheer her up a little just by hanging out near her. Kinger really enjoys it.

- When Gangle does have her happy mask on, it irks something inside Kinger. She really reminds him of Wriggle. And he was much closer to Wriggle than Slinky so.. it bothers him a bit unlike Ragatha being similar to Slinky in few ways.

- She introduced him to anime and while she has a giant ass list of ones she enjoys he’s.. just quite fixated on ghibli movies… he finds them neat.

- They are.. autism buddies.. More so it’s well aware with everyone that Kinger is diagnosed with Autism but Gangle isn’t diagnosed, and Kinger is the only one staring HARD like “hhh ik what you are” fr fr anyway because I hc them both as autistic that’s another reason they tend to group together and get along more.

[hedonistbyheart]

I wonder if the people who really dislike Natasha Pulley's books just don't like magical realism? 🤔

Also people seem to have such an issue with Grace's motivation- a lot of people echo my friend in saying that her motivations don't make sense half-way through, when she starts meddling, but I think those readers buy into her own self-perception.

Grace thinks of herself as a scientist, she thinks of herself as smarter and more rational than every single other person in her life, but she's mistaken.

She is smart, but she is also human; she is angry at her parents so she treats them with more dismissal than she might otherwise, she doesn't understand art so she considers it useless and pointless, which makes her unable to understand what motivates Thaniel and Akira, not to mention Mori.

Because she's so dismissive of art and emotion she then doesn't realise that she's gotten attached to Thaniel and that Mori isn't driven by mechanical curiosity, like she thinks he must be, but by love.

So because she buys into her own ego and the myth of her own rationality, she's overcome by jealousy; she wants Mori to think she's brilliant, she wants Thaniel to care about her - she thinks she's owed their attention, but none of them promised her that, so she throws a tantrum. And she's afraid of Mori's powers. By the end she is driven by jealousy and fear and that's why she acts so irrational.

A lot of people think that isn't in character for her, but her entire internal dialogue is one long tantrum couched in superiority. It really doesn't take much to tip that into erratic behaviour.

She does seem to get better by tlfop though.

[blueepink07]

How I think Milgram characters will decorate the Christmas tree! (This is just made for fun, so these are mostly my hcs based on my perceptions of them!)

Haruka

At home

-> His Christmas tree it's not that big, but not that small either

-> He liked to decorate the Christmas tree based on the person he admires the most: when he was little, he tried to decorate it so it would be for his mother's liking. Also, I think he really hates seeing two Christmas balls of the same colour next to each other, so he tries his best to not put them so close

-> At home, he would decorate it all by himself, which always makes him upset

-> Sometimes, he considers not even engaging in decorating

-> Always wanted a Christmas ball that matches his bunny plushie, but never had the courage to ask for it

-> If he weren't to decorate the Christmas tree based on the person he admires, he would just prefer to put whatever cute ornaments he finds on the box!

-> He tried to make a handmade decoration for the Christmas tree, but didn't consider it was good enough, so he abstained from putting it

In Milgram

-> Christmas became his favourite part of the year, because he doesn't need to decorate the tree all by himself anymore

-> Doesn't even need to ask what Muu's favourite theme is, he just knows it and he tries to decorate the Christmas tree based on what she likes (Haruka pays a lot of attention to the others personalities, likes and dislikes... The timeline conversations show that! I fear that not many people give him enough credit!)

-> Muu would stop him and convince him to put the cute decorations that he loves!

-> They will both make handmade decorations!

Yuno

At home:

-> Christmas is her favourite part of the year! It always makes her warmth! Baking cookies, preparing hot chocolate with her family is one of her favourite parts!

-> But nothing can be better that decorating the Christmas tree!

-> Doesn't really care for a theme (puts whatever is on the box!)

-> Hates seeing two Christmas balls next to each other: is scolding her brother for doing this mistake (definitely not projecting)

->Despite not caring much for the theme, secretly wishes to buy a pink Christmas tree and decorate it with pretty white ornaments

-> There is no way that there isn't at least one cat ornament in the Christmas tree! (I think Yuno loved Hello Kitty when she was little! Doesn't like her as much anymore, but would still love an item Hello Kitty related!)

In Milgram

-> Considering the events that happened, she initially doesn't want to decorate the Christmas tree...

-> A constant feeling of emptiness and lack of warmth seeing the others decorating, unsure if she should join

-> Mahiru notices her sadness and makes her join by telling her that she needs "help" to decorate, because her injuries are slowing her

-> Yuno agrees and despite telling herself that is for Mahiru she actually enjoys it a lot!

-> She feels warmth decorating with Mahiru! Again, doesn't care much about the theme, so she listens to what Mahiru has in mind!

-> Doesn't forget to put the cat ornament!

Fuuta

At home:

-> Doesn't like Christmas that much anymore as when he was little...

-> Sometimes considers to not decorate the Christmas tree, but feels a somewhat obligation and still does it (also puts a lot of effort) !

-> Despite that he has a small Christmas tree, he would be sure to decorate it perfectly! (Have you seen his room, before the murder happened? It's so clean and in order, I'm sure that he would do the same for the Christmas tree)

-> Very good at picking themes, changes it every year

-> Doesn't have a preference for the ornaments, because he is sticking to the themes he choses

-> Very good at decorating, gets annoyed easily if he notices something it's not right

(Not really what I had in mind, but it works I suppose...)

In Milgram

-> During trial 1, he was very attentive when it came to decorating the Christmas tree

-> Would give advice to the other prisoners of where they should place the Christmas balls

-> Doesn't decorate it himself, watches from afar

-> During trial 2, he just watches the prisoners decorating... If he feels like it, would help, but most of the time, he stays away

Muu

At home:

-> Has a very big Christmas tree!

-> Her favourite theme, and the one that she always sticks to every year, is gold and silver!

-> Despite this, she always changes the ornaments every year! She gets bored of having the same Christmas balls!

-> Gets bored halfway decorating it (because it's so tall), so she sometimes is rushing it. This causes her to put two ornaments of the same colour next to each other. Would try to resolve the problem, but if after a few tries it doesn't look how she wanted, gives up

-> Decorating the Christmas tree it's not her favourite part, but buying presents for her loved ones is and wrapping them! She loves placing them under the Christmas tree!

-> Can't wait for the first day of Christmas to come so the others can open their presents!

In Milgram

-> Happy that Haruka can help her decorate the Christmas tree in gold and silver!

-> Gives him compliments, because he is better at decorating than her!

-> Convinces him to put his favourite ornaments too!

-> Doesn't really like doing handmade ornaments, but tries for Haruka! She dislikes that her fingers feel sticky after using the glue. Despite not liking it very much, she does a good job!

Shidou

At home:

-> A big Christmas tree that gives a cozy feeling!

-> Not a big fan of decorating it, but loves it when he does it with his family!

-> Doesn't care much for themes, so he lets his children put the ornaments how they want! (if it weren't for his wife, he would let them put similar ornaments next to each other...)

-> Looks chaotic and sometimes has too many ornaments, but for some reason it still looks good!

-> Similar to Muu, he loves to put presents under the tree for his family!

-> His wrapping is kind of messy!

In Milgram

-> He doesn't decorate it, because it reminds him of his family...

-> Shidou is still watching from afar and makes sure that the atmosphere is cozy!

-> Would help Mahiru, if necessarily, to put some Christmas balls, but mostly lets Yuno to spend time with her

Mahiru

At home:

-> Takes advice from the magazines she reads and does the theme that is the most trendy at the moment and has the prettiest ornaments!

-> Would spend hours decorating it, until she is satisfied!

-> Would love to have a real Christmas tree and not one made of plastic (she loves the smell!), but feels bad for the tree. Uses a fragrance spray so the artificial tree can smell as a real one!

-> Prefers a tree that has the branches white!

-> When it comes to the themes she choses, she likes having as many interesting ornaments as possible (shaped like stars, angels, gingerbreads). She loves those which have a nice message written on them!

-> Adds some penguins in it!! It's her favourite animal!

In Milgram

-> Is the one that actually comes with the idea to decorate a Christmas tree in Milgram!

-> Asked for everyone’s preferences so she can ask for their favourite decorations!

-> Once she receives the newest magazine, she will search for cute ornaments! (not for a theme, because she wants everyone to get to express themselves decorating the tree!)

-> After she puts all the ornaments, she compliments everyone for their hard work!

-> In trial 2, because of her injuries, she asks Yuno for help! Despite not placing them herself, she still feels happy!

Kazui

At home:

-> Not a big fan of decorating the Christmas tree, but helps his wife to place the ornaments that are at a higher level!

-> Loves putting the star!

-> Doesn't go for a theme, puts whatever he finds in the box. However, if he were to chose one, he would go for a combination of red and white, since they are the Christmas colours!

-> His favourite decoration is the nutcracker, will put as many as possible! Sometimes he considers changing the star with it, but Hinako doesn't let him

In Milgram

-> He doesn't decorate, but helps other prisoners to put some ornaments, if needed, in higher places

-> Helps Amane to put the star, despite that it's his favourite part of decorating!

-> Secretly puts a nutcracker, when he thinks no one is looking

Amane

At home:

-> I will be honest, I really don't think Amane has ever decorated the Christmas tree at home... Since ornaments and cute things (considering that she can't even eat sweets or go to amusement parks) seem to be considered as "vulgar" items.

-> So I will make the Milgram part longer!

In Milgram

-> At first, wouldn't want to decorate it! After many, many pleads from Mahiru, she agrees.

-> Doesn't put many however, at first!

-> Her favourite decoration is the angel! Loves putting them!

-> If she notices a Christmas ball is not placed accordingly, she will change it so it would look good

-> Will make her own theme for placing the ornaments! Loves green and silver combination, sometimes she adds some gold!

-> Would prefer a real Christmas tree, because she loves the smell. Like Mahiru, she would use a fragrance spray so the artificial tree can smell as a real one!

-> Has a natural talent at picking nice and beautiful ornaments!

-> Doesn't want to ask for help when it comes to placing the star, but thinks it's too embarrassing to sit on a step stool.

-> Kazui notices it and helps her, despite Amane not wanting it at first

-> During trial 2, she is convinced again by Mahiru to decorate the Christmas tree

-> However, this time, she places just the angels

Mikoto

At home:

-> When he was younger, he used to make the weirdest combinations somehow work!

-> Every year he was in charge to decorate it! Didn't matter if he was doing by himself or with his family, he enjoyed a lot!

-> Usually goes for blue and red as predominant colours!

-> His tree has many ornaments and it looks full of life!

-> Would place fake branches to give the tree a more interesting design

-> Because of his work, he had to buy a small Christmas tree in order to decorate it in his very limited free time

In Milgram

-> Loves that he can again spend more time to decorate the Christmas tree, now that his work is not in his way

-> Brainstorms ideas with Mahiru for the theme that he would do

-> Thinks the nutcracker that Kazui placed is amusing, feels inspired by it!

-> During trial 2, he feels unsure if he should approach the others... He is afraid that he will destroy the atmosphere with his presence

-> Decides to stay away, but in the moment there is no one near the Christmas tree, he puts a few Christmas balls!

Kotoko

At home:

-> Doesn't care much about Christmas

-> In some years, she doesn't even decorate the Christmas tree

-> If she does, however, she would buy a small one

-> Does the same theme every year, doesn't like buying other ornaments

-> Silver and purple is her favourite combination

-> Despite not having so much patience, she would never put two Christmas balls of the same colour next to each other!

-> The only interesting Christmas ball that she would put, would be one shaped like the dragon fruit! She loves it!

-> Considers spraying her tree with a fragrant dragon fruit essence, but never actually does it

In Milgram

-> During first trial, she would put a few Christmas balls, but that's it. She mostly watches others decorating!

-> Secretly upset if there aren't many purple Christmas balls

-> In the second trial, she doesn't even approach the Christmas tree while others are decorating

That's it!! Feel free to add your hc too!!