#azura is a very bad person

[sawoqa]

mine and @jeffersonsbiggesthater yuri vampire ocs warning very toxic but it’s fine cuz they’re gay💕💕

[mymanyfandomramblings]

Any headcanons for toh?

Oooooh. I have several, including an entire section dedicated to my love of the terrible Blight family dynamics. Here we go:

Luz and Gus both love Hamilton. Amity does not love Hamilton, but she tolerates it.

Amity's music taste is either 'the softest, lightest, saddest pop music' or 'heavy metal'. all happy songs on her playlist were added because she associates them with Luz or her friends, not because she listens to them.

Luz is convinced that Elvis is alive somewhere on the Boiling Isles.

All of the Hexsquad are the type to call each other in the middle of the night because an idea occurred to them. it's usually Willow who ends up being called.

Willow has tried--and failed--to understand the hype with either The Good Witch Azura or Cosmic Frontier. She however does know so much lore about both, and is so good at pretending, that her friends have yet to figure out that she doesn't care about their fandoms beyond 'you're really happy talking about it'.

Edric and Emira see Gus as their unofficial little brother

Darius makes Willow's wedding dress, when she gets married.

When Hunter and Willow get married, Gus is a combination of best man/man of honour and Luz is a combination maid of honour/best woman. Amity's just a bridesmaid, but her feelings are unhurt by this.

Hooty writes terrible RPF

Lilith likes Raine just fine but she will not let them know this.

Luz and Gus will corner Hunter at some stage and be like 'listen, we know you like Willow. If you're going to date her you have to treat her like a princess. Spare no expense, leave no stone unturned. when you ask her to Grom you must do a big romantic gesture."

Willow does not like big romantic gestures nearly as much as Luz and Gus do.

Gus helps Luz and Amity plan their big dramatic Gromposals, so that they both ask at the same time, with equally massive fanfare.

Amity is not naturally a big romantic gestures person, but Luz is, so she has adapted to a big romantic gestures person.

Eventually Gus and Luz will figure out that neither Hunter or Willow are 'big romantic gestures' people. it will take too long for them to figure this out.

Camila and Darius are appreciative of each other for raising Hunter. Beyond that, they don't actually mesh all that well. She doesn't understand his dramatics.

Darius is occasionally prone to calling Raine and Eberwolf in the middle of the night to drag them on sidequests.

Back when Lilith was head of the Emperor's Coven, Eda used to go to wherever the coven heads would meet, and she'd sit under the window with a boombox and blast the Boiling Isles equivalent of 'You May Be Right' and 'Everybody Loves Me Baby'. This stopped after Lilith left the Emperor's Coven, but a little while later, Scooter Crane resigned, Raine Whispers ascended to head of the bard coven, and Eda and her boombox returned.

When Hunter starts attending Hexside, he isn't sure what he wants to study, and with the track system being far more flexible--and him being very traumatized and not very well-socialised--Principal Bump lets him have a blank schedule and go to whichever classes whenever. This often ends up with him spending much of the day in Plants, where it's peaceful. or at least he says it's because it's peaceful.

Grimwalker physiology is pretty similar to witch and human physiology, however it has some strange and inexplicable quirks. One of these things is a complete and utter lack of a detectable heartbeat.

Eda and co. would not all have survived high school without Raine there to keep the peace, and rein in the more stupid ideas.

Also, my incessant headcanons about the Blight family:

Odalia's family used to be one of Bonesborough's richest and most eminent families, however either thanks to a bad business deal or a scandal they lost most of their fortune and repute while Odalia was a child, and by the time she started Hexside, she's been living in genteel poverty for years. This has given her high-class trappings, memories of having wealth, and a desperation to regain it.

Darius was the one to originally introduce Odalia and Alador. he eventually regretted this.

Odalia wasn't always a terrible person. She was always unscrupulous, sharp-tongued and a social climber, but she is also capable of genuine pleasantness.

Odalia and Alador once did like each other--or at the very least were attracted to each other originally. This soured over years of an unsuccessful marriage.

They got married very young. Odalia was keen to lock down the last heir to the Blight fortune as soon as possible, and Alador thought she was pretty, and a good business woman.

Everything started falling apart when the twins were born, and properly fell apart when Amity was born.

Odalia's pregnancies have never been easy on her, and she experienced bad bouts of post-partum depression after both.

Alador is most definitely autistic. and also undiagnosed. among the things he finds overstimulating are a) children and b) Odalia when she's in a bad mood.

so when Amity was born and suddenly there was a crying baby, two chaos twins, and a very irritable post-partum Odalia, Alador's response was 'spend as little time in the house as possible.'

This is about when any last love between Odalia and Alador left the marriage.

Back to general headcanons, Edric gets bad asthma attacks

Emira is like a very immature mother to her siblings. they'd be lost without her.

Amity is unambiguously the favourite child. not that this gets her preferential treatment from her parents, but it does foster resentment among her siblings.

it took the twins much too long to figure out that Mittens has other emotional needs beyond 'an ego check'.

Alador just...gives them their inheritance when they asked for it. Amity put hers into saving, Emira uses it to be the hot rich single aunty to her nieces and nephews, and Edric spent his all at once on something like a waterslide for his house.

Edric needs budgeting lessons ASAP. he's not very good at it.

Post-divorce the twins joke incessantly about the fact that their mother is in jail.

That's all I can think of right now.

[the-elder-polls]

so. i was enabled. tags courtesy of @trickstarbrave (hope you don't mind being tagged, if you do i'll remove it) who is what started my nerevar/lorkhan fascination because i him saw mention this once, causing me to lore deep dive and come out the other side, once again, like this.

once again, disclaimer that i am scatter brained and bad with getting my thoughts into words etc etc please be nice to me or i will cry

so. about the parallels between nerevar and lorkhan

to even try to start, lorkhan was killed/mutilated/brutalized/etc and his heart was separated from the rest of him. there are conflicting sources with saying this was a punishment, while others say he consented to it. regardless of his willingness, his divinity was subsequently exiled/fell/whatever to the nirn. there's a VERY obvious parallel here of nerevar being betrayed and killed/mutilated by whoever it was that killed him and the subsequent nerevarine prophecy.

nerevar, son of boethiah. this is a title given to nerevar, supposedly by lorkhan himself, in the five kings of wulfharth. that's not particularly much on its own. nerevar being a demiprince would hilariously not be that big of a deal considering everything else about him. the reason i'm mentioning this is the 10th sermon of vivec, which notes boethiah as saying about/to lorkhan, "We pledge ourselves to you, the Frame-maker, the Scarab: a world for us to love you in, a cloak of dirt to cherish. Betrayed by your ancestors when you were not even looking. […]" the gods of tes are known for being weird (to put it lightly). i personally think boethiah was in fact the mother-father of nerevar; that nerevar was created for the purpose of being the shezarrine; and that lorkhan, in his weird state, was still fully aware of this. also, again, the parallels of betrayal and mutilation are obvious when you compare whatever happened to nerevar to whatever happened to lorkhan.

nords revere lorkhan as shor, believing he sacrificed his life to help create the world as it is. nerevar and the nerevarine prophecy have some parallels here, i think. nerevar's life was sacrificed "for the greater good" (the eventual downfall of the tribunal as gods, the destruction of dagoth ur) to help "create" the world as it is.

at least one myth (the favored daughter of fadomai) describes azura as finding "[…] broken and bleeding, and there was a hole in his chest." and that she then tore his heart out due to it being corrupted by rot (hi, namira). foul murder is NOT canon, but i think it's worth taking it into consideration here, given that nerevar is depicted in foul murder as impaled through the heart. (i can't really get my thoughts together with what i want to say about this, but i want you to note azura and lorkhan being so strongly associated in this myth. given the EVERYTHING ELSE, it makes sense.)

following on the previous point, the claim that azura appeared and cursed the tribunal for their usage of the heart and their betrayal of nerevar is a good parallel for her finding the wounded lorkhan.

one nordic source (five kings of king wulfharth) states that lorkhan reappeared somehow at the battle of red mountain, reunited with his heart, and that he wounded nerevar before nerevar defeated/killed/etc him. given the absolute absurdity of tes lore, i don't think it's far fetched to say that this could be true in a roundabout way: nerevar WAS lorkhan, or more accurately, the shezarrine. whatever happened at red mountain was a Whole Thing that we don't have concrete answers to. i personally think the proximity to the heart gave nerevar a fucking power up of some sort/allowed him to channel lorkhan much more intensely, which helped him in the next point:

the same source claims that lorkhan said the dwemer would die by his hand which, again, while i'm stretching (all of tes lore is stretching lbr but anyway), i gotta point out that nerevar and the disappearance of the dwemer are intrinsically linked. there's no denying that. if nerevar was the shezarrine, then this could be true - when dumac was struck down by nerevar and kagrenac truck the heart, the dwemer vanished. it's a bit roundabout, but it's not incorrect. ["Nevertheless, it is true that they will die by my hand, and any whoever should side with them."]

also the tribunal's jealousy of nerevar + his outright refusal to use the heart makes a lot of sense if he already had some of that godly power and they didn't. if they saw him at his full potential due to the heart and wanted it for themselves.

anyway. who said that

[dreamtydraw]

I would love to see ur trinkets and bad pictures

Ehehe okay so lemme show you guys-

I started some of my collection back in 2019 ? So my trinkets are really something that I love very much and since most of them are small I won’t be able to show them all but i’ll try !

For starter I need to clarify that all of this are personal collections I own thanks to resell / artist convention / small business / keep from when I was a kid. I heavily encourage people who wants to start collecting trinket to mainly help local artists / resell ! It’s a really nice market and usually buying from small owners / resellers can mean you help someone financially directly !

Now on that- UHM UHM I first need to show my pride and love… My azura figurine collection. I love azura figures…

Look at my girls… yeah Sakura miku is doing a Cameo here !

Now from what decorate my desk….

Little shoutout to my fav stickers !!!

NOW ON THE KEYCHAN / PINZ COLLECTION !!!! I’m gonna separate my own merch vs merch i bought / received

I lost my peach / cove / baxter / Rowan keychan :(

NOW INTO THE COLLECTION-

Pinz

Keychains !

And that the max i can show by tumblr 20 pics limits !!! Thank you for asking, i love any occasion to show them off ehe ! Have a good day

[celestialwu]

Equal redemption?

But first I want to mention that this is not an analysis about season 5, but about Sun Wukong and Macaque, and that maybe I can express my point of view as to why they are practically almost the same, ok?

Okay, look, I didn't really like Macaque's "redemption", it was very quick and I can say that I didn't get very attached to the character, but he was very important in this season, but I still see him just as a character that is there but that I don't care much about, but anyway. Did you notice how Sun Wukong and Macaque literally had almost the same redemption?

I know it sounds really weird but I think I might be right.

First, Sun Wukong: What we know about Wukong is that he became the Monkey King on pure impulse, but we know that he is a celestial prodigy and that he wanted to live a life of peace and meet the sun with Macaque and his monkeys.

And as Azura said, Wukong could become the next emperor, becoming immortal again.

But with the plan failing, and them losing, Sun Wukong is trapped in a mountain for 500 years by the Bhuda, which resulted in the fight that Macaque and Sun Wukong had, which was out of pure hatred for Wukong, and Macaque's anger for him not listening to him about this war.

And that's when things start to make sense with what I want to say.

As we know, Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, was responsible for protecting the Pilgrims traveling to the West, and for that she chose Sun Wukong as one of these Pilgrims, and guess who was also chosen to help in the plan of another "Goddess"?

Then starting with Macaque; we know the same thing happened with Sun Wukong. He wanted to live a quiet life with Wukong on the mountain.

And well, it didn't work out. Wukong was taken and they fight.

But apparently, they fought again at the end of the journey, and this could trigger him and he "dies" at the hands of Wukong.

So we already have two things in common: Both were overthrown by gods and were hired for a "plan" of a super powerful goddess.

And well they would be punished if they did not fulfill their part of the agreement they made to be free.

And meanwhile, when they were released, they met someone who was willing to give them a second chance and live in peace and without regrets in their lives.

I know there are people who say that Tribaka is abusive and stuff. But I can say that he was the key to Wukong having his redemption.

And may I remind you, Wukong was a serious killer. Yes, he had his reasons for attacking those who tried to kill his master, and that most demons were horrible to be around.

But well, with Tribaka helping Wukong improve as a person, using the diagram when necessary, and teaching Wukong the path of peace and love. Macaque had Mk who wouldn't give up on him, and doing his best to invite him to his gang so that they would all be free from LBD.

In this Macaque probably had an off-screen "redemption", which I believe was not a good idea, since it seems that he changed his personality out of nowhere, well for me it was like that. But, continuing, Mk did everything to help Macaque, Mk cared about Macaque, even with all the horrible things Macaque did, Mk knew that he was not exactly the bad guy. And that they had to join forces with the one who was really their enemy at the moment.

And Mk kind of proved himself right.

Macaque isn't a bad guy given how he's evolved over the seasons, but he still causes discomfort, but not much.

Mk was the key to Macaque evolving, and becoming at least someone he can talk to without having to get three rocks in the face.

As Tribaka was also the key to Sun Wukong not being someone feared but rather someone loved by many people who appreciate his work as a hero.

But now I think if the thing is they are also the same, they are also different.

And I tell them that they are probably their moral values.

Sun Wukong is afraid that things will get out of control, he wants everything to work out for everyone, he knows that if he is not the hero they call him he will fail, he wanted the plan against LBD to work out so that he could go back to paying for his mountain and rest assured that everything is over.

And one of the reasons he (probably) improvises.

But that's the thing, when things get out of control, he takes responsibility for everything himself. Sometimes I think he might even become a perfectionist when that happens. This makes him vulnerable, and he doesn't like that.

Macaque on the other hand, knows that things are going to get out of control, but doesn't do much about it.

I'm not saying he couldn't do it, but I believe he already knew beforehand that LBD was going to win, and he'd rather use that to his advantage than make the same mistake he made in the past.

And that's why he manipulates, for him all that matters is getting rid of LBD's guards, even if it's one of his agreements, he wanted to stay as far away from her as possible. And in this case he's willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen.

Whether bringing prizes

or saying that your friends will leave you.

And he wanted freedom, but he did it in the worst possible way, and he was really willing to do it until the end. But the moment he sees that his actions are turning against him. He runs away, because it was better to deal with this headache once the dust settles than to stop him for now.

Well, these two in my opinion have similar pain, and they need help. They suffer from abandonment, punishments, trouble trusting people, one of them who is almost perfect is not the one who destroyed everything again, and the other one has a calm life and freedom.

They have different personalities, but it's that "Different personalities, same pain" thing and I hope there will be more of them in the next seasons.

[juliettedunn]

Luz’s Softness in Thanks to Them

We all knew Luz was going to have an angst arc in Thanks to Them. Her angst had been building long before then, and King’s Tide was the final straw.

Angst is popular in characters like Amity and Hunter, who act cold and mean as a result of deep pain on the inside. If they cry, it’s in secret, hidden away from anyone who might see through their confident persona. The “bad but sad boy” / “I act like I don’t care but I secretly do” type, to quote Luz.

That’s not what Luz does. Luz cries multiple times in  front of others in Thanks to Them, and even has an emotional outburst in front of her teacher in classmates.

It’s the classroom scene that has a lot of people saying Luz is being “cringey,” and that they have to cover their eyes from “second-hand embarrassment.” I’ve seen post after post mocking that scene, saying Luz needs to “sit down and shut up” and that she has a “y/n complex.”

Whether a vulnerable person gets sympathy or ridicule from others is based on mysterious standards of what are acceptable and unacceptable ways to act when we are at our worst. And what is acceptable for some isn’t acceptable for others (white favoritism, especially in the fandom’s response to Hunter’s over-the-top emotional displays vs Luz). 

Luz’s outburst in the classroom was highly impulsive and not something many would do, but Luz doesn’t know how to ask for help, not when she feels too guilty to confide in her friends and family.

Luz is at best passively suicidal in TTT. It’s actually one of the first times she DOESN’T see herself as the main character, she sees herself as the selfish villain, the “evil Lucy” rather than the good witch Azura. Her self esteem is at an all time low, to where she doesn’t think she truly deserves love.

It’d be so easy to lock herself away, bottle those feelings inside and turn cold. Many thought this was the direction her character was headed in. And Luz does indeed isolate and keep her inner feelings secret.

But she remains soft and tender-hearted, constantly cheering on her friends and supporting Hunter through his hardships even when she herself is at her worst. She even lets her silliness peek through, calling a possum a “little angel.”

Despite her low self esteem, she very clearly WANTS someone to help her and intervene. She wouldn’t have had the classroom outburst if she didn’t think there was some worth in making her feelings clear, some hope that someone might respond to her and perhaps tell her something different. Which makes it even more heartbreaking when the class gives her a weirded out look and then ignores her.

If someone behaves this way in real life, it should be taken as a serious warning sign, not as a “Oh my god that’s so cringe” moment. 

You can see multiple times in the episode Luz fighting her depression, like when she goes to cuddle with Camila. When she asks Camila to let her stay in her bed, it struck me how amazing she really is for being able to do that.

Luz feels she doesn’t deserve to live, yet she still desperately wants to. She wants to hold on so much that she manages to seek comfort, despite her guilt telling her she shouldn’t be receiving it.

When I was her age and in her mental state, I didn’t have the ability to do something like that. Seeking help when you’re in that kind of state is one of the hardest things to do, and Luz does it multiple times.

For people to call her a cringey embarrassment for having an outburst is in very poor taste, and a bad sign for how we view signs of mental illness in real life.

Not everyone who angsts will be like Hunter and Amity, becoming aggressive and/or cold towards others. Not everyone can hide behind thick skin. Some become softer and more sensitive, cry more easily. The latter is in fact the healthier and often more difficult option. 

Some expected a cold, withdrawn cynic, hiding away her emotions. Instead we got a messy, tender-hearted girl desperately seeking help in impulsive outbursts.

The fandom is finally starting to focus on her angst and trauma, but let’s not forget the strength that lies in her unfaltering softness as well.

Luz is a loving, kind, strong, beautiful disaster, and she deserves better from this fandom.

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

Zenix’s little tangent in Episode 35… doesn’t entirely make sense. Or at least I don’t like parts of it and so I’m gonna bitch.

Tw I speak a little bit about abuse and cults at the end.

Zenix: “I’m sure garroth told you… didn’t he? How he found me? He must have… you were always his favorite. Isn’t it funny how he found me around the same time the old Lord was murdered?”

That’s just the beginning of it, of course.

But… Zenix saying this doesn’t really… fit.

SKs kill people in order to gain immortality (typically guards who kill their lords, but it’s established in episode 31, Criminal Brains, that it’s not only guards and not only lords). This is usually someone they knew in their human life, that’s just how it’s always been with SKs, that’s the whole… tragic romance of them. Whoever they dedicated their mortal life to will be the sacrifice to their immortal life.

Whether Zenix is saying he showed up in Phoenix drop shortly before or after he killed the lord is nothing to me, because either way, it’s clear they don’t have that bond. Even Azura states that Zenix swore himself to GARROTH. And the later established lore that sks have permanently red eyes after killing their person doesn’t even apply to Zenix in this case, because he had brown eyes the entire time we knew him, up until they clearly decided that he was the one who murdered the old lord and scrapped Vylad’s involvement.

Because up until this point… all evidence pointed to Vylad. From flashbacks of him standing outside of the old lord’s house with a flint and steel to Sasha basically outright saying it, everything has pointed at Vylad. And I’m not saying twists are a negative, red herrings are fun, but nothing good ever comes when you mix jesson and red herrings… clearly. So this was just… not a good twist. I’ve been keeping track of a lot of stuff and there just wasn’t enough for me to justify it as something pre-planned. But if someone else has another opinion I’m happy to hear.

This is something they do a lot with Zenix. Even with the original reveal that he was a bad guy, they retconned Brendan’s statement of events to make him look worse. They turned Zenix using him like a human body shield into Zenix going out of his way to hurt Brendan, though it didn’t need to be done. It just made him seem unnecessarily cruel.

And now they’ve retconned who killed the old lord to make Zenix look worse again. And I think this is because Jesson cannot cope with moral ambiguity.

Vylad and Zenix are the two most morally ambiguous characters up to this point. Zenix has an evil lean, no doubt, but a lot of his actions lack any known motivation, especially his kind actions, or moments when he does things that are objectively good but… we don’t know why, in order for us to actually understand his moral compass. Sure he is evil-aligned, but he is clearly not fully evil. He has shades of grey… and so does Vylad. Vylad clearly has a good lean, but we don’t know enough about him, and we know he is evil-aligned (he is shown to be peers with Gene and Sasha in earlier episodes) so it’s very… vague. Hazy. Morals? Questionable.

But then Jesson went— HOLD UP! Make Zenix explicitly bad by stating that he was the one to kill the old lord because he wanted immortality… and make Vylad explicitly good by stating that he was the one who hindered Zenix from killing more people.

It wss more interesting when Zenix was just some guy who did bad stuff and had an unknown backstory, and some people rooting for the good in him.

And when Vylad was spooky as fuck.

But that’s too much nuance, give a clear morality to the gay men.

Dont make SKs interesting by giving Zenix red eyes for attempting to kill the man he dedicated his life to! No! Don’t expand the lore by making it obvious that the reason that SKs have to kill their loved ones is to mirror cult/abuse tactics that distance the victims from any real support system they could have to escape! Dont give Zenix red eyes even though he failed at killing Garroth because the bond between them is irreparably damaged despite Garroth’s denial of it! Don’t do that! That’s too much nuance!

[emblemxeno]

I know ranting about Birthright's localization is kind of my new obnoxious thing, but the really unfortunate aspect about it is that I very much love Birthright's main narrative structure and themes.

Much like how Conquest is a spin on how you're effectively playing the Camus role in the conflict and grappling with the baggage that comes with it, Birthright is also flip on the traditional FE plot. Instead of Corrin having his home taken over during war, becoming an exile/refugee, and needing to gather other allies to take it back, he actively sides against the home he knew his entire life. Corrin's desire to stop the war as quickly as possible and his disgust towards Nohr's crimes overrides his personal fondness towards Nohr as the place where he grew up surrounded by love and strong familial connection.

This is why his Birthright supports with Azura are about his fond memories with Nohr juxtaposing with Azura's abusive childhood and Hoshidans' general sentiment towards Nohra as a country, because the things he sacrificed when choosing Hoshido were his personal attachments. That's why Birthright's plot is an in-universe retread of Corrin's character: an inexperienced, but extremely kind-hearted and trusting prince who believes in the good of others. This is who Corrin was in Nohr, but since he's chosen Hoshido, that facet of his character must be built up with his Hoshidan allies. Why else would his Hoshidan siblings react with surprise and confusion over Corrin's naive choices? They don't know him, and so, Corrin's convictions and morality must be developed in order to have his Hoshidan allies trust his judgment. Otherwise, what was the point in siding with Hoshido? Why sever the bond with your adoptive family when your new allies meet your every decision with resistance and criticism?

Conquest, as many know, asks the opposite question. What's the point in siding with Nohr and your longtime family if Corrin's unable to change how his country operates? Why sacrifice personal morality, in that case? Birthright and Conquest are meant to be opposite but equal journey's for Corrin's character. Corrin wants peace to reign but are they willing to throw away either their ideals or their bonds to do that? Revelation, in the middle, then answers the question with "neither." Corrin doesn't have to sacrfice any part of his character to end conflict (hence why his personal authenticity and ego is challenged the most in Rev). He instead has to see how Nohr and Hoshido's war is senseless at its core and seeks to end it through both ideals and bonds. All three routes are supposed to work as answers to this question of choice.

And this is precisely why Birthright's localization is as bad as it is. Because any and all negative results of Corrin's decision to side with Hoshido are either sanitized or removed entirely, and Corrin's personality was changed from self-critical, sincere, and sensitive to cocky, sarcastic, and quick to criticize everyone else.

When Corrin no longer feels the personal guilt for his decision ripping his Nohrian family apart, or for his decision resulting in the deaths of Flora, Elise, and Xander, you remove the weight that choosing Hoshido is supposed to have. When Corrin is overly critical of the actions and words from Flora, Leo, Camilla, and Xander, as opposed to being sympathetic to their plight as a result of his choice, you instead enforce the idea "well obviously this is the right choice, and Nohr isn't" when none of the choices in that situation is supposed to be absolutely perfect or correct. By changing Birthright in this way, and leaving Conquest and Revelation mostly intact, you weaken the latter two stories. When BR Corrin is proactive, quick to shift blame, and self-assured, CQ Corrin reads as spineless, whiny and pathetic, and RV Corrin reads as wishy washy and self absorbed. What's the point in caring about what stories CQ and RV are trying to tell when the main character is so radically different from BR, and to many people, unappealing? Why else would Birthright be crowned the "only non-terrible story" in Fates, if not for the fact that almost all of the nuance around choosing Hoshido was scrubbed clean and replaced by a generic strongman (not even up to par of other action oriented lords in FE) in a Corrin costume? Birthright is now the "obviously correct" route that's headed by a badass who says fun one liners. What's not to like?

Corrin was written to be a specific character with specific traits: kind, naive, trusting, well defined morals, values personal attachments, quick to question himself, able to sacrifice a part of himself to attain a goal.

Birthright in its original script follows this just fine. Birthright's localized script inadvertently warps and simplifies its main protagonist, and so drags itself and the other two routes' stories down tremendously in the process.

[dizzycloudzzz]

Beta Huntlow

Headcanons ²

*equivalent to the first season, each one from one side of the story (golden guard YAY x chaotic criminal rebel YAY) that occasionally meets

Both too stubborn to give in in an argument or ideal, they'll never admit that they have ANYTHING in common

But curreeently they have a lot of similar things: musical taste, culinary taste, literary taste, basically the same person ☠️ which is pretty weird since Willow was under the culture of the human realm and Hunter was under the demon realm's most of his life, but it's like both Luz and Amity knowing Azura's book

Except for the styles, he's the little prince totally dolled up who spends hours polishing his armor and have clothes selected by other people of course, she's emo and wears the first thing she sees in the closet. Willow's comfortable with herself and Hunter is desperately trying to cover up his messy interior

Hunter as a golden guard here doesn't wear a mask, he's the FACE of the emperor's coven, so Willow can come to an agreement with herself that he's pretty, Hunter can also agree, he also thinks himself is pretty (ok ok let's hypothetically say he has a crush on people with glasses named Willow, just a coincidence

The two doubt each other's intelligence a lot and end up acting like fools falling into the traps of their own ego, they're better in this regard when they rarely and unwillingly work together, two heads think better than just one in the end

The evolution of cute names: "Mistress Park" and "Whatever-his-name" -> "Dear Wilsy/Sweet Low" and "Golden guy" -> "Will" and "Hunt"

Willow knows his weaknesses, she uses the most cowardly of all against him............ compare him to a D O G. blindly loyal and following an owner who offers treats or approval pats if he does a few tricks. GOLDEN RETRIEVER!!!!! did u guys know that she gave him a cute dog collar as a gift? I think it's so rude that he never used it (I like to say as if everything is canonical 'cause in my mind it is). she calls him whistling and he goes to her with droopy ears only to say he's NOT a dog and then he leaves again, with a dramatic movement of his cape

Hunter's secret identity (WHO IS ThE MOST REBEL NOW, WITCHES!!!!!) flirts shamelessly with Willow, she knows it's him. why he's so dumb. his mask (NOW he uses) didn't disguise voice. "Caleb Jasper Bloodwilliams" here was his escape from the coven stuff, just being free and without responsibilities for a few hours, but it ended up becoming a little too "against the coven" when he discovered some things

"you can let me pay, it's just a kindness between old friends, don't worry" Hunter said and in the next day, while he was receiving a very direct death threat "YOU OWE ME ONE, I BOUGHT YOU COFFEE AND YOU THANK ME LIKE THAT??". a little emotional manipulation on both sides, how romantic 🥰

introverts who communicate telepathically with nods of the head. while everyone was in Grom they were outside just stopping arguing for a moment and enjoying each other's company 🥺:

"even if it's not the beeest thing in the world, it's what we have for today apparently..."

"who said it's not the best thing in the world for me? I'm having fun, currently. you're not that bad"

"wha- but I like that too! I don't mean- I just thought you wouldn't- don't laugh at me, that's shameful now..."

"first time with a girl?"

"I TALK WITH GIRLS ALL THE TIME, OKAY????

"poor them"

[jacksdinonuggets]

Caregiver Burnout

Summary: After taking care of Luz for a while, Amity starts to get caregiver burnout. She's in desperate need of some little time but doesn't want to make Luz feel bad. So Em sets up a plan to help her out, involving a mama owl lady

Amity couldn’t wait until school ended for the day. The whole week has been insanely stressful. There were so many tests and assignments, her anxiety acted up and almost made her puke in class, Boscha was being a bitch as usual, and sleep was becoming very hard. Luz had also been feeling very little lately due to stuff at human school and needed someone to look after her since her mom was working a lot. So Amity would help her regress through texting. Not like the tamagotchi stuff. Like actual texting. Alador had managed to connect Luz’s phone to the scroll servers so that they could still talk.

She was just really hoping that she could relax today. It was Friday and no teachers gave her homework and she had no plans after school. So she was pretty happy on her walk home. But then she got a text from Luz.

‘Hey, Sorry to ask again, but can you just chat with me while I regress?’ 

Amity really wanted to say no. She was so exhausted and hadn't regressed in a month. But even the thought of saying no to Luz was impossible. She just couldn’t say no. Even though Luz had told her that it was fine if she was getting caregiver burnout, Amity refused to say no whenever she asked. She had only been online caregiving for luz every other day for a week and a half! There's no way she should be getting burnout already. She was just being weak and a bad girlfriend.

‘Yeah, of course, hun,’ She quickly texted back. 

On her walk to her house, she chatted with Luz as she regressed. She desperately just wanted to put her scroll away and never look at it again, but then Luz would feel abandoned. She hadn’t even realized she started spiraling a little and zoning out until Luz called her and her ringtone went off.

“Yes, Luz?” She picked up the phone

“Mama, you stopped texting… you otay?” Luz asked. Amity chewed her lip, contemplating whether to tell her the truth or not. She really wanted to, but it would make Luz feel like a burden. She couldn’t let Luz down like that. The kids at her human school were already making her feel like a burden and a bad person. Amity wasn’t going to add to that.

“I’m…okay, sweetie. Sorry, I just uh, walked into an area with a bad signal,” She said, trying to sound upbeat, “Why don’t you tell me your Azura headcanons again?”

Amity continued to walk home and talk with Luz while she did so. When she stepped into into the manor, Em saw how exhausted she looked when she walked into the kitchen and grabbed an apple-blood Energy drink. However, since she was on the phone, Em didn’t say anything. It would be rude to interrupt a phone call.She would just have a talk with her little sister later.

After dinner, Em walked into Amity’s room. She was reading a book in bed and had her scroll next to her. The elder blight sat down on the bed.

“Hey, sweetie, can you put down the book?” She spoke to her in a soft voice. Amity sighed and set it down.

“Your stress levels have been high again, Mittens,” Em stated instead of asked. All of the signs were there. She saw through them very easily. There was no need to ask if they were high.

“N-No they’re not,” She rebutted.

“Yes, they are. I see you taking nausea vials to school, you haven’t been sleeping right, and you had a borderline anxiety attack the other day. Not to mention that you’ve wet the bed 2 times this week.” Em declared. She saw Amity’s face go bright red at the mention of her accidents, but didn’t care. She needed to hear it.

“It’s fine, Em. I can handle it. I’ll take naps and stop bringing the nausea stuff,” Amity said.

“Is this because you’ve been caring for Luz lately?” Emira asked. She knew that caregiving could be quite taxing. But Amity was a little. She wasn’t used to taking care of people.

“Just get out! I’m fine!” Amity bellowed, face growing red with anger, but didn’t touch her ears. Yup, that confirmed it. Whenever Amity raised her voice or everything but her ears went red, it usually meant whatever she asked, was the answer. 

Emira, not wanting to upset her little sis further, sighed and got up, walking towards her own room. She pulled out her scroll and made a few calls.

The next day, after getting 4 hours of sleep, Amity woke up to Em knocking on her door and entering.

“Morning Mittens! Luz wants you at the owl house and I gotta pick up my new BGC shirt from Eda, so I’ll be walking with you,” She said.

Amity groaned a little, wanting to get some more sleep, but seeing as it was 10 am, she knew she had to get up. After getting changed and eating some breakfast, she saw Em at the door, with a backpack, waiting for her.

“Umm, what's with the bag?” Amity asked, grabbing Ghost.

“It’s just some shirts Eda tried getting me to sell. No one wanted Bad girl Coven branded jorts so I’m giving them back to her,” Em explained.

Amity just shrugged, not thinking anything of it and they started to fly towards the owl house. It was pretty chilly out since it was getting close to fall but luckily the fly wasn’t too long. Once they landed, Eda opened the door.

“Ah, there’s the Blights.” Eda said. She saw Em carrying the bag and stepped towards her.

“Hey, you need a hand?” She took off her prosthetic arm and waved it in her face with a bright grin. Em gave her a look.

“Alright, alright. I get it, it’s corny.” Eda popped her hand back on. Even though she loved her hook, she had a feeling it could be a little dangerous for what they were doing. Besides, the prosthetic was fine. She just had some troubles moving the fingers, but Alador was working on it. He was the one that designed it.

Once everyone was inside, Hooty closed the door and Em placed the bag on the couch.

“Where’s Luz?” Amity asked, realizing she wasn’t there.

“Ah, she won’t be here. She’s helping her mom out at the clinic,” The owl lady said.

“What? Then why am I here?” Amity was utterly confused.

“Because you are gonna have some little time and relax,” Em explained.

“But I don’t need t-”

“Nope! I ain’t hearing it. Your sister explained what was happening and even Luz called me to make sure you were okay.” Eda started. Em suddenly opened the bag, and inside were her two favorite stuffies, her bottle, her paci, and 3 disposable nappies. 

“Come on, kid. You haven’t regressed in a month. You need some little time,” Eda placed her real hand on Amity’s shoulder.

“B-but what if Luz regresses?! I need to be there for her,” Amity urged

“Luz will be with her mom today, she’ll be fine.” Em reassured her. 

Even though Amity felt horrible for “making” Eda care for her, she really needed some little time. She was so tired and stressed out. She hesitated before reluctantly agreeing to regress.

“Alright, well, your big sissy needs to go now, she has a date to get ready for. Go say goodbye, kiddo,” 

Amity stepped away for a moment to go give Emira a hug. 

“I’ll pick you up before dinner, okay?” She told her baby sis. The little one nodded and watched her big sibby fly away on her palisman.

Once she and Eda were alone, Eda placed her paci in and started to help her get changed. It was clear that Amity had gone full baby mood. After all the stress and exhaustion, it made sense. She was babbling softly and drooling a little.

“Alright, baby, first things first, you’re gonna take a nap,” Eda told her, setting out the naptime mat. However, Amity whined when she was laid down. 

“You don’t wanna go nini?” she asked. But Amity shook her head. She was really eepy and wanted to sleep.

“Then what’s wrong?” 

It was hard for her to speak so instead of verbalizing her wants, she showed her with her stuffy that she wanted cuddles.

“Ohh, the baby wants cuddles?” Amity nodded. Eda picked her back up and got blankets and pillows set up on the couch. She laid down with the anxiety-ridden girl in her lap. 

As they cuddled, Amity’s eyes slowly started to droop and she drifted off to sleep. Not wanting to bother the girl, Eda sat there the whole time, rubbing the girls back and playing with her hair. She didn’t care that her legs were asleep. The girl needed sleep and by golly, she was gonna help her sleep.

After 2 hours, Amity started to wake up from her nap. Eda didn’t notice as she, herself, wasn’t conscious anymore. So she tried to crawl off to not disturb her sleeping babysitter. However, as she was trying to crawl off, she took a tumblr to the floor. It didn’t hurt, but it really scared her. Being off balance was horrifying to such a small baby. She felt the urge to cry, so she did. She bawled, sitting on the floor of the living room. 

Eda immediately woke up and saw the baby on the floor, crying. Her immediate reaction was to curse before picking her up, but she knew better than to curse in front of literal infants. Instead, she picked her up and started rocking and cradling her.

“Shh, it’s okay, mittens. Did you fall off?” She asked the baby. Amity nodded and snuggled up close, calming down quickly. Eda smiled and continued to hold her.

For the rest of the day, Eda watched over Amity. She was very patient and gentle with her. No loud noises, no over-stimulating activities. Everything was made to help her relax. She had a little trouble with drinking her milk and required some help but it was okay. Eda was more than happy to help out. Besides, she was Mama Eda, the Owl Lady, the most powerful and protective Caregiver on the boiling isles.

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

Okay but Corrin was also there multiple days and the queen only died when SOMEONE ELSE ENTIRELY showed up and snatched and blew up said sinister blade. Nevermind how they had Azura for years and he still treated her like she was less than dog shit on his heel. He may have been right about SOME things, but he is still an asshole and unfairly blamed Corrin who was ALSO clearly upset about Mikoto's death and clearly had such a bad breakdown they almost permanently turned into a berserk dragon on the spot. In fact, the lady he was turboracist toward is the very person who calmed Corrin down, and Takumi doesn't even spare an apology or a thank you, just more blame. I LIKE Takumi but the boy is an asshole to a large degree to completely innocent people given they've had Azura over half her life at that point and not even illusion mages are gonna be able to fake a berserk dragon. He would not have figured out the Valla shit, he would have blamed Nohr for everything until he was blue in the face.

.

[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

Willow is having lunch with amity and azura

Willow: so, how was your time with lily yesterday azura?

Amity: yeah sweetheart, I’m curious what you 2 did after you left the house.

Azura: oh the usual, she manage to get leaves in her hair somehow. *blushes* Which makes her look cute as always*panics at what she said* I MEAN it makes her look dirty and weird as always!

Azura: in any case she charged at a griffin to do a rodeo. *blushes* it was attractive because lily was being chaotic again *panics again* I MEAN it was stupid and dumb because i had to save lily again!

*amity and willow stare as azura blushes*

Azura: i have to go wash my hands.

Amity: but honey, you just washed your hands 5 minutes ago.

Azura: I’m a very clean person, that’s why i didn’t find that lily’s hairstyle was making her cute what so ever!

Amity turns to willow

Amity: was i really that bad at hiding it back then?

Willow: oh no, she’s actually a lot worse if it took her this long for her to realize and deny.

Azura tries believes that auntie Willow must've slipped some love petals into the tea and that's why she said those things

[the-elder-polls]

Ok, so Esper Ironhand started out as the character I did actually get to play for a while in the same messy dnd campaign as the Healer who became Leitav. Esper was originally a Cisco woman, before sliding into gender ambiguity, and I gave that poor gal the saddest backstory like it was a competition (it kinda was, we were all seeing who could make the dm cry)

In Skyrim, Esper keeps a good bit of that backstory in that the story begins in a literal underground forced fighting ring at a very young age, with no memory of life before the Pit. Esper was adopted by a slightly older Argonian kid, who did her best to at least keep Esper alive and fighting, and in the end Esper did the same for a Khajiit kid a little younger.

The fighters in the Pits were all the so-called beast races, at least according to the Racial Philiogeny and The Pig Children crowd, Khajiit and Argonians and Orcs (maybe like a Lamia or two? Goblins?)

The three were nearly full grown (Esper was over six foot) when they became eligible to be put in the tournament for Champion, which supposedly leads to freedom (they take you out of the Pits anyway, though what it actually leads to, even I don't know). Esper was put up against the Khajiit, Stoneclaw, and tried to pull punches and let him win, even though it was a fight to the death. The consequences of holding back like you are a real person who gets to make actual choices were...bad. Stoneclaw died, and Esper nearly did. So after recovering and getting put back in, Esper didn't hesitate again when put against the Argonian of the trio, Hope-in-Darkness. Hope may have, but she was always a little more dexterous and sneaky, so it didn't show.

And after that, after Esper became Champion, but Champion alone, there was no point to going free by the Master's way, so Esper waited until it was almost over and broke his neck, then ran for the river running through the caverns that they used to dispose of bodies. It turned out to lead to freedom rather than back to Stoneclaw and Hope, so Esper became a wandering sellsword, but without the sword part, refusing to use any weapons after having been chained to a blade for so long.

If you know the story Inigo tells about how he betrayed and tried to murder his partner while addicted to skooma? Yeah that was actually Esper, who fled the scene before he could come back, and wound up taking a ship all the way to Dawnstar and wandering the snowfields still kid of out of it from the head injury until being attacked by bandits and left for dead (Alternate Start Live Another Life mod). Since it put me at Alftand for that, I made my way up to the Shrine of Azura where Aranea helped me and called me Champion(?!), and so the adventure begins.

Esper had to head to Winterhold and then Solitude on foot, and taking the dock gate into Solitude on a day when it was sleeting lead to finding Sofie actually frozen to the pavement and instantly becoming a parent, even if finding an actual house took longer. Then a carriage ride to Whiterun (and finding a hideout on the city outskirts because I have the Dragons Den house mod) brought Lucia into the family too, and then taking another carriage down to Falkreath to strike out north for Illinata's Deep (must pay back the debt to Aranea, daedra prince nonsense or no) lead to Gore, and the family begins to take shape.

Esper is an absolute unit of an Orc, and I have had unnecessary amounts of fun playing with size tweaks and comparison shots

Lore for your enjoyment, anyway

i am doing this to esper

[azures-grace]

Requesting info on the 6th house au you were posting about bc yo that sounds cool

You can't see it through a screen but I'm like

Actually physically vibrating.

I came up with this AU over a year ago and it was basically "what if Alexi (my Nerevarine) just. Joined the 6th House instead of killing Dagoth Ur?"

The timing of WHEN she joined has changed a bit (from right before the fight to when she meets Dagoth Gares) and the REASONING has changed a lot (from "I don't actually like Morrowind, fuck them dudes" to "I have 0 support system and have a child and I've been sucked into a cult") but the very very basic premise is the same.

It was initially my crack AU where I couldn't tell if I wanted to ship Alexi and Dagoth Ur or not. And now it has like... Dementia metaphors. How did this even happen.

Anyways, the story ACTUALLY follows Alexi's daughter (who's never been Dagoth Ur's, no matter when in this AU's history you look). Her arc used to be centered around a lot of confusion as to why people hated her, and why things were happening, etc etc. Now she's actually gonna do something about it in the end. I'm gonna have so many random thoughts at the bottom of this just. Smushed in.

It also went from Armina being the one with zero support system to now she has an adopted sister and also a best friend/love interest when she's older. Terastelle Telvanni (sister) save me.. save me Terastelle Telvanni...

Anywho, the story has like... 2 main plots: Armina learning her dad is ✨terrible✨ and Alexi progressing through Corprus and becoming Nerevar (and losing Alexi). I will just say, though, to Armina and Tera, since they're actually IN the cult, Dagoth Ur is not a menacing figure until they know what's going on outside the mountain. I'm writing a scene where Armina literally drags him around. He's not Dagoth Ur to those kids, he's just dad.

Anyway, Alexi holds the Tools of Kagrenac (from the original au) for the most part, and she used them to manipulate the Heart to make sure her children wouldn't get Corprus (side effect was about a generation can't get it because she didn't know how to specify well). Alexi, however, DOES get it, and it leads to her physically and mentally becoming Nerevar, if that makes sense? The way it affects her is it morphs her body to be more similar to his, and it degrades her mind until she's left with only his memories and personality. And her kids have to watch it in real time 👍.

Anyway, back to the main cast: Armina, Terastelle, and Teldryn Sero. The last one was not planned.

All three represent both the main 3 star signs, as well as the Good 3 Daedra, AND they fall into "bad Daedra" counterparts later

Armina is half Bosmer and half Dunmer, and she's the Warrior and representation of Mephala (cause she's in a web of lies) and she falls to Clavicus Vile in a search for power to destroy Dagoth Ur. She fights with a big ol' 2-handed sword.

Terastelle is half Dunmer and half Altmer, she's the Mage and the representation of Boethiah. My violence wins mage <3. She falls to Malacath because of how she's treated in the cult (not as badly as those outside of the mountain, but less well than Armina, because even though Armina isn't a full Dunmer, she's also Nerevar's child, so she gets a pass). Tera gets motivated by vengeance after she learns her parents were murdered by the cult. This goes interestingly for her. Idk if she gets really hurt by it or not, but she's very scorches earth about "no Dagoth survivors" just like how her family had no survivors.

Teldryn is the thief who represents Azura, and he's the only full Dunmer in the gang, but he's from outside the mountain. When he's introduced, Blacklight is the most recent addition to the house. He falls to Sheogorath (seeking a middle ground led him to insanity or something, idk). He fights with pretty much his normal fighting style from Skyrim, which is pretty mixed. I need to develop him more in the context of the AU, but I'll get to that after this.

Anywho, random thoughts now!

As the Warrior, Armina protects the Steed from the Serpent, and Alexi's sign is the Steed 👍

Both Alexi and Armina are trying to save the people they love, in different ways, and in the end, both fail.

Is my HoK still Sheogorath or is it normal Sheo?

Armina can manipulate dreams which is part of what pushes her to be Dagoth Ur's favorite child.

The way the story is written changes as Armina grows up and then learns more about the cult. Slow-burn horror 👍

I get to write Clavicus Vile at some point, I'm excited.

Armina asking Alexi why she doesn't wear layers and Alexi trying to find a way to answer that isn't "because I don't expect to have skin for much longer anyway”. The answer she ends up going with is "Mountain's too damn hot" and then starts crying whenever her daughter leaves the room

Alexi's character in that AU is so interesting to me

Like, she's technically placed very high in the hierarchy, probably second to Dagoth Ur himself, yet she's got next to no power because those she loves would be in danger if she tried anything

Anyways, I'm writing for this, drawing for it, and I'll start posting more stuff once I have the first bit of the story written and the portrait finished. Have a Tera for your time <3

I love you, Terastelle Telvanni...

[the-tharns-speak]

On the topic of ruins and loot, what was/is the standard policy regarding artifacts looted/acquired (either while adventuring or wartime), and what are some of the more noteworthy artifacts you and the other Companions have come across (aside from the Amulet of Kings, of course)? (And on that note, may I be so bold as to inquire what sort of family artifacts the Tharn family has/had?)

It's seen as a common courtesy to leave behind some dort of information about the relic you've taken: What it was, how you found it, vague outline of your plans with it, where to find you in case the person who came here next needs to contact you about it. Write in standard Cyrodillic, or if you have a brush and the time and will, in Daedric alphabet if you feel it is appropriate.

If the artifact is obviously cursed, it's nice to leave behind some blood splatters as a warning. It does not have to be your blood. If you are raiding into a Dwemer ruin, flip the switches and turn the valves back the way they were on your way out. You don't want that hot steam that was spewing into the corridor to build up somewhere deeper beneath in a boiler and blow the place up.

When it comes to handling the looted found relics, it's mostly case-by-case custom approach. I like to wash what I've found first, cold water, a bit of distilled alcohol to disinfect it. Not advisable for some crystals and most fine Dwemer machinery, though. Cleaning is a good step, though, it let's you see the details beneath the grime, and significantly lowers your chance of contracting some nasty disease when you cut yourself on it.

(Not so fun story, shortly I was estabilished as the Imperial Battlemage, the Guardians of the Vault brought to me a cursed crescent, the foul hex on it had already killed three of them in a a rather ugly and painful manner. After we cleansed it of rust, I gave the remaining five a very long talk about tetanus prevention and since then the only other curse that befell the Battlespire was from a werebat. The curse was rabies.)

As a rule of thumb, do not eat your artifact. Don't put it in your mouth either. If it is a drinking vessel, don't drink from it. If it is a cooking utensil or a piece fo silverware, contact a Daedric expert (an actual expert, not just self-proclaimed); almost all of us know the Haskill This Is An Emergecy message spell.

As for the artifacts and relics out family has obtained over the course of the years vast majority of them has been... Well, I suppose the polite term would be "repossessed". Not that long after the Soulburst I was netly shooed off the main stage and my less sensible relatives and progeny managed to missplace a lot of the family's posession.

Still, what remains and is of note

A set of daedric crescents. Honestly, I am still dumbstruck as to why Mannimarco let me keep them on my person during my stay in the Castle of the Worm. The staff is unparalleled. I've managed to fit it with a new handle, since the last one just shattered in my face a couple of years ago, and by the Eight, how did I manage to go without it for so long?

The Spoon of Repulsion. From Sheogorath's domain, I don't know if he already had it or if I am that special, but it was entrusted to my care to propel bad anons out of this blog's very inbox at high velocity. Not much goot as an actuall spoon, since it throws your meal across the room and through the wall.

A couple of Azura's crystals. Some of them are full, and I forgot with hwom and I am not eager to find out.

A blood-drinking longsword that melts with the wielder's flash if used for long enough. Probably the artifact that's been in our posession for the longest... and one that's seen the least use.

Mallion-Canae, a ring made of petrified flame. Not sure what it's good for besides as a pocket warmer.

Three sets of armor made of dragon bone. I am not sure if it counts as an artifact, since they are extremely new. Apparently the Rimmen Armory is running out of space, and since I caused it in the first place...

Two Tablets of Silk, the devices that allow access to the internet.

The Fang of Barbas, which to my knowledge does not actually come from Barbas, and while held it does not allow you to speak a lie. Less helpful than it sounds. Banned from the courts of Cyrodill.

A vial of what's supposed to be Namira's blood, although it has the physical properties of oil rather than blood. A viscous substance with no known antivenom. So toxic that looking at it with unshielded eyes kills.

[sepublic]

Very old post I’ve had in my drafts, but I’ll finally say it:

You know, I’m getting tired of the trash takes that Luz in Episode 1 was somehow a stereotypical ‘weirdo’ of the ‘I’m not like other girls’ variety, because...

She wasn’t? Throughout that episode she never had an issue with any other ‘normal’ kids, her conflict was only with adults in charge, and she never tried to take her anger out on anyone. Luz was just unhappy about being able to express her interests. The one time she’s up against a ‘other girl’ it’s with Amity in Episode 3 and that’s only because Amity bullies Willow for having bad grades; And even then, Luz still goes out of her way to make amends with Amity the very next episode and is clearly unhappy about getting her in trouble with the principal earlier. And I get that it’s important to be against the whole ‘Not like other girls’ mentality, but at the same time...

As an autistic individual who gets a lot of autistic vibes from Luz, I really relate to her loneliness as a kid. It’s something that resonates a lot with me, so it feels pretty patronizing to hear other people act like there is no actual issue for Luz, that it’s all just exaggerated? That her interests are actually mainstream nowadays, because they’re not? I don’t remember taxidermy or friendliness with spiders to the point of letting them crawl over you being a ‘mainstream’ interest. Let’s be real- With how many people on this site say dumb stuff like “Liking [insert media] isn’t a personality,” and considering Luz’s hyper-fixation on Azura, it low-key gives off ableist vibes. 

The whole point of Episode 1 was that it was okay to be weird, and then Episode 2 immediately follows afterwards by noting that being weird also doesn’t make you better than others, either. The whole point is that being weird is a perfectly natural, normal thing... 

And it feels patronizing to act like the writers are neurotypical adults who are trying to be hip by pretending they know what the ‘weirdo’ experience is like or whatever, because the creator herself has professed to having used dead animals as a drawing reference because it was her only way of getting them to stay still (which is a BIG neurodivergent mood to me). It feels almost insulting when people are like, “LOL Luz thinks she’s weird, she’s really not!” when there are plenty of people on this site and in real life who would totally criticize Luz for ‘treating Azura as a personality’. And personally speaking, there’s still a lot of stigma towards autistic individuals, so seeing someone like Luz display a lot of neurodivergent vibes and having people act almost like she’s just doing things for ‘attention’ or that she totally wouldn’t be treated as different in real life just feels... Disingenuous.

Like, I feel that it’s important to not have a ‘Not like other girls’ mentality, but at the same time I feel that issue is separate from the whole issue of being neurodivergent and not fitting in as a result. The former is a form of misogyny, and the other is genuine loneliness over not being neurotypical. Like yeah, you’re not better than anyone else just because you’re ‘lonely’... But you’re still lonely nevertheless. We’re talking about an issue of misogyny VS ableism, and Luz’s situation just feels a lot closer to the latter, so it feels dismissive to just pretend it’s the former.