#also ive given up on surname

[scolek]

id need to check but i think in ! anzu sits behind adonis. so surname-wise. id want something that is both girls and stars and i think if their surname started with. ok wow tumblr does not like me switching to japanese input. started with 乙, that would fulfill the girls requirement because its most popular use case is in 乙女, otome, maiden, girl.

i got halfway through jisho.org's list of every single possible proper noun that starts with an and found only one male or unisex japanese given name, so im going with that, because im on page 50, and im dying out here. ango. which im not sure is actually a name because the only person who seems to have it is a writer whose real name was heigo. but fuck it. ango, the protagonist of the cult classic mobile game ensemble gorls

[youkaigakkou-tl]

New key visual!! 🎉🎉

Premiering on OCTOBER 8TH!! 🎉🎉

For 2 consecutive cours!! (24 eps)

🎉🎉

Full voice cast has also been revealed:

Abe Haruaki: Ryouta Oosaka

Sano Mikoto: Ryouta Suzuki

Maizuka Mamekichi: Reo Tanie

Hijita Koutarou: Taito Ban

Zashiki Beniko: Akari Kitou

Nyuudou Rensuke: Akira Takano

Utagawa Kuniko: Hana Ayasaka

Akisame Tamao: Yuki Sakakihara

Yanagida: Tomokazu Sugita

Mujina Yakumo: Takao Mitsutomi

Fuji Touya: Saku Hyuga

Renjou Yuri: Nanako Mori

Miki Rintarou: Shun Horie

Hatanaka Izuna: Ryouta Iwasaki

Principal: Jun Fukuyama

Takahashi Akira: Shouta Aoi

Yamazaki Makoto: Tomoaki Maeno

Marshmallow: Chitose Morinaga

Little man: Tetsuya Yanagihara

[moscnios]

If you are up to it and haven’t already done it. Could you pretty please write head cannons of the kid, heart, and straw hat pirates as parents. My favorite one is killer.

★ THEM AS PARENTS! headcanons ★

── featuring. sanji. zoro. kid. killer.

── cw. gn!reader. no pronouns used. no mentions of pregnancy. whole cake island and wano spoilers. me rambling again. not proofread.

── notepad. usually my limit is 3 but i added one more bcuz i felt inspired. it’s been awhile since ive written so i feel out of practice and these feel all over the place im so sorry. but i will say, i love you girl dad zoro and killer. i could talk about them forever

★ VINSMOKE SANJI ★

── unlike everyone else, sanji HAS thought about settling down and having kids. he thinks about it at least twenty times a day. every time he looks at you, he’s always thinking about your future together

── so when your twin boy and girl show up in your lives, he couldn’t be happier. he’s never been happier. life is finally coming together the both of you

── he loves your twins with all of his heart, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t want any more children. he’s already dreamed of having a big family that he can share all of his love and care with. and because he already had at least four baby names picked out

── given his own upbringing that he never ever plans to tell your children about, sanji takes his fatherly role very seriously. he does everything in his power to be better than his own father

── never will he allow any of his children to take his surname. he would prefer if they took yours or even adopted a new one altogether

── never will there be any middle child syndrome or favoritism between your kids. he loves each of them equally and does pretty well at spreading out his time with each of them, making all of them feel loved and cared for

── every night he gives everyone a long tearful good night before sending them all their separate ways like he’s never going to see them again….they’re just down the hall

── he is a very emotional father. no matter what your children do, milestone or not, he will sob. first words and steps, sobbing. finally being able to dress themselves, sobbing. nearly setting the kitchen on fire attempting to make him a birthday cake, he sobbed all day and tried to eat the inedible cake despite you telling him NOT to

── he was sick for a few weeks after that. how the cake was both overcooked and undercooked at the same time, neither of you could ever figure it out

── his favorite family activity is cooking together. he loves cooking for each of you, but there’s something about teaching your little ones all of his favorite recipes, or even learning how to make a whole new dish altogether, that warms his heart. plus seeing them all get along and work together as a team brings joyful tears to his eyes

── but he can definitely be the indulgent parent. all his kids have to do is flash him the puppy eyes and a pout and he’s a goner, leaving you to play the authoritative parent and say no

── he is also the affectionate, embarrassing, and petty dad, always smothering the little ones in hugs no matter how old they get

── they could be in their late teens and he’ll still hug them the same as he did when they were small. or he’ll embarrass them in front of their friends by yelling how much he loves them and expects them to say ‘i love you’ back OR he’s not going to let them go anywhere

★ RORONOA ZORO ★

── girl dad

── the thought of being a dad never crossed his mind. he was focused on his goal at hand, becoming the greatest swordsman. he wasn’t exactly sure having a kid would fit in that

── but he was going to have to figure it out because resting in his arms was an infant girl with the most precious cheeks

── you don’t have to worry much about your daughter, even in infancy your daughter adopted your husband’s calm and quiet nature. she even adopted his napping habits

── if he’s asleep out on the deck in the sun, she’s asleep out on the deck, either in his chest or in his lap. and no one dares to wake them, especially not after that time when usopp and sanji were arguing too loud, causing your daughter to stir in her sleep, alerting zoro immediately. in a matter of seconds, he held your baby in one hand and his unsheathed sword in the other

── nap time is a VERY serious thing

── though your daughter’s favorite place to rest is on his back. no matter how awake she may seem, the minute he wraps her in the baby wrap, she’s suddenly very sleepy

── if you’re looking for your daughter and you don’t immediately see her, don’t panic. nine times out of ten, she’s on zoro’s back napping

── she is always present during his training sessions in a little swing franky made and surprised you both with that way he can train and keep an eye on her at the same time. maybe that’s why your little girl ended up showing so much interest in swords as she grew up

── like father, like daughter. your daughter began her road to being a swordsman with zoro as her teacher. he learns from his own past failures, in guiding her to be an even better swordsman than him

── not only giving her the skills she needs to wield a blade, but also skills she will need to grow as a person

── when he is sure he has trained her well enough for them to spar, he will do so without mercy. she may lose a number of times, but to never give up is a skill he instilled in her since the beginning of her training

── and when she finally does best her father, he cannot hide just how proud he is. he’s in all dad mode

★ EUSTASS KID ★

── kid never pictured being in a stable relationship, let alone settling down and having children. he didn’t have much experience with children

── in reality, being a father scared him. it was uncharted waters. he didn’t know the first thing about being a good dad. he knew kids were a lot of work, and he didn’t know if he could handle it

── more importantly, he was worried he was going to let both you and your child down. and he couldn’t live with that

── but here he was now struggling his way through the baby and toddler stages. but through his mistakes and errors, as opposed to getting angry and giving up, like he usually does, he’s gaining patience and trying his best. that’s all anyone could ever ask for

── he becomes a natural over time. no longer needing you to intervene to keep your son from crying up a storm. if it’s taking a little longer than usual to put your son to sleep, and you offer to help, he will decline. his stubbornness and pride won’t allow him to accept your help

── if there’s one thing kid hates more than anything, it’s anyone thinking he can’t take care of his son

── it’s not uncommon to see the captain of the kid pirates to be seen around the victoria punk your son strapped to his chest

── it’s hard to take him seriously when he’s barking out orders to the crew and your excitable little one is reaching up to pinch and pull at his father’s cheeks and nose

── kid claims to not be a dad who cries, but he definitely does cry, oftentimes more than you do

── your son’s first word is definitely a swear word. kid thinks it’s hilarious seeing your son scream fuck

── as your son ages, the more he becomes just like his father. and with age comes the attitude, which does not mesh well with kid’s attitude

── never in a million years would you think you would find kid losing a loud argument to your fussy toddler son about nothing

── and it does not change. it continues to get worse as your son begins to form his own opinions. your son and kid clash even more, leading you to be the mediator between their arguments

── or at points when they stop talking altogether, you have to relay messages to the other because they refuse to be in the same room with each other

── kid wants to start your son off young when it comes to training him, wanting the little one to be hell just like him. if your son expresses interest in learning how to fight, kid is overjoyed but does not plan to take it easy on him just because they’re blood

── if your son has no interest in fighting and wants to lead a peaceful life, kid will be disappointed and it will take some time for it to get out of his system. but he ultimately will support his son’s decisions

── kid has a habit of ruffling your son’s hair or knocking heads as his way of showing affection. that’s just how it has always been since he was born. but the day your son decides to leave the ship to start the new chapter of his life is the first time they share a real hug

★ KILLER ★

── killer is prime girl dad material. king of girl dads, if you will. he’s a natural. well, he becomes a natural after he gets over his fear of holding your daughter

── he has led a complicated life up to this point. it is not something he regrets, but it is something that he worries could affect his family

── these calloused hands have killed, been stained with the blood of dozens, he had lost count. these were not the hands that should hold such a pure soul

── the first time he actually held her was in the middle of the night when she woke up crying in the middle of the night. he pondered on waking you but decided against it seeing you sound asleep. it has been a while since you had gotten a good sleep. you deserved your rest

── he had watched you countless times lull your little one back to sleep. he remembered how you did it, trying his best to keep his shaky hands still, reaching into your little’s crib, gently taking her into his arms

── who knew saying “please don’t cry” in a sweet low voice would be enough to calm her ??

── quite a sight you awoke to, seeing your husband passed out in a chair with your daughter still asleep in his arms

── it became part of his routine, every time she woke up in the middle of the night, he was going to take care of it. when she was old enough to sleep in the bed with the two of you, you better believe she took her place in the middle and kept it well into her late childhood, early teens

── they are attached at the hip. wherever she is, he is and vice versa, no matter the situation

── like the one time the kid called for an emergency meeting and killer could not find you in time so he just took your daughter with him

── everyone was on their best behavior because you had already warned them that if her first word was a swear word you would murder each of them and spread their body parts across the grand line for the sea king to feast upon

── ….they were not going to take the chances

── just your luck, your daughter inherited killer’s luscious hair. no matter what you do to it, no matter how hard you attempt to gel it down, it shoots right back up

── but killer’s got it. he does her hair most days because she prefers it that way they end up matching

── there are two things about killer that he is still very sensitive about. his appearance and his laugh, both things he tries to hide from your daughter. though it is easier to hide his appearance than his laugh

── after everything happened in wano, he was ashamed. he couldn’t bear letting her see him like this. he wanted her to remember him the way he used to look. he wasn’t ready to show her, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be ready.

── until he was ready, he allows her to place her hands on his mask and put together what she thinks he looks like.

── currently, she envisions him to be a snake monster under his mask

© MANGEKYUOU — do not copy, repost, or translate my works.

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

It’s important that the first revelation of Nissa Nissa is accompanied by some level of skepticism from Salladhor Saan and aversion on Davos’ part. It doesn’t sound right that Azor Ahai chose to sacrifice his wife for a magic sword. It shouldn’t sound right.

“A hundred days and a hundred nights he labored on the third blade, and as it glowed white-hot in the sacred fires, he summoned his wife. ‘Nissa Nissa,’ he said to her, for that was her name, ‘bare your breast, and know that I love you best of all that is in this world.’ She did this thing, why I cannot say, and Azor Ahai thrust the smoking sword through her living heart. It is said that her cry of anguish and ecstasy left a crack across the face of the moon, but her blood and her soul and her strength and her courage all went into the steel. Such is the tale of the forging of Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes.

“Now do you see my meaning? Be glad that it is just a burnt sword that His Grace pulled from that fire. Too much light can hurt the eyes, my friend, and fire burns.” Salladhor Saan finished the last grape and smacked his lips. “When do you think the king will bid us sail, good ser?”

[…] A true sword of fire, now, that would be a wonder to behold. Yet at such a cost … When he thought of Nissa Nissa, it was his own Marya he pictured, a good-natured plump woman with sagging breasts and a kindly smile, the best woman in the world. He tried to picture himself driving a sword through her, and shuddered. I am not made of the stuff of heroes, he decided. If that was the price of a magic sword, it was more than he cared to pay.

Not only does it not make sense that Nissa Nissa would agree to her husband’s request, it’s also telling how Salladhor Saan expresses relief in knowing that King Stannis didn’t actually forge Lightbringer. Because forging Lightbringer means human sacrifice. And why should one be deprived of their life, even if it’s for a magic sword? Davos is very right to be creeped out by it.

The theme of sacrifice shows up quite a bit in ASOIAF and Davos I isn’t the first or last time. The very first chapter in the series, Bran I, tackles this idea with Jon and the direwolves.

“Lord Stark,” Jon said. It was strange to hear him call Father that, so formal. Bran looked at him with desperate hope. “There are five pups,” he told Father. “Three male, two female.”

“What of it, Jon?”

“You have five trueborn children,” Jon said. “Three sons, two daughters. The direwolf is the sigil of your House. Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord.”

Bran saw his father’s face change, saw the other men exchange glances. He loved Jon with all his heart at that moment. Even at seven, Bran understood what his brother had done. The count had come right only because Jon had omitted himself. He had included the girls, included even Rickon, the baby, but not the bastard who bore the surname Snow, the name that custom decreed be given to all those in the north unlucky enough to be born with no name of their own.

Their father understood as well. “You want no pup for yourself, Jon?” he asked softly.

“The direwolf graces the banners of House Stark,” Jon pointed out. “I am no Stark, Father.”

Jon, though he may desperately desire to have his own piece of magic, would not sacrifice his siblings for it. He wouldn’t dare to deprave the girls, Arya and Sansa, of their own magic even when it might be very easy to do so. This is a pretty stark contrast (pun intended) to Azor Ahai and his Nissa Nissa. Azor Ahai’s first line of thought was to sacrifice his wife whereas Jon’s was to sacrifice himself. Sure Azor Ahai got his magic sword, but Jon’s self-sacrifice is not in vain either because he later earns his own wolf, who turns out to be even more special than the rest in the pack.

Bran IV kind of alludes to the idea of self sacrifice through Old Nan’s retelling of the last hero:

So as cold and death filled the earth, the last hero determined to seek out the children, in the hopes that their ancient magics could win back what the armies of men had lost. He set out into the dead lands with a sword, a horse, a dog, and a dozen companions. For years he searched, until he despaired of ever finding the children of the forest in their secret cities. One by one his friends died, and his horse, and finally even his dog, and his sword froze so hard the blade snapped when he tried to use it. And the Others smelled the hot blood in him, and came silent on his trail, stalking him with packs of pale white spiders big as hounds—”

Though the one we know is called the “last hero”, notice that it’s not a title but a mere descriptor; there were many heroes before him who died and he was the last one standing. There is a human toll in this legend, but it’s implied to be self sacrifice. It’s also interesting that though there is mention of a blade, it is the children of the forest’s magic that is key. This does kind of bleed into what we know about the Night’s Watch and its relation to the long night. The Night’s Watch victory was a group effort, rather than the actions of any one man.

We have several legends surrounding the long night that work, but only one involves the cost of sacrificing someone else (that we know of). This might be where GRRM is headed with Stannis and his creation of Lightbringer. Sure Azor Ahai did get his magic sword, but it doesn’t negate the steep human cost. GRRM has lowkey confirmed that Stannis is sure to burn Shireen. And rather than this sacrifice not working, I think it’s more likely that it does work. Stannis does indeed create the flaming sword. But this will be directly weighed by other (self) sacrifices made for the same purpose. Stannis’ sacrifice of his daughter won’t work any better than other characters who choose to sacrifice themselves even when knowing that they are not going to go down as individual legends; I think Jon Snow will once again be the prime example of this, as he has already resigned himself to being a shadow in history despite initially wanting the opposite. Maester Aemon was right in saying that

[…] all deceive ourselves, when we want to believe. Melisandre most of all, I think. The sword is wrong, she has to know that … light without heat … an empty glamor … the sword is wrong, and the false light can only lead us deeper into darkness, Sam

The sword is wrong. Azor Ahai is NOT one to be emulated. Rather, he should be a cautionary tale. He is not any more special for his sacrifice than what the last hero or the men of the Night’s Watch did, even though we know his name but don’t know theirs. GRRM answered the question regarding sacrifice before he even posed it. To make someone else pay the price is flat out wrong. The only true and worthy sacrifice is really that of the self.

[meraki-yao]

This is random as fuck but I'm thinking about Henry's royal surname

So I happen to be a bit of nerd when it comes to British royalty, I literally don't have a reason for that except it's interesting to me

I actually really appreciated changing movie Henry's surname, until I found out they're real royal houses and started wondering about RWRB's history

In the book it was Mountchristen-Windsor, obviously modelled after irl royal family Mountbatten-Windsor, although Mountbatten was derived from the German Battenberg family from the Queen's husband, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, which is also an actual place in Germany. As far as I can tell Mountchristen is entirely fictional?

Book Henry mentioned having a Great Uncle who abdicated because he was a Nazi, which is irl Duke of Winsdor, Queen Elizabeth's uncle (although the reason he stated was for love), so I think? That the lineage was the same until at least that generation. But Queen Mary, Henry's grandmother said she's been serving the country for 47 years, and Princess Catherine, Henry's mother is 60 years old in 2020, born in 1960, approximately the same age as Prince Andrew, Queen E's third child. Henry was born in 1997, and Prince William was born in 1982. So the generational year gap changes there: for RWRB there's four generations, while irl there are five generations in 2020.

So a bit of math here, assuming that the Duke of Windsor's abdication is the same as the real world, which is 1936, so the lineage is the same up to 1936. The book takes place in 2020, so Queen Mary ascended to the throne in 1973, 37 years after the Duke of Windsor's abdication, a reasonable amount of years for one monarch's reign. So that monarch is where things went differently. As for how it went differently...yeah I don't fucking know my brain cells ran out.

But Movie Henry's royal family name is Hanover-Stuart, two actual houses of royalty: King James IV&I of M&G belongs to the House of Stuart (so what the fuck Nick another coincidental connection between your characters) with Anne, Queen of Britain being the last reigning monarch of the House of Stuart (after her death her cousin George of Hanover inherited the British Throne); Queen Victoria was the last reigning monarch of the House of Hanover (her children belonged to the house of her husband: the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which was later renamed Windsor during WWI). In our world, the House of Stuart went extinct in 1807, while the House of Hanover still has living members in Europe, granted no longer in direct relations to the British monarchy

So what I'm wondering if for movie verse, where the history of the British royal family changes for Henry to have this different surname:

For Hanover, it's possible that for the universe, Queen Victoria's children still bore her name of Hanover and didn't change it during the war, so the rest of the lineup to Henry kept Hanover. But I cannot for the life of me imagine where would Stuart come from given that the line broke off there

... yeah I don't know what point I'm trying to make or what conclusion I drew, but I used up an hour going down this rabbit hole. If my dad knew I was doing math for this instead of doing my calculus homework he'd kill me but whatever

Also I bet neither Casey nor Matthew actually thought this deep about such a minor thing this is how bad my rwrb brainrot is if we don't get something soon I'm gonna go stir crazy

[seriousbrat]

What are your favourite telltale signs that a fanfic was written by an american?

Some that always sticks out to me:

- Characters drinking lots of coffee

- Tea with cream instead of milk (it’s not unheard of, but it’s not your standard cup of tea)

- People mentioning hospital bills

- Being unable to write smokers casually

- Sirius is salivating for a Harley Davidson and not a Triumph

Okay honestly the tea thing in general is a BIG one. I think people don't always understand the way tea is consumed in the UK, how ingrained it is in daily life. Ive basically got a rotating cup of tea all day. Growing up in my house, even when we lived in america, someone would offer to make tea basically hourly lol. There's different situations when tea is offered in slightly different ways, different ways of making tea like builder's tea, different things that are served with tea, tea meaning 'dinner' in some regions, and these customs are hard to understand unless you've lived them.

Often Remus is portrayed as a tea fanatic because he offers tea when Harry visits him, which is always funny to me because that's just the normal thing to do when someone's visiting.

Another tea-related one I encountered once (this made me laugh a LOT and I felt a bit bad for the author) was that Lily 'woke up to the smell of tea.' This is an instance I think using coffee would have been alright lol, they obviously just replaced 'coffee' with 'tea', not realising tea doesn't really smell much when you make it and definitely doesn't waft about the house like coffee does. James would have to be holding the cup under her nose or brewing several large vats of the stuff in the same room lol

I agree with the ones you've said. In what was once the most popular jily fic in the fandom, there's a whole thing with Lily somewhat righteously trying to get James to quit smoking when, in the 70s, everyone and your nan smoked, even indoors, and Lily herself probably would have too. In a lot of Europe young people from all walks of life will casually smoke. rah where's my baccy etc

Similar to the Harley thing, there's often a lot of American music/TV/food/pop culture used. Or anachronistic stereotypically British things like everyone being into the Beatles.

THE NAMES. Characters having surnames that are very much from America's immigrant heritage, polish or german etc, like 'Schneider' and 'Kowalski' and things. First names too, this is a bit less dire but a lot of names common in the US wouldn't have been given to a child in the 60s. Specifically aristocratic characters would have a particular set of names, although pureblood conventions are obv a bit different than irl.

Another one is general drinking culture. Like I mentioned the idea of, honestly, anyone who isn't an obvious child being asked for ID in a pub is very silly haha, unless maybe in a student area. Whereas in America they'll ask everyone for ID before they let them sit down. (even my 60yr old dad has been asked lol)

in my experience Americans have a strange relationship with alcohol in general, which is both slightly puritan and enthusiastic. My theory is that this is because of prohibition (I find this very historically interesting) and they aren't as prone to casual daily drinking as Europeans, rather they tend to go all out on specific occasions. I love an American house party haha, but I don't think Americans would go for work drinks at the pub as often.

Exaggerated distances between places. Working class families having multiple cars and big houses and driving everywhere even within London. Aristocratic characters doing things they'd never do and having things they'd never have. The Blacks are often portrayed as too fantabulously wealthy imo in a very Rockerfeller New England-y way. Also they wouldn't speak French to each other lol

In general class distinctions, which are very important in the UK, are difficult to understand from an outside perspective I think.

However, I think the main tell for me is usually dialogue, SORRY THIS GOT SO LONG:

This issue, tbf, is very understandable. It's very difficult to achieve natural-sounding dialogue for dialects that you're not personally familiar with. Tbh I think it's not always easy to achieve natural-sounding dialogue in general for anyone. I've lived in America too and now have lived in a non-english speaking country for many years, mostly speaking catalan/spanish on a daily basis, so I get confused too and I use american phrases picked up either during my time there or from the internet. Anyway point is I think about/notice dialogue a lot, so here are my thoughts.

There's often overuse/misuse of slang or certain terms that can end up being amusing, like that fan film using 'a row' constantly to describe a bitter fight to the death between sworn enemies haha. Over/misuse of things like 'bloody,' 'wanker,' 'twat' lol. Understanding what types of characters would say what, and in what situations, can be tricky. 'Pants' is a common mistake because in BrE it means underpants, not trousers. 'Restroom' is also very American. 'College' meaning 'university' ditto. 'Pissed' for angry rather than 'drunk,' 'mad' also to a lesser extent-- I'd normally understand 'are you mad' as 'are you crazy.'

I saw a tumblr post once, one I thought would be a bit mean to reply to directly, in which a character jokes to Sirius about 'doing fags' because he smokes cigarettes and is in a relationship with Remus. lmao. That's a good example of someone trying to use a slang term without understanding the way it's really used. Also a good example of someone gratuitously using a slur (which is more common in America anyway) for no reason lol oh well

In general, I think since Americans are used to hollywood portrayals of British characters who mostly use something akin to RP, even authors who are diligent about BrE can end up sounding a bit stilted and a bit pride and prejudice-y with their teen characters (except with 'bloody wanker!' sprinkled in occasionally.) And this is fine, I don't think it's fair to expect perfectly natural/accurate dialogue from fanfic authors all the time, wherever they're from. But a line like "Yes, it must have been nice" might sound more natural as "Yeah, must've been nice," though it depends on the character obv.

Personally I think I overuse contractions because I find them fun (I love a cheeky 'oughtn't' or a 'mightn't.' or 'shouldn't've' lol. tbh im always saying 'ought' and 'ought not' irl but that's just me being weird.) But contractions and dropping certain words is common in informal BrE, what's tricky is that if this is misused it also sounds odd. So it's a difficult balance to get right. For instance: 'it would be nice if they had' can become 'be nice if they had' but not 'be nice if they.' or 'be nice if they'd.' This was a professionally made video game rip but there's a character in Mass Effect who talks like that, it drove me mad.

I love to think about accents and dialects and dialogue in general (which is why this got so long sorry) and imo the key is just familiarising yourself with a dialect as much as possible and making sure you hear the accent in your head as you write. Using slang terms in ways you've heard them used before, and carefully. For younger characters you'll want to watch something like the inbetweeners rather than bridgerton haha. Or something like Would I Lie To You or Taskmaster where there's a variety of panelists and therefore of accents, both series are free on youtube and are excellent!

[tothelasthoursofmylife]

Character Profiles: Cloudia's grandparents and maternal extended family

Index: Percival, Genevieve, Hortense, Edward, Cathleen, Clarissa, Constantia, Keegan, Ceara, Celeste, August, Eleanor, Isidore, Felicity, Aiden, Jonathan, Joanna

(All character ages are as of the latest chapter, or when they died. All information as of the latest chapter too.)

Navigation: Main and extras | Cloudia's grandparents and maternal extended family | Cloudia's paternal extended family (and Florentin) | Other servants and employees | Antagonists | Scotland Yard and misc.

Name: Percival Phantomhive

Nickname(s): Percy, Perce, Civi (only his sister called him that)

Birthday: 1771

Age: 52 (at time of death; 1823)

Physical description: black hair, green eyes

Affiliation: Phantomhive family

Occupation: Earl of Phantomhive; Watchdog of George III and George IV (1789-1823)

Base of Operations: Phantomhive Manor; Phantomhive townhouse

Random fact(s):

His middle name was “Glaucus.” His parents never called him by his full name, even if they were mad at him, so he never understood why they even bothered giving him a middle name.

He was a tinkerer. Maybe spending more time in the basement than outside helped him to reach his fifties? (It also helped that George III’s health was not the best and he had little interest in risking his Watchdog’s life when said Watchdog didn’t have an heir until 1804.) It was also a detriment to his family life.

He and his brother-in-law the Marquis did not get along, i.a. because Percival hesitated for years to marry his sister.

Background info: I ended up putting more thought into him than I expected. He turned out weird which I like.

First appearance: Mentioned only (First: The Lady, First Training; Chapter 10)

----

Name: Genevieve Phantomhive (née Dupont; formerly Hetherington)

Nickname(s): Nevie

Birthday: 1772

Age: 60 (at time of death; December 25, 1832)

Physical description: brown hair, green eyes

Affiliation: Phantomhive family; Hetherington family; Dupont family

Occupation: Lady of Avagon (former); Countess of Phantomhive

Base of Operations: Phantomhive Manor; Phantomhive townhouse; Château de Dupont (former); Hetherington Hall (former)

Random fact(s):

She and the Marquis are full siblings. Their father died in 1779. When their mother remarried a few years later, Genevieve took her stepfather’s surname Hetherington and received the courtesy title of “Lady of Avagon.” (Her name was originally spelled “Geneviève”; the accent was dropped when she changed her surname.)

Genevieve moved to England after her mother’s remarriage while her brother stayed in France. They still kept in close touch.

She had known Percival since they were children and was best friends with his sister.

Background info: She was named after Princess Genevieve from Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses.

First appearance: Mentioned only (First: The Business Partners, Jolly)

----

Name: Hortense Houghton

Nickname(s): she prefers to be called by her full given name

Birthday: 1785

Age: 63

Physical description: brown hair, blue-green eyes

Affiliation: Houghton family

Occupation: None

Base of Operations: Houghton Manor

Random fact(s): A very headstrong, calculating woman.

Background info: She was named after Hortense Ashton from The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.

First appearance: Mentioned only (First: The Countess, Celebrating; Chapter 7)

----

Name: Edward Houghton

Nickname(s): Ward

Birthday: 1780

Age: 40 (at the time of death; 1820)

Physical description: blond hair, dark blue eyes

Affiliation: Houghton family

Occupation: Landowner

Base of Operations: Houghton Manor

Random fact(s): He died very suddenly of a heart attack.

Background info:

He was named after Edward Ashton from The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.

His future great-great-grandson will not be named after him.

First appearance: Mentioned only (First: The Lady, Childhood)

----

Name: Cathleen Milne (née Woodward)

Nickname(s): Cathy, Cath, Cate, Leen, Leena

Birthday: March 30, 1828

Age: 20

Physical description: slightly curlydark brown hair, grey eyes; “fairy-like” appearance because of her slight/petite figure; she’s the eldest cousin but the shortest

Affiliation: Milne family; Woodward family

Occupation: Countess of Venetella

Base of Operations: Milne Manor; Milne townhouse; Woodward Manor (former); Woodward townhouse (former)

Favourite Colour: purple, light blue

Favourite Flower: dahlia, astragalus, morning glory

Favourite Dessert: all of them

What is in her bag? needles for needlework, partially finished needlework, a sack of sweets, comb, hairpins, handkerchief

Random fact(s):

She puts on a brave face, just like many others.

She knows many first and last sentences of fairy tales by heart.

Background info:

Her maiden name “Woodward” comes from Marlee Woodwork-Tames, a character from the Selection series. (I misremembered Marlee’s surname as Woodward and did not look it up again before using the surname...) Cathleen is faintly based on her, being the “sweetheart” of the cousin group, just like Marlee was during the trilogy’s Selection.

She deliberately has a name that does not end with “-a” to set her apart from the other female cousins.

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

----

Name: Clarissa Woodward

Nickname(s): Clary, Clare, Lare

Birthday: October 27, 1829

Age: 19

Physical description: brown hair, brown eyes, glasses

Affiliation: Woodward family

Occupation: None

Base of Operations: Woodward Manor; Woodward townhouse

Favourite Colour: orange

Favourite Flower: sage

Favourite Dessert: sponge cake

What is in her bag? book, glasses case, handkerchief, another handkerchief just for glasses, beeswax

Random fact(s):

Clarissa gets along very well with Thomas, as they are both very fond and knowledgeable about horses.

She’s rather sporty and athletic.

She doesn’t like it when her environment is too loud, or when there is too much distracting/annoying chatter. Neither earplugs nor earmuffs existed in the 1840s, so she sometimes stuffs (very carefully) beeswax into her ears. (Sometimes, Constantia talks to her endlessly without noticing that Clarissa put in her makeshift earplugs.)

Background info: There used to be an arc centred around a derby; Clarissa was meant to play a larger role in it. Because the arc was ultimately cut, I was very happy that I managed to have her talk about derbies in “Freebird.”

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

----

Name: Constantia Matthews

Nickname(s): Connie, Tia

Birthday: May 11, 1829

Age: 19

Physical description: blonde hair, brown eyes; a bit taller than Cloudia

Affiliation: Matthews family

Occupation: Lady of Lanchester

Base of Operations: Lanchester Manor; Matthews townhouse

Favourite Colour: yellow, pink

Favourite Flower: zinnia, periwinkle, sunflower

Favourite Dessert: chocolate cake

What is in her bag? mirror, perfume, a small cuddly toy, a handkerchief, a small pouch containing marbles, pretty stones, four-leaf clovers, etc.

Random fact(s):

She was a constant in Cloudia’s life before Simon’s death (she was the cousin Cloudia was the closest to her because they were both only children).

Constantia likes collecting random little things she finds here and there.

Background info: She was named after an old original character of mine.

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

----

Name: Keegan Morrow

Nickname(s): Kee, Ganny

Birthday: September 8, 1829

Age: 18

Physical description: reddish-blond hair, dark blue eyes

Affiliation: Morrow family

Occupation: None

Base of Operations: Morrow Manor; Morrow townhouse

Favourite Colour: green

Favourite Flower: bellflower, camellia

Favourite Dessert: barmbrack, currant bun

What is in his bag? book, handkerchief, pencil, pocket knife, some beeswax he got from Clarissa because Geoffrey Bentley has been talking to him a lot since the hunt

Random fact(s):

He’s exceptionally good at maths which he is a bit embarrassed about.

He used to eat dirt when he was little.

Background info: He was named after one of my old original characters.

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

-----

Name: Ceara Morrow

Nickname(s): Ce, Cece, Cea, Ara

Birthday: October 4, 1831

Age: 16

Physical description: red hair, light blue eyes

Affiliation: Morrow family

Occupation: None

Base of Operations: Morrow Manor; Morrow townhouse

Favourite Colour: red, blue

Favourite Flower: borage (starflower)

Favourite Dessert: Queen of Puddings

What is in her bag? hairpins, some loose music sheets, a little snack, rosin

Random fact(s):

She’s a surprisingly good musician. Her favourite instrument is the violin, but she can also play the piano, the flute, and the clarinet.

She’s a good singer too, though she does not like to sing.

Background info: Like Constantia and Keegan, Ceara also got her name from one of my old original characters.

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

----

Name: Celeste Triton

Nickname(s): Cel, Lessie

Birthday: January 16, 1830

Age: 18

Physical description: curly light brown hair, dark brown eyes

Affiliation: Triton family; Matthews family

Occupation: None

Base of Operations: Lanchester Manor; Matthews townhouse

Favourite Colour: light blue

Favourite Flower: baby’s breath

Favourite Dessert: jam roly-poly

What is in her bag? She usually does not carry anything with her as she is too sick and frail to leave the house most of the time.

Random fact(s): She inherited a lot of money from her father, making her very popular in the “marriage market.” Her poor health, however, makes people reconsider. (Her father also stipulated in his will that his wealth could only be passed to his daughter’s descendants by blood as he feared that someone might marry her and then wait until she died of an illness to get everything for himself.)

Background info:

Like Cathleen, Celeste does not have a name that ends with “-a” to set her apart; in her case, it was to indicate her adopted status.

She was named after Celeste Newsome from the Selection series, though they are nothing alike.

She got her surname from Luke Triton from the Professor Layton games. There was originally another character with that surname; after I changed the other character’s surname, I gave the name to Celeste.

Her father Ebenezer was named after Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol. Because Scrooge somewhat looks like King Charles, I named Celeste’s mother Camilla.

First appearance: The Green Ghost of Nephelius Cemetery (Part 1): The Countess, First Encounter; has not appeared in the present yet

----

Name: August Milne

Nickname(s): Gus

Birthday: February 1, 1817

Age: 31

Physical description: brown hair, green eyes

Affiliation: Milne family

Occupation: Earl of Venetella

Base of Operations: Milne Manor; Milne townhouse

Favourite Colour: green

Favourite Flower: poppy

Favourite Dessert: fruit fool

What is in his bag? gun, knife, handkerchief, a bag of sweets (for Cathleen)

Random fact(s): He was trying to get Keegan to go on a hunt with him for years. Thus, he was rather upset when he heard that “Keegan” went hunting with the Disaster Trio. Keegan and Cloudia then had to reveal everything to August and make him promise to keep it a secret.

Background info: There was a reason for the large age gap between him and Cathleen early on. However, I decided to scrap it, and I’ve been considering ageing him a bit down retroactively.

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

----

Name: Eleanor Matthews (née Houghton, formerly Cavendish)

Nickname(s): Ella, Ellie

Birthday: March 14, 1805

Age: 43

Physical description: blonde hair, dark blue eyes

Affiliation: Matthews family; Houghton family

Occupation: Duchess of Lanchester

Base of Operations: Lanchester Manor; Matthews townhouse

Random fact(s):

Isidore is her second husband. Eleanor was previously married to his cousin Harrison Cavendish (from 1825 to 1827). He died in a riding accident, but their marriage had been strained for a while beforehand because they had been unable to have any children.

She and Isidore were surprised when they managed to conceive Constantia with relative ease. They were unable to have another child though.

Background info: None.

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

----

Name: Isidore Matthews

Nickname(s): Izzy

Birthday: June 5, 1804

Age: 44

Physical description: blond hair, brown eyes, has a beard

Affiliation: Matthews family

Occupation: Duke of Lanchester

Base of Operations: Lanchester Manor; Matthews townhouse

Random fact(s):

He often writes to Cloudia, and she diligently replies. However, she has declined all his invitations to visit or meet up in the last few years.

He and Simon got along well. This did not mean that Simon was always truthful to him though.

Background info: I got his name from Isidore Lightwood, an unseen and maybe even retconned character in the Shadowhunters Chronicles.

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

----

Name: Felicity Morrow (née Houghton)

Nickname(s): Fely, Felcy

Birthday: July 18, 1808

Age: 39

Physical description: light brown hair, dark blue eyes

Affiliation: Morrow family; Houghton family

Occupation: Viscountess of Wellington

Base of Operations: Morrow Manor; Morrow townhouse

Random fact(s): She’s an art lover but has no drawing prowess. She still draws in her free time, even if her attempts are still very wonky. (Felicity never knew that her brother-in-law Simon was a painter.)

Background info: None.

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

----

Name: Aiden Morrow

Nickname(s): None

Birthday: 1808

Age: 40

Physical description: red hair, blue eyes

Affiliation: Morrow family

Occupation: Viscount of Wellington

Base of Operations: Morrow Manor; Morrow townhouse

Random fact(s): He likes hunting and began taking his son on hunts when he was small. It honed Keegan’s skills, but he never found much joy or interest in hunting. Aiden was a bit disappointed when their father-son hunting trips stopped. He has been trying to get Keegan into fishing with some success.

Background info: None.

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

----

Name: Jonathan Woodward

Nickname(s): Jon

Birthday: 1807

Age: 41

Physical description: dark brown hair, brown eyes

Affiliation: Woodward family

Occupation: Baron of Woodward

Base of Operations: Woodward Manor; Woodward townhouse

Random fact(s): Jonathan gets along the best with Aiden (out of the in-laws) although he is rather mild-mannered, and Aiden is more on the rough side.

Background info: None.

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

----

Name: Joanna Woodward

Nickname(s): Jo, Joannie

Birthday: December 13, 1811

Age: 36

Physical description: blonde hair, grey eyes

Affiliation: Woodward family

Occupation: Baroness of Woodward

Base of Operations: Woodward Manor; Woodward townhouse

Random fact(s): Her and her husband’s love story is rather “fairy tale”-like. It was the story of the Season when she debuted and is still spoken about a lot.

Background info: None.

First appearance: The Countess, Celebrating (Chapter 7)

[uneducated-author]

Hi! Your recent post about gods existing in BSD caught my attention and I felt sending this as an ask would work best for conciseness. In response to your tags, Arahabaki is actually just a singularity and not a god. [https://www.tumblr.com/originalaccountname/711614312754692096/sorry-to-bother-you-but-ive-been-getting-into-bsd?source=share] [https://www.tumblr.com/originalartblog/713410888979316736?source=share]

Also, as for other gods, I'm of the belief that Lovecraft is a god (y'know like eldritch gods) that's just able to take a human form. This is supported in that Dazai's ability doesn't nullify Lovecraft's because it isn't an ability, it's just him. This is also further supported by another theory but since there's the possibility it doesn't turn out to be the case, I won't mention it— but I will say that there is another person with god-like origins that Dazai has made contact with that his ability didn't nullify.

Lastly, there is Atsushi whose ability may be Baiho (or at least similar), the White Tiger God in Chinese mythology (called Byakko in Japan). The White Tiger that is Atsushi's ability has been repeatedly shown to be of its own sapience which is notably different from abilities like Kyouka's Demon Snow and more along the lines of Twain's Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn. (Like the times he talks to and reconciles with the Tiger)

With the movie Dead Apple, Atsushi's ability is shown to be very special and there was also the major plot point of what occurs during season two where it was explicitly stated that Atsushi's ability specifically was the key to finding the book. Heck, him being hunted by the Port Mafia in season one was because of the Guild trying to get their hands on him.

To add, his ability working phenomenally in tandem with Akutagawa's is a potential allusion to Byakko's mythology. I'll be quoting it's wikipedia for this. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Tiger_(mythology)

“As with the other three Symbols, there are seven astrological "Mansions" (positions of the Moon) within the White Tiger.” Beast Beneath the Moonlight

“In Chinese art, the white tiger often appears with the dragon. The white tiger symbolizes power and army.” Akutagawa is that dragon, which is obvious in the meaning behind his surname Ryuunosuke. The first character in his name 龍 (ryuu) means dragon because the real life author was born in the year of the dragon during the month of the dragon and the hour he was believed to be born was the hour of the dragon. His name, Ryuunosuke, literally translates to "son of the dragon". [http://yabai.com/p/4517] Whether Atsushi is like, Byakko incarnate or it's just his ability or something else, or even he straight up isn't actually a god— we don't have anything that confirms or denies it yet. Also I am sorry for rambling in your ask box, the topic of gods in BSD is something I'm rather passionate about.

First of all, this is sp incredibly interesting and I am fascinating at how my semi serious post has now given way to an actual craving for Lore (I'm trying to hunt down an edition of 15).

The whole Lovecraft thing definitely confused me and doubly so because I definitely thought (hoped) that since he's immune to Dazai he would play a larger role in the plot. I am curious though, as to whether Dazai coming into contact with Lovecraft would have any impact on his physical abilities, like limiting his speed or agility. (I suppose I am thinking a little of BNHA here. Eraserhead can't erase mutant quirks, but presumably could erase like, effects of a mutant quirk e.g: spitting acid or so) But he spends most of the fight bragging about Chuuya to Steinbeck so we don't really get to see how the two abilities would interact. It's interesting especially because Dazai CAN nullify Chuuya in corruption and Atsushi in his fully tiger state (which is a physical transformation) but has ZERO affect on Lovecraft's tentacle form.

(I'm desperately trying to think of the 'god like origin' character because I can't think of other BSD characters that Dazai's ability didn't affect... is it like Sigma or something, because he was created from the book?)

I was aware of Atsushi as Byakko, though I genuinely interpreted the 'consciousness' of the ability as moreso Atsushi's introspection, a visual way to show his personal healing and acceptance, though it's really interesting to know I was wrong! When I have time I'll have to rewatch those scenes with a fresh perspective. I was super into the Shinto belief as a kid, and it was actually how my friend persuaded me to get into BSD, and I'm loving the series so far. However, I'm honestly more familiar with the Qinglong and Baihu as the dragon of the East and tiger of the West.

(I had a very funny moment watching Dead Apple where I was insistent to my friend that 'Atsushi will definitely have to match off against the dragon, there's a lot of mythological basis' only to be proven completely wrong, though with the amazing Chuuya fight scene I couldn't be disappointed)

But I had completely missed the connection between Akutagawa and the dragon! That definitely adds a really interesting level to the dynamic between the two as members opposing forces with the matched goal.

Thank you so so so much for explaining this all in such an interesting way, it really made my day! I super appreciated it!

[nonepizzawithleftglitter]

I randomly saw your blog and its Ayala-themed mission statement, and I was greatly amused! I believe his only spoken words in the entire series were "Right here" right? (I could be misremembering) but brother was there from day one!

I suppose they never gave him a canonical given name, though I understand the Ayala (/Aiara) surname is Basque. Got any headcanons??

I'm glad I could amuse you. I actually have slacked off on the Ayala posting for a while, gotta get back to that...

He speaks a handful more words in the series. But only roughly a dozen overall, spread over four episodes. (Tbh I wasn't fully sure if that information was correct, I had to cross check with memory alpha.)

While they never gave him a name in canon, the fandom did that for them.

He is pretty much ubiquitously referred to with the first name "Mike". (Greg/Gregory/Gregor used to be common a while ago too parallel to Mike, but has since largely dropped out of use.)

Mikel/ Mixtel would be the basque form of Michael/ Mike (according to Wikipedia). But I'm not sure if it can be shortened to Mike?

And I do hope we've gotten over anglicising names by the end of the 24th century!

(In my own culture shortening names isn't really a thing anymore? If you meet someone named Mike it's likely that that is their legal name, not some variant of Michael so idk how it works.)

But anyways, it is such a deeply entrenched fandom that has existed for longer than I have been alive that I have never thought about it before you asked!

But now I definitely imagine Mikel 🙈 so thank you.

This also got me thinking: often we see new federation colonies that are largely influenced by specific cultures, such as Chakotay's home colony. (There are probably also those with a dozen different species and several dozen human subcultures.)

But it is completely possible that Ayala could be from a majority or even fully Basque colony.

It's also not totally inconceivable that another Basque man might have ended up with the last name Torres (Portuguese/ Spanish/ Katalan according to Google so not far geographically). Especially by the 24th century.

What I am saying is, what if Ayala and Torres are from the same colony? Specifically Kessik IV, B'Elanna's canon, (almost) completely human home colony.

I also have a (sorely neglected) sideblog (@the-ayala-archives) for every piece of Ayala content I can find to collect it, because tumblr search sucks. Most of it is my own stuff though because there just is not a lot out there.

Also thank you for the ask!

[cubedmango]

I’m assuming that you’ve caught up with the cm manga and if not sorry!! But I was wondering if you knew the names of kurosawa’s friends? I can’t find them anywhere or if they even have names 😭

yeah ive caught up so dw haha, his friends surnames get mentioned wayyy later in vol 10 (i think? thats the first time i could find them anyway) so ill put them below for u (spoilers ig if someone doesnt wanna know yet lol)

mr barista on the left is 志摩/Shima, guy on the right is 尾上/Onoe/Onoue (im not sure which reading is used bc i couldnt find any panels w the furigana for it, sorry!)

also absolutely do not quote me on this i have Zero Sources on this (tho ive tried looking but . checking the credits has given me a massive headache theres way too many names) but um. I Think This Is Supposed To Be Them In The Movie?? Possibly?????

[this-should-do]

Barney x Lauren for the Ship Ask Game. I know the latter hardly exists outside of pure fanon, but I gotta say that I appreciate the sheer dedication and effort put towards creating a character whose existence is near hypothetical. Yes, Barney Calhoun totally definitely had a girlfriend or spouse at some point in time prior to the ResCas (which, if you're unfamiliar with 'Lauren', this post puts it quite nicely [https://www.tumblr.com/shrimpkidd/694596732780249088/theory-about-lauren] Or, TLDR; it is most likely that Barney's to-do list in the Half Life: Blue Shift manual is referencing the surname of an established coworker [that of Otis Laurey], rather than the forename of a partner who is not mentioned anywhere else in or out of the series). Considering the speculative nature of Half-Life as a series, it's not too much of a shocker that people went hog-wild with this idea. It's cute I suppose? Not that I particularly have strong feelings on the subject matter either way. I just think it's a neat tidbit of fandom trivia, y'know? Dubious canonicity aside, I've seldom ever really seen people bring her up at all nowadays. If I could be bothered I'd love to figure out how to incorporate Lauren into my little interpretation of Half-Life, but that's for another day.

oh no shes def a canon character in my lil brain, and she and barney did date for a while, but personally i wouldnt say i ship it in the traditional sense, its kinda complex

the way ive sorta got it is that she and barney started dating in college or in the short time barney was inbetween college and working at black mesa, and into barneys time at black mesa as long distance partners, but the romantic relationship part kinda died off within a year or so at the longest, but they still remained friends afterward given that hes still making sure to get her presents n all

im havent yet solidified what exactly their relationship was like, cuz on the one hand it coukd have been a they dated genuinely but long distance killed it, but theres also the fun concept of lauren kinda using barney as a beard with or without his knowledge becuz they were already kinda friends so she knew he porbably wouldnt like freak out too bad if he knew she was queer (cuz ykno its the 90s and comin off the 80s and the aids crisis)

so in terms of shipping, i guess i dont ship it, But i do think this relationship is one thats important for barney in terms of life experience and expanding his social circle

i guess dont ship it cuz shes just a name literally and its alot harder to like develop and get attached to it lol

if she had been a character we see and meet and if there were more to develop off of the way there is for barney and gordon (since gordon is personality wise nearly blank but we get to see interactions between him and barney and hear about things theyve done together that shows a close relationship hypothetically)

in terms if positive stuff allot of it i kinda already addressed in laying the ground work to even answer this ask proper lol, she is another person in barneys social cirlce, and if shes also queer him knowing eould suplly him another person to help him to overcome his own internalized stuff, not that im saying its her job to help him bit like her queerness should he know about it is a little example that he personally knows tht he can compare his own experiences with and see live happily as she is should she come out to him, as opposed to her having to coach him thru it ykno? it as a ship is also just fun in terms of just a sweet little normal relationship if they are genuinely dating (meaning we ignore my idea of them not being in a relationship by thebtime of thebrescas) just barney being goofy and working hard to have that long distance relationship and its cute how he makes a note to remind himself to get her flowers, i dunno theyre just sweet regardless i think :)

[yeonchi]

Koei Warriors Retrospective Part 3: Dynasty Warriors 4

Dynasty Warriors 4 (真・三國無双3) Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox Release dates: Japan: 27 February 2003 (PS2)/4 September 2003 (Xbox) USA: 25 March 2003 (PS2)/30 September 2003 (Xbox) Europe: 27 June 2003 (PS2)/14 November 2003 (Xbox)

Today marks 10 years since I began the Koei Warriors Rant Series. My passion for holding Koei Tecmo to account for their business decisions, like my passion for their Warriors games, remains the same back then as it is today.

And so we come to the adolescence of Dynasty Warriors, or the maturity of the classic series, with Dynasty Warriors 4. This game would mark the genesis of the spinoffs, but that's to come next. We haven't come up to my childhood yet, but we're getting there.

This game also celebrates Koei's 25th anniversary, something which is highlighted on the Xbox releases (and not the PS2 releases for some reason despite them being released earlier that year).

So, what has changed and improved since DW3? Let's jump in and find out in Dynasty Warriors 4.

Dynasty Warriors 4

Musou Mode in this game goes back to kingdom-focused storylines. Each of the Three Kingdoms' stories consist of 6 acts of (on average) 3 stages each for a total of 18 stages, however you can choose to only play the final stages of each act for a total minimum of 7 stages (including the final stage). The success of the fire attack in Act IV's Battle of Chibi will determine the order of the kingdoms you fight for the final two acts of Musou Mode along with the kingdom you fight in the final battle.

The stages you clear in an act determine some events in its final stage. For example, in Act I, clearing The Yellow Turban Menace and The Yellow Turban Fortress will prevent Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao (and thus their spells) from appearing in The Yellow Turban Rebellion, however their subordinates will become stronger and Zhang Jiao will conjure a rockslide as you approach the enemy camp. These changes do not apply when playing that stage in Free Mode.

In addition, Tales stages can be played in Musou Mode by fulfilling certain conditions after having cleared each story once, such as leaving battles uncleared. For the first Tales stage, Eliminate Zhang Jiao, you go straight for The Yellow Turban Rebellion (depending on the kingdom you need to leave one of the previous battles uncleared, clearing the other one is optional) and make Zhang Jiao flee by defeating every officer and occupying all the strongholds on the battlefield. Oh, did I mention that sometimes letting enemy commanders flee also results in a victory? At least that applies for Zhang Jiao, Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao.

This design was to allow fans to enjoy the Three Kingdoms story from the perspectives of Shu, Wei and Wu that can branch and change depending on how you play. Given the number of characters in each kingdom at this point (talking retroactively it only gets bigger from here), you can switch between characters during playthroughs.

The Musou Modes for Other factions are now available in the vanilla game, however each story has about 4-8 stages (with no splits/Tales stages) and two characters to select from (initially). Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo's stories are separate (with the only common character being Diaochan) while interestingly, the Yellow Turban story also allows you to play as any character with the surname Zhang. These Musou Modes can get boring because aside from their battles of relevance, they all have similar Campaign against Liu Bei/Sun Jian/Cao Cao stages. The only Musou Mode that's remotely different is Nanman, because they go direct to the Jianye/Xuchang/Chengdu final stages, making their story a little harder. Can you believe that Wu gets to fight the Nanman twice in their Musou Mode?

Speaking of stages, battlefield reuse is rife in this game, which is why the battles in Free Mode are grouped by what map they utilise. For example, the aforementioned Act I Yellow Turban stages use the Xiapi and Guandu maps respectively (with some modifications, of course). This isn't the first time this so-called "autoerotic assetflipsiation" (credits to Jim Sterling) has happened and I'm sure it won't be the last. I, for one, don't really mind it as it's just more mindless fun. Does it get lazy? Not at the moment, but you'll know when it does.

Notably, battles in the first two acts have randomised officers for Cao Cao, Sun Jian and Liu Bei, so sometimes they will have officers that weren't affiliated with them or weren't even born yet when that battle happened.

New characters are kept to a minimum for this game; those characters are Yueying (Shu), Cao Ren (Wei) and Zhou Tai (Wu). Fu Xi and Nuwa do not return in this game, but their movesets do. According to game designer Tomohiko Shō, there was already a great deal of content included in DW3 and it would have been more difficult to add more playable characters while maintaining a high quality for the game as a whole. He also feared that the story would end up being shallow and the gap between characters in terms of action and personality would widen.

Versus Mode continues from the previous title and is reduced to four stages - Showdown, Encounter, Influence and Escort. Challenge Mode stages are also reduced to four, namely Endurance, Time Attack, Bridge Melee (Balancing Act from 3XL) and Demolition (new for this game).

The Encyclopedia (formerly Data Base) retains the officer biographies and weapon/item overviews from 3 while also adding a summary of the major battles of the late-Han/Three Kingdoms era, including the fall of the Three Kingdoms and the rise of Jin.

Edit Mode is the first of an interesting concept for the Warriors games. In addition to the bodyguard edit feature carried over from 3XL, the officer edit feature, also known in the fanbase as Create-A-Warrior (CAW) is introduced. Here, you can create up to four officers that can emulate one of 17 character movesets using one of the five weapon types, namely the sword, spear, pike, great sword (Fu Xi) or rapier (Nuwa). Certain movesets (Dong Zhuo, Fu Xi and Nuwa) are gender-exclusive. Once you create an officer, you can play as them in any mode including any story in Musou Mode (but not Challenge Mode for some reason), but you can't edit characters without deleting them and making a new one. Interestingly, Xiahou Yuan's moveset can be emulated as a sword moveset even though he uses a bow and rod, but you can't say it doesn't work.

At the end of every Musou Mode, you will get one of four endings (played to the ending theme Cross Colors by Yuki Koyanagi, also available in English), which are as follows:

Ending 1: Fail to achieve the below conditions.

Ending 2: Clear at least 15 stages (6 for Other, 4 for Nanman which is the minimum lol) and achieve a total 3000 KOs across all stages (1200 for Other, 800 for Nanman).

Ending 3: Achieve an average clear time of under 20 minutes.

Ending 4: Achieve the conditions for Endings 2 and 3 while also achieving a special condition depending on the story.

Playing as a second player can easily get you Ending 1 because only Player 1's scores are counted for this (something known as the 2-player trick), but in all honesty, I shouldn't have to play each Musou Mode 4 times just to get each ending because I don't have the time to do that (playing Shu, Wei and Wu twice for the different act order took long enough). I managed to get Ending 3 or 4 on my first playthrough, so ideally, I should also have unlocked the other endings to view. Also, the unlock conditions for Endings 2 and 3 should be swapped as it shouldn't take 20 minutes to clear stages if you rush the commander, let alone take it easy on Red Hare. That way, you can compound the conditions to make the ending unlock order make sense. Or better yet, make Ending 2 be the stage clear condition and compound the KO condition to it for Ending 3 while scrapping the time condition altogether.

Let's move onto the battle mechanics. C1s have been changed to be unique to each character, with some getting targeted grab attacks and some shooting magic shots. C3s are now Charge Rush/Rush Attacks, where you continue spamming the button to attack repeatedly. Pressing R3 allows you to do a pose and announce yourself to break enemies' guards.

Power guards from previous games have been removed and replaced with parrying, where you hold down L1 and press Square just as an enemy attacks you to counterattack. Frankly, I've never been able to pull off parries or power guards well, which is why I've never really mentioned it in previous games.

There are no weapons to be obtained in this battle. Instead, you level up your weapon as you play. Remember that bullshit combo system from the previous game? That's been changed so that you earn weapon points when you land Charge Attacks on enemy officers. There's three tiers of points depending on whether you're fighting generic officers, playable characters or enemy commanders. Of course, as your weapon levels up, the number of attacks you can perform increases as well, and once you get to level 9, you can get your level 10 weapon just as you would get your fourth weapon (Zhang Liao, Zhuge Liang and Ma Chao's level 10 weapons must be obtained in Musou Mode, however).

Saddles have been separated into a separate category of item. The rank requirement to steal horses in battle has been removed as well. The elephant saddle is now available in this game after it was largely restricted to the Nanman stages in DW3. There are four saddles you can choose from and they have different abilities; there is Red Hare, the fastest horse; Hex Mark, which ironically increases your luck; Storm Runner, which increases the points you earn in battle (by either 1.1 or 1.5); and Shadow (Runner), which prevents you from being knocked off your horse by enemy attacks. You can now pick up items while on horseback and you don't have to fully stop before getting off your horse. Also, your horse is shown on the map without having to equip the Beast Harness, which is an essential feature.

Orbs are also introduced in this game, bringing elemental attacks to the vanilla game after being exclusive to the fourth and fifth weapons in DW3 and DW3XL. There are six orbs you can obtain - fire, ice, lightning, blast, vorpal and poison. They can be leveled up to level 4 like the other basic items, albeit they are less common to find. Equipping orbs not only enhances your weapons with elemental attacks (when the Musou gauge is full), but if your C1 shoots magic shots, then you shoot out your element.

Instead of being able to equip 5 items from the start, characters can equip 1-3 items from the start, then as the character levels up to the maximum rank, that number increases from 4-6.

Bodyguard options are simplified again in this game. As you level up your officers, not only can you fight with more of them on the battlefield, they also rank up from being soldiers to generic officers. The stat growth focus depends on what weapon you continually have them fight with. As your bodyguards approach level 20, they will be given a title from Phoenix, Tiger, Dragon, Master and Expert, the final one being an apparently secret title that you get by playing different weapons. Bodyguard orders are now changed with the Select button in battle.

In battle, CPU officers are given strategy types that determine how officers will fight each other and whether they will be at an advantage or disadvantage. The AI is still fairly aggressive where fighting enemy majors can feel like fighting sub-officers (this felt more the case when I was playing in Hyper than in Xtreme Legends), though you can sort of feel it tone down over the past two games to this one.

When you encounter enemy officers in battle, you can be challenged to duel them. If you accept the duel, you will have 45 seconds to win or hold out to a draw, otherwise you will be slain. Guarding and parrying is the key to gaining the upper hand in duels, plus you can gain more weapon points than you would fighting officers normally.

A nice touch in the Unit Info menu is that you can see where each subofficer is on the map. Speaking of subofficers, if you play as an officer that isn't listed in the main list, you will be shown as a subofficer of the commander. In the Yellow Turban Rebellion or Hulao Gate stages, you could be listed under Liu Bei, Cao Cao or Sun Jian which is understandable, but I feel that being listed as a subofficer diminishes your significance in the battle, not that anyone would really care about a Wu officer fighting against Shu on the side of Wei in any stage that isn't Fan Castle. Of course, the exception is if you play as Liu Bei, Cao Cao or Sun Jian, where they supersede everyone in their respective kingdoms.

Throughout the game, there are events where every character will have a line for them, even if a character is the enemy in the scene (ie. Sima Yi taunts himself at the Wuzhang Plains, or Cao Cao rescues baby Liu Shan/Adou; some scenes have exclusions but clearly not those ones). Also, at Changban, picking up Liu Shan/Adou gives you 60 seconds of unlimited Musou, making it seem like you're using a baby to get high. It's like Torchwood: Children of Earth but in ancient China.

Beginning in this game, Koei would enlist the services of Voicegroup Inc, founded by Charles de Vries in 1995, to dub their games into English. Before this game, the company had produced the dub for Kessen II, a strategy game coincidentally centred around the Three Kingdoms era which was released around the same time as DW3. Although the cast would change over the years, a status quo for some characters was maintained for at least the next decade, particularly with actors such as Kirk Thornton as Xiahou Dun and Meng Huo, Skip Stellrecht as Lu Xun, Lex Lang as Zhuge Liang and Richard Epcar as Dong Zhuo. Narrations were not dubbed in this game, with dubbed narrations being introduced in the next game with Lee Everest (Huang Gai) serving that role. In summary, the only reason why certain characters remain recognisable in the English dub is because of Voicegroup Inc.

As Voicegroup was based in LA, they were able to hire the best talent they could, which likely included a lot of SAG-AFTRA union voice actors going fi-core, which is kind of a step back from going full-on scab (actors do this when they find it hard to find union work so they can freely work on non-union productions). Because of this, the English voice actors are typically not credited and the main reasons why we know they voiced such-and-such character in this game is because of fan speculation or the actors put it in their resumes (IMDb is a mix of both). Their involvement in the games remains an open secret as far as we know, but if you've heard of stories where voice actors on Koei Tecmo games have been unable to find union work after working on the dubs of those games, feel free to share it with me (please don't go beyond this scope or we'll be here all day).

Dynasty Warriors 4 Xtreme Legends

Dynasty Warriors 4 Xtreme Legends (真・三國無双3 猛将伝) Platforms: PlayStation 2 Release dates: Japan: 25 September 2003 USA: 4 November 2003 Europe: 6 February 2004

Once again, Dynasty Warriors 4 gets another Xtreme Legends expansion, adding new modes, items and improvements.

Since all of the kingdoms and major factions have been covered in the Musou Mode, the new story mode equivalent, Legend Mode, is introduced. In this game, Legend Mode gives each character a mini-stage to shine, reusing parts of vanilla stages to create new stages. Most of the stages in Legend Mode have restrictions preventing the use of items and/or bodyguards, while some stages have reduced time limits of 10 to 20 minutes.

The aptly-named Xtreme Mode is a mercenary mode where the goal is to win as many battles as you can without dying. This mode runs in a sandbox where all characters start from their initial stats and you can obtain items as you would in the rest of the game.

In each round, you pick from three areas to fight in that have their own set of missions, officers and different gold multipliers. Each battle lasts for 15 minutes and damage taken carries over between battles. Before each battle, you are brought to a shop where you can spend gold to restore your health, increase your stats or hire units for the next battle. Up to three characters can join your party after a battle or by hiring them at the shop.

Once you feel you've played enough, you can quit the game and your stats, weapon level (up to 9) and items are saved for when you choose that character again in the next playthrough.

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING XTREME MODE. You can save your progress and continue on later, but when you continue, the interim save data gets destroyed so if you reset the console, you lose your progress in this mode. This is a point where emulators shine because with save states, you can save a backup of your progress in case you die or lose your data.

A new Challenge Mode stage, Arena is added, where you duel as many officers as you can. Beating the default record of 30 unlocks the Code of Chivalry, which when equipped removes the 45 second time limit on duels.

This game introduces the Novice difficulty and the Expert difficulty, the latter of which would be known as Chaos difficulty in future games. It is the equivalent to the Very Hard difficulty in DW3XL which wasn't carried over to this game.

This game's equivalent to fifth weapons is the Level 11 weapon, which can be earned by playing Legend Mode on Expert difficulty after unlocking the Level 10 weapon. Like the fifth weapons of DW3XL, the Level 11 weapons also include item effects. Of course, if you play on Easy difficulty after getting them, the game just becomes a cakewalk unless you reset your weapon.

Unlike DW3XL where you needed to "load" the vanilla content to unlock items from the vanilla game, you can unlock items from the vanilla game within Legend Mode. This also gives you a second option to unlock items if you found it too difficult in the original game.

Dynasty Warriors 4 Hyper

Dynasty Warriors 4 Hyper (真・三國無双3 ハイパー) Platforms: PC Release dates: Japan: 1 April 2005 USA/Europe: 9 December 2005

PC gaming didn't really catch on in Japan because Nintendo and Sony were dominating the market with console gaming, while in the West, enthusiasts were starting to get into it. I mean, who wouldn't want a gaming PC back in the day when you're 8 years old and supposed to be working hard at school? Get that single-core Intel Pentium CPU with an Nvidia GeForce GPU with 512 MB of RAM and 128 MB of VRAM along with a 200GB IDE hard drive. Mind you, even if your parents brought a cheap-ass prebuilt you could still play games made in Macromedia Flash. Those were the days, right?

Anyway, PC ports of Warriors games never really caught on until the 2010s, and even before then, while they had better graphics than those of consoles, they didn't necessarily have all the features.

Let's take a moment to define the two types of game ports. The PlayStation 2 is considered to be the "original" focus console because that has been Koei Tecmo's main focus. Ports to consoles in the same generation, typically the Xbox, are considered to be simultaneous ports because they typically run on similar specs and are released around the same time (give or take 6 months). Ports to consoles of a newer generation or to PC are considered to be remastered ports and are typically released some time after the original.

Dynasty Warriors 4 Hyper is a remastered port of the vanilla game for the PC and the first Warriors game to be released for the PC. It uses the higher resolution graphics and AI difficulty of the Xbox port, plus more enemies can appear on screen (depending on your settings) and dual audio options (between Japanese and English voices) are included. The only main problem I have is that the in-game HUD is so tiny whereas the character dialogues are huge compared to them.

Given that this game was released just as the next game was already being released, it's honestly baffling why Koei didn't decide to include the Xtreme Legends content in this. I mean, it's not like they couldn't fit it all on one DVD-ROM, right? And by the way, why do Western releases of this port also include an additional CD-ROM as well? I'm assuming that it's for the PDF manual, but then why not put it on the DVD and save on resources?

Aside from playing on the keyboard, you can also connect a DirectInput controller and assign buttons to it so you can play just as you would on a console. That's about all there is to say about this port, which then brings us to our rant...

Rant: When is a Complete Edition not a Complete Edition?

As you will know by now, Xtreme Legends games are expansions that are only made "complete" by "importing" the vanilla game. In recent years though, Koei Tecmo have taken to (re)releasing Complete Editions of older games on newer consoles, allowing gamers to play the complete game right from the start. This begs the question of why Xtreme Legends games don't have the vanilla content unlocked, which is essentially to act as a cash grab for newer players by having them pay twice for the same game, and that is somehow better than just releasing the complete game with the expansion content at the same or a higher price point.

Dynasty Warriors 5 Special and Samurai Warriors 3Z are examples of "complete" games that exclude some content. The latter case is simply just a question of IPs, but the former case is baffling. I'll elaborate on it when we get to DW5, but my take on it is basically "are people really going to care about edit characters, for crying out loud?" I'd say it's unfair to keep certain features locked to a certain console, but given the prevalence of emulation in current year it's a moot point.

DW8 is the first game to fully bring the Complete Edition concept to the West, with its Vita, PS4, Xbox One and Steam ports being sold as such. People tend to look at the amount of DLCs this game has and go, "ThIS gAME iSn't 'complETe', iT DOESn't have alL ThE dLc!" Look, be reasonable here, how much of the DLC do you really care about? Personally, I only care about the stages and weapon system packs, but their exclusion doesn't make an impact on the main content of the game because it complements it, but YMMV.

Later on, DW7, WO3 and SW4 would receive Definitive Edition releases that include the vanilla game, all expansion content (except for SW4) and all the DLCs in one easy-to-manage package. While DW8 did also get a Definitive Edition release, it's only available on the Windows Store and it does have some limitations (that I'll cover later). And yet to this day, Koei Tecmo hasn't released a (discounted) package that allows you to buy all the DLC at once even though the DLCs make up 85% of the game's cost if you bought everything.

So yeah, Koei Tecmo is a company that runs on fanboy hype and bad business decisions, what's new. Keep reading and you'll learn more, I just know it.

Coming from newer games that have been made easier with time, playing the older games have been challenges in and of themselves, and DW4 is no exception with the more aggressive AI and charge lock-on. Despite this, the experiences of reliving my childhood and exploring the older games are still rewarding.

DW4 is the first game to introduce spinoffs in the form of the Empires games and games on portable consoles. Next time, we take a look at DW4's spinoffs, namely Empires, the first PSP game and Advance.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

OHMKYGOSH YES i j read ur sashisu ramble… and i love love love hearing ab other people’s hyperfixations so don’t worry :33

mainly the fact that none of them could be open or vulnerable with each other …. to be honest i havent looked at sashisu very closely before but this hit me bc. I FEEL LIKE I RELATE SM :; like. i have a best friend who i’ve known since i was a baby but we’ve never ever had a serious conversation once… maybe this is unrelated but that is so tragic because to me friendships really struggle to be strong and stable against one another if you can’t ever show the side of you that’s struggling … being vulnerable w one another is key to bonding :’3

i have some thoughts about them— mainly shoko…. to me it kinda seems like she kept them at an arms length away this entire time on purpose and she still does…. maybe i’m spitballing idk i’m just basing it off the fact that satoru and suguru called her shoko but she still referred to them by surname even ‘til where we currently r in the manga (which. i will also ignore but i cant lie the memes were so funny…) but my thinking is that she did so because. even though we never really saw her much i think that’s it since she was a reversed ct user n probably didn’t have much experience fighting… maybe. hear me out just MAYBE she knew what might become of satoru and suguru since they were so enveloped in fighting and being the strongest, and both of them were so headstrong and arrogant for lack of a better term that she might’ve just… tried to keep herself from getting attached n being hurt even more than she already might’ve been simultaneously 😞😞

that still just makes me so so sad though….. they always looked so happy when they were together… maybe if they could’ve gotten suguru to talk and really listened to him for once…. alas ;; gege is an evil thing

U GET IT RIKO…

i feel exactly the same, i have two childhood friends who im very close to but none of us have ever been the type to really be vulnerable like that w each other and !! i absolutely think that strong connections need that, u need to be able to show even ur weaker side… n i guess the tragedy of suguru’s character is that he never felt comfortable showing his ”weak self” to shoko and satoru. T_T he will always make me cry like no other ….

BUT YES SHOKO !!! ur so valid riko. i love this woman so much n i think shes so interesting to talk abt !! ive been thinking abt the name thing too, i feel like its very telling of the sashisu dynamic; the fact that satoru and suguru ONLY (and i mean only) ever referred to each other w their given names, even after suguru’s defection… and how shoko refers to them as ”gojo” and ”geto” even though gojo still calls her shoko…,

i think its super interesting !! i rly rly wish i was able to read the og japanese manga, bc i feel like so many little language details like that get lost in translation (esp since the official jjk translation is kinda bad lol)… i wish we knew if shoko called them by their given names in high school, i want to think so but we just dont know </3

(i could be wrong but there was a translation on a recent chapter i read where shoko switched between ”satoru” and ”gojo”…… obv i dunno how accurate it is but i think itd be cool if we saw her start calling him satoru :’3 im delusional i still think my baby’s coming back)

but !! regardless i def think ur onto smth. i 100% see her as the type to get very detached to the ppl around her. thats why she seems so unbothered !! even tho she obv cares very much…. i think she loved both of them but she wasnt able to broach that gap between them, and after suguru’s defection i absolutely think she repressed herself even more…..

but its obvious that she still cares for them. like how she started smoking again after gojo got sealed / she found out abt kenjaku using geto’s body :((….

and yes i rly do think sugu couldve been saved if they had managed to open up like that <///3 thats what fanfic is for ig :’3… sob…..

[unlimitedhorsepower]

me writing my fanfic

honestly though i frequently think abt how many details i reference as truth are like actual canon things but theyre more obscure details from peripheral materials rather than in the anime.

but also some details i made up. would love to talk about my reasonings for those details. some of them are esoteric. but some of them are just based on reality to me. i refuse to call yuris mom "origa" bc it was the artist name of that one russian singer whose real name was olga and whos just known in japan for a bunch of anime collabs

its also my truth (but not totally unreasonable imo) that olga immigrated to sternbild and her surname is just "petrov" specifically due to simplifications for required forms/some minor mixups. not even petrova and nothing given wrt patronymic vs surname but i dont think sternbilds legislative system wouldve understood patronymics and its not rly important.

what is interesting to me is that olga petrova was a real person (well. im sure this has been the name of many people. but bear with me), a vaudeville performer, who actually adopted the name as a stage name. ive always felt that olga was running from something and wouldve explained why she has nobody else to care for her than her son. and nobody had ever heard of her either.

olga petrov is a bit of a fake name isnt it...

being a woman with no family nor connections in an unfamiliar city is such a ripe ground for getting an abusive fuck of a husband. i really doubt that mr. legend suddenly became abusive once his NEXT power started failing. i just think olga didnt have anyone else and she was willing to overlook all of his flaws for that long as someone who was rich and famous and kept a roof over her head etc

what choice does she have? also gives more basis to how nobody seems to ever acknowledge olga (or yuri) exist. i feel like mr. legend couldve just presented olga as his girlfriend of the day (who has a son) to maverick and he wouldve been like okay so...whatever...

and they never talked bc olga ~kept out of the way~ when her husband has people over or is on the phone etc. and this dynamic gets worsened when mr. legend starts to lose his powers bc he might not have a NEXT power anymore but what he has is total control and power over olga.

^ruminations of an unwell person who thinks narratives actually care about woman characters. objectively the name was given bc the writers had heard origa once LMFAO and petrov is a common surname

anyway. personally i still think it would be interesting if gregory sunshine was yuris real biological father (insert that theory post i made pre-cour 2) and olga just managed to get into a rlship with mr.legend so quickly she could pass yuri as his son. (or mr. legend was okay with the fact at least initially. doesnt matter). and that also adds to her plight of being stuck with mr.legend, and im sure she was also in love with him, but she didnt have any other choice... nobody to help her. heroes arent real

wouldve explained why olga was running and suspectible to shit freaks like mr. legend. i would be inclined to say nothing megaweird happened and gregory was just olgas weird creep boyfriend bc i dont want to torture olga for funsies. more of a situation where she got pregnant accidentally and was like fuck i cant raise a child with a total criminal freak... not that she was raped by him bc olga rly has enough bad shit in her life without that:/

gregory is a creep for sure considering even the scene where he makes ryan lose control (which is. really weird lets be real. the kotetsu scene mirrors it) but still.

AND would also explain why olga blames yuri so strongly for Everything...doesnt excuse her ofc but like. i also understand it. her life sucked. tfw women could be more than Mothers and perhaps even lead full and nuanced lives that explain their actions

this is irrelevant to my fanfic btw (kinda) though i explore yuris and olgas rlship in it. olga is someone who tries but she is so crushed by her circumstances that sometimes her best try isnt enough. its a tragedy is all.

and also interesting how gregory never showed up in sternbild before s2. like olga chose a good place to run to (in the case she had). ripping my hair out ahhh ahhh ahhhh the lore... its so deep (the lore i made up in my head that is)

[robotforest]

no problem!!

and as for what it would influence it depends really - like for example i have three cousins, all sisters, they have the opposite of what my brother and i have; the first character of their given names are all the same so i used to call them by their name's second character. most of the time however for siblings parents tend to make the first character the same one amongst them so it's more common to use the second for a shortened name

for kuai it's a toss up tbh - there's a lot of ways chinese ppl use a shortened name or just informal ways to refer to someone. a common one is using the 'ah'-prefix and you'd usually use the second character of that person's name (so say for kuai liang it'd be ah-liang / 阿良) but honestly kuai sounds nicer as the short name compared to liang (at least in english)

and this is where IF nrs had bothered to do any research or ask any chinese person back in the day they'd realize how they fucked them up - chinese characters usually have three characters (in rare cases there can sometimes be two or four; i had a few friends who had only two in their full name), the surname is the first character and the given name is the second and third characters. since kuai liang and bihan share zero similarities in their names (not uncommon but for siblings of the same sex it's kinda rare) plus they have no surname we've seen or heard of it'd be hard to determine what kuai liang's shortened name is. (only the kung family have established that that is their surname (kung lao and kung jin) but it's also rare for an uncle and nephew/cousins to share the same name structures) so in all honesty? go with whatever sounds nicer or more proper to you!!

also kuai's old name was 快凉 which means 'quick cooling' and bihan's name is still means either 壁寒 'cold wall' or 避寒 'avoiding the cold' - how they managed to come up with nice names for liu kang, shang tsung, and kung lao but not these two is beyond me

if any other chinese person wants to add on to what ive said so far go on but one of these days ill need to do a comprehensive breakdown of all the chinese names in mk!! ive said some of my gripes in this explanation already though

hope my wordy ass response helps!! (ﾟ▽＾*)☆

In fics etc I see people refer to Kuai Liang as Kuai for short but... This might be wrong since, and this is based on my brief flirtation with c-drama mostly, when you have two words in Chinese names if you want to shorten it you'd just use the second part?

I usually recall in situations where the first name is shorter (more like bi-han than kuai liang) so maybe there are some other rules I'm not aware of 🤔

I still think they would actually call him Liang and not Kuai for short. It's a small thing and i see why you'd assume otherwise but it always brothers me a lil bit 😔

[icemankazansky]

Hi! So I have been stalking your blog lately (sorry for spamming of likes 🫣) because I have once again fallen into this rabbit hole that is Icemav and I'm loving your posts on them and the gifset you made for Iceman.

My question is, and I'm sorry if you have already answered something like this before: what are your fav Iceman HCs?

Hello! First of all, never apology for spamming me with likes and reblogs, because I love that shit. That is why the content is here.

I love this question! Let's see.

Ice is Russian and Jewish

This one came to me* pretty simply, because I got there by looking up the roots of Kazansky as a surname, mostly for a throwaway line in Lightning Strikes Twice. (If you're wondering why it takes me so long to finish a story, that is the reason. I spent two and a half hours writing yesterday, and a solid hour of it was research.) I've done a little bit with it, but @boasamishipper has really been the champion of this headcanon, and she's done a lot of work developing it.

It's difficult for me to believe that, given the political landscape when Top Gun OG was made and the way we're meant to see Ice initially, that giving him a Russian last name was not a purposeful decision. The year before, Rocky IV was a major success, breaking box office records worldwide. Rocky's opponent in the film is Russian Ivan Drago:

Does this look familiar to anybody?

Russia and Russians were bad guys a lot during this time period. The Cold War, which had started after World War II, was still going on. Maverick is our protagonist, and he embodies traits that have been considered uniquely American since the 18th century: Being the best, being a rebel who does things his own way no matter what The Establishment says, pulling one's self up by the bootstraps to become extraordinary, etc. And initially, Ice is positioned as Maverick's foil. He is self-disciplined, self-contained, and believes in collectivism and responsibility to the group over everything. To anyone bothered by the Red Scare, that could definitely be read as communist. I think that giving Ice a Russian last name and these qualities isn't to paint him as the bad guy, but rather to get the audience to feel unsure about him. Maverick asks, "What's your problem, Kazansky?" and the audience is meant to think, "Yeah, what is his problem?"

(I've gone a little off track, but I don't expect everyone who follows this blog to have a critical understanding of the political climate in America in the 1980s.) But what does this mean for Ice as a person? It means that he grew up in America during the Cold War as someone with a Russian last name, at the very least. It's conspicuous. He definitely got called a Commie at school. And if (as I like to believe) he is close to his heritage, especially if it's recent (like he's a third generation American rather than a twelfth), it creates an interesting ambivalence. Like, my last name is German, but it's so far removed from me that it doesn't mean anything to me as a person. It's not part of my culture or identity. I don't consider myself German. I don't have that ambivalence. If Ice considers himself Russian, if that's part of his life and identity, that is difficult during the time period in which he grew up, and it's going to change things about his character. People are going to talk shit about Russians, and there are people who are going to question his allegiances, and he's going to have to balance that while being proud of his identity and his culture. I like the world it creates for him. I like him mentally cursing in Russian whenever Maverick is especially Maverick-y. I like him being offered a beer and wrinkling his nose at that American piss water (@victimofthemusic I love you forever for writing that).

Okay, I've talked way too much about Russian Iceman without getting into Jewish Iceman, so I'm just going to say: Yes. Also. It just makes sense to me, and I love all the headcanons and work @boasamishipper especially has created (I would protect Rachel Kazansky with my life), and I want more of it. All of it. Gimme.

*I don't mean to imply that I originated the headcanon; I'm just saying that is how I, personally, first started thinking about it.

Ice Has (a) Sister(s)

I've seen only children ask questions about this, but yes, there are totally vibes that speak to whether you have siblings, what genders they are, what the birth order is, etc. Ice is way too patient, good at sharing, and willing to play a supporting role to be an only child. He also screams sisters to me because he is capable of emotional regulation, sensitive to other people's emotions (I want you to think of him watching Maverick storm off the tarmac after the hop with Sundown), and values the collective over the individual. In general, when boys have brothers, they spend at least the first 20 years of their lives in constant competition. Everything is a challenge. Everything is a target. Ice is certainly driven, and he likes to win, but the amount of emphasis he puts on working as a team and helping each other suggests that his own desire to succeed is not the most important thing to him. Brothers also do not talk to each other. Sisters value open communication and group cohesion. (They've done studies on this. I'm not just making this up.)

And I like the thought that he has support. Ice has kind of a hard road to walk, and the thought that he has (a) supportive sister(s) there to talk to and to help him and to make sure he doesn't get away with any shit is lovely.

Ice is Smart AF

This is not a huge leap from canon, because we already know he's the best of the best and that he got into a competitive university, and that you have to be able to understand a lot of math and science and do it in your head at Mach 2 to be a fighter pilot. But Ice strikes me as the smartest guy in the room. The scene I keep coming back to is the one in the TAC trailer. Here's Ice:

He's not really paying attention. And I don't think it's because he's apathetic. It looks to me (because this was me) that he's bored because he's already figured out the problem, he already understands what's being taught, and he just has to sit there until everyone else catches up. And he's relaxed about it; he's used to it. He's probably been in this situation hundreds of times before. I talk about this more in this post, but that's the gist.

Ice is an August Leo with Capricorn Rising

I know a lot of people use Val Kilmer's birthday for Ice, and that is fine. You're totally valid. I just cannot. He's too fiery and bold, too sunny and fiercely loyal (that lion has teeth, and they use them to protect the people they love the most) once that Iceman mask slips down. I can have my little zodiac headcanons, as a treat.

I think I've gone on long enough. Thank you for the question! I'm sorry it took me so long to answer it. I'm trying, ragazzi.