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martianbugsbunny · 1 year ago

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Let's talk about Loki! Under the cut for the sake of those who have not yet seen Episode 2.

OKay so to start with, overall this episode of Loki was a pleasant surprise. Loki himself got to be serious and powerful and I enjoyed that. He's finally had a chance to shine in his own series. The way he played with magic, especially with the shadows at the beginning, was absolutely stunning, and I'm glad we're finally diving into his magical abilities more. He had just the right amount of menace in his interactions with Brad, and the way he was softer and rather understanding when Mobius flipped out was a wonderful counterbalance. So far I'm liking this version of Loki where he's threatening to his opponents but genuinely caring towards his people, and I think whoever was in charge of writing him in this episode did an excellent job reinjecting some nuance and some authority into his character.

Mobius was a little weird at certain points; he's been an analyst for like a bajillion years or something so I think in-character he should've been able to handle reading the guidebook, but honestly he had a decent showing too. Using him as the levity...it's not a horrible decision if it's not going to become a recurring theme, because I don't want him to get dumbed-down, which he's not so far; his deducing that there was set-up was quite clever and I didn't see it coming. It worked in this episode partially because he was also doing some smart stuff, but also because it was offset by the bits of temper and vulnerability he displayed, which were both very well done in my opinion. It actually added another dimension to his character that I really like, and I think addressing that he's more afraid of "what if the life I was supposed to have is good?" than if it was bad is an interesting take, especially considering he seems to be in the camp of "it may be the life I was supposed to have, but it's not my life," because it's good for the show to be exploring those different avenues for the TVA workers, and because it makes Mobius a more unique person himself. I'm also kind of enjoying his little ruthless streak, ngl.

I like the dynamic Mobius and Loki have together right now. Them eating pie together and talking about Mobius's feelings was a lovely scene, and probably one of the most authentic we're going to see out of the entire season if I had to guess. They're working together very nicely; Mobius sort of letting Loki go off his leash with the magic at the beginning was neat, and I just adore the way their less-heroic tendencies are playing off of each other (such as in the Brad-in-the-box scene). I think that makes sense for them, and I'm not looking for these guys to be heroes of pristine reputation, or even heroes at all, just guys who are trying to hold what little they have left together, so it's really hitting the spot for what I expect of their personalities melding together.

(Also, I'm now pronouncing Casey and Ouroboros a ship, although I doubt I'm the first one. The idea of OB being a celebrity to this one guy, and only this one guy, is pure gold.)

I will say, there's still a little much of the MCU-brand hokeyness in the show for my taste. There doesn't need to be something to laugh at every couple of minutes (not that I'm really laughing, because I'm tired of that style of writing by this point). The story can stand on its own without the forced comedy, and if it can't, then the comedy is only going to annoy people further. This is kind of serious stuff, and although I'm not against having some lighter moments or some comedic relief, I could live with Loki actually taking itself more seriously. But, like I said, this episode did feel more genuine to me, so it's not all jokes and quipping.

I'm still not a fan of Sylvie. Her existence annoys me because the female-Loki premise is obnoxious, and she feels so much like every other female character out there she doesn't really have the personal qualities to redeem the premise. Also, I find Loki's obsession with her strange, as she's mostly only been a total bitch to him and clearly wants nothing to do with him. (Which in itself is weird; her acting all butthurt at him in this episode like he was the one who pushed her through a time-door or something was like...what the heck? If somebody can explain that to me, please do, because I feel like I've either missed or forgotten something that would make it make sense.) I find her "normal life" as an 80s McDonald's employee strange, also, because that's...that's not the kind of normal she would envision. Her "normal" should be something regular on Asgard, because she's not a human dreaming of a normal life, she's an Asgardian dreaming of a normal life, although I do understand that according to the rules of the game there's probably not an Asgard where a Loki is welcome...yet Lokis are shapeshifters, so she could sneak in one anyway. That's probably a little nitpicky, I can recognize that.

So, yeah. There we go. This episode of Loki actually raised my expectations for the rest of the season, which is a nice surprise for me. I didn't think I would enjoy any part of this show so much, because the first season really didn't have a moment like this where I went huh. this is pretty good. I hope this episode being so good isn't an anomaly, because I was a huge fan of Loki in Thor, Avengers, Dark World, Infinity War, and I want to be a fan of him again in this show. If the writing stays this good (or gets even better, perchance?) I may end up considering myself a convert.

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semper-legens · 5 months ago

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54. The Philosopher, the Dog, and the Wedding, by Barbara Stok

Owned?: No, library Page count: 283 My summary: Hipparchia is a headstrong young woman - a reader, particularly of philosophy, and not much of a weaver. She's had problems attracting a husband for that very reason. But when her father sends her out to meet a potential match, she ends up meeting a philosopher named Crates who will change her destiny. What is happiness, after all, but being true to oneself despite everything? My rating: 5/5 My commentary:

Okay, so I said in my last post that the next one was going to be Clive Barker, but I just had to squeak this one in. I picked it up at the library on a whim - I'm always on the lookout for weird, quirky little graphic novels, and this most certainly fit the bill. This is a true story, insomuch as a story about a woman who lived and died over two thousand years ago about whom not much is known can be. This is the story of Hipparchia of Maroneia, one of the first female philosophers and the wife of the philosopher Crates, a Cynic. It's a story I had never encountered before, and one I am very glad to now have read.

Hipparchia is a really interesting figure, though not many facts are truly known about her. She moved to Athens as a young woman and met the Cynic philosopher Crates, and decided to renounce her worldly possessions, marry him, and become a philosopher too. Crates was pressured by her family to dissuade her; he stripped naked and told her that this was all he was and all he owned, but Hipparchia was totally okay with that. None of her writing survives, but we know that she was a philosopher in her own right, sometimes dressing as a man and living equally with Crates - incredibly unusual for Greece in the 300s BCE. She also went to the symposium and may have influenced the next generation of philosophers along with Crates. She seems to have been an unusual woman, at once ahead of her time and within it, and deserving of celebration.

This book is a really good adaptation of Hipparchia's story. Some changes have been made to the version I saw when looking up Hipparchia - I don't have enough knowledge to determine which is more correct. Still, even if the changes made to Hipparchia's story are artistic license, they work to underscore the point of the tale very well. Hipparchia is in Athens to be married, rather than her family just moving, and her initial happiness over the potential match fades as she realises that the life of a housewife isn't what she hopes for. She's barred from philosophical conversation, but she listens at doors and reads on her own, even sneaking out disguised as a man to listen to Crates. The book is quick to point out, however, that while the lot of high-born women in Ancient Greece wasn't great, Hipparchia still had a lot of privilege. Slaves are everywhere and are treated as a fact of life - the phrase 'that's the way it is' used to excuse horrific things recurs through the book. She has a conversation with an enslaved woman which ends with her giving away some of her things to her, which is nice, but the casual attitude of the characters towards enslaved people is both emblematic of the times and a good indicator of the ills of their society.

The art is simplistic and colourful, which I think works really well to convey the ideas that the story brings up. Hipparchia is very relatable and endearing, and the cartoony style helps with that, it makes the characters a lot more interesting. And it's not hard to distinguish the characters from each other, which is no mean feat in this sort of style! I also like how casual the art is about nudity - Hipparchia and Crates strip off at a couple of points but it's not sexualised or treated prudishly, it's just casual, which I thought was neat. It was a good book! Very glad I picked it up.

Next, the promised Clive Barker stories!

#The Philosopher the Dog and the Wedding #Barbara Stok #bookblr #book blog #book blogger #5

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fadebolt · 2 months ago

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Huh, your analysis on Respectless actually makes a ton of sense. Vel absolutely strikes me as the kind of person that would overexaggerate, just to get under someone's skin.

Alastor did the exact same thing in Stayed Gone, where it didn't really matter whether or not he was actually correct about Vox's podcasts being mediocre, or him 'being nothing without the other Vs'. All he wanted to achieve, was to get onto the nerves of his obsessive TV-headed rival, who clearly wasn't in the right headspace to handle hearing these humiliating statements, especially since they're being broadcasted to the public.

And it's really no surprise that this is a recurring trend. After all, we're talking about famous powerful sinners living in the pride ring... of course they're gonna be saying a bunch of overly ambitious stuff, about how they're the absolute best, and everybody else sucks.

What Vel actually thinks can be left a bit up to interpretation, and I hope it gets fleshed out a bit more in season 2. Her feeling too overconfident would make sense, but so would her being a mostly reasonable person that is putting up a front. I just hope we'll get more than just "Adam, but as an internet influencer", cus that would be an enormous waste xd

The 'picking up the crap' part does feel right as well, and that would absolutely be a fun thing to see more of as well! She didn't seem too bothered about the Vox-Alastor thing, but Val's issues, on the other hand.... yeah. (What's especially funny is that she likely would have fired Angel, if she was in Val's place. Would have been better for all parties, let's be honest)

Having Bee as your secondary Hellaverse favorite is definitely interesting, and it also makes a ton of sense, considering how much these 2 have in common.

Their kind of femininity is one you don't see often in media. From what I could tell, most female characters roughly follow in the footsteps of the three we see in heaven - the tall/imposing/commanding/majestic type (Sera), the fun/energetic/enthusiastic and optimistic one (Emily), and the more 'masculine' leaning one (Lute). I did simplify here a bit, but that's the general gist of it.

Bee and Vel don't fall into any of these categories. They take a very unique angle, one that I've rarely seen before (mostly just in those Disney shows that take place in high schools, where they are the mean popular girls that bully our female lead). So having this kind of character, and putting it into positions of power/authority is a really cool twist, and their creative designs certainly help a ton too.

After all, the fun parts about character archetypes, is getting to see different interpretations of them in different contexts!

Sry for taking a lil while for me to respond as well, but I suppose that makes us even.

Oh, and for Pen? Well, I'd say it's a combination of him being funny, sweet, and oddly relatable (....and the eggies :3). I discovered the show through Georgia Dow's 'therapis reacts' videos, and the one I liked the most was when she covered the Snake boi.

It really doesn't go much deeper than that, as I don't have particularly strong feelings on anyone from the cast. (As in - I don't viciously hate anyone, but also, no one has really joined my absolute favorites of all time... they were all just fun fellas that did their job well enough. That's it)

There's just some characters I generally tend to enjoy a lot, and Pentiouss does fit that bill (specially with the socialization struggles, those always get me). Plus, he actually has a neat design, with the eye hat, as well as an actually unique body type and color palette. That bumps him up quite a lot too.

(Final note I couldn't really fit anywhere - I liked your interpretation on the overlords, and Zestial, and how they all work. It's a really cool, but also somewhat vague and mysterious part of the world building, and a lot of your ideas do make sense. Maybe we'll get some more elaborations on that later)

Hey, I know it's been a lil while, and that you're busy, but I've been wondering about something. In the past, you have mentioned that Velvette is your favorite character from Hazbin, and I'm curious - what's the reason for that?

It mostly surprised me because of how little screentime she gets (I believe she has roughly 4 scenes, where she got to speak). I have also had instances where I came to really love side characters that the story didn't put much focus on, but I also don't recall any of them ever making it to my number 1 spot, so yeah.

But I will admit that I enjoyed her quite a bit. Her VA did a great job, and I do like the fun archetype of the 'snooty self absorbed rich girl that is also pretty short I guess' (with Pacifica from GF, Qiyana from League, and Disgust from Inside Out being some other examples I liked).

And Resepctless is a bop, of course. Plus it also strongly implied that Velvette is somewhat delusional (as Vox was shown to be the backbone of her group, being the one with biggest influence, that also sorts situations out - while Zestial didn't loose any relevance, judging by the way folks on the street reacted to him), which could be a fun thing to explore in Season 2.

I wonder if there's anything more to your enjoyment of the character, or if it's just the stuff I already said. After all, we all have our favorite tropes and archetypes, and a character would often become my favorite for simply fitting into the ones I like!

But I suppose there's no harm in asking :3

dw dw

I may answer a bit late, but hey at some point I will claw out some time...

Velvette is my fave from hazbin, but Beelzebub is my fave from the whole hellaverse.

I dont think she is delusional tho. I think that line was just either puffing up your coat to appear bigger and more threatening to the other overlords or all the v's i think thinks of themselves as the most important. We see a lot of vox, but id say that its vel who keeps things running the most. She isn't running and wasting time on simping for someone who won't even look at em (I mean angel for Val and alastor for vox). She feels like she needs to pick up crap after their toxic yaoi and feel the consequences the most.

And I think zestial might have lost some influence. I mean if u only take what folks from the street think of him, I mean they acted like that when they've seen alastor too, but its harder to argue that he remained in the same power as before. I think most sinners would reacted that way, cause 1 overlords, 2 who knows what they are up to, 3 they are known to take souls so u know u can still think lowly of someone and still be scared of them if they have a granade in their hand. Sides Val might have said that cause maybe v's have millions of souls due to the powers shift and more of the new sinners coming to them for technology., while zestiel might have had only a few thousands, strong ones, but less in numbers. Maybe she thinks those old souls can't do much anymore as opposed to their millions. also situation just had changed, they've discovered that angels are not immortal. so she wants a new approach to the situation and not be dragged by old unchanged ways of ye old. Also also all that was to prode and poke at carmila to cause her to outburst. I think she is smarter then u give her credit to. she knows its Carmilla and is trying to get out more info in the way she knows how. also it might have been again puffing up your coat to bring more overlords to her side.

But to answer ur question, I think i need to go back to queen bee. My love for her started for a beautiful design and its still a big part of it ofc. But... Idk how to describe it. She kinda awakened/opened some part of me if even just a lil (not like sexually i already know im pan/furry don't at me). Some part that been hidden away. one thats more spunk and free in her expression. More femme but in this specific way. This all didnt change my life in a dramatic way, but it pry open the door for other stuff to influence it.

And thats where Vel comes in. Trough that opened door, a lil bit. She also has an amazing design. But she is also spunky and not afraid to speak her mind and have a lil fun with it. She is respectless and a lil but of a bad bitch and Idk that kinda resonates with me a lil. I sometimes wish I had that confidence to flip off other plp (when deserved obvi) and dress in unusual ways.

overall idk you can all attribute my interest in them both to excellent design. but that's my theory on why

#fade rambles

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daincrediblegg · 4 years ago

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I just think Nikki should’ve stayed as a permanent side character along with Pete Thornton

#I just think she's neat as a recurring female character #macgyver #classic macgyver #macgyver 1985 #nikki #I mean listen... I love her feral hostile energy compared to mac and it's really ideal in a way that pete and jack dalton can't match #and like!!!! they're absolutely not shippable #but bastard best friends??? I dig it. I dig it so fuckin hard

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threecheersforinking · 3 years ago

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FMAB Analysis: female characters

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood gets praised pretty often for being one of the only shonen anime with actually good female characters, and I really wanted to talk about what that means to me personally. In general, I think the concept of ‘well-written’ or ‘strong’ female characters often gets watered down to meaning just “a woman who is good at fighting” or “a woman who doesn’t show many emotions or feminine traits”. So, I want to evaluate my personal definition of a ‘strong female character’ using FMAB ladies as examples. Let’s begin!

Winry Rockbell

I wanted to start off by talking a bit about Winry! Something I love about Winry is that in the FMAB universe she’s just a normal girl. Well, as normal as a prodigy mechanic can be. Right off the bat, I absolutely love that this teenage girl is considered one of the best mechanics (which is typically considered a male dominated profession) in the whole show. That already is a subversion of gender roles that just feels pretty neat.

But going back to the fact that she’s a ‘normal girl’, Winry is not a fighter, and that is okay. She is a humble resident of Resembool and has no business getting into gun fights or alchemic battles the way Ed, Al, and the adult military officers do. And this aspect of her character leads to the very emotional scene where Ed tells Winry her hands are made for healing people, not hurting them. If Winry were the only female character in the show and she was told she shouldn’t fight people, that might be a problem. But fortunately, she is not! Which is a great transition into our next character.

Riza Hawkeye

Riza, an incredible skilled marksman and sniper (another skill that could be considered traditionally ‘masculine’) is pretty stoic for the majority of the show, but when she shows emotion, she shows emotion. When the person she loves is in danger, she does not put on a brave front, she full on sobs and screams and reacts appropriately, which is great. She is proof that you do not need to suppress your emotions to be strong and competent.

(Also, her relationship with Mustang is a whole other thing I’d love to praise, but that really deserves its own post)

General Olivier Mira Armstrong

At first glance, the hardened and ruthless General Armstrong seems like she would fit neatly into the ‘strong women don’t show emotion’ stereotype, but I want to talk about why I think she rises above that.

Yes General Armstrong is a badass, but her main thing is that loyalty and trust are essential for leadership, and that having a strong bond with her subordinates gives her a huge advantage over other military officials. The reason why the Briggs soldiers are a cohesive, trustworthy group is because they know that Armstrong has their back and genuinely cares about them. Compared to other higher up officers we see in the show who have subordinates who full on hate them or distrust them, it’s clear that Armstrong is the most efficient at leading due to her genuine care.

Later on in the show, Armstrong also has a moment where she acknowledges that resting after being hurt is the smart thing to do, rather than pushing through your injuries to try and seem strong. I really loved that Armstrong in particular was the one to make that statement.

May Chang

Something I really love about May is that she is very ‘feminine’ in a lot of ways. She is cute, she is very bubbly and positive, she isn’t afraid to cry or to fangirl over the Elric brothers. However, she is also one of the most skilled fighters in the show, and is incredibly humble about it as well. I think May is one of the best examples in the show of not having to forego your femininity to be a badass.

Teacher/Izumi Curtis

Though it is used as a recurring joke (especially when she mentions it after using incredible feats of alchemy) the fact that Izumi self identifies as a housewife is what I like the most about her. It’s not used as an insult, she is a housewife; she takes care of the house while her husband runs their business. But her being a housewife is not a bad thing, that’s literally just what she wants to do and there’s nothing wrong with that. Women don’t have to completely brush aside traditionally feminine roles to be really cool and strong.

In conclusion, imo what makes the girls of FMAB ‘good’ or ‘strong’ is that 1. they are their own people who have their own goals outside of the main characters’ lives, 2. they are able to fight and defend themselves if they so desire to, and 3. they can have feminine traits that have nothing to do with their ability to fight or achieve their goals. Also, the fact that there are so many of them. When discussing any kind of representation, having more than just one person with the trait you’d like to represent is the way to go.

Anyway, I’d like to hear your thoughts! this is obviously just my personal opinion, as I’m using my own cultural concepts of femininity and womanhood as a basis here. So if you have anything to add from a different perspective I’d love to hear it.

Thanks for reading!

-threecheersforinking

#fmab #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #Fullmetal Alchemist #female character #strong female characters #anime #anime analysis #izumi curtis #may chang #olivier mira armstrong #riza hawkeye #winry rockbell #anime review #anime review blog #fmab analysis

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thickenmyblood · 3 years ago

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hey maca :)) I have sth that I’d love to hear your input on! (wall of text incoming so beware- I’m absolutely not mad if you don’t want to answer lmao). Basically it’s about how you portray women in your works and to what extent you see that portrayal mirrored in the canon books. I have noticed that a lot of writers tend to go a traditional route with for example daughters not being heirs like you also mentioned in an answer for a wtsioa ask on here. Considering the cultures Vere and Akielos are based on that’s obviously very logical and a lot of authors (including you) make it work fantastically! Yet personally I never got the vibe of Vere and Akielos being as patriarchal in canon, mostly because the Information we get is kind of confusing. On one hand damen is a walking manosphere (and. all of Akielos in general as well) without any prominent female figures in his life but on the other hand damen only ever speaks appreciatively of for example the female vaskian warriors. Both countries seem to ban women from the army yet Damen also refers to a warrior queen. The regent is a total misogynist but with the wording Laurent uses it almost seems like that is more the exception and not the general rule of veretian court life. Both countries also have ties to Vask, an exclusive matriarchy and Akielos is said to be similar to Patras which Pacat has stated is also partly a strong matriarchy due to vaskian occupations in the past. I could go on for a lot longer but I guess that damens overall positive attitude towards women and especially stereotypically spoken masculine women is what sticks out the most to me. It just seems kind of misplaced in a world that supposedly is as sexist as the original cultures from our world. Which is why I’d say both countries do have gender roles but are overall a lot more egalitarian than their respective real world og cultures. But that’s only my take and I’d love to hear more on what others think about the portrayal of women in canon and how they chose to portray it in fanfiction. Love you and your new work, hope you’re doing well❤️

HELLO!!! Thank you for asking me interesting stuff :, ) you always have the best questions and my sad little inbox is open to you any time, friend. I divided this into parts, so:

My portrayal of women: I need to work on this a lot lmao. I’m not proud of any female character I have ever written for this fandom, and I’m also not proud to say I struggle horribly when it comes to writing female OCs, especially if the story is not about a female character that is a literal projection of me. Or Bella Swan (yes, Twilight literally shaped my sad little brain and the way I write and consume fiction).

Authors writing female characters in a “traditional” way (for fantasy settings): I can’t speak for other authors but I definitely think, in my case, that using the “it’s a patriarchal society, women have no rights, women can’t be heirs, etc.” blueprint is a matter of being lazy. It’s quick, and easy, and it’s been done before so we all know how it works and a) it’s unlikely that you’ll mess it up (in the plot hole kind of way) and b) it’s obvious that most readers know how the usual system works and so you don’t have to spend paragraphs or even chapters explaining it to them. I am very lazy when it comes to world-building for fics. Why? Because when I’m writing fanfiction I don’t give two shits about the world, I just care about the characters doing Things and having Feelings. The moment you start to question these issues (a society where women can join the army, where they can be heirs, where maybe they can have multiple husbands, etc.) a billion issues arise because it’s not the “usual way” and so you’ll have to deal with “unusual problems”. See: plot holes, info-dumping, etc.

Vere and Akielos in canon: I think the books get very, very confusing at times when it comes to gender roles in that specific world. They also get very confusing about how royalty works, in my opinion. So:

Damen never mentions female influences in his life, not even nannies or wetnurses or anything. He mentions past queens and his mother, but even then… It’s always struck me as “what the actual fuck” that we get no information on Egeria. In TSP, he doesn’t even read as curious to me, especially when I think of that line that goes something like “oh, well, he’d never asked how tall she was”.

Then you have Jokaste, who is highborn and also… perhaps trained in politics? It’s unclear to me if she’s ever been directly involved in meetings or been an active member of the Council or even been allowed to study these issues. Clearly, she’s smart and capable and cunning, but like… how? Did she have private tutors? Is she a self-made woman? Like, what’s up with that? Are women allowed to engage in public politics? Are they allowed to be kyroi?

IMO, Damen complimenting the female warriors in Vask has to do with how appreciative he is of war-related stuff. Like, he thinks people with his own qualities are neat. We see this time and time again in the books—having honor, being brave, respecting one’s family, protecting those who need protecting… He compliments these things when he sees them in others, especially in Laurent. Obviously one of the big changes in Damen as a character is that he goes from being daddy’s boy to being like “well, actually… maybe war isn’t always the answer, and maybe war isn’t always honorable”. The Vaskian warriors prove themselves worthy of praise in a “manly” way, if that makes sense. (In the same way, Laurent proves himself in the Okton, not so much to Damen but to other Akielons). So, in essence, War > Any issues he may have about women doing Stuff.

Don’t judge me for this but I can’t remember the Regent talking about women. Do you have any quotes about that? I feel like Book 1 is super rich when it comes to world-building stuff and yet it’s the book I remember the least. I know he obviously has a preference for boys and not girls, but I don’t recall him having interactions with Vannes or ladies at court? I’M SORRY I’M SO STUPID but I don’t own the book so I can’t exactly word search my way out of this one, and so instead of saying stupid stuff, I’m asking anyone reading this (lol, you and my mom probably) to please tell me what canon says on this issue.

Ties to Vask: Er, yeah, I mean… They’re clearly not at war with Vask and have some sort of economic deal (there are Vaskian pets in Arles? Which makes me wonder if they, like, buy them from Vask? Or if the pets are Vaskian and turn into pets in Vere? Slaves are not like pets so I don’t know?), BUT just because they have deals with this kingdom/are on good terms with the ruler does not mean they necessarily approve? Like, maybe they’re like “yeah, it’s weird they give women so much power, but also I need that silk/leather/WHATEVER, so I’ll shut up about that”.

“Akielos is said to be similar to Patras which Pacat has stated is also partly a strong matriarchy due to Vaskian occupations in the past.” Is this in the books or is this something she said in an interview/post-releasing the trilogy? I know in the books there’s a quote that Akielos and Patras are similar because they both have slaves, but other than that I can’t quite remember anything about Patras? Like, I don’t recall Pacat giving us extensive and thorough world-building on either nation, at all. Once again, I am asking you for more explanations on this because I literally don’t remember.

4. My opinion and a Stupidity Disclaimer: As I’ve said above, there’s a lot of stuff I don’t remember and so I’m not trying to preach to anyone reading this or even saying that I hold the truth about… anything. I’m answering questions as I see fit and asking more questions when I run out of answers.

I believe world-building is not one of Captive Prince’s strong points. I will not elaborate on this because this is already long enough but there is simply, in my opinion, not enough material to reach any solid conclusions when it comes to world-building questions such as the role of women in Vere and Akielos, how compulsory homosexuality affects the development of highborn men and women in Vere, exactly what makes Akielos’ view on women different from Vere’s (if there’s any difference at all), the history of gender roles in this world and how it’s evolved up until canon, how Lamen can solve the heir issue without recurring to, once again, “the usual stuff” (concubines, bastards, marriage to women, etc.). It’s clear from what I’ve read that Pacat has come a long way as a writer and that her new trilogy has a lot more in-depth explanations to world-building questions, but this is not the case with CP, and so I’m afraid my answer to most of this is “I don’t know, and I don’t think anyone can know for sure”.

Lastly, I think I struggle a lot with understanding the role of women in this universe because I simply did not see enough women doing stuff, so I don’t know what’s permitted, what’s unacceptable, what’s illegal, what is straight-up execution worthy, etc. This is not me complaining about the lack of female characters in CP, at all, which I know is contradictory to stuff I’ve said in the past (I answered a couple asks a year ago about how I’d wished we’d gotten Vannes’ POV or Jokaste’s POV in the short stories). I’ve changed my mind, and so I think Pacat is entitled to write whatever she wants, just like I’m entitled to talk shit about KR with any living soul who will listen lmao.

To end this on a spicy note, I think sometimes we consume the wrong media and then complain because it doesn’t have what we wanted. If you’re looking for a trilogy with strong, fleshed-out female characters, Captive Prince is not for you. If you’re looking for a trilogy on female struggles and, I don’t know, defying… the male gaze… Captive Prince is not for you. There are plenty of books out there that focus exclusively on female characters, featuring sapphic relationships, and dealing with gender issues. WHICH IS NOT TO SAY WE SHOULDN’T BE HAVING THESE DISCUSSIONS. This is not about this particular question, but more about a lot of posts I’ve seen floating around… complaining about Pacat’s writing and the themes she didn’t explore.

If anyone has made it this far, thank you for reading, and know this is NOT me telling you what to think. This post is an open question that anyone can engage with, although I hope people will engage with this directly and on this platform, instead of… taking it somewhere else where I sadly can’t engage back! Unlike what happened with our awesome fat Laurent discussion, I will be replying to any questions I get on this (Note: I did not reply to most of those questions because a long time had passed and they were sort of repetitive).

#caramellaurent #captive prince #i'm using the main tag because i think... maybe someone has answers?#also lol melli i see what u did here... u're distracting me from writing for the bang #i see how it is #discourse #is this discourse tho?#it's just me asking stuff #discourse (questioned)

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bestworstcase · 3 years ago

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how do you feel about the concept of moongene? I’m not really for it because it feels like a chance to erase Cassandra’s narrative in the story (which is already a thin messy line) It’s the climax in her story so why take that away from her when she already has so little

feeling #1: my pet theory is that demanitus intended for eugene to take the moonstone and was attempting to steer him in that direction. consider the following:

a) recurring bit where vigor abruptly focuses to stare intently at eugene, who is unsettled and weirded out. this happens at least once in every episode where vigor appears prior to the reveal that he’s demanitus, and the implication is very clear: rapunzel is the sundrop, but she’s not the one manny is scoping out. it’s EUGENE.

b) in LAF, demanitus again focuses on eugene, not rapunzel. having rapunzel solve some old riddles does fuck all to test her purity of heart, but that’s not actually what manny cares about. he cares about making sure that eugene is absolute and unwavering in his loyalty to rapunzel. eugene is the one who is tested by the labyrinth. eugene is the one whom demanitus invited to take the final piece of the scroll - specifically, the fragment with an illustration of the moonstone itself on it.

c) LAF also establishes that demanitus loves riddles and prefers to be cryptic over plainly stating his meaning.

d) “the moon cannot be seen without the sun’s light. she gives you light.” and then his last act as a sentient being is to give eugene - not rapunzel, EUGENE - a note suggesting that one of rapunzel’s friends will turn against her. i submit that in demanitus’s perspective, this was a riddle, and eugene taking the moonstone was the intended answer.

e) we know that demanitus and zhan tiri were research partners united for a time by their interest in the drops. we also know that they were likely aware of the possibility that uniting them would cause an explosion and destroy anyone in proximity (because zhan tiri did not try to put them together when she got her hands on both and clearly knew what was going to happen to her once they did touch). the logical solution here would be for him to take one and her to take the other, but this fell apart presumably because she wanted both and he trapped her in the lost realm in retaliation.

f) this brings us back to eugene. what is demanitus’s apparent litmus test for deeming eugene worthy? absolute loyalty to rapunzel.

conclusion: demanitus wanted rapunzel and eugene to unite the sundrop and moonstone by wielding them separate but together, but he tested eugene’s loyalty to rapunzel first because he wanted to be absolutely certain eugene would not pull a zhan tiri and attempt to claim the sundrop for himself. unfortunately for demanitus, he’s too cryptic for his own good and zhan tiri beat him to the punch by saying ��hey, cass, you should take the moonstone :)”

i’d love to see a moongene fic that took this concept and ran with it. i think eugene taking the moonstone because he’s discovered he’s the dark prince is a) boring and b) not particularly in character, but eugene figuring out demanitus’s riddle and acting on it? could be neat, and allows eugene to take the moonstone without shutting the window of opportunity for cassandra + zhan tiri to get into trouble together, because in this scenario moongene represents a big fuck you from manny to zhan tiri and unites her and cassandra more closely, and i think a plot where rapunzel and eugene try to master their new shared power while cass and zhan tiri plot in the shadows has a lot of fun potential.

feeling #2: in practice with one or two exceptions p much every moongene concept i’ve encountered has come from a new dreamer who dislikes cass at best, and is a blatant excuse to write cass out of the story altogether in favor of giving eugene a watered-down version of cassandra’s arc where he takes the moonstone to “protect rapunzel” and then runs away to brood in the woods, often while zhan tiri heaps verbal abuse on him because none of these people give a damn about zhan tiri or her motives or like paying attention to the way she handled cassandra because fuck giving the female villain an ounce of characterization when we could use her to pile on the angst for uwu poor sad eugene, NOT that i am bitter about this at all, and cass kind of just… disappears from the narrative.

and like i just am not interested in female characters getting used as props for eugene’s manpain lol

#tts

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brave-clarice · 4 years ago

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“Clarice” Liveblog: Episode 3

Maybe Wednesday is just destined to be my watch night? At any rate, here are some more comically late hot takes for you all.

I really do not like that Clarice’s Bureau-mandated therapist is recurring character, nor do I like the way these scenes are framed.

And the name of this episode is “Are You Alright?” which...oop.

“He was a marshal.” Good to know that the sheriff BS she gave Mr. Cult Leader was made up after all.

This is a little thing, but enough with the boring monochromatic button-ups on Clarice! Where’s my girl who hides copies of Vogue under her mattress??

I don’t love this constant-flashback thing one bit.

To be 100% clear, if I haven’t been already, it’s not that I want Clarice’s mental health to be ignored. I just don’t think this is the best or most in-character way to address it.

Also: Clarice Starling is not defined by her trauma.

“Buffalo Bill...a wound I believe will never heal unless you open up about it.” Honestly?

Thanks, I hate it!

I hate to even bring up the NBC show.....but this scene is reminding me, intensely and unpleasantly, of that.

That show made Will Graham way too unstable and mentally ill as it is...and Clarice’s character is a hell of a lot stronger than book!Will, never mind NBC!Will. So having Clarice hallucinate and lash out in similar ways feels really OOC.

“Maybe your perceptions aren’t as solid as you think.” Yay, gaslighting. As if Clarice doesn’t face enough obstacles in the books.

I’ve always interpreted Ardelia as a bit of a neat freak, so that was a nice scene with the boxes!

Were most politicians wearing American flag pins in the early 90s? That feels way too modern. (iirc it became the “norm” only after 9/11.)

“Imagine someone field-dressing one of [your daughters] like a deer.” I’m getting strong and very unwelcome NBC vibes again. Stop it, show!

More gaslighting, but this time from the suspect.

“Well, I’m Army, so I’m actually a good shot.” For some reason this feels like shade at ex-Marine John Brigham even though he doesn’t exist in this show, and I’m offended on his behalf.

Speaking of, when is Clarice’s sharpshooting talent going to come up??

Krendler’s supporting Clarice? Saying she has a good idea???? WHO IS THIS GUY?!

The implication here is that...the president will fire AG Martin over bad press...? Or what?

What I’m getting from this: this Krendler is just some guy who hapens to have the same name, not the infamous King Scumbag we know and love to hate. (And those clothes...1993, where are you?!?)

Ardelia called her “Starling”! Though it was tongue-in-cheek.

“I’m aware I have the palate of an eight-year-old.” Somewhere, Hannibal is dying inside. (Hmm...wasn’t she about eight when her father was killed?)

This line/delivery was super cute!

But being unable to cook doesn’t necessarily mean you have unsophisticated tastes...

Is Catherine going to have any kind of personality? Beyond “is traumatized”?

And where is Catherine’s cat???

“It’s from the 50s.” “I’m from the 50s! ...I still work.” Cuuute.

Her sheepish little smile when the Baltimore cop tells her they’re “big fans” of hers...I would die for this girl, folks.

Hey, remember phone books?! And a nice nod to Ardelia being the bookish one of the pair.

Another homage to Silence’s cinematography (but this time she’s the reflection).

Krendler’s back in Asshole Boss mode again. Make up your minds.

Thanks, I still hate it!

Okay, yes Clarice has a temper! And she does act “impulsively” re: Krendler in Hannibal...at the END of her by-then failed career. But a fledgling female agent who’s already viewed as a kind of “loose cannon” could NOT afford to chuck a mug full of coffee at her boss (with whom she’s already butting heads/struggling to coexist) when she’s upset! Very unprofessional and unlike Clarice.

“You think I’m the one who wants to play politics?” In Hannibal, Krendler wants to run for Congress, so...yeah, I do.

Krendler wouldn’t be wrong to send Clarice home after that, tbh.

“He thinks I’m the weak link.” “You might be.” *angry noises*

Busting through doors while armed: Just Clarice Things

Krendler telling Clarice she was right...his characterization’s giving me whiplash.

Catherine’s not an actual character so far, and it’s sad.

Glad they’re acknowledging that AG Martin’s “field-dressing” comments were incredibly bad.

“I think I have some memories I need to look at...but not with you.” Oh! Oh! I know who she’s going to look at them with! ;)

“You’re trying to gaslight me, sir.” Not sure they would’ve used that term as commonly in the early 90s, though Clarice has a therapy license, so maybe?

But also: yes! CALL! HIM! OUT!

“I wish you luck finding someone who’s better at it than I am.” *shrieks* That is a Hannibal reference, and I’ll fight anyone who says it isn’t.

I’ve liked all these episodes more than my nit-picking might suggest, I swear. I enjoyed the middle half hour or so of this one a lot! It’s got a few charming little funny moments that I particularly appreciated.

That said... This was, as a whole, probably Rebecca Breeds’ weakest showing to date (through no fault of her own). And I’m getting a little antsy about (lack of) character development. I’m on board with exploring Ardelia and Catherine Martin in greater depth...but Ruth Martin, too--even Krendler? And seemingly at the expense of Clarice’s own character?

What do the non-book readers in the audience really know about Clarice so far beyond what’s shown in Silence? (Some early interviews emphasized that the film didn’t have time to delve into Clarice’s character intimately. What has the show done to remedy that so far...?) She likes junk food, she has a brother...I can’t think of much else off the top of my head. Not to be a broken record, but there’s more to Clarice than childhood trauma. More than her career. If this show is genuinely about her--well, by episode 3 and 4, it’s high time for them to start exploring who she is beyond those things.

Clarice is a sharpshooter who competes and wins. She’s a runner. She loves horses and muscle cars. She has a therapy license. She graduated at the top of her large undergraduate class. She’s interested in fashion (though she probably doesn’t let on about that to many people). I haven’t seen any of that so far, and it’s beginning to make me sad.

They also need to end the “Clarice is mentally/emotionally unstable and sometimes even hallucinates” subplot right now!

I’m dropping all my expectations for this Paul Krendler. They won’t commit to making him as intolerable and awful as he was in the books. Instead, we have an OC with a canonical name. Fine. But that choice is going to be awkward if the show goes forward and they, by some miracle, get rights to Hannibal’s character...

If Catherine Martin’s sticking around, I hope to God they give her a personality. Of course she’s suffering, and no, I don’t want them to belittle that--but right now, she’s coming across as a one-dimensional caricature of a victim rather than as a sympathetic real person.

And finally...where is my 90s aesthetic?! It’s one of the elements that I was most excited about, yet it’s barely present. Some of the tech and the cars look right. A lot of the clothes and hairstyles, though, leave much to be desired. (Clarice’s wardrobe is especially boring/disappointing so far. I was looking forward to an improvement on Jodie’s movie costumes! Clarice doesn’t have to dress just like Dana Scully--but at least Scully always looked straight out of 199x.) And there are little anachronistic things that take me right out of the early 90s.

I didn’t hate it. I didn’t love it. It wasn’t as exciting or as full of novel/film allusions as the first two (I guess they can’t all be). It also felt unfocused when it came to the characters, ultimately developing almost none of them, including the heroine. This is the episode I think I’m least likely to rewatch of the first three.

I’m hoping for better from #4!

#Clarice Starling #clarice #cbs clarice #rebecca breeds #media [cbs show]#actor [rebecca breeds]

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purplesurveys · 4 years ago

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1010

survey from diggitydoo

Have you ever felt a baby kick? Yes, when my mom was pregnant with my brother. What color pants/shorts are you wearing? I’m only wearing a duster gown; no shorts underneath. I just got it last night, actually - my mom wanted to donate clothes to victims of a recent fire incident in Manila and so she asked my sister and I to sort through our closets for clothes we were willing to give away. My sister ended up giving away a comfy-looking duster gown that she never even wore and even smelled brand new to boot. It ended up in my hands, ha. But apart from that we gave away a lot of stuff that aren’t old uniforms or costumes (which is what most people tend to ‘donate’, ugh), so we just hope they end up with people who really need them. When is the last time you did something truly fun, and what was it? Last night I went on our org’s Discord server and we played Jackbox games for around an hour or so. It was my first time to socialize again after around two months and I really, really needed that moment. I even met the org’s newest roster of applicants for this semester, which was neat. :) What was the scariest moment of your life? Men terrorizing me or near-car crashes I’ve had.

Have you ever heard of Leonard Cohen? The name is familiar, but that’s the most I know.

Pancakes or flapjacks? I guess pancakes, since I don’t even know what flapjacks are. What kind of computer are you on? It’s a laptop. Do you eat Chinese food? If so, what's your favorite dish? For sure. Pork buns or minced pork with eggplant. With century egg on the side, yum. What are you usually doing at midnight? Either passed out or desperately trying to sleep because I don’t want to lose any more hours of sleep and risk being cranky for the whole of the next day. Have you ever developed feelings for a friend, but you were already with someone? No. The worst thing that’s happened was being someone’s ball date (and unbeknownst to me, they apparently had feelings for me at the time) while I was already with someone. If so, how did it turn out? He figured it out by himself, which I still feel bad about. But the timing was super off and I just couldn’t find a moment to sit him down and set the record straight...ah well. It was just super complicated at the time. Give me your brief definition of love. My favorite love-related quote is “Love never says ‘I have done enough’” and for the longest time, that has been my guiding principle when it comes to it. Definitely a tad bit cheesy, but telling myself that over and over makes it easier to continue loving the people I care for and be patient with them when they’re being asses. Gab included, then and now. What is the most beautiful part of the human body, male or female? It differs for everyone but I’m a thigh girl through and through. What kind of shoes do you wear? Uh...various ones? I have sneakers, flats, heels, flip-flops, probably a couple more kinds that I can’t place at the moment. What is the worst thing you've ever done when you were really angry? Resorting to physical violence. I was a kid constantly exposed to violence in my old home, and at the time I genuinely thought that’s how most things were settled or pacified. I still feel like shit about it to this day, and my backstory isn’t an excuse at all; but the past is the past and I’ve been trying to make up for it by being a much more gentle angry person in the last few years. Are there any pills you take on a daily basis? If so, what? Nope. Do you like the smell of coconuts? For some reason I can’t stand anything coconut (which is a damn shame considering I’m Filipino) but I love dishes with heaps of coconut milk in them, like curry. That’s the one coconut-related thing I enjoy, but otherwise I’ve never learned to appreciate the taste and smell of buko juice, coconut shavings, coconut pies, and everything else coconut. What is the heaviest you think you can lift? From what my old PE class showed me, around 70 to 80 lbs. Do you take Tums? Idk what that is so I guess I don’t. Have you ever walked on a pier at the beach? I’m not sure if I’ve been to a pier before. I bet it feels wonderful and freeing and I’d love to visit one; but I also can’t keep myself from associating piers with the recurring image of Jennifer Connelly’s character standing on one from Requiem for a Dream. How about under one? No. At what age do you first remember feeling butterflies in your stomach around someone? Not sure if it was 11 or 12, but it was definitely one of those years. Do you feel that way around anyone now? Yeah, if they allowed me to see them. But I’m shut out now so I haven’t had that sensation in a while.

Do you ever talk to yourself or think deep thoughts while on the toilet? No. Do you ever sing to yourself? Sure. I’m sure most people do every once in a while. What is a sound that relaxes you? Ocean waves have never failed. How hard has it been to reach your main goal in life? ‘Main goal’ sounds so overwhelming; I make it a point to avoid one overarching goal and instead make little goals and plans here and there depending on where I am in life. Do you remember the song about hoes in different area codes? Never heard of it. What is your main heritage? Filipino. What kind of pickles do you prefer, if you like pickles? I hate pickles. What kind of cheese do you prefer, if you like cheese? Mozzarella and feta are my faves, but I love cheese and am willing to be adventurous when it comes to it. If you could have a sea creature as a pet, what would you want? Eh, they can stay in the sea where they can actually survive. I don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to keeping fish as pets. How about a farm animal? Probably pig. So, do you have hoes in different area codes? No, and ew. What is the most annoying song you can think of that came out recently? Haven’t been exposed to a lot of new music lately and the songs I do get to hear on the radio whenever I drive are actually pretty good. This totally doesn’t answer your question but my favorites so far have been Birthday by Disclosure, Kehlani, and Syd; and Plain by Benee, Lily Allen, and Flo Milli. What is a song that you hate to admit you like? Any Kanye song I like. What inspires you to get off your bum and do something productive? Not wanting to go into another downward spiral. Do you ever use Urban Dictionary? Extremely rarely. I only do when there’s a new slang I’m completely unfamiliar with. Do you find the definitions on there to be generally funny or stupid? Stupid for the most part. I find them too immature or vulgar, but that’s one of the points of the website so I guess I’m just not in their target audience lol. What comes to your mind when you hear the word 'transformation'? Uh, the Transformer robots.

What was something you regularly played with as a child? My cousins’ toy soldiers.

Have you ever given in to peer pressure? Eh, a few times. If so, what did you do? I’ve been pulled to drinking sessions here and there when I really shouldn’t be drinking because I had an important test tomorrow or something else was happening the next day that was just as significant. What part of your body have you had the most problems with in your life? Teeth, I’m pretty sure. I’ve had braces, needed a tooth extracted, gotten a cavity, and gone through a severe toothache.

Do a lot of people check you out when you're in public? Idk I never look around because being aware of it would just freak me out and make me feel like I’m naked. What is a good name for a turtle? Would depend on their personality. And this applies to all kinds of pets, at least for me. I don’t decide on their names until I have a good grasp of their attitude. Can you imitate any accents well? If so, which one(s)? Stereotypical Filipino mom and valley girl. Do you like having your ear nibbled on? Sure. What makes a good kisser a good kisser? I’ve only kissed one person so I’m not the best judge for this; but I always like it when my lower lip is tugged or grazed on. How many times a year do you have a family thing? This is a little vague for me. Do you mean get-togethers? Giant-ass reunions? Movie nights? Game nights? What are the best things to put in a smoothie? I only like one kind of smoothie and it’s sold by a local joint – and I think I’ve already shared this before but that smoothie of theirs that I like has “apple, banana, cinnamon, oats, coco sugar, chia seeds, greens, and soy milk,” according to their menu. So I guess those are the best ingredients for me, ha. Do you ever eat with your eyes closed and just focus on the taste? When I find something extremely delicious, yeah. What do you dislike most about where you live right now? For the most part I can’t wait to get out of suburban residential villages. I’d love to finally experience living in a condo in a super busy and active city. Has anyone ever given you a rose/roses? Yes.

Are you watching your weight? Not really. I’m trying to gain pounds though, if anything. I haven’t eaten much in the last two months. Have you ever become really good friends with someone you found online? I trust y’all with my life, so that’s one. Apart from Tumblr, the best friends I made were probably the people in the AJ/Punk fandom, back when I had a stan account on Twitter. I don’t remember most of their names now and we fizzled out pretty quickly when both parts of the ship left WWE, but I look back on that period with fondness. Those people made high school a lot easier for me. What makes your best friend your best friend? She doesn’t care whether I’m on top of the world with happiness or completely self-destructive and crying my eyes out; she has always been present. Do you have a drunk uncle? *rolls eyes* We don’t wanna open up that can of worms... Do you hear weird noises in your house at night? Nope. What is something you do that is generally more like something the opposite sex does? Based on personal experience and not to come off as sexist, but it’s liking wrestling. I have never met a girl in real life who has even the most remote interest in pro wrestling or can tell me who Hulk Hogan is. And the ones I’ve had discussions with - from shallow/casual to in-depth - have all been guys. Seeing girls who are into wrestling is like finding a rare Pokemon, at least in real life. What is the girliest thing you do, if you're a girl? Idk. What is the coolest tattoo you've ever seen? Probably the spork tattoo of Josh, a crew member from Good Mythical Morning. It’s just a line tattoo. Of a spork. On his arm. But he managed to make it so goddamn fascinating lmao; and apparently, as I learned just now, it has a pretty touching backstory to it too, which makes it a million times cooler. Have you ever created anything artistic that you're proud of? If so, what? I’ve never finished any of the crafts I bought. Never finished a coloring book page much less an entire coloring book, a painting, a gem painting...it’s something I’ll have to bring my butt to do one of these days. I can’t imagine how fulfilling it would feel. Do you only eat the middle of the oreo, if you eat oreos? I eat the whole thing but I honestly find Oreos too sweet and I’ve always much rather preferred Oreo-flavored stuff instead of the actual cookies.

Do you know anyone with a huge ego? My mom. If so, is there anything else about them you actually like? She’s fed me for 22 years and gave me an education, I guess. Though it’s something I appreciate more so than like. Have you ever used a racial slur, even jokingly? Probably as a dumb kid, when historical context wasn’t a thing to me yet. I still wince thinking about it, but I suppose what matters is being better and more responsible moving forward. Do you have any friends who are more like siblings to you? Angela and to some extent Andi.

If so, what about them do you like most? They are both understanding when it comes to me - almost to a fault. What do you like on your hotdogs, if you eat hotdogs? When you say ‘hotdogs’ here, it refers to the sausages itself. The sandwich kind of hotdog isn’t super popular here. What is everyone else in your house doing right now? My siblings are still resting in their rooms; my dad is preparing for work, I think. What is the most money you've ever had at one time? Something like P10,000 or P15,000 when my mom needed me to pay for something in cash. How long do you think it would take you to run a mile? Idk, maybe 10 minutes. I won’t be fast, that’s for sure. Look down. What do you see? My legs and the pillow I’m sitting on. What is a subject that makes you uncomfortable? Right now, probably my failed relationship. I haven’t gotten to the sharing stage yet and remotely thinking about it gets my voice all shaky. What is a subject you can talk on and on about and not get sick of it? Paramore. What kind of mood were you in most of today? It’s only 7:52 AM. My only mood so far is just woke up. Has anyone ever walked in on you naked? Yeah. Because people in this damn house never knock. Tell me an inside joke you have with someone. The word ‘ariba.’ What is the worst thing someone could do to you emotionally? Break my trust. So simple but it packs a punch. What is the worst thing you've ever done to someone emotionally? Idk if I’ve ever been that aggressive. When I want to do something destructive towards someone I always end up asking what it would feel like if the action was done to me, and it’s always been enough to sway me away from doing the thing. How do you feel now about the first person you ever dated? Sad. How about the last person (your last ex)? Same person. What is the best invention ever invented? Air conditioners.

What is something that needs to be invented? Portable air conditioners. What always makes you burp? My burps come randomly. What are you doing tomorrow? It’s my last weekend before my new job, soooooooo...I’ll be bumming around for my last two days of freedom.

#survey #surveys

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celiabowens · 4 years ago

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ramblings re Addie Larue

This is really just me rambling about stuff as it comes to my mind. Anyway, I'll put it under the cut because a) it’s long b) I don't want to be the ass*ole who spoils it for other people. Anyway I’ll warn anyone who feels like reading this mess before they encounter any spoilers. Also it’s unedited anyway because this is just me dumping my conflicted feelings somewhere lol

the good

I really liked the prose. Addie is more well written than any other Schwab book imho, some quotes are particularly stunning. I do think that sometimes this flowery language bleeds a little too much into the dialogue (honestly some conversations felt a little surreal because of it), but I don't really have significant complaints about the writing. I liked it and I think many will, plus it fits the tone of the book.

there's lgbt rep (bisexual rep) on the page and mental illness rep. I cannot speak for either case but I found both well done, at least from what I can tell.

I liked the way the book plays with the concepts of art, ideas and memory. I can't really say much more because I feel like it's best to know little beforehand, but I think there were fascinating ideas woven into the book and I liked how Schwab used this recurring theme.

I really liked the idea behind the book. I don't think this played out quite as I had imagined it would when the book was announced, but I don't necessarily mind that.

the structure is pretty neat. I wasn't a huge fan of it to be quite honest, in the sense that I would have probably preferred different developments, but I think the structure works and it works well. The fact that I didn't quite love it doesn't change that.

the not so good

the pace...is slow. Some books make it work, this didn’t quite manage to do that, imo. The middle of it drags quite a lot and I didn’t find it as captivating as the rest.

I wasn’t sold on the romance. I liked the flashbacks about Addie’s previous relationships more than the main one(s). I liked the three main characters more on their own than together and considering that Addie’s relationship with “the devil” drives the plot and her relationship with Henry is shown on page for more than half of the book this did affect my reading experience.

I just feel like this book reads younger than it should? It’s adult and there are adult themes and scenes, but the characters read younger than their age.

I understand the reason why Addie’s life is told in bits and pieces (and I won’t say why because it’s too big of a spoiler to include here), but I think its portrayal often lacked depth. Some scenes worked really well (thinking about the part regarding Remy in particular), others felt rushed and lacked that “punch in the gut” feeling that Schwab managed to get with Henry’s flashback, imho.

this is mostly a personal thing, and probably won’t disturb anyone else, but her female characters are starting to feel like the same tropes put together in different ways. While I was probably one of the few who liked Lila Bard a lot there’s just a lot of “i’m not like other girls” elements that I don’t quite vibe with, especially when the main character sort of remarks how different she is from one of her childhood’s friends (and by remark I mean kind of scorn lol).

the spoiler-y rambling (both good and bad)

I loved Henry. I’ve seen readers call him boring but personally I found his character more fascinating than Addie. I think the “plot twist” about his deal was sort of predictable, but I really liked how we got his backstory and I actually found it one of the most raw and emotional parts of the whole book.

I liked the game between Addie and Luc and how manipulative Luc is. However I do feel like advertising this as romance was somewhat misleading, because this was much closer to a Deathless type of situation than a Winternight trilogy one, to be honest.

I think the ending will be polarising and to be honest I’m on the fence about it as well. I think the structure of the book is clever and accounts for some things I wasn’t sold on (like how brief the flashbacks were), because discovering we are basically reading the book Henry has written about Addie is a game changer, but I’m not sure I liked that. I would say it’s all well done, but I wasn’t a fan of it.

I’m not quite sure how we, as readers, are supposed to feel about Addie and Henry’s relationship. Because to me it mostly felt like desperate people clinging to each other due to the similarities of their situations. Which was generally what made the romance not so compelling for me.

#gio rambles #2020 reads #book recs #book rec #i guess #the invisible life of addie larue #the invisible life of addie larue spoilers #phew phew this is a mess

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chris-evans-indian-fanfic · 5 years ago

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Across Seven Seas

Chapter 4

Description: This fanfiction series is set in the year 2022, after the horrid COVID-19 has finally come to an end. In this fanfiction, Chris Evans holidays with his family in India and meets Meera Shankar. The story explores their rollercoaster journey and raises a question, whether two people, from two contrasting backgrounds and cultures, can build their future together?

WE FINALLY FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH CHRIS IN THIS CHAPTER!

This series is Chris Evans x OFC with Chris Evans' family and friends having recurring appearances. Please find below a lot of Original Characters-

Meera Shankar - The female lead

Meera's Mother

Poppy - Meera's maternal grandmother

Rohan - Meera's elder brother who is 6 years older than her.

Ankur - Concierge of the Hotel Maple-Fawn in Mussoorie

Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3

Chapter 5

FIND MORE CHAPTERS BY CLICKING ON MY BIO

P.S- India follows only one timezone.

P.P.S- All the photographs used in the chapters are of the real locations mentioned. I clicked these photographs on my vacation.

This is a work of fiction. The names of the hotels and companies have been changed to avoid copyright issues. Meera Shankar and her family is based on the author and her kin. No offense is intended.

I don’t consent to have any of my work published or featured on any third party app, website or translated. If you are seeing this fanfiction anywhere but tumblr, it has been reposted without my permission. In that case, please do share the link and let me know.

...

Chapter 4

7th September, 1:50 pm - Dehradun-Mussoorie Road

Seated comfortably in 2 large SUVs, the Evans family was on its way to Maple-Fawn, where they were to spend the rest of their vacation in peace. While almost everyone was fast asleep, Chris was wide-awake, awestruck with the view as their cars drove on winding slopes of the mountain. His body was tired, but his eyes refused to shut, taking in every detail of the natural beauty.

When they finally reached the hotel, the cold air was cruelly nipping at them. Since Delhi had been extremely hot, they had decided to ditch the winter wear until after they reached Mussoorie. Basking in the warmth of their rooms, Chris couldn't help but marvel at the view from his room. The entire valley was sprawled beneath him, the hill-side dotted with lush green leaves.

There were mountains as far as his eyes could see, dark green set against the bright blue sky. This would be a good place to sketch, he thought, sitting on the chair in his bedroom balcony.

The rest of the day was uneventful for the family, with all of them tuckered out.

Same day, 5:30pm - Hotel Maple-Fawn

Bundled up in 2 sweaters, a jacket, skull cap and finally, a shawl to cover it all up, Meera finished her walk across the property. She now knew where the gym, yoga centre, gaming zone, library, swimming pool, dance club, spa and garden were located. She knew every exit, every corridor and passage. She was satisfied with the amount of fire extinguishers present and their ease of access. The hotel had various maps screwed into the walls, with clearly demarcated ways to the nearest exit and fire extinguishers.

Heading back to her room, she felt her phone vibrate. "Hey Ma, what happened?" she answered the call. "Where are you?" "Just taking a walk, coming back now." "YOU LEFT THE HOTEL?! ALONE?!" shouted her mother. "Ma, calm down, I did not leave the hotel. I was just taking a walk inside the hotel premises. I wanted to see their gym, swimming pool, gaming zone, spa..." "Oh okay okay, but you should have told me you are going na." "Have you checked your phone? I sent you a Whatsapp message when I left. You even received it," replied Meera. "Yes but that was a long time ago!" "It was only 20 minutes ago Ma!" said an indignant Meera, "It is not my fault that you panicked!" "I am your mother. I have every right to panic when I can't find my children." Reaching the lift to her portion of the hotel, Meera disconnected the call.

Conducting a thorough check of any premises had become somewhat of a habit for Meera. There had been too many instances where innocent people had been the victims of fires just because the building had not been upto code, or even if they were, then the people did not know where the exits were or how to use a fire extinguisher. She was not going to take any chances when it came to protecting her family.

Entering the shared bedroom, Meera's mother ran to hug her, "Where were you? Do you know how worried I was?" "Mom I had been gone for just 20 minutes. Can you please not be so clingy?" retorted Meera, dodging her mother. "I am a mother. Mothers are not clingy." "First of all," replied Meera, "A mother is a relation and being clingy is a personality trait, so yes, you can be both. And secondly, I told you where I am na, what is the need to be so hyper all the time?" "I worry Bala," her Mother said with concern, "Times are bad." "If the times are bad then..." "How is the rest of the hotel?" interrupted Poppy, ending their conversation. "It is great. They even have a small library here. Some of your favourite authors are available as well. There's Danielle Steel, Maeve Binchy and Babara Taylor Bradford." "Oo that's nice. Any books which we haven't read?" "I don't know which books you haven't read, but I will take you there whenever you want. I got this interesting book which talks about the history of Mussoorie and..." "Why is my phone hanging?" Poppy interrupted again, "Meera check and see what is wrong with my phone." Meera quietly sighed. Her grandmother had an annoying habit of interrupting people when they were talking about something she wasn't interested in. Clearing some of the junk from the phone, she handed it back to Poppy. "Aah now it's working properly," smiled Poppy.

Next day, 10am - Hotel Maple-Fawn

The restaurant where all the meals were served housed floor-to-ceiling windows which offered a beautiful view of the trees and overlooked the valley below.

The Evans family was already at the table next to the window, savoring the delicious breakfast. Scott suddenly stopped eating his omelette, his eyes squinting at something across the room. "Did you guys see that woman? She took a bowl of cornflakes and is eating them without milk! Why would she do that?" Carly and Lisa turned around while Shanna tried to crane her neck to look at the person. "Who are you talking about?" asked Shanna. "That woman in the skull cap! She's sitting at the table of 4, with 3 other people! The one who's wearing the bulky sweater and shawl!" "That's not a woman, that's a man," stated Carly, "I saw him walking around our wing yesterday. He was looking at all the fire extinguishers and the maps for some reason. I thought he worked with the hotel. What a weirdo." "I think that's a woman," contributed Lisa, "What do you think Chris?" "Not interested," came the reply.

Over the course of the next few days, members of the Evans family kept spotting the 'mystery person', either at the gaming zone, the library, restaurant or around the premises. Shanna swore she once heard the person and their voice sounded "Deep and gruff, just like a man's!" "Bullshit!" retorted Scott, "I saw her crouching on the gravel pathway yesterday. It's a she!" "Wait why was she crouching on the pathway for no reason? That is so weird!" commented Stella, Chris' 13-year-old niece. "Oh she was picking up some wrapper or plastic, I don't know I wasn't very close." "Then how are you sure it was she and not he?" argued Shanna.

The doorbell of their suite rang, putting a pause to the argument. The concierge, Ankur, was at the door. He informed them that the hotel was organising a horse-riding workshop for the next day and wanted to check if anyone would be interested to participate. "Sounds like fun," Scott wondered, "No! I cannot hear you complain about chafed thighs for the rest of the vacation," said Chris. After they politely refused, Ankur reminded Chris about the mediation program. "You have only visited one session sir, when we had you signed up for the entire duration of your stay. Did you not like the session?" "Oh no it was great. I... I just wanted to spend sometime with my family, you know?" "I understand sir. You can rejoin the program anytime you want. I will take your leave. Do let us know if there's anything we can do to serve you," and with that, Ankur left.

"I am sorry," apologized Carly, "I thought you might like the mediation program. Rishikesh is just a few hours away you know. We can go and spend the rest of our vacation there." "Please don't say that," replied Chris, "They have a nice teacher here. It's just that I have already heard and read everything that the guru was preaching. Plus it's so beautiful here. I want us to stay," Chris tried his best to sound convincing.

It wasn't that this vacation was a bad idea, the change of location and the absence of the hounding media had relieved some of the stress Chris had been facing. It was just that Chris felt like he didn't belong anywhere. Uptil now, for the better part of the vacation, he had stayed holed up in his room, either watching PicFlix or sitting in his balcony, with a blank notepad and pencil. There were days when his mind was flooded with thoughts and then there were times when he felt... numb. He sat in the cold, without a sweater or a jacket, just to feel the nip of the wind, which never really came. He felt like he was either running at top speed, or he had come to a full stop. When therapy had not worked for him, he had tried to speak to his family, but they were always supportive and just this once, just this once, he did not want them to be. He had fucked up, and he wanted a way to fix it. But how could he when he himself needed fixing?

Settling back in his room, with a glass of whisky, neat, he closed his eyes, to rewind everything that had happened, once again.

Post the COVID-19 nightmare, when the country had finally reopened and life had started to return to normalcy, Chris and his partners, Mark Kassen and Joe Kiani, had finally launched their civic engagement project A Starting Point (ASP). The launch had been successful, with Chris' devoted fans flocking to the website in the first few days. The concept had been quite simple, to get senators on one-minute videos to answer questions on topics related to education, trade policies, immigration and more. They had managed to get inputs and secure participation from politicians belonging to both the parties. It all worked fine for the first 2 months.

The third month came with its own set of issues. Many politicians started promoting their own agendas, instead of just explaining the existing policies. This led to a shortage of interview clips as Chris and his team refused to air such videos.

As time went on, politicians belonging to the same parties started giving different, contradicting information on the same topics. While some senators painted a pretty picture about a particular policy, others spoke against it. What added fuel to the fire was that the some of the news media had started reporting that Chris was causing friction in both the political parties through ASP, especially the Republican party. It also didn't help that Chris had been outspoken against the previous Republican President. Moreover, politicians who answered questions by ASP started changing their responses when they were asked the same questions by the media. They blamed Chris for somehow manipulating and changing their responses.

This had already started taking a toll on Chris' career. Award functions were reluctant to invite him to the ceremony, let alone nominate him for his roles. His box office collections had started seeing a decline. Even the media was increasingly writing negative stories about him, wondering whether America's blue-eyed hero is finally becoming the villian.

As months passed, an increased number of citizens were disgruntled by the lack of new videos and hence, lack of information on the site.

The final nail in ASP's coffin was Senator Yellowstone. One of the youngest senators to ever be elected, Senator Yellowstone was charming, intelligent and sharp. He understood the need for reforms in the governement and knew that change was inevitable in order for the country to progress. It was uncanny how Chris and Yellowstone agreed on multiple political issues. Both of them saw eye-to-eye when it came to the electoral college, voting and other issues. As a result, Yellowstone became one of the top contributors of ASP, always open to share a small video on the topics that mattered the most.

Chris would never forget the day when Yellowstone's rape scandal broke the news. He had been accused of rape and molestation by 43 teenagers. Apparently, as a part of his community outreach, Yellowstone ran a program wherein he would tutor and guide young females who would be interested to take part in politics in the near future. Chris had been impressed by the initiative and had supported Yellowstone. But, he did not know that Yellowstone was using the initiative as a front for his horrific crimes. That scandal destroyed Chris, professionally and personally. ASP finally shut down and all the studios cancelled their contracts with him. He was fired from his ongoing projects. While the court had acquitted Chris of all charges, the media still put him on trial everytime. He couldn't come to face the truth. He blamed himself for what happened to those poor girls. He could have been, should have been more careful in trusting people. But, Yellowstone's charm was such that he could charm the snake into shedding it's skin, and then sell it back to him.

Chris had publically apologized to all the victims and had discreetly offered to pay for their education. While some graciously accepted the offer, understanding that Chris had nothing to do with the scandal, a few others saw it as Chris' attempt to hide his 'alleged' involvement. They approached the media with this story and as expected, the next day his kind gesture was butchered, tainted as a 'cover-up fiasco' by the news outlets.

It had been a year since then. There were no new projects on Chris' desk. Most of the film industry was practising their distance, with only a few loyal friends sticking by his side. His social media accounts lay dormant. There were still a portion of his fans who stood by him, defending him on the internet, but there was a large number of people who even today thought he had to do something with the scandal and was to blame.

Everyday, his remorse ate him alive. Everyday, he felt himself slipping into the abyss and everyday, his motivation to try and reach out for help lessened. Everyday.

Chris' phone pulled him out of his reverie. He saw Scott's name on the screen, asking him to join the family for dinner. Chris looked at the untouched glass of whisky, deciding he was not hungry.

Not tonight.

#chris evans #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fanfiction #chrisevans #chris evans x india #angst #chris evans angst #a starting point #chris evans family #chris evans fic #chris evans fandom #oc appreciation day 2020 #OCs Are People Too

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ambitionsource · 4 years ago

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What’s your guys favourite front nine character? favourite recurring character? And Adult character? And why?

Dearest anon, you should know that the moment I showed this to Katie and Es all three of us were like “oh no” because choosing a favorite is like. So hard. It’s like pulling teeth. It feels downright impossible, especially when it comes to the front nine. And yet, and yet, we will do it anyway. Thanks for the challenge!

Katie (co-producer)

Favorite Front Nine: Farkle. Look, this was a tough call, but obviously it has to be Farkle. I love him so much it's unreal, in every universe. I think his depiction of mental illness is really real and important and relatable. I know he's kind of a villain for a little bit there (maybe more of an antihero), but he's MY antihero and that's fine! Farkle Protection Squad coalition of one! His spiral into self-hatred and eventual recovery... yeah. Very important to me. I love him!

Favorite recurring: Yindra. No one is surprised. I love Yindra. Queen of confidence! Queen of talent! If I went to AAA, I would have the biggest crush on Yindra, hands down, because she’s incredible. Someone needs to be that iconic! Plus, her dynamic with Zay and Nigel... literally incredible. Everybody put some respect on my lesbian queen.

Favorite adult: Eric. I dunno if I really need to explain why, but I will. His compassion and understanding is one of my favorite things about him, and I love the way he works through the issues he and Jack face at the school. Plus his and Jack's dynamic... iconic. Love them. (It was a tough call between the two of them but I figure more people are gonna say Jack.) And him and Isa! 🥺🥺🥺 Best counselor award when?

Esther (co-creator)

Favorite Front Nine: Since maggie got to break the rules I will too. My favourites are Dylan and Isadora. Farkle and Charlie are close behind as I love their storylines and delving into their minds and mental headspace, but Isa and Dylan are definitely at the top and have very special places in my heart. Isa I’ve been attached to since gmw in much the same way maggie has been with Lucas, as she’s the only canon female autistic representation I’ve ever had and she provided some really relatable moments for me. I clung onto her and haven’t let go since. I also just love how complex she is and how much duality exists in her, most notably with being a techie and performer, but also the fact that she’s extroverted in some ways (performing, needing friends around her) and introverted in others (pushing people away, craving space and alone time). I could write a whole essay about her but I’ll save you the time and simply say I love her very much. Dylan definitely snuck up on me as a favourite character, but it was inevitable as I’m always drawn to loveable goofballs like him. He’s just so good natured and loving, he cares so much about his friends and would do literally anything for them and I love him for that. He’s also just really funny and pure and I’m lowkey in love with him rip

Favorite recurring: This is really difficult as there are so many incredible recurring characters. Maggie, Katie and I have talked about the fact that the show could easily have like twenty main characters with how entertaining and full of potential the rest of the a class are, but alas, every episode would be at least three hours long if that were the case. In the end I think I have to go with my girl Jade. She works so hard and makes literally amazing, beautiful pieces of ART on the regular, and is overlooked so much but still keeps on going and doing what she loves. She’s also just lovely and I love her dynamics with the other characters. She’s an integral part to the techie group, and the a class as a whole. Also, when Jade speaks up about something, you know it’s serious...

Favorite adult: Eric 100%. He’s always been my favourite of the adults, and I stand by that. He’s very similar to Dylan in a lot of ways so of course I’m going to be drawn to the lovable goofball yet again. I also love how much he cares about the students and the school and how passionate he is about them going on to be the best versions of themselves they can be. As an Isa stan I also adore their dynamic, and am very excited to explore it more in s3.

Maggie (co-creator)

Favorite Front Nine: I’m gonna say upfront that I’m breaking the rules on this one. I don’t care. I can’t do it, I literally cannot choose only one front nine. The shorthand answer is Lucas, Farkle, and Dylan, but all for entirely different reasons. Farkle is my favorite character to write story-wise, as exploring his arc and his development as essentially the pseudo protagonist has been one of the best parts of this experience. He is also my favorite performer in that I know if we could watch / listen to these performances, his would always be my favorite. There’s just... a je ne sais quoi. Then LJF and Dylan are my personal favorites, but like... for opposite reasons and vibes. I almost can’t even explain it. Like anyone who knows me knows LJF is deeply rooted in my heart and has such a precedence and importance to me (and this version of him in particular is so special to me), so there’s that. But then with Dylan, who really blossomed and came out of the woodwork with AAA and S2 especially, there is just such a warmth and brightness and love to him and writing his character that makes me so happy. It feels like home in some ways, like a comfort space, and he really represents what I wish more of the world was like -- optimistic, genuine, comforting. So yeah. No I’m not crying. Anyway... I feel I should also mention that Asher was close here as well, but his pitfall is that he’s unintentionally way too similar to who I am as a person GJDKFGJLKDSH so it’s harder to look at him from an objective angle.

Favorite recurring: This is tough too because I love the A class after spending so much time with them + developing their quirks and eccentricities, but I think I’m going to go with Nigel (with Jade as a super close runner-up). Nigel just has that perfect balance of coolness and wit that I find really enjoyable, but he avoids the pitfalls that Farkle falls into in that he’s also a very genuine and grounded person. I love so many of his one-liners, and I really enjoy getting to bake a little more of him and Jade and their dynamic into the upcoming season.

Favorite adult: This one, on the other hand, is easy. Jack. Jackson Hunter all the way. I love writing him, I love reading about him, I just love him. I love that he is this sharp (but necessary) contrast to most of the tomfoolery of AAA. I love how we come at him from an angle of expecting him to be almost heartless because he’s a practical realist, but then we see how much he cares about the students and the school in his own right. I love his clash with Eric and how that develops and grows into an even and essential partnership. I love his light sarcasm, his exhaustion, how he tries to do the right thing even when it feels impossible -- but that he also isn’t perfect, and slips up or bends the rules when he really feels it’s the decision he needs to make (mainly regarding Lucas). Which of course... I love his dynamic with Lucas. They are I think the most unexpected thing to come out of writing the show for me, but I am obsessed with them. I would rank them up very high in my favorite dynamics of the whole show, they’re that important to me. And I definitely know that that contributes to why I love Jack so much. I just think he’s neat. I love the man. A fave fave fave.

#Anonymous #aaa friday #ambition quarantine 2020 #really was so so difficult... please dont think this means we don't love the ones not listed here #bc we do. this was so painful i hope y'all understand GFJDKLGDSFH #we didn't even do it right and it was painful #ask the creators #answered

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fair-fae · 5 years ago

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LFRP - Faye Covington (Balmung/Crystal)

A noblewoman who hails from the Twelveswood and the proprietress of a teahouse that lowkey doubles as an information brokering and private investigations business, Lady Covington tends to be the very picture of prim and proper with all her grace and charms. Beneath the smiles and etiquette, Faye is a dangerously ambitious young woman, manipulative and full of more ferocity than one might expect of the fair lady.

The Basics ––– –

Age: 29

Race: Hyur, Midlander/Garlean

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Hetero/demisexual

Marital Status: Engaged/Married

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Physical Appearance ––– –

Hair: White with platinum blonde highlights, long, neat, curly

Eyes: Light blue, with hints of red/pink/violet in certain lighting

Height: 5′8″

Build: Tall, soft, slender, curvy, feminine

Distinguishing Features: Pale skin, plump lips, wide nose, sultry eyes

Common Accessories: Jewelry, gloves, rapier

Personal ––– –

Profession: Teahouse proprietress, info broker, private investigator

Hobbies: Sewing, socializing, eavesdropping, studying, reading, embroidery, tea-making

Residence: The Lavender Beds

Birthplace: The Black Shroud

Relationships ––– -

Significant Other: Val Covington @its-the-val-pal

Children: None

Parents: Selene Covington and Nicolas Covington/Stanislas van Corinthius, both deceased.

Siblings: Adopted brother, Zularti Vensar (deceased). Half brothers: Aelius Corinthius, Valerius Corinthius, Atlas Castellanos.

Other Relatives: Numerous distant relatives, but none of note

Traits ––– -

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between / Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard-working / In Between / Lazy

Cultured / In Between / Uncultured

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

Additional information ––– –

Smoking Habit: None Drugs: None Alcohol: Sometimes, in moderation

RP Hooks –––

The Twelveswood - Faye was born and raised in the Black Shroud and still maintains both her home and her business within the Lavender Beds. If your character is from the Shroud or spends a lot of time there, they may have bumped into each other or may do so in the future.

Rich Bitch - Faye is a socialite from a noble family with a decent wealth. If your character is rich, nobility, or a social climber, there’s a chance they may have brushed shoulders in the past or may do so in the future.

Info Broker - Lady Covington operates an information brokering and private investigations business. If your character needs information or has some knowledge of value to offer, she is available for business!

Magic & Monsters - Faye is a practiced conjurer, aspiring red mage, and recently afflicted with a potentially Void-related... condition regarding her aether ahem she’s a vampire. Doubtless, this could interest people of a wide array of sorts and intentions.

Shroudrose Teahouse - Faye is the proprietress of a teahouse & tavern serving unique blends of tea. If your character loves tea, is looking for a place to stop in for some food and drink, or wants to strike a business deal of some sort, Shroudrose Teahouse may catch their interest. @tea-ffxiv

Imperials - Faye is the illegitimate daughter of a late Legatus... who she killed and whose legion her former free company destroyed. She has a lot of hatred for the Empire and Garleans, but has reconciled her feelings enough to befriend several deserters. If your character has ties of any sort to the Garlean Empire, there’s potential for something interesting to develop.

Random encounters or anything you can think of! Acquaintances, friends, allies, business parties, past connections, distant relatives, enemies, rivals! Some things will require some communication and my approval, but I am willing to consider anything except for romantic or sexual connections.

Click here for Faye’s carrd for her full bio and more information!

OOC Information –––

My timezone is EST/EDT. I am typically free in the evenings/night.

I am looking for something other than casual/social/tavern/slice-of-life RP. I do enjoy these, and I’m sure they’ll still happen frequently in our RP. I just have no trouble finding this sort of RP, so I’d like to shoot for the things I find less often. Give me intrigue, drama, mystery, horror, action, adventure! I will consider anything aside from romance and ERP (Faye is not interested, nor am I).

I am looking for long-term connections. I want our characters to play a recurring role in each other’s lives and stories. I want a payoff we can both enjoy for the time we invest RPing together and relationships that develop and last. We don’t have to RP daily (I don’t have that kind of free time even if I wanted to!) or even weekly, just semi-regularly and multiple times. I’m not looking for one-and-done RP’s.

I like para-RP. I tend to write a paragraph or two, but I do write more or less as appropriate to the situation, and also have some flexibility to better match my RP partner. I love detail and description without getting into purple prose. I’d love to write with folks who have similar styles.

I’m not into very lore-breaking stuff, but as you can probably tell, I don’t really RP super vanilla by-the-book stuff, either. I’m somewhere in the middleground. I like to respect the game’s canon and lore, but I’m okay with stretching things for the sake of more intriguing story and RP.

I am only looking for in-game RP right now, no Discord or tumblr RP. I am on the Balmung server, but I’m happy to visit any server of the Crystal Data Center for RP!

I’m an awkward and reserved mess of anxiety and I apologize in advance.

Contact ––– –

Send me an IM here or contact me on Discord! Destiny (Faye)#8463 @balmungrp, @mooglemeet, @crystalxivrp

#ffxiv lfrp #crystal data center #balmung rp #ffxiv rp #ffxiv balmung #balmung server #balmung #crystal data center rp #faye covington #faye #covington #lfrp #lfc

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ranmagender · 5 years ago

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Hello fellow writers! As you know im very critical of the concept of copyright. It of course has its merits to protect authors but on a corporate level it just causes the right to remix and use from the culture around us to be relegated to only companies.

So, you want to use some well known characters in your self published book or what have ya. Let me tell you some options for ya.

Let me preface this by saying im no laywer but to me it seems some characters are very vague or fluid to the point where i feel like the concept cant be copyrighted.

The Doctor from Doctor Who | Probably the most common character. The concept of man who travels in time in some box is so vague of a concept and with regeneration and amnesia being a recurring theme you can literally do whatever. Just dont use the word TARDIS as thats copyrighted. You can call the doctor something like The Wanderer or The Traveller or something and the TARDIS can be something like The Great Machine. The book series Faction Paradox by Lawrence Miles is not authorized by the BBC so he uses terms like "the Enemy" for the doctor and "the Ship" for the Tardis. I'm sure you can come up with some neat things. Go wild! As long as you sprinkle in a lot of originality you should be safe.

Sadako from Ringu | I know she has a name but the idea of a cursed tape or video where a black haired girl comes out of the tv is not a concept that can be copyrighted. Ideas cant be copyrighted after all. So just avoid the term Sadako or Samara. I'd suggest something like The Virus or The Curse or maybe your main character invents a nickname for her like Sally or something. Just avoid any names or events from Ringu but the concept you can easily use.

Wonder Woman | I mean Amazonian princess isnt something that can be copyright. Just call her The Amazon Queen or Dia or something like the concept of wonder woman wasnt even that original back in the day based a lot on female amazonian characters from back in the day. Id avoid the use of the lasso or invisible plane tho.

I think y'all get the idea. People should be allowed to remix culture and that remixing is an art in itself and deserves compensation. Im sure big companies can wipe their tears with their cash wads.

Be careful and dont mention things that are copyrighted. Mix and match for some fun times.

Remix revolution!!

#writeblr #writers #writers on tumblr #copyright #doctor who #public domain #self publishing

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direquail · 5 years ago

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An NB reading of Grace in Terminator: Dark Fate

Disclaimer:

Before I start, just want to get this out here: I’m in no way insisting that Grace *has* to be non-binary, that we’re *supposed* to read her as non-binary, or that that’s in any way what she’s “meant to be”. This is just some stuff I’ve noticed that, as someone who sits on the genderqueer/non-binary/transmasc side of things, really resonated with me. Again--read her as entirely woman-identified if that’s what you want to do or feels right to you. I am ecstatic that lesbians and wlw-identified folks have someone that they feel represented in, too. I wish I’d had more characters like her when I was growing up and felt so out of place because of my gender non-conformity.  

But I, for one, would love a non-binary or even trans reading of Grace.

So what I’d like to do instead is just lay out a couple ways someone who is NB-identified *might* connect with Grace as a nonbinary character. Starting with the obvious.

Androgyny Now, I do want to be clear that I know that gender presentation =\= gender identity. And again, obviously, people will latch onto things that they relate to in characters, and I really do believe that there’s no “one right way” to read a character. The character of Grace isn’t a real person; she’s part of a story, told by people, who had something specific to say, and her character reflects that. But from the perspective of the people who watch her, who internalize and connect with her character, there can be points of connection that have nothing to do with the author’s/creator’s intent, and so, Grace-the-character can be many things to many people. The only real way to know how a person IDs is to ask them. That’s it, that’s all. You can’t assume. But also, sometimes, people do “ping” a certain way. They give off a sort of “energy”, and for me, Grace’s energy isn’t the sort of “diaphanous femininity” that even visibly-gender-nonconforming AFAB characters are often framed to exude. Grace’s energy isn’t masculine, either. Her mannerisms don’t seem intended to read that way; rather, they seem intended to read as soldier. I’m not very skilled at breaking down movements, especially when it comes to how actors move and what it all means. It’s totally possible that a lot of what’s unique about how Grace moves is because Mackenzie Davis is, self-admittedly, not the most athletically-inclined person. Grace is long-limbed and rangy and sometimes very stiff/poised, but never stiff through the hips like a Straight Dude(TM), or heavy through the shoulders like a musclebound meathead. She takes up space, too; she’s taller than Dani and Sarah both, and the only recurring characters who are “bigger” than her throughout most of the film are Carl and the Rev-9.

To be clear: Women can be tall, and rangy, and androgynous, and take up space, and that doesn’t make them less women--unless they don’t identify that way. My point with all of the above is just observing that Grace doesn’t move like a “male action hero”—but she also doesn’t seem over-the-top feminine in the way that mainstream-y media will “compensate” for perceived unfemininity, and that’s kind of wonderful. Her stature, her physique, all of that, seem to be chosen and calibrated towards an end goal that isn’t gendered: Combat, efficacy as a warrior. Whether you want to read her as a woman or as nonbinary is largely going to be about your personal preference. This also has the effect of giving the impression that Grace is absolutely unselfconscious about her body and how it looks—and she has no reason to be, not because she looks good or bad, but because what she can do with her body is just so vastly more important, and because she’s so willing to put her body and everything it can do on the line in order to fulfill her mission (and protect Dani). If Grace has a gender, it’d be “Protector” or “Warrior”. And in a way, what makes Grace so appealing to female-identified lesbians is the same thing that makes her appealing to NB people—Her character was explicitly designed not to cater to “the male gaze”, and therefore, she also exists outside the typical gendered confines reserved for “female characters” in media. The emphasis is just slightly different: Instead of a different way of being female, NB!Grace has little to no use for those categories at all. Again, it’s all in how you want to read her. Grace comes from a future where survival and fighting take first priority, and you could project the same tired “Gender isn’t a ~problem~ in the future/after the world ends” approach that a lot of cis and hetero men take to sci-fi--but also, why? It’s tired. Give me a Grace who is preoccupied with survival, yes, who maybe doesn’t have time to think too much about this gender shit--but also, a Grace who finds that this “androgyny” (although she might not call it that) suits her, who takes to this way of moving and being in the world, this way of using her body, and identifies more with that than with being a “man” or a “woman”.  

(Sidenote: as someone who took a fair amount of Queer Studies classes, it does irk me a bit that discussions of mainstream-y speculative media seem permanently suspended between this sort of “genderblind” futurism where “identities” just don’t exist because they’re apparently not needed anymore, or copy-pasting our contemporary discourses about identity into a future that is materially very different than ours. The point of these identities is, in part, to describe our experiences, the good as well as the bad, and those experiences of gender and sexuality don’t exist in a vacuum. So, the words we use will necessarily change to accommodate that—especially in the post-apocalypse. BUT, everything that comes after us will also bear the stamp of what came before it; it’s just a matter of what the creator means to emphasize.) Augments & Body Mods This is a little dicey, because there’s some clear tension in the movie between the idea of robots = inhuman/unfeeling = bad, and humans = good/feeling. And in that light, it’s potentially problematic to (even incidentally) imply that nonbinary/gender-nonconforming = not human.

But I’d like to point out that the film does deliberately challenge any neat separation of “human” and “machine” with Carl’s evolution as a person.  And based on what I’ve read from James Cameron and Tim Miller interviews, there is some “blurring” intended between human and machine in the franchise.

In fact, Carl and Grace are foils for each other, somewhat, in the sense that they’re on opposite ends of a spectrum where human and machine become blurred, and I love that. As a genderqueer person with a very fluid experience, it appeals to me on a deep level because you could spend literally forever breaking down where does one “gender” end and another begin--emotionally, socially, spiritually, and physically.  

So the fact that there’s (1) no hard binary between human and machine (it’s explicitly subverted), and (2) we’re given multiple points of inflection, especially if you count Sarah and the Rev-9--alleviates a lot of the tension I’d feel otherwise in mentioning this. But I don’t think this is something that should be allegorical or a direct comparison; I think that it operates best on a metaphorical or theoretical level.  

And just, it’s the whole vaguely-cyberpunk idea of modifying your own body, not in a mass-produced or manufactured sense, but in this organic and highly individual sense, born out of contingency and necessity, that makes Grace’s Augments so meaningful. It’s one of the things that makes her read as human, too, because it feels more in line with our tendency to stick ink, steel, bone, what have you, through our skins whenever we get the chance--as opposed to some kind of symbolic dehumanization by “becoming a machine”.

Grace routinely refuses to categorize herself in anything other than the most general terms, or explain the details of her Augments, and she seems very protective of them. Rather than seeming ashamed, this refusal reads a lot like the popular queer identity explanation “not gay as in happy, but queer as in “fuck you’”. Her Augments are part of her, and part of her humanity; she volunteered for them, she owns them, and is even protective of them, viewing CBP’s invasive examination of her Augments as a kind of violation of her bodily autonomy. They’re clearly complicated for her, but they’re anything but depersonalized.

And going even further, the reason why she volunteered for them is so that she can defend humanity--and also someone she loves (Dani). They’re an extension of her sense of family, loyalty, love, and willingness to sacrifice.

And I don’t know for sure, but I imagine that Grace is basically one-of-a-kind, even among other Augments, if only because those Augmentations seem to be performed with the tech that’s on hand--salvaged Legion tech, by the sound of it, at least to start with. So the outcome depends on the parts available, the complexity and maturity of the Augmentation technology and process, and the skill & experience of the surgeons, all of which would vary over time.  

And honestly? If that doesn’t qualify as “beyond the binary”, I don’t know what does.

Some other general observations:

- Grace’s short hair is a constant throughout the post-Judgement Day scenes. As someone who started wearing their hair short as a preteen and hasn’t had hair to my shoulders since age 12, that does seem significant.

- Grace only introduces herself by name after Diego shouts “HEY LADY” in the factory before dropping an engine block on the Rev-9. Granted, most women don’t like to be addressed as “HEY LADY”, either, but it stood out to me, especially because she refused to give her name only a couple of minutes before that. Either way you read it, the line feels like it expresses some level of discomfort with or objection to that gendered statement. Maybe she finds that particular reference annoying or even offensive, but also, maybe she doesn’t really identify as a woman. She’s just... Grace.

- there were multiple times I mistook the back of her tank top for the back of a binder, even though she clearly was not binding.

- she constantly steals mens’ clothes--partly because she’s too tall for a lot of womens’ clothes around her, partly out of utility (like at the factory and CBP, where a lot of the guards are men). But also, it pleases the genderfucking queer in me quite a bit. And, I should note, when she had the option to take a female guard’s clothes at the CBP facility... she didn’t.

But ultimately, when I look at Grace, I see someone whose gender is “Warrior” or “Soldier”. And it’s so wonderful to see that so purely represented on a character we’re meant to perceive as female. So, please believe me when I say I don’t want to “take away” what Grace means for other people.  And, for the record, I do mostly default to using she/her pronouns for Grace, because that’s how she’s canonically referred to. But just for fun--try this on for size: Using “they/them” pronouns for Grace. They (Grace) came back in time to protect Dani. It rolls off the tongue, right? It feels nice. Let’s re-try a couple of sentences from above:  

- “multiple times I mistook the back of their tank top for the back of a binder, even though they clearly weren’t binding”  

- “Grace’s Augments are about their ability to be a soldier. They were Augmented in order to hunt Terminators... Everything else is secondary to that, and their mission to protect Dani”

- “Grace only introduces themself by name after Diego shouts “HEY LADY” in the factory before dropping an engine block on the Rev-9 ... Maybe they find that particular reference annoying or even offensive, but also, maybe they don’t really identify as a woman. They’re just... Grace.”

And finally:  

Can you imagine the poor sod who tried to make fun of Grace for having a “girly” name? lmao rip

#terminator dark fate #tdf grace #meta #mine

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