#I think the movie arc will help that possibly I dunno I hardly know a thing about the manga

[chamomilecamille]

Ai is a really interesting character to me and it’s been hard to get her out of my mind the past day or two. I think there’s a few reasons for that. One is the twisted industry she’s in-- it’s really fucked up. But the other is her lies. That she lies to everyone and never fully felt love until her kids. It makes me wonder-- she lied so hard, she gave it her all, and like she says, is that its own sorta fucked up form of love? She didn’t really feel all of it and it makes me wonder where the lies ended and the real part showed. Was she even genuine with her kids or was she partly being the shining mother she thought they deserved? At one point it’s said by herself when she’s young that she’s a people-hater and I wonder if that continues further on. She tries her best to love her fans even though she doesn’t feel an ounce, supposedly. But even when stabbed she didn’t curse him out or anything, she remembered and still wanted to love the guy that literally just put a hole in her. Her lying, and so desperately wanting to love is something, in a sorta twisted way, that reminds me of my own aromanticism. I feel love, I know that much, but I don’t feel romantic love and I think she sorta struck a chord with me in that regard. I know a good amount of aromantics who very much want to feel love and feel like they’re broken from it, and of course there can be twisted scernarios where people lie their way into relationships to make others happy or to hope they finally feel something. I think that’s another part of what fascinates me. It’s hard for me to get a solid grasp on her character because I can’t tell what she’s like-- I can’t tell what are lies and what aren’t. Does she actually like being friendly with people? With Miyako and the president? She must to some extent, right? Or maybe that part’s a lie too. She’s really hard to get a grasp on. Also that she’s dead. She dies loving her kids, being right there with them and finally being able to say “I love you” without lying. Maybe that’s just my attachment to motherly characters. When she’s at the hospital, not thinking she’s recognised, it’s noted that she’s a bit more straightforward and silly than she is on-screen, which it can be assumed she’s being somewhat real there but it really makes me wonder if she was putting on a face there too, even if it was a different one. Her eyes fascinate me and it makes me wonder if the stars in her eyes symbolize her lies. I think another part is that the idea that she might be toxic. I don’t think she’d want to be, but lying that much about who you are and everything 24/7 without meaning an ounce surely means some manipulation and stuff like that, right? I dunno that dark part of her really draws me to her too. tl;dr I dunno Ai’s really interesting to me because I have a hard time getting a good grasp on her character and she has a supposedly venomous side too. It makes me wonder what kind of person she truly is.

[imma-lil-teapot]

TMNT 2003/2k3 Headcanon: Crying - (Leonardo)

Feel free to scroll past this first part if you’re not interested in my silly rambling and nonsense. I won’t mind. Promise. ;)

Okey-dokey then, with the global epidemic that is the Coronavirus well in action and most of the world stuck in lockdown (starting this Friday for us too), felt like getting the ‘ol creative juices flowing with a little headcanon-y thingy in preparation for -possibly- more fandom writings to keep myself busy during the house arrest (well... it kinda is!) and hopefully my mind off all the bad news. :( 

Also, this is totally my first one on the blog! WOOT! Please bear in mind that I’m SUPER rusty! Haven’t written in ages so there are bound to be typos and all matter of general errors scattered throughout the post. Don’t pet them! They bite!  

Anyhoo~ Despite attempting to create and share with the goal in mind to uplift spirits, I decided to start on a rather upsetting subject (PLEASE DON’T LEAVE! They end on happy notes ;) ) because, Imma just come and say it, I enjoy seeing my favourite characters shed tears (not for just any old reason -their personality plays a huge role in this- and CERTAINLY not for sadistic reasons, land sakes no! But... well, you’ll see~ ;) ) It makes me all gooey and fuzzy inside to see them display such raw emotion and I just wanna leap into the TV screen to hug and console them. I dunno why. Maybe I’m nuts like that. (Remembers Raph crying at the farm when Leo was badly injured and wishes she could just hug them all and take away the pain) Oh well, if you enjoy visualizing the same, then *High Fives*. :)

So yeah, if you read the title, you’ll know this is based on the 2003/2k3 series (my favs). Hope you all enjoy~ :D Grab tissues cause sad turts ahead! :’(

Jibber jabber stops here~

TURTLES~

LEONARDO - You are here

RAPHAEL

DONATELLO - Coming soon

MICHELANGELO - Coming soon

WARNING(S): Because of the subject, Angst and Hurt/Comfort will be present.

RATING: G (General)

WORD COUNT: Don’t have the foggiest.

ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD:

And apparently gifs too, so without further ado: (Completely unintentional but in actuality, totally intentional rhyming)...

TO THE HEADCANONS~~~~

~LEONARDO~

-- It’s no easy feat to make the leader in blue turn on the waterworks. Leo won’t cry for any old reason. It’s not because he has no emotions, far from it, but being the leader of a small ninja clan -who happen to be family as well- is no easy task in itself: he has a lot on his young shoulders and deals with many issues on a daily basis few his age ever have to.

-- It’s because of these reasons that Leo doesn’t cry often. One of the lesser likely to out of the four brothers. But when he does, it’s an emotionally distressing sight to behold. 

-- Leo tends to cry whenever those closest to him -namely his brothers, his father/master and truest friends- are severely injured or are in a dire situation. Remember his angry/moody arc? The thought of losing any of them causes him great pain and distress, especially if he were the cause of any of it, and when that happens, he can’t stop the dampness that forms around his eyes and soaks into his mask. 

-- He’s not fond of crying, especially in front of others, even though he fully comprehends its normalcy. He feels he needs to be everyone’s rock, their fortress of physical and emotional stability to turn to for strength when things get rough... So when the tears start to fall, he feels he can’t show them, can’t allow them to watch him crumble under the gripling weight of helplessness and anguish.

-- He frantically wipes at his eyes and desperately attempts not to sniffle, but it’s a hopeless battle, for his tears are already a steady stream. 

-- He’ll try to hide when possible, usually retreating to his room to allow the worst of the emotions to spill over before returning to the others... Though he may be in there a while: when Leo lets his emotions go, it can be just as powerful as his red-banded brother’s rage. 

-- He spares no time in making sure the coast is clear for the tears are already streaming by the time he reaches his futon, and there’s no stopping them now as he lets himself drop to his knees, only halfway onto the mattress. He purposefully leaves the room unlit, cloaking his form in the darkness. 

-- He sniffs a few times as he shuffles up against the wall, sitting upright against it, bringing his legs up and hugging them loosely and droops his head against a single knee pad. 

-- His voice desperately wishes to escape. To express its misery. But he won’t allow it to, often placing one hand over his face in a bid to quell the sadness and remain silent in the battle against his own inner turmoil. He refuses to let anyone see him in that state of utter sorrow and vulnerability.

-- He whimpers ever so slightly and coughs a few times as breathing becomes difficult. He knows this episode won’t be over any time soon. Fortunately, he keeps some tissues next to his bed for such rare occasions and tries not to blow too loudly. He thinks back to the last time he cried so hard... It’s been a while. It felt like a build up. 

-- Time has been forgotten as he’s lost in deep thought. By the time he slips a hand across his eyes, only the material of his mask is still slightly damp. He clears his nostrils a couple of times before considering whether he was ready to return to his family. He’d of course straighten up his bedding beforehand, and would also require a trip to the bathroom to wash his face. A true ninja leaves no evidence. 

-- Leo tries to put the horrifying images out of head before leaving his quarters. He doesn’t wish to be weighed down again and thus maybe cause his emotions to come out a second time. He knew someone would catch on that time. Instead, he holds his head up high, focusing on the there and now to carry him forward.  

BONUS EXTRA~

-- Failure is also one of his greatest foes. Leo despises it, but not in the irrational sense; he fully comprehends that in order to grow, one has to lose in order to learn and thus, succeed in turn, and while it can frustrate him when he’s unsuccessful at mastering a martial arts technique for example, he understanders it’s part of the process and that no one’s perfect. 

-- It’s when his slipups could spell casualties or death to his family and/or friends is when it weighs down on him like a boulder strapped to his shell. 

-- A really big one. 

-- And it hurts. So much so that it causes him to become despondent and often teary-eyed when no one’s looking.

-- Boi Bloo might also cry from especially sad movie scenes. He gets seriously into the story, and when the scene is just right -perfect music, perfect timing etc.- you may just catch Fearless with watery eyes. 

-- He can’t help it. After all, he’s a leader, and very caring and kind-hearted individual, so movies showing children or anyone/anything defenceless getting hurt has him not only visibly upset, but also angry at the cause. He’s a softie like that. 

-- He won’t have a meltdown, of course, but the tears are definitely there. Just don’t tease him too much; he’s easily embarrassed by it. ;) 

BONUS EXTRA EXTRA FEMALE READER OR S/O EDITION~ (Can also use an OC/FC insert if you wish, up to you)

You had figured something was up by the time you’d finished greeting everyone in the Splinterson household except for the Turtle you’d long to see most and he hadn’t made his presence yet known. 

The idea that he must’ve been practicing or meditating swiftly vanished when Mikey told you he’d been in his room in the dark for the past few hours. “The guy hardly ever naps, and even so, never this long.” He’d told you. “I dunno, (Y/N), we were about to check on ‘im when you arrived, but maybe you should be the one to. Think he’d really appreciate it.” And there was absolutely no argument from your side as you were already making your way up to the room.

You didn’t know what to expect as you neared the doorway. Could he possibly still just be sleeping? Meditating in the dark instead of his usual spot by the training area? Or... was he sick? The latter now had you concerned and you picked up your pace... Only to pause mid step when an unmistakable sound reached your ears: a sniffle.

Had it come from within his room? It was the only logical explanation as everyone else was downstairs. You were truly perturbed now as you stood outside the doorway and called out the ‘eldest’ Turtle’s name.

There was some shuffling to be heard but you were unable to tell for sure what he was doing -probably trying to neaten up his bed- “(Y/N)? Just a second, okay?” he responded in a rather awkward verging on frantic tone, and you were certain you heard another sniffle escape him. 

That, along with the way he’d replied really didn’t help to put your mind at ease. “Leo, are you alright?” Nor was the pitch blackness in which he remained concealed in.

“Yeah, just... l-looking for something.” There was some more shuffling as if to prove his point, but you were having none of it.

“Then maybe this,” you began, turning around to flick the light switch, “will help?”

“No! Wait!” But it was a split second too late for as soon the brightness illuminated the entire room, you had caught the telltale signs of an emotional meltdown in progress plastered on his face before he quickly turned away and briskly wiped an arm across his face, attempting to hide the shame... or perhaps embarrassment? 

“Leo...?” your heart and voice softened, “Hey, what’s wrong?” You automatically walked to him, closing the gap he was now trying to form. 

“Nothing,” he lied, and acknowledged it was a fruitless attempt but still couldn’t stop himself. Autopilot panic mode was enabled now. “It’s nothing.” 

Unfortunately for him, autopilot mother hen mode was activated for you as you reached with both hands to his carapace and shoulder, gently turning him to face you. “I can see that it’s something.” Your words were gentle, and you wanted nothing more than to take away his pain. “Look at me, Honey.” His body was turned but his head remained to the side. It was clear he didn’t want his obvious distress on display, even to you. “Please, Leo?” You tried again, and slowly but surely, his eyes met yours, and you felt your heart sink further.

The fabric of his mask was wet and eyes were still red with fresh tears that threatened to fall. He appeared so broken and helpless as he stared at you, and even though he uttered no words, you could practically hear him despairingly ask “Is this what you wanted? To see me at my lowest?” from his expression alone. 

Never had you witnessed the leader of this band of mutant brothers cry. At times you had wondered if he ever did, and yet here he was; the incredible pillar of strength and dignity you had come to know and adore, in tears and so dejected that you couldn’t stop your own eyes from becoming damp the more you gazed at him. “Oh, Sweety...” You whispered as you felt your soul shatter. It was too much to bear. You slowly wrapped your arms around him, one around the midsection and the other over his shoulder, and buried your face into his leathery neck, offering every ounce of comfort you could muster.

It didn’t take him long at all to sink into the embrace and return the action. Beyond the point of concerning himself with showing the pain he felt -or the wetness now soaking into your shoulder when he placed his forehead against it- he sniffed and finally allowed the tears to fall once again as fresh waves of emotion surged throughout his body.

And this time, he couldn’t keep the whimpering to himself.

“Shh~ It’s okay, it’s okay,” you soothed, lightly patting and rubbing along the scutes of his shell as he weakly sobbed, finally letting go of all the sadness that gripped him. 

You weren’t even aware of what was wrong, and you most likely wouldn’t find out til later once he calmed down, but right now, he just needed you to hold him. Hold him until the hurt was gone... And so you would. 

AND THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE!

ALL THE FEELS!! I EMBARRASS!!

OMGosh, this turned into a monster! The mother of all HCs!! :O No seriously, this wasn’t meant to be this long! I was suppose to squish all four into one itty bitty little post, but then it just grew... and grew... and GREW! Personally, I blame the Reader Bonus but I’d be damned if I didn’t enjoy writing it! ;P You guys here on Tumblr got me slightly addicted to them and have wanted to attempt some myself so... Anyhoo~ I can’t really say if I’m entirely content with the whole thing, I dunno. I feel some parts are better than others (writing style-wise) but yeah, I really need to get back into the swing of things...

Speaking of which, I DO plan on adding my two cents on the other bois as well, but judging by how this one turned out, they’ll most likely all be this length, more or less, so each Turt will get his own post so I can really jot down those details with all the freedom in the world! That being said, I can’t say when they’ll be added but hopefully soon-ish. :) Raph's next on the list!

Thank you all so much for the read and hope you enjoyed~ :D

~Drag0n Mistr3ss’ Random Fandoms*

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Doctor Strange (2016)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

No.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Two (16.66% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Ten.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

A mediocre story that mostly relies on its special effects in order to appear interesting.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

The only time that Christine and The Ancient One share the screen is when the latter is unconscious and dying, so the failure here is particularly unsurprising. For that matter, you could even argue that ‘The Ancient One’ isn’t much of a name for a named character to have...

Female characters:

The Ancient One.

Christine Palmer.

Male characters:

Kaecilius.

Stephen Strange.

Billy.

Nicodemus West.

Etienne.

Jonathan Pangborn.

Mordo.

Wong.

Daniel Drumm.

Dormammu.

OTHER NOTES:

Kaecilius produces two blades simultaneously for the beheading of the librarian, but the head is removed in a single slice, which means that one of those blades was being waved around purely for the Cool Points of dual-wielding. All about that aesthetic.

Someone sure did enjoy Inception, huh?

Remember that thing about how Iron Man balanced Tony Stark’s initial self-absorbed asshole behaviour really well with his journey to heroism in order to make him palatable enough to watch in the first place? Strange categorically does not get that treatment. He’s just an egotistical jerk who is tedious to watch, and while his arrogance is variously addressed by other characters, him going through an emotionally redemptive process is presumed by the script rather than actually being included.

If they really, really wanted Benedict Cumberbatch for this role, I feel like they should have just allowed him to be a British doctor living and working in the States. The guy cannot do accents.

My sister saw them filming the scenes in the streets of Kathmandu. Small world.

I understand that The Ancient One was an Asian man in the comics, and while I applaud the decision to make the character female in this film (especially considering that the only other significant female character is the awkwardly-included personality-lite love interest Christine), they shoulda done it without the white-washing. Tilda Swinton is great, though.

...Mister Doctor.

in an altogether lacklustre film, The Ancient One’s final moments are a highlight.

Also a highlight: the reverse destruction in Hong Kong, a much better use of the bountiful reliance on special effects in this movie, where so much of it previously had been empty spectacle.

So, let’s talk a bit about that well-known writing rule: Show, Don’t Tell. 

While this movie certainly does a lot of showing in the showy sense of the word - the frequently-empty spectacle of special effects as mentioned above - that’s not the type of show from whence story comes, and it leaves the thin plot to be almost exclusively told, without active support in the content of the film. Having characters charge around in the mirror universe doing weird spatial warping shit may be visually entertaining enough to hold the audience’s interest (at least the first time around), but it doesn’t help us to comprehend any aspect of the plot, its rules, what drives it, what matters, etc. It’s just...empty spectacle. Doctor Strange doesn’t pretend to be complex or deep storytelling outside of that anyway, and that’s ok insofar as there’s no reason it has to be or even should be, but what it is, when you set that spectacle aside, is...kinda nothing?

The game of ‘recount the plot as simplistically as possible’ goes like so: arrogant doctor suffers a seemingly incurable injury, searches for a cure anyway, finds a temple of the mystical arts, learns some mystical arts, fights some rival magicians, thwarts their evil plot, the end. As I’ve noted before, the ability to distill a plot to its simplest form is not in itself proof that the plot is somehow bad or lacking; the question is what does the actual film do to make that simplistic plot work for it? When the answer is ‘...kinda nothing?’, that’s a bad sign, and particularly unfortunate here because the whole mystical arts and magicians and the freakin’ multiverse thing has no excuse for being this boring. As a simplified plot, Doctor Strange still sounds like it could be intriguing, it’s brimming with potential, and yet the only thing it exploits that potential for is an excuse to over-indulge in special effects. It’s a waste of story ideas, to start with, and considering the cast, a waste of actors, too. If you’re not gonna make the most of their skills, you might as well cast a horde of unknowns and save the casting portion of the budget for, I dunno, another gravity-defying skyscraper battle?

It should come as no shock at this point that I’m about to make this about the greatest resource of any story: the characters, both because that’s what I always do, and because damn, did they forget about characterisation being, y’know, a thing you actually have to write into the script? You can cast the greatest actors in the world if you want, and they’ll do their best to make a symphony out of the single note you give them to work with, but even then all they can do is make thin material look its best; they can’t magically generate story action and development in the places where their characterisation should have been. Let’s talk about Kaecilius as an example, because as the plot’s antagonist, he’s the most egregious of the lot: why is Kaecilius the villain? The part where he’s positioned opposite the protagonist characters and their ethos is an indicator, yeah, but why is he there, doing what he’s doing, what are his motivations? The basic answer is that he wants to bring Dormammu and the power of the dark dimension to Earth because he thinks it will bring peace and life everlasting. How do we know he wants that? We’re told so in the dialogue. Why does Kaecilius think this is a good idea? Don’t know. Turns out Dormammu’s bad news, but we don’t know how or why Kaecilius was misled on the subject. Power from the dark dimension is apparently bad news too - we know because we are told so in the dialogue - but why exactly this is and what the consequences are is unclear. We don’t have the information we need in order to understand why Kaecilius turned so severely, why certain rules exist or why they are being broken; everything we know, we know because it’s delivered to us in plain speech, not because we see it demonstrated in the events of the film, and considering that the core of the conflict seems to have come from distrust in The Ancient One’s teachings, it’s pretty ironic that the narrative then expects the audience to know or believe the truth in anything that she or her acolytes utters. If we were shown the truth of it, or at least shown the reasons to doubt or contemplate alternatives, we might be able to build a story out of this, but instead, we get ‘fuck you, it’s like this coz we said so. He has metallic purple eyeliner, isn’t that enough?’

This lack of character building spills out to impact the rest of the characters too, naturally; the criminally-underused Mordo suffers especially as a result, since everything from his reason for coming to Kamar Taj, to his supposed rigid outlook on life, to his disillusionment with the cause, all relies on the audience simply shrugging off the idea of being shown the evidence in behaviour, the influence of the past, how it shapes his perspective in the present, etc, just forgoing anything that could be considered characterisation (and therefore, fodder for character development), and settle for ‘he’s like this: we know because another character said so’. Functionally, Mordo is hardly a character at all, he’s just The Other Guy that Strange sometimes interacts with, and big revelatory moments for him - Strange outing The Ancient One’s use of dark dimension power, Mordo grappling with his shaken faith - fall flat because we haven’t seen why this should matter, why Mordo can’t bring himself to see shades of grey in a situation, why The Ancient One has kept these secrets in the first place etc. The Ancient One herself fairs only marginally better as a character because the only thing we know about her (mostly because we’re told) is that she’s secretive; that said, ‘she’s secretive’ doesn’t work all that well as a sneaky way to avoid actually fleshing out a character, and the fact that instead of having any more meaningful secret revealed other than her power usage (which, again, isn’t that meaningful really because we aren’t shown a genuine reason to attribute it meaning, we just know that the characters are saying upset words about it), The Ancient One simply dies without ever becoming less enigmatic, means that we’re still left with more of a shell of a character than a real one, just the concept of a person, not an actual person with motivations and decisions we are privy to or could understand (and therefore, could judge or attribute meaning).

Strange, at least, is shown to be an arrogant jackass, but, as noted, that personality template is presented in a very cliche manner that - in the context of the MCU - reads much like a Tony Stark knock-off, only without any of the character nuance or developmental arc to pull it off in a palatable or entertaining fashion, and part of that problem is the fact that while Strange’s initial personality is shown, his process of change is...not. Like anything else in the film that should have been dynamic, it’s told to us in words more that it is demonstrated in actions. The earlier portion of the film is somewhat slow and low on intrigue or tension due to the fact that Strange doesn’t know the extent of the world he has become involved with, and he’s wholly occupied with his quest for a cure (though, frustration with his progress or with the fact that none of his training seems relevant to it is pretty light-on, as are any moments of struggle with his own self-interest vs the greater good - Strange’s hands are just a means to an end so that he has a reason to find Kamar Taj, rather than a sustained part of his struggles on a physical, mental, or emotional level). As soon as Strange learns that there’s a bigger battle out there, Kaecilius attacks (very convenient timing), and the story changes gears to launch headlong into its final act, with only time for The Ancient One to tell Strange that this is not about him (though, again, his self-interest has not remained centralised enough nor created continued strife necessary to make this declaration seem revelatory) before Strange is faced with either playing the game, or letting Kaecilius bring Dormammu and end the world. As such, Strange deciding that endless dark dimension torment is a bad thing isn’t really a big forward step (or even a selfless one - he could still be 100% focused on returning to his old life and leaving the multiverse to the pros, he just obviously can’t achieve his own self-interest with Dormammu around). Technically, we never see proof that Strange has given up his old ways, bettered himself as a person, or made any kind of decision that isn’t about his own ego (sticking around to become a universe-saving time-lord sorcerer is, um, a distinct step up the power trip ladder, after all). The idea that this character has actually gone through anything more than a career shift is just kinda assumed, rather than being demonstrated, and consequently, the idea that this is a character worth rooting for now is also, just assumed.

Ultimately, the moral of the story is pretty obvious - ‘show, don’t tell’ doesn’t have to mean ‘never provide exposition to explain anything’, but it does mean that you should try to demonstrate essential things like worldbuilding and characterisation as often as possible, if for no other reason than because letting your audience see that something is so is much more engaging and powerful than just telling them how it is. If all you’re gonna do is tell, you might as well just stick with reciting the plot aloud, it’d be cheaper and less time-consuming, and while it wouldn’t really take advantage of the fact that film is a visual medium, just churning out a bunch of special effects shenanigans without a plot to underpin them doesn’t take as much advantage of that as you might think, either. Imagine what an interesting, dark, twisty film we could have made out of this story if, say, questioning The Ancient One’s teachings (or cleaving to them unflinchingly) had been made a prominent concept, so that rifts in trust and the shaking of core beliefs about the universe were more meaningful developments? Imagine if Dormammu was a more significant idea about which we heard conflicting information from unreliable sources, imagine if we could see how tantalising Kaecilius’ perspective was, if Strange struggled at all with who to believe and how to reconcile his ego with the smallness of his existence in the vast multiverse, etc, etc. Imagine if the plot had some sort of core concept instead of just empty spectacle and placeholder characters. Imagine. What a waste.

[tigerwriter]

For the OC profile thing, Leif and Cai!

((Replacing “phobias” with “fears” because I think the later is what the question meant, and I get nitpicky about that =P ))

Full Name: Leif JadeGender and Sexuality: Homosexual MalePronouns: He/himEthnicity/Species: Corvid human, probably has some Courdonian in him as wellBirthplace and Birthdate: Raylier, Corvus, September 28th 1288

Guilty PleasuresSee, Leif has no ability to keep the things he likes secret, soooo

FearsLosing people he’s close to, both by outside forces and by his own mistakes, the Killing Curse, some of his family members to some extent (it usually gets nommed by the anger but it doesn’t change that he’s kind of afraid of them coming into his life and ruining everything)

What They Would Be Famous ForBeing an archmage is pretty rare. He also summoned a dragon at the Bloody Coronation, has been involved with a number of magical crises in Medieville and Corvus, essentially writes all the spellwork for undoing Courdonain conditioning, and possibly writes other texts about magic (I imagine he would like to put together a compendium on mirror magic, with Elin’s help, since he had such a hard time finding information to help Elin) (he might also write a general text about all the weird magical shit he’s run across for funsies. It’s a shame you don’t keep a journal, Leif)

What They Would Get Arrested ForThere was that time he was almost caught breaking into the Keep.... If he used some spell at the wrong place at the wrong time - likely trying to help someone, but, time and place, Leif - he could maybe be hauled off by some authorities >.>

OC You Ship Them WithNot my OC, but his canon boyfriend/husband Kirin

OC Most Likely To Murder ThemWell, Bastien gave it a good shot...

Favorite Movie/Book GenreDoes it have birds? Leif will read/watch it =D

Least Favorite Movie/Book ClicheInaccurate bird facts and omg don’t use red-tailed hawk noises for all birds of prey, and I imagine he’d not be fond of “nerd-fixing” storylines.

Talents and/or Powers:Archmage. Knows ALL THE THINGS about birds, and a lot about magic as well. Good at being a nerd.

Why Someone Might Love ThemLeif’s got a good heart, under all the scowling and sniping. He cares a lot for his friends and loved ones and will do just about anything for them, whether that’s providing them with some material good, using his magic, or trying to guardhawk them from danger. He’s very passionate about his interests, and his rambles about magic and birds can be entertaining if one has the patience to indulge him. As someone who didn’t know much compassion growing up, he’s sensitive to those who need it now and, while sometimes clumsy in his technique, he does try to understand and help people who are having a hard time.

Why Someone Might Hate Them He’s a noble and not always entirely aware of or fully-appreciative of what his social status gives/has given him; he’s gotten somewhat better since making friends who are non-nobles, and he’s willing to share whenever he realizes someone needs something, buuuut I could see someone who’s had a hard time just getting by getting annoyed with his complaints, especially regarding his childhood. Like “yeah you had this noise thing but at you always had food and shelter.” And while I don’t think Leif’s estranged family members really know him well enough to hate him or kind of recognize they were at fault for some of the strain, there are a few that definitely don’t like him because of years spent with Leif being bitter, easily-provoked, extremely antisocial, and with apparently no desire to be friends with any of them. He’s definitely seen as vexingly immature in some ways, and negligent of his duties as a noble.

How They ChangeLeif’s entire mainstory arc was basically “Leif learns not to be a jerk to everyone and that people won’t all be jerks to him, also”, which was quite the change. He also gets some chill later in life thanks to his ultra-chill husband.

Why You Love ThemA bird-loving, snarky, socially-awkward nerd with a found family and fun magical powers? What’s not to love?

Full Name: Cai ShaharGender and Sexuality: Male, and straight...I think? I could also see him being demisexual.Pronouns: He/himEthnicity/Species: Human. His ethnicity, though, is totally up in the air. I initially headcanoned he might have some Kinean in him, because that was the only place we seemed to have similar skin/hairtones for a while. But now there’re a bunch of other places where those could come from, so who knows, really? XPBirthplace and Birthdate: Seguier, Courdon, October 14th, 1281. He celebrates his birthday on August 22nd because he doesn’t actually know his birthdate, and even made just a lucky guess on the year.

Guilty PleasuresHmm...I don’t know about guilty pleasures, though I guess I could see him liking trying different kinds of foods, and that wouldn’t be something he really shares (because Cai’s bad at sharing things).

FearsLike most of my character’s Cai’s afraid of losing the people he cares about. Fun stuff \ o / He’s also definitely afraid of somehow being recognized and hauled back to Courdon; it’s not always an entirely logical fear, and he often knows that, but that doesn’t stop it from showing up.When he and Ophee’s relationship gets more serious, I imagine he has some - also not entirely logical - fears about the burns and scarring from his slave years bothering Ophelia, but dude your face is a worse mess and she likes you already. What a doof. I imagine they resolve this fairly quickly.

What They Would Be Famous ForHmm, I dunno - he’s not the only slave who’s escaped and done cool stuff, and he’s hardly the only good fireknight, but uh. If he was famous for anything, it would be one of those two, probably.

What They Would Get Arrested ForRunning away from the Armels? =D

OC You Ship Them WithNot my OC, but his canon girlfriend Ophelia!

OC Most Likely To Murder ThemValerian Armel for sure would want Cai dead if he knew he was still alive. Luckily I imagine he never finds that out.

Favorite Movie/Book GenreProbably likes a “good guys overthrowing an evil regime” plot. Animal stories are probably something he likes, too. So long as his least favorite cliche isn’t involved...

Least Favorite Movie/Book ClicheDon’t kill the animals in the animal stories! DDD8

Talents and/or PowersReally good with animals; animals seem to like him and he’s actually pretty decent at reading their body language, which helps. He has some conditioning to high heat from growing up in an iron refinery, which is helpful for a fireknight. He’s been trained as a fireknight and so has the expected weapons, combat, and phoenix-riding training one would expect. Bilingual, speaks both Low Courdonian and Kythian fluently.

Why Someone Might Love Them Dude’s been through a lot and never quite broke. He’s a loyal and competent knight, and always keeps a level head. While it can take a while for him to reveal it, and/or for others to learn to read it, Cai really does feel a lot of love for the people (and animals) he’s come to care about. He’s compassionate and wants to help people. Pretty eyes and some nice muscles don’t hurt either

Why Someone Might Hate ThemCai could soooo easily be misinterpreted as being a jerk because he’s so damn reserved so much of the time. There’s also the whole escaped slave who became a knight thing that some High Courdonians might not be fond of. Probably the bandits and such Cai’s fought and captured/murderated aren’t really his biggest fans, either.

How They ChangeCai’s...pretty stoic and srs all his life, really. He learns some self-confidence through his knight-training. Later on, he changes by opening up a little more, especially to Ophelia.

Why You Love ThemI really enjoyed making Cai have different hangups and issues from his years as a slave than had already been explored - emotional lockdown, scars he can’t hide, paranoia about people finding out where he came from… His knightly scenes are a lot of fun to write as well. Phoenix-riding knights yeah!