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shieldofrohan · 4 years ago

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I don't think GRRM explores the flaws in Arya's characterisation rather he explores how the world is unfair to her. Whenever I read Jon, Sansa, Dany , Robb and Bran, I feel they behave as their age requires them to be. They show capabilities yet are not exempted from bad choices which a character at their age can easily commit. With Arya, sometimes it feels like I am not reading a 11 year old kid but a grown up 25 year old woman who never messes up things or has any characterisation flaws which are not inherent within like the other child characters but those failings are primarily influenced by the society.

Hello Anon,

I have to agree and disagree with you.

I agree with that Martin writes Jon, Sansa and Dany better- MUCH BETTER.

I am obviously not a Daenerys fan but I enjoyed her character more than I did with Arya. I said it many times but I am going to say it again: Daenerys is the best written character in the series. She is much more interesting villain than man-pain Tyrion [looking at you Martin.. really, Tyrion?].

Objectively I find her character well written and interesting. But my problem with her is that her cult like fans who completely ignore her true position and characterization in the books. Hopefully in the future people will enjoy Dany character for the right reasons.

I felt like I need to explain my thoughts about Dany first to show my problems with the way of Arya was written by the author.

Arya is the WORST written main character. TRULY. Everything about her is so FAKE/FORCED/CLICHE/UNREALISTIC…

Author says that Arya is the underdog/outcast of the family. Does the writing show this?

NO!

She is literally her father's favorite child. We see Ned constantly favoring her, letting her do what she likes, he never scolds her, he makes time to talk with her about her traumas like losing a friend, he fcking finds a Water Dancer for her [but not a harp teacher for Sansa]. I have a great dad but jeez, even he never showed me this kind of devotion.

Catelyn seems like she knows her daughter well… we don’t see her abusing or ignoring her. She even acknowledges her struggles.

Her siblings love her. Even Sansa tries to keep include her into her own circle to enjoy things together, she covers for her against Septa Mordane.

As we can see, she seems doing fine as a tomboy girl in the family of 5 men/boys and 2 women/girls.

BUT SHE COULDN’T SEW SO SHE WAS BEING ABUSED.

Really? Wow she must be the only special snowflake who wasn’t good at sewing. I am sure rest of the girls in North were all experts. Arya is the only one who lacks some skill people and it made her super sad.

Fans tried to paint this as some "omg anti-feminism/sexism in society" thing and it feels absurd because Arya was bad at history and heraldy too..

A tomboy is not good at some female-coded skill is so fcking cliche for character building and I am not buying it. And this is BAD/LAZY WRITING.

Did Martin try to make her look like an underdog with this??

Well Sansa is not good at math? I am sure she had bad days because of this too but we didn’t read it. If you ask me Sansa (girly girl) being bad at math (male-coded subject) was more sexist than sewing and Arya thing [considering Sansa was good at music and playing instruments which require math but whatever.]

Arya is an outcast because she is not like other girls… WOW, it has never been written before, how did George come up with this idea? Meanwhile we have girls like Mormont girls so obviously she is not the only "NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS MARY SUE".

Evil Mordane bullied poor Arya. Mordane is totally not good for her BUT Arya literally never listens HER TEACHER. I am not talking about her lack of skill in sewing. Arya simply NEVER listens anyone. She disobeys her septa, she declines QUEEN’s invitations rudely, she talks sh*t about CROWN PRINCE while princess is next to them.

Girly lessons like sewing weren’t the only lessons she was not into it…

Sansa would have known who he was, and the fat one too, but Arya had never taken much interest in titles and sigils. Whenever Septa Mordane had gone on about the history of this house and that house, she was inclined to drift and dream and wonder when the lesson would be done.

[ACOK; Arya VII]

She simply never cares about any lessons and she simply refuses to learn basic DECORUM. Yeah I am sorry that she had to learn things she didn’t want to but welcome to real world.

MY POINT IS: all these are so weak points to make her look like an outcast/underdog.

Don’t even let me start with Jeyne Poole calling her HORSERACE nonsense. I said it before so I repeat it: This feels so forced in the story considering Arya is the daughter of Warden of the North and Jeyne is some simple daughter of a simple man who works for Starks.

This is what author himself says about class system:

Q: What was the hardest thing in writing about such an alien world?

GRRM: The vast majority of fantasy is middle agey time wise, and he himself finds the period fascinating; glad to adopt it for novel writing - likes knights and castles and such. He objects to bad fantasy practice which adopts a time setting without accepting the culture - imposing 20th century values like the cheeky stableboy telling off the princess (in reality cheeky stableboy would lose his tongue - look what happend to Mycah); the class system was not just and ornament and these people truly belived in blood, and the rank and priviledge that came with "good" blood. [2006]

But Jeyne somehow had no fear when she was “bullying” a princess. Does this make sense to you or does it feel forced to make Arya look like a victim. And this bad writing keeps repeating itself while author writes Arya and when you realize this pattern you can’t unsee it and it ruins the books a little.

I wrote all these to explain what is ACTUALLY wrong with Arya as a character. I don’t blame Arya for the bad writing, I blame the author.

And I disagree with you a little when you said: "With Arya, sometimes it feels like I am not reading a 11 year old kid but a grown up 25 year old woman who never messes up things or has any characterisation flaws which are not inherent within like the other child characters but those failings are primarily influenced by the society.”

[I explained the her failings in society’s eyes part already.. that thing is a cliche and unrealistic writing]

I don’t agree with that reading Arya feels like reading an older woman. No it feels like reading a VERY UNREALISTIC AND DISTURBING CHILD. She totally makes mistakes:

Talking bad about prince in a room full of people, declining Queen’s invitations, not listening her septa and Sansa, making prince angry, hiding for 4 days while she should have gone to her father to deal with the mess so maybe Mycah and Lady wouldn’t be dead, attacking her sister, killing a stableboy, killing many other people, joining a assassin cult, killing a Black brother because she thinks she has the right etc..

She makes mistakes but we didn’t see her face any consequences. Will we see her face them?? When it comes to Arya I don’t trust GRRM. GRRM covers for her all the time. GRRM = Ned Stark. He favors her. I mean look at this:

Sansa saves Dontos who later molests her and he works for Baeslish who also molests her.

Arya saves Jaqen H’ghar and he turns out to be a Faceless Man who kills THREE people for her.

Sandor sexually assaults Sansa but not Arya [I am not saying he should!! But why is it always Sansa? Does the author punish Sansa for her beauty… ANSWER IS YES because I am done!]

Sansa trusts Joffrey and Cersei ends up the most hated character in the books [even author says she had a part in her father’s death and he is ok with fans hating her]

Meanwhile Arya’s spider senses tell her to not trust Roose Bolton or anyone etc.

Arya runs into people like Yoren or Harwin meanwhile Sansa… you got it.

Basically this is a simple case of author favoring a character and it happens in all books.

The only thing that indicates author knows she is not perfect is that him calling her a “psycho” or not disagreeing when fans call her a psycho [I know I usually make fun of this but actually this is not some good take about a child character especially if you say Starks- including Arya- are the heroes]

In conclusion: I think she is written terribly, she is the weakest part in the story and character building. I simply hate the way author deals with her character. I think she is not interesting. She turned out to be a very dark and disturbing child character and I have no idea what is GRRM trying to tell with her.

Thanks for the ask. Have a nice day.

#anti grrm #anti arya stark #anti arya stans #ask #answered #reply #anon #grrm critical #mine

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anxiouspotatorants · 4 years ago

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Alright for those who have seen my Mal character analysis post here is part 2. For more context see the intro (and if you, want the whole thing) of said last post. But once again some disclaimers first: I haven’t read the original trilogy and use this to my advantage when analysing Alina based on her show-character alone. I do ship Malina (at least at the writing of this post), so that might influence my interpretation. This is just my opinion, so feel free to disagree. And spoilers for all of season 1 of Shadow and Bone.

Part 2: Alina

Now what I have seen so far when it comes to critiquing Alina, is that her character relies too much on Mal. She mentions him constantly while at the Little Palace, and once reunited with him practically attaches her own hip to his. Some argue that her growth was stunted by their reunion, and that we don’t get to see enough of who she is apart from Mal. And uh, yeah I disagree. It’s not that I find this argument inconceivable, just that after seeing the season twice I don’t really think that opinion holds water. Who is Alina? That is quite literally the mission statement of the season. Alina goes from an outcast cartographer with a small but somewhat reliable group of friends to finding out she’s not only grisha but a special kind of grisha. And from then on she basically has multiple identity crises only to end the season mentally preparing for a new roller coaster of identities. So let me try to map it out.

The power-reveal might happen in episode 1, but we actually find out a lot about who Alina is and was pre-reveal. She’s an orphan and social outcast due to her mixed race status (being half Shu in Ravka is not exactly easy). She’s had one friend throughout her childhood, Mal, and managed to find comradery in her cartographer team. From a young age she has had a talent for drawing, and Ana Kuya encouraged young Alina to direct this skill towards cartography, as this would provide her one of the safer roles in the army, which Alina was doomed to join from the start. As a child she was not popular, but her friendship with Mal shows a girl who was brave, loyal and determined. She was willing to up the stakes to protect her loved one (see: bully scene). As a young woman she still seems to keep that fighting spirit, but has also grown a larger sense of humour. She jokes around with Mal and their friends, but she’s also clearly insecure — repeating her question about Mal’s stories and her decision to hide her jealousy over Zoya suggest as much.

Post-reveal, Alina has to deal with a lot of different people saying a lot of different things about who she is. The grisha soldiers view her as a form of redemption for their people. Her former superiors and First Army soldiers view her as grisha-business. Mal, although Alina never finds out, tries to double down on his pre-established view of Alina until he sees the test. The king makes it clear to Alina that he sees her as a tool to reunite the two Ravkas. And the Darkling tries to create an entirely new narrative for Alina: she’s his other half, his one equal in the world, the one he has been waiting for that will right his his ancestor’s wrongs. Then there’s the Apparat who introduces her to the religious aspect of her powers, and Baghra who first treats her as unworthy of her powers and then as an unready foil to the Darkling. Alina has to navigate a lot of roles at the same time: saint, freak, saviour, tool, rival, enemy, heroine, lover, royal subject, the list goes on. It is through the combined impressions of Baghra and Mal that Alina starts to find herself again. Baghra consistently tries to get Alina to become her own person in harmony with her powers («who are you holding back for?»), but Alina initially twists this pep-talk into shifting her focus from Mal to the Darkling. Once Baghra reveals the Darkling’s true identity and motivations, Alina finally has to make the choice to go out on her own without allies. She outmanouvers the crows and gets in altercations with soldiers before running into the woods and into Mal. Mal’s presence reminds her of who Alina is at her core: an underdog with a lionheart. And the thing is, once reunited with Mal, Alina genuinely starts to change. She isn’t just returning to banter or insecurities or relying on support. She confronts Mal on his assumed silence and pre-established view of grisha. And she doesn’t give up on her new goal and run away with him — she insists on finding the stag, defeating the Darkling and destroying the Fold. She has found her goal and is following it free from the expected roles that have been thrust on her. At the end of the season, Alina might be back to her and Mal against the world, but she is a different woman. She is more confident and more goal-oriented. She has directed her stubborness towards a specific mission, and is preparing to have to battle all the roles that will be thrust upon her in future seasons (see: Zoya’s speech about Alina becoming a martyr before she becomes a saint). Who is Alina? She’s a fighter facing her new bully head on.

But there are two other elements I find important to rant about when it comes to Alina’s season 1 journey. The first is her connection to Mal. The two have been tight since they found each other as children in the orphanage. Alina suppressed her powers unknowingly for years and sabotaged her grisha test out of fear that a positive result would separate her and Mal. She makes it clear in later episodes that this fear of separation is what motivated her actions. But I don’t think it was about just Mal. I think Alina is terrified of being alone. And once Alina is brought to the Little Palace, she has no one. Not Mal, who was denied even a quick goodbye and whos letters are kept away from Alina. Not her cartographer friends, who all died either in the Fold or, in Alexei’s case, alone in a cellar at the hands of Kerch mobsters. She once again faces alienation, not just about her race but her commoner-soldier status, and quickly attaches herself to Genya, who is one of the few to show her kindness. Once she has been made to believe that Mal doesn’t care about her she also gets closer to the Darkling and recenters her world from around one man to the other. She feels pressure to perform as is expected of her to gain acceptance from what she now has to assume is her new home. Alina attaches herself to whoever seems decent enough because it is safer than being alone, especially in a world like the one she lives in. When it is then revealed that the Darkling has manipulated her the whole time, Alina starts to question everything again and journeys out on her own for possibly the first time. It is Mal who tracks her down and helps her out of a predicament, thus providing safe harbour for Alina again. Alina doesn’t just run back to him and regress as a character. As written above, her journey to episode 6 has impacted her to the point where her and Mal’s relationship changes too. The casually joking tone they used to have is much more subdued, and the two have to confront and open up to each other about revelations and feelings. They apologize to each other and show compassion. This isn’t a giant leap from their relationship pre-power reveal, but it still stands in contrast to their tense silences and evasions in episode 1. To put it this way: they bullshit each other a lot less now. And what is important to note is that Alina reunites with Mal for a reason. As implied by the last paragraph, a lot of people have a lot of expectations for Alina. Mal is (as many have pointed out before me) the one person who always sees her as a person instead of a concept. Where others see a saint or a weapon, he sees his friend. Where others see a threat or an unworthy vessel, he sees a girl who stands up to bullies and protects her loved ones. Alina and Mal bring out each others’ humanity, and that is a crucial thing to have in a world that sees them as inhuman: whether as prophetic legends on pedestals or anonymous cannon fodder.

The other point I want to bring up is that I think Alina has a second mission in season 1: navigating who to trust. We know that in the beginning the ones she trusts are Mal and the cartographers. Once in the Little Palace, she starts out by putting knives under pillows and only revealing emotional vulnerability in private. But she quickly starts to place her trust in others. She considers Genya a friend, the Darkling an ally who could be something more, and Marie, Nadia, Ivan and Fedyor as companions. She even becomes receptive to the Apparat from his lesson about Morozova. On the flip side she has an understandable feud with Zoya, and an equally understandable hot-and-cold relationship to Baghra. By the end of the season, Marie is dead and Nadia and Fedyor are nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile the Darkling is revealed as the true villain with Ivan as his underling and Genya his spy. Even The Apparat is implied to become a future enemy. Baghra and Zoya, on the other hand, have proven themselves to be more helpful to Alina — Baghra by exposing the Darkling, and Zoya by turning against him and helping Alina in the final Fold battle. And those Kerch crows who attempted to kidnap her ended up playing just as important a role in her rescue and in letting her go to continue her journey freely. Alina has spent the season learning that people really are not what they seem. Those who call themselves friends of you could be locking you in a cage, and those who wished you harm could turn out to have morals and redeem themselves. And Mal has an entire trust-arc for Alina of his own: he goes from her one friend to someone she thinks has left her behind, only to return and prove his loyalty and how worthy he is of her trust. I think this theme is something that will follow Alina in the next season, especially since she and Mal will be more vulnerable than before. She’ll need to learn when to keep her guard up and who is worthy of her softness.

So yeah, if I haven’t made myself clear enough I think Alina has a massive arc this season and that Mal doesn’t hinder this arc but rather is a reflection of it. Mal doesn’t regress her character, but rather reminds her who she is in opposition to who she is expected and told to be. And being a protagonist who interacts with a lot of characters, she is set up to have just as much of a journey (if not a bigger one) in future seasons. Is Mal going to be part of that? Probably. But he will continue to function as someone holding a mirror up to Alina reminding her of who she is. And Alina will continue to grow and deal with conflict as any protagonist should.

#I had a lot more to say about her than I expected #but I don't mind #but yeah just because this is a fantasy romance story and relationships are a big part of the story #it doesn't mean that Alina is less developed as a character #big shock: relationships can actually say something about a character and help build growth #can’t believe I called Jesper Kaz and Inej ’those Kerch crows’#alina starkov #shadow and bone #shadow and bone spoilers #sab spoilers #malina #alina x mal

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theschizoidblog · 4 years ago

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Snape, the Schizoid

Blog 4: 30/07/2020

While I usually write about how Schizoid personality disorder affects me, I think there’s a lot to be learned from drawing comparisons to fictional characters. In fact, before I got my diagnosis, I was writing fanfiction in which I poured very large portions of my soul and very being, often without realizing I wasn’t really writing about other characters, but I was exploring my own inner self. I loved writing about outcasts, about recluses and sometimes I didn’t know if I just was in a sort of love with the characters I wrote about, or if they were me.

At the age of 18, we’re talking about 2001 here, I got into Harry Potter. And with that I mean: I got into Severus Snape. Described as an ugly git and a mean bastard, I still loved him to pieces. (And Alan Rickman portrayed him beautifully, RIP)

And here might be the reason why he lured me in straight away: Snape is a schizoid, like me. And that only clicked when I got my diagnosis a few months ago. 19 years after first encountering the character. And after rereading some of my own fanfictions, I started realizing that what I’d described as Snape’s problems and needs in those stories, were my own. Strange how that works!

In this blog, I’m going to run over some traits of SPD (schizoid personality disorder) and explain how Snape fits into the criteria.

This post serves three purposes:

To people who have no idea what schizoid personality disorder is, this is a means to familiarize yourself with the disorder by exploring the traits while you imagine a character you already know.

To people with schizoid personality disorder, this is just meant to be a fun little blog where maybe you can recognize some traits of yourself. No worries, I have not forgotten we’re all on a spectrum and each schizoid is different.

To fans of the Harry Potter novels, I hope that you come to realize that people can identify with flawed characters for very personal reasons. Don’t be mean to fictional characters (unless they’re Umbridge I guess XD), because you never know who identifies with them. Your rejection of a character can feel like the rejection of a person who struggles with the same things. Anti-culture, in all fandoms, has to end. It’s not adult. It’s not wise. It’s mean. It’s exhausting.

I also feel like I need to make a statement about JK Rowling’s intent: I doubt she knew what SPD was when she wrote Snape. She said she based him off of one of her old teachers – no idea if that man had SPD or was just generally unpleasant. The way that Snape matches SPD is eerie though, just like Luna matches schizotypal personality disorder rather well. (More on that later.) An actual psychologist might disagree with me and say “No he’s not schizoid because….” – and hell, I’d love to hear it. I don’t mind it if this post, written by a schizoid but not a psychologist, starts a discussion that will help people understand the disorder even better, even if I’m wrong in assessing Snape. Or if we can learn to understand Snape better because of me being wrong, that’s also a win-win situation.

Ready? Let’s dive into it!

Cause

SPD is said to be caused by a combination of genetics and environment – as is the case with many other personality disorders. But ask around in schizoid groups, and most will tell you that there were issues in childhood with abuse, lack of warmth or understanding at home, or the presence of a “bad parent”. According to webmd: “Some professionals speculate that a bleak childhood where warmth and emotion were absent contributes to the development of the disorder.”

We all know that Snape’s early childhood was not a happy one. He had an abusive muggle father and grew up at Spinner’s End, the opposite of what you could consider a happy childhood home.

When you grow up in a loveless home, it ruins a lot of your own enjoyment of life. You get trust issues, you become awkward, and so when Snape finally arrives at Hogwarts, he gets bullied. He’s already rather isolated (he only had Lily), and they picked on him because kids can sniff out weaknesses and he was an easy target.

The bullying did nothing to stop the disorder from developing further. Many schizoids have gone through bullying themselves, and it does nothing to help you grow closer to human beings as you get older, quite the opposite, a bond of trust is broken and it’s incredibly hard to heal that. You’ll be suspicious of everyone you meet once that sort of thing happens. The more bullying you receive, the more you hate the world as you grow up. Maybe that’s not true for all people or all schizoids, but I bet some can relate.

You might say: “But Harry also got bullied at the Dursleys and he turned out fine!” Well, I guess he did. That’s the thing with many heroes – their tragic backstories make them poster boys of “look what they overcame and how he saved the world!” – but it’s not that realistic, and if you’ve got a genetic predisposition to develop a personality disorder instead, you’re screwed. Let’s also not forget that Harry’s first year in life was a very loving one. The very first year in a child’s life is crucial, and if things go wrong in early childhood, that leaves scars that most people carry with them for the rest of their lives. Snape never had that steady sort of home, not even for one year, or if he did, there’s nothing to indicate he did.

Diagnosis Criteria

Okay, time to get digging! According to the DSM-V, you need to display at least four symptoms in order to be diagnosed with SPD. Also keep in mind that these traits need to be present for longer than just a few months or a year or so. You might recognize some of these traits as something you’ve gone through yourself if you’ve ever been depressed – it’s when these traits last for what seems like your entire adult life, that a diagnosis with the disorder can be made. (I’m also not familiar with every other trait of every other disorder in the DSM-V, so as I stated in the beginning, it’s possible that other personality disorders are even more fitting of Snape, but that I just don’t know them yet.)

The seven criteria are:

Lack of desire or enjoyment for close personal relationships

Always chooses solitary activities

Little or no interest in sex with other people

Experiences little pleasure from activities

No close friends other than immediate family

Indifference to criticism or praise

Emotional detachment and lack of emotional expression

➤ Emotional detachment and lack of emotional expression

While this is usually at the bottom of the list, I want to put it on top. This is what they also call “flat affect”. You can give us a present, and it might seem like we’re not truly grateful. We may laugh with a joke, but the light never reaches our eyes. Emotionally, it doesn’t seem to an outsider like there’s a lot going on, and if it is, it’s going on so deeply within our souls we’re hardly aware of it ourselves. Think of Snape’s monotonous voice when talking. Now Alan Rickman is a brilliant actor and emotes with very very small signs sometimes, and it’s not like when talking to me, you’re talking to a wall. (But my empathic mask makes me appear rather normal to most folks.) (I don’t think Snape has a mask like that.) Other characters that have schizoid traits are, for example, Mai from Avatar the Last Airbender or Geralt of Rivia from the Witcher. If you know and visualize these characters, you may understand better what I mean with the “lack of emotional expression” then. Also, Snape being a great Occlumens? It’s because he’s the reigning champion in suppressing his emotions, like all schizoids are. We would make wonderful Occlumens, I think. XD Snape being mean? Not all schizoids have a good amount of empathy, they’re too emotionally detached for that. (Others are very empathic to some causes, but might be picky in what they are empathic about. For example: they can be empathic towards animal cruelty and Black Lives Matter, but don’t give a shit about other causes.)

A lack of empathy is what makes plenty of people an easy prey to fascists. Without empathy, what moral compass is going to stop you from becoming a bigot? (And I also want to state that within the disorder you’ll probably find people of all political leanings – many schizoids also seem to have a thing for the underdog, and thus seem to often lean towards the left instead of the right side of the political spectrum. But as with ‘regular’ people, you’ll find people swing both ways.) But here, in Snape’s case, his hatred for his bullies and his father (a muggle) pushed him right into the Death Eater’s arms, and they were glad to welcome a man of his skill, maybe even giving him the illusion, for a while, that he had found a new family. It didn’t last, and eventually his eyes opened to what the Death Eater’s really were. He was too young and naïve to see what they wanted of him (and the one person he loved), and it basically ruined his life. He was a teenage fool, and after losing Lily’s friendship, he had no one left to keep him out of that bad group of friends.

➤ Lack of desire or enjoyment for close personal relationships

Does Snape strike you as the social type that’s trying to make new friends all the time? Have you ever seen the man enjoy the company of another character in the books? Not just tolerate, not just need, but ‘enjoy’? Even when it comes to Lucius or Karkarov, it seems he is just keeping an eye on them, observing them rather than offering true friendship.

Maybe McGonagall might be an exception. He seems amiable towards her, in a competitive way. He might get a kick out of their arguing. She’s certainly an intelligent woman so he might enjoy her company for intellectual reasons.

➤ Always chooses solitary activities

We see Snape engage in a few activities at Hogwarts, such as going to Quidditch matches, or being present at the Yule Ball. Death Eater meetings and gatherings in the staff room might be social activities, but let’s not pretend Snape has a lot to say about whether he attends those or not. As a teen he already excels at potions, a solitary activity, and when we are given a glimpse of his “summer” lifestyle at Spinner’s End in Half-Blood Prince, he’s just reading. He certainly doesn’t entertain a crowd in his spare time, like, for example, Slughorn does.

➤ Little or no interest in sex with other people

I hear you coming now. “BUT LILY!” Schizoids are often asexual, but not necessarily sex-aversive. When asking around in a schizoid group, about a third of the schizoids seem to be in relationships or are even married, perhaps even more. And many of the others have had sexual relationships in the past. Many have tried to make relationships work, only to realize at a later point that that sort of life was not for them and that they would never be truly happy in a relationship. Other schizoids are happy in relationships – so it exists! It’s not impossible! (Remember: you need 4/7 traits, not 7/7 to be schizoid.) Also keep in mind, if Snape really was interested in sex, why would he pine after a dead woman for 16 years? He’d be over her way sooner and into someone else’s pants way sooner too. Lily was the first person in his life that gave him any kind of warmth, so him pining after her is not strange or inexplicable behavior. She offered what he craved, what he lacked, and he mourned her for the rest of his life, because he feared no one would ever give him that warmth. (And he kind of turned that into a self-fulfilling prophecy by being such a recluse.) He dreamed of love, but we have no idea what it would have been like had he actually ever had his affections returned. Maybe he’d have enjoyed a relationship with her for a long while and she would have been the only person he could have tolerated, or maybe after a year or so he would have thought “this is suffocating” and ended the relationship.

➤ Experiences little pleasure from activities

Can you recall Snape laughing in any scene? Smiling, even? I can imagine him to feel rather content when brewing potions or studying the dark arts, and he does have passion for what he does. But to a schizoid, passion and pleasure are not necessarily the same. We experience emotions differently. In some ways we don’t experience them at all, in other ways, we might feel like there’s a wall around our emotions, and we have no idea how to get over that wall and check what the currently active emotion is. But with logic, we can determine “I guess I’m happy now that I’m doing this thing I like doing.” Intellectual pursuits are fun too – like solving a puzzle, it gives a little boost of dopamine when you make it to the next level, so it’s not surprising he excels at Potions.

➤ No close friends other than immediate family

Basically, Snape only really had Dumbledore, and that bastard only used him to win the war. (I have beef with old Dumbledore, okay?) But Snape confided in Dumbledore, and the other way around, and so I think it’s safe to say that there was a true friendship between the two. When Dumbledore died, Snape was truly alone. (Which is incredibly tragic and heartbreaking when you think about it – in the last year of his life, Snape had no one, really no one, as he tried to keep Hogwarts ‘safe’ and eventually died. And everyone hated him for killing Dumbledore, not knowing the truth about his allegiance. Everyone who had once spoken kindly to him, like the other professors at Hogwarts, now considered him arch enemy #2, behind Voldemort.)

➤ Indifference to criticism or praise

Compliment or insult a schizoid, and it’s not like they won’t give any response at all. They might say “thank you” or they might get a little defensive about the insult, but they won’t always lose a lot of sleep over it. It kind of depends on who the praise or criticism is coming from. I can imagine that it did mean something to him if it came from Dumbledore, whom he cared about. I don’t think it meant anything to him what his students thought of him, since he didn’t give a personal level of shit about them. There’s also a moment where Umbridge shrieks “You are on probation!” and it’s described as “Snape looked back at her, his eyebrows slightly raised.” Then she says that she expected better after how highly Lucius Malfoy always speaks of him and she dismisses him. Snape then gives her “an ironic bow” – he really doesn’t give a rat’s ass and I love him for it.

These are the 7 criteria that you need to fit 4 of to be diagnosed with SPD – I managed to link all 7 to Snape – so I think it’s not unlikely that Snape is truly a schizoid. Now, for the next part I would like to highlight some other comorbidities which many schizoids also have, that seem to appear in Snape as well.

Comorbidities

➤ Depression In about half of all schizoid patients, depression is or has been present. How do you notice that in Snape? The greasy hair, among other things. Bad teeth. Always wearing the same outfit. If you’ve ever suffered from a bad depression, you know how difficult it suddenly becomes to shower at a regular interval, how you can go days without brushing your teeth, how wearing comfortable clothing is more important than looking fashionable – how it is absolutely meaningless to look fashionable because who the fuck cares anyways. Snape doesn’t seem to give a hoot about himself or his appearance, which strikes me as a sign of depression. And what does he have to be happy about? He knows Voldemort is going to return and he’ll have a cursed job as a double-spy. He knows he’s probably going to die. I wouldn’t be happy either.

➤ Anger Outbursts/PTSD Not all schizoids have this, but it’s something I have myself and which I’ve written about extensively in one of my previous blog posts. I look at it as a way of my inner self breaking down the walls and coming out to say “I know that I’ve been quiet for the past 37 years but what the fuck I’m really angry about this and have been for a while and I’m not going to contain it any longer” – and then the anger comes out disproportionately. It’s hard to impossible to really control such an outburst. And often, there is a very obvious cause to the outburst. Sometimes it’s PTSD related. For Snape, while he does not emote often, you see a few outbursts – like when he is face to face with Sirius Black in the shrieking shack, his childhood bully. He seems mad at that moment, not at all composed anymore, the sign of a real anger outburst. (I think it’s PTSD helping that anger build.) A few moments later, he thinks he has turned in Sirius Black to the Ministry, Sirius, who he holds responsible for the death of James and Lily (and it’s especially the latter’s death he can’t cope with), so when Sirius escapes, he loses it again. Then the next time he gets really angry is when Harry enters his “worst memory”. That’s a few years later, during the Occlumency lessons. While he’s no longer shrieking, he’s white with rage. My pro tip: don’t impose on the privacy of a schizoid, we get mad. XD In Half-Blood Prince, he’s got a moment where he’s like “Don’t call me coward!”, looking ‘inhuman’. I too can get anger outbursts over false accusations, and this one must really hurt, because at that moment, he’s trying to save Harry’s freaking life while the boy is all like “lemme at you I’mma kill you like you killed Dumbledore for fun!” – Snape was probably grieving the loss of his only friend and confidant and knew he was on his own from that point onwards, and then you get this bloody teenager trying to drag you into a wizard’s duel you’re not in the mood for, calling you a coward, which is the last thing you are. Man it has to suck to be Snape. I also want to state that there are many moments when things go wrong in class, but Snape never loses his temper like that. He’s not pleasant and he punishes students, but he doesn’t get mad – he gets even. That makes it all the more interesting to analyze the moments that he does go bananas.

Random Thoughts

Before I finish this blog, there are still a few small things I’d like to get out of my system about Snape and SPD.

➤ Snape and Luna

They are my favorite characters, but also because they’re very, very alike and very, very different at the same time. Both didn’t have a great childhood (Luna lost her mother at a young age) and they get bullied as kids at Hogwarts. Snape is called Snivellus and Luna is called Looney. All the suffering they endure, affects them differently though. Snape gets meaner, Luna only seems to get nicer. I see them as two sides of the same coin. One dark, one light, both a little eccentric in their own way. When you look at it from a personality-disorder point of view, then they both have personality disorders that are related to one another. Snape has Schizoid Personality Disorder, Luna has Schizotypal Personality Disorder. Schizotypal Personality Disorder is where you’ll find a lot of eccentric people who believe in conspiracy theories. Both are class A personality disorders. Some people might even have the two personality disorders at the same time. Schizoids seem to be rooted in reality with their thoughts, schizotypals can really start believing strange things if they’re not careful, alienating them from others And, in case you’re now wondering: “So many schizo-personality disorders! Is this also schizophrenia?” No – schizophrenia is when you have delusions and hallucinations as well. Read up on those disorders if you’re interested, because these descriptions of mine are too brief and don’t do it justice.

➤ Snape was a bad teacher

Not fully, and yes, he was. I think knowledge-wise, Snape was way better at Potions than Slughorn ever was. You notice when Hermione can’t keep up in her sixth year while Harry is sailing through Potions thanks to Snape’s book. Snape’s a genius and would have been able to instruct his students to be more efficient when brewing potions. But personality wise? Don’t put a schizoid in front of a classroom. And for that, I kind of blame Dumbledore. Snape wasn’t asking for a job as a teacher, but that’s all Dumbledore had to offer, and thus he put Snape and his unwilling students in a room together where none of them wanted to be. I think Snape would have been better off as some kind of a scientist, just him and his books, inventing spells or potions. But he was not given much of a choice, and he was forced to socialize with teenagers (ew, gross), and that must have drained him terribly. It’s a wonder he was usually roaming the hallways at night because I would have been too exhausted to get out of bed. That makes you realize it’s truly a work of fiction because who on earth has that kind of stamina? :-P (No, in all seriousness it’s probably also depression at work, keeping him up.) Snape was a jerk to Harry and Neville and Hermione on various occasions, and not all of it was to “keep up appearances” to the Slytherins. He seemed to even enjoy a bit of sadism here and there. You could contemplate why he poisoned Neville’s toad. Was it just to spite poor little Neville, or was he hoping his student would perform better under pressure? (Which Neville did.. The toad didn’t die.) It’s a cruel way to teach a lesson, but I think he must have thought the end justified the means. But what a traumatic experience to Neville, who then had Snape become his greatest fear.

➤ Purity culture vs Snape

We’ve seen a shift on both Tumblr and other social media where fandom is about purity culture. Back in 2002 folks were like “We love the baddies, deal with it”, and the people that didn’t love the baddies actually dealt with it and you could joke with people who preferred the Gryffindors and just poke a little fun at one another, but it was fun fandom. But over the years I’ve seen fandom change. Nowadays you can’t even express love for Snape without someone seeing it as their moral obligation to remind you of what a “bad person he really was”. To them I can only say that I like him for his best qualities, and forgive him for his worst. And honestly, I don’t need to justify liking a character to anyone. If I want to put Umbridge-posters in every room of my apartment, are you going to stop me or call the cops on me? Purity policing is weird. Very American, too. (Though I’ve seen some Dutch folks go apeshit as well over purity concepts.) And as a Belgian I don’t have time to put up with that shit. XD And purity policing also is just nasty when you consider that some folks are like “I relate to this character” and the next person is like “THIS CHARACTER IS EVIL AND DESERVES TO DIE!” My response to that part of fandom is: “Just fuck off already, jerkface.” Personally I was heartbroken by his death, because I feel like he could have made up to the people he’d hurt, I would have loved to see relationships mended between him and McGonagall and him and Harry and such, but instead we were left with him passing on some awkward memories to Harry and then dying. (Tbh I’m not the greatest fan of his crush on Lily, but whatever, I can accept it and understand it. She was the only light he ever knew.) It’s not his fault he didn’t get to redeem himself as a character, not fully - and that’s what makes fanfiction fun. So if people want to explore that in fic, let them. A character like Snape is too much of a treasure to shove under a carpet and pretend he never existed. Write all the things about him, have him have all the adventures!

I think I’m done now! If you stuck around until now, 10 points to Slytherin or whatever house you’re from. (Probably Slytherin if you’re reading about Snape.) What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment, send an ask, or whatever!

#severus snape #snape #pro snape #schizoid #schizoid personality disorder #blog

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recentanimenews · 4 years ago

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OPINION: The Latest Black Clover Episode Shows Off The Series' Greatest Strength

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR EPISODE 166 OF BLACK CLOVER

When it comes to the various anime series I watch, there are often certain bits I can point to as: "Ah, this is what makes this worth sticking around for." And y'all, moments like this are the reason I watch Black Clover.

Black Clover's world-building usually remains pretty focused on the plot at hand, rarely allowing itself any huge tangents — which means most of what you get out of its universe is laid before you. Its action scenes are usually pretty well-choreographed and it's clear that both manga creator Yuki Tabata and the production staff at TV Tokyo are dedicated to finding interesting ways for the various powers and personalities to play off of one another. Episode 151 an anime original that mostly consisted of a Capture the Flag-esque contest between the Magic Knights Squad captains, is proof that the creators of the show know there's no point in having all of these magical powers if you're not gonna do some cool stuff with them. However, the fighting and victories rarely drive the momentum of the characters.

So while these are both strong aspects of the show, they aren't THE element — the part of the show that keeps me coming back over and over again. That element, as it has been since the early days of Black Clover, remains the relationships. And Episode 166, directed by Naoki Matsuura, a relatively new anime director who previously helmed Episode 158 (which featured Asta's wonderfully hard-hitting assault on the Spade Kingdom moving fortress), features one of the show's best examples of this as its climactic focal point: Yami and Asta, standing side by side, facing down the seemingly unstoppable Dante.

Even without prior knowledge of the show, this kind of moment works fundamentally on a visual level: The plucky underdog gets called up to fight alongside the grizzled veteran, juxtaposing Yami's aged confidence and seemingly endless amount of torso muscle with Asta's eager frame in the foreground. It also works fundamentally on a basic anime level. If you've watched any of Black Clover's Weekly Shonen Jump-based peers, you know that when the main character of the show gets a chance to start fighting alongside members of the Varsity Team, rad stuff is about to go down. But because of the way Black Clover has shaped the bond between these two men, it rises to another level. To paraphrase a frequent Black Clover catchphrase, it "surpasses its limits."

Their entire history together has built up to this, as the little montage of flashbacks shows us. Yami has always pushed Asta, not because he seems to have any huge dreams for Asta or sees Asta as fulfilling a particular prophecy, but because he likes Asta, is proud of Asta, and knows that Asta has it in him to excel. Since we've learned bits and pieces of Yami's backstory, it's clear that Yami sees some of himself in Asta — they both have roots as outcasts, and have been fighting against the obstacles provided by classism their whole lives. Yami was mentored by Wizard King Julius Novachrono, whose intelligence and goofy charm helped ease Yami into his new life. Yami, while definitely having a different style than Julius, wants to fit that same role for Asta it seems.

Yami has always been rough with Asta but never lowers himself to cruelty. He's praised Asta, but never panders to him. All so that, one day, Asta can stand beside Yami as equals. Not equal in strength (that's a power level debate best left for, like, a 45-minute YouTube video) but equal in spirit — equally dedicated to not letting the Black Bulls or the Clover Kingdom or each other down. It's a kind of confidence in someone that's earned over time, satisfying not because Asta has finally reached that point, but because Yami is admitting he has by calling for his help.

Black Clover thrives on these kinds of interactions. For instance, when Asta told Noelle that her use of her powers was awesome during the undersea arc, it validated her struggles up to that point to be seen as more than a royal blemish and be recognized as a useful part of the team. It gives audiences the feeling that all of these characters are important, not because we're constantly reminded that they're important, but because the other characters value them as people. There's open admiration, respect and even jealousy sometimes, building in a way so that when something as simple as a student standing next to a teacher happens, it's not just a hype moment but an emotional crescendo.

There are plenty of reasons to watch Black Clover, and talking about this one thing just scratches its surface. It's one of the most effortlessly enjoyable shows to watch for me because it's clear that so much effort has been put into its conception. So when Asta stands beside Yami on the battlefield, ready to trust one another as both warriors and friends, it's truly great because it's been such a long time coming. I personally believe that's Black Clover at its best.

Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Daniel Dockery

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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stereogeekspodcast · 4 years ago

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[Transcript] Season 1, Episode 10. Flashback Favourite – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is always a ton of fun to watch. Repeatedly! But what makes it such a great film? Is it the characters, the design, the score, or the story? How about all of the above? In this Flashback Favourite episode on Stereo Geeks, we discuss our love for this film and why we keep returning to it.

Listen to the episode on Anchor.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Ron: Hello and welcome to another Flashback Favourites episode of Stereo Geeks. I'm Ron.

Mon: And I'm Mon.

Ron: Today, we’re talking about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Mon: This episode is going to be full of spoilers. So, if you haven't watched this movie, why not?

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Ron: What is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse about?

The story follows Miles Morales, voiced by Shameik Moore as he becomes a new Spider-Man. Parallel to this plot, is Wilson Fisk voiced by Liev Schreiber, opening up portals into other dimensions, which brings in other Spider-People from alternate universes. All the Spider-People have to work together to stop Wilson Fisk, save the world and return to their own dimension.

Mon: We’ve seen Into the Spider-Verse four times, which, for us, is a lot.

It's a great combination of bringing a comic book property which a lot of people aren't familiar with, but also bringing in that ethos, that Expanded Universe feel that we all love. And the best thing is that this Spider-Man is so different but also similar to all other Spider-Men that we have had before.

Ron: Miles Morales is really relatable. We’re introduced to him humming/singing a song—which is so much fun—Sunflower by Post Malone. And that's something that everybody does. We’ve all done it! It immediately makes that connection between the audience and Miles, and that carries throughout the entire film.

Mon: Yeah! When we meet Miles in the film, he's just been enrolled in this prestigious academy. He's convinced that he's just the diversity hire, but in fact, he is a genius. He's very smart, but he really needs to apply himself in this new place and it's work, work, work all the time. It's very different from his old life.

There's a part of him that, obviously, wants to go back to how things used to be, which is natural. He's a teenager, he probably misses his friends. And he doesn't get to be at home that often. So, the film really pulls us into Miles’ universe, as well makes him this very relatable kind of character. And we can all sort of see parts of ourselves in him, even though we are across different ages.

And then Miles sees something that, well, it's scarring. He basically sees the death of his universe’s Spider-Man. Around the same time, he's bitten by a radioactive spider, and he's just discovering his own path. So, we've got these classic, heroic Spider-Man elements, but they're on Miles.

Ron: Yeah, I love that we get this origin story for Miles, while we're also getting to know all these other Spider-People. And then we get the mentor-mentee relationship with Peter B. Parker and Miles.

There are these really sweet moments between Miles and the Spider-People, but also more importantly, between Miles and his own family. A lot of the time—and this is probably one of the biggest failings of Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—we don't really get that much of Peter and his own family. We see that he's really fond of his Aunt May, but it's more like a protective kind of thing. She's a bit of a quirky, kookie aunt. We get very little idea of his bond with his Uncle Benjamin. It’s kind of riding on people's past knowledge of the character from the films and the comic books. If you're coming in as a brand-new person who hasn't got that knowledge, it's putting a lot of pressure on you to find that information out.

Whereas, with Miles, you see that his parents are fond of him. His mom dotes on him, his dad is crazy about him. That hilarious opening scene where Miles’ dad picks him up in his cop car and drops him off at his school and then insists, using the loudspeaker, that Miles proclaim that he loves his dad. It is so so cringe. But you’re like… you totally get it. His parents love him.

Mon: When we recently re-watched this film, remember I was telling you that Miles is cringing now, but 20 years later Miles is going to look back at this moment and he's gonna love it. And he's gonna be so happy that his dad really, really wanted to show how much they love each other. It’s just so cute.

Ron: And you can see that, you know, everybody in his school has noticed this particular event. People keep teasing him about it throughout the day. Yeah, right now, Miles is feeling a bit like ‘oh gosh, why?’. But as you said, he will love this moment later on. And by the end of the film, it's something that he does come back to, and he tells his father that he loves him.

But there’s another relationship that we get to see which is really, really sweet, and that is between Miles and his Uncle Aaron, voiced by Mahershala Ali, who is soon going to be playing Blade. Not sure when that's gonna happen, but we'll wait. And that's a really cute bond in the movie.

We’re used to the Peter Parker-Ben Parker relationship, and it’s great to see a different character have that kind of bond with his uncle. And Aaron gets a whole arc of his own. He's great as Miles’ uncle—he loves Miles, he lets him do all the crazy stuff. He takes him to graffiti this particular area that he’s found. We can assume that he found it while scoping the joint for Wilson Fisk, who we learn Aaron is actually working for, as the Prowler. But it's a really sweet bond and it's something different from what Miles has with his parents.

Mon: With Uncle Aaron, he's this doting uncle who really lets Miles be himself and do whatever he wants. But Aaron isn't there as a foil to Miles’ parents. He's there to encourage Miles to think outside the box. So, I like that Aaron is a really positive influence in Miles’ life, even though he turns out to be a bad guy.

Ron: You can see how Aaron and Miles’ dad, Jefferson, probably were always destined for different paths. When we see their phone screens, you see that both Jefferson and Aaron have pictures of themselves together—you realize that that bond is there, it's just that because their paths have diverged so drastically that they can't have that relationship. But they're still being able to have something of a bond because of Miles.

Mon: There are a lot elements in Miles’ story which are similar or throwbacks to Peter Parker’s. But, at the same time they have their own angle. And the fact that Miles is half-Black-half-Puerto Rican, it gives us a hero story for a wider audience.

Ron: This is always going to be an issue with the comics universe. It has been very largely white and male. When we get any kind of representation that's outside of that very narrow focus, we're excited. We see ourselves in Miles even though we're not sharing the same kind of heritage.

Mon: It's because Miles goes beyond just being a few labels. He's a very relatable character and that's exactly what Spider-Man is meant to be.

In the comics, Spider-Man was always the little guy. He was the underdog who was fighting for everyone. I would say that all adaptations of Spider-Man continue in the same vein. For a lot of people what they find with the MCU Spider-Man is that he has the backing of Tony Stark—he has all that tech and the entire Avengers behind him, so he doesn't seem relatable in the way that the comics do.

Miles brings that in. He brings it in exactly the way that people who grew up reading Spider-Man will feel when they're watching him.

Ron: Yeah, that's definitely what makes Miles so memorable in this film and makes us want to see even more of this particular Miles and the universe they've created.

But let's move away from Miles, which is hard. With such a great protagonist, you want to focus on him. We get a lot of other Spider-People—we get Gwen Stacy from another universe and she's Spider-Woman in her dimension. Voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, this Spider-Woman is sadder, she’is lonely.

She got the spider-bite two years ago and she's been Spider-Woman ever since, but she also lost her friend in the past. So, for her, finding other Spider-People is an enormous relief. Just having other people around her who understand what it means to get that spider-bite, to become a hero, to fight for the city, and more importantly, to keep that duality of their actual identity and their spider-persona, that's a huge boon for her.

And the relationship between Gwen and Miles is really quite sweet. They end up in the same school because Gwen’s Spider-Sense tells her that this is the place to be. And she obviously forms a bond with him, which is not the best way to meet somebody, but hey, we take our Spider-Friends as we get them.

But yeah, it’s a sweet relationship and I like that it doesn't become romantic immediately. I always find that so frustrating because if you shoehorn in a romance, the problem is that it adds a different level to a relationship within a story. And when you have a story like this which is quite densely packed, there's a lot happening, adding a romantic encounter becomes just too much. I like that they decide to be friends.

Mon: At the end of the day, Gwen's journey is to come out of her shell and accept friendship again, which is something that she's closed herself off from, because of what happened in her dimension.

And I agree with you that adding a romantic element would be too much, too soon, especially in a plot-heavy story like this one.

Ron: And when there's so much at stake. Gwen can't stay in this universe. Her entire goal here is to get back to her own dimension, even though it will continue to be a lonely existence, but at least she's opened herself up to the possibility of finding new friends. She didn't have that when she was still on her Earth. A romance really wouldn't have worked.

We saw that on the The Flash. Kid-Flash on Earth One with Jessie Quick from Earth Two, they do try to have that relationship but eventually it does fizzle out.

Mon: Let's talk about the Spider-People. There’s Spider Noir, voiced by Nicolas Cage.

Ron: What a resurgence!

Mon: When we first saw this film, I remember I was like, ‘who is this? This such a familiar voice.’ But he really works in this character, because it's actually quite subdued. Because Spider Noir is so different from the rest of the Spider-People who are human, but yet he brings this gravitas and credibility to it. I really like the character.

Ron: I love Spider Noir. They've actually got comic book spin-off for him and yeah, definitely check it out.

Mon: So, there’s Spider-Ham who is voiced by John Mulaney. I would say that he's probably the strangest incarnation in this film. But the creators realized it and definitely used him to the minimal.

Ron: But they make the quirky work, which I liked. There's not too much hamminess, pardon the pun, but it's funny.

Mon: We also have Peni Parker, voiced by Kimiko Glenn. She doesn't have spider-powers, but she has a robot created by her father which is powered by radioactive spider. So her abilities are completely different but very integral to the plot.

So, let's talk about the main Spider-Man in this film, which is Peter B. Parker voiced by Jake Johnson. He's basically the Spider-Man we know, but different. He’s been Spider-Man for 22 years.

Spider-Man on Miles’ Earth has been in action for 10 years. He's voiced by Chris Pine and he's blond.

So, Peter B. is closer to the Spider-Man that we’re used to, but he's older. He's semi-retired because he's suffering from a heartbreak. He and Mary Jane Watson have broken up and he's really, really struggling with that.

Ron: We also learn that Peter B. Parker has lost his Aunt May. So, he's pretty much alone. Being Spider-Man has kind of lost its charm. He's saved people, and he's helped people but he still had to face these losses on his own. He's still hiding his identity. It's not been an easy life and he seems kind of depressed but unable to get any help for it. Which is not surprising—how are you going to tell your therapist that you’re depressed because you’re Spider-Man?

Mon: Yeah. So when he's drawn into this world, all he wants to do is get back. He's not interested in helping Miles with his goal, which is taking down Wilson Fisk.

Ron: He's also not as capable. He realizes very soon that Miles needs a mentor. He's lost his own Spider-Man, so he needs somebody with Peter B.’s experience to teach him the way. That's not what he wants to do. He just wants to get out of here. He definitely does not want somebody looking up to him.

Mon: Especially not a kid. As we soon realize, Peter B. and his relationship with Mary Jane dissolved because she wanted kids and he didn’t it. This is a subplot that happens with a lot of superheroes because given their lifestyle, it doesn't seem safe. So, we can understand that maybe that's why Peter B. did not want to start a family.

But at the same time, Miles is kind of a reminder of what he could do and could be and he does change his mind by the end of it, because Miles can do that to people.

Ron: I mean, it is a lot of responsibility. Peter B. does not seem in the right place for that kind of responsibility, so this particular mission ends up changing his mind because he realizes what he doesn't have and what he could have with somebody like Miles.

Mon: When I first watched this film,I felt like the biggest chink in the armor was Johnson's voicing of Peter B. Parker. I felt like he didn't bring that much gravitas to the role. And while his voice and Chris Pine’s voice [sic] are both very similar in the film, I just found that the OG-Peter had more of a punch when he was speaking, whereas with Jake Johnson, it's not that much.

That being said, three watches later, I'm fine with it.

Ron: I also felt the same way. But having seen it more times now, I feel like Jake Johnson's voice kind of works with Peter B. because it sounds older, it sounds jaded. He sounds like a mellow man.

Chris Pine’s Peter is more hopeful and younger.

Mon: He’s excitable because he's only 10 years into this and he’s only 26, so he has the world at his feet. And he's in a happy relationship and everything. But yeah, I can understand where we originally came from and why we’ve changed our minds now.

And especially because when you listen to Peter B. in conversation with Miles, it's so different because Shameik Moore is bringing so much emotion and levity to the voice. Miles is so alive and he's an animated character, but he’s popping off that screen. But, it makes more sense when you've watched it a few times.

Ron: Absolutely.

Mon: The entire voice cast is brilliant. It is not only full of these known names but they really add their own dimension to all these characters. We haven't even mentioned Doc Ock yet!

Who doesn’t love a world which has a gender-bent Doc Ock? Kathryn Hahn as Olivia Octavius, she's scary. She's scary good, but she's scary scary too. I just love this character, she's amazing.

Ron: I also love that when she's revealed as Doc Ock, she says that only her friends call her Liv. And later on, when we meet Peter’s Aunt May, she says, ‘Oh, it's Liv’. [both laugh] Are these two friends? I need to know more about this story.

Mon: Speaking of Aunt May, she’s voiced by Lily Tomlin. I really like this Aunt May, because it seems like she’s really apart of Spider-Man’s universe. We're so used to seeing Aunt May as being this frail, old Auntie who really needs help and protecting, but here, Peter Parker has an arsenal of suits and gadgets and it looks like it's basically because Aunt May is Peter's Q.

Ron: Yeah, because she makes up the suit for Miles. So, she's obviously been helping Peter for a long time now.

Mon: And she's got this edge to her, which I like, I’m totally digging.

Ron: She's amazing.

I think the only thing that I would change in Into the Spider-Verse is the way they kind of fat shame Peter B. Parker. I mean, the guy is depressed, he is lonely. Yeah, he eats a few more pizzas and he’s got a gut, do we have to keep bugging him about it?

Mon: Yeah, I think one joke, maybe Miles is like ‘oh, what’s that?’ But then it happens three or four times, so it was a little too much.

Ron: And considering that Hollywood as a whole, and especially superhero films, are so nasty about people's body sizes, I really feel like we could have done without it in this world.

Mon: Yeah, I agree with you. That's probably the biggest issue and criticism that we can have about this film.

Ron: Because the rest of the film is great and the characterizations are great! There are some moments when you’re just like, ‘wow these characters are so well thought out’.

Like when Peter B., Miles and Gwen Stacy go to see Aunt May, for Peter B. he's lost his Aunt for a long, long time. He can't wait to get out of there. He barely even waits for her to answer the door, because he just needs to leave. And he finally says, ‘I'm not ready for this’. And we understand how Aunt May is shocked when she sees a version of her Peter standing in front of her, but for him, it's just as devastating to see somebody who he’s lost.

At the same time we got a more quirky scene later on where Peter B. sees this world’s Mary Jane. And yes, she's younger, she's different from the Mary Jane of his world, but he cannot get over the fact that this is Mary Jane and he really needs to speak to her.

Mon: He, sort of, uses this Mary Jane as a proxy for venting all the feelings and emotions that he has for his own one. And it's so funny because she's essentially asking for bread…

Ron: And he's a waiter.

Mon: And he's just going on and on about how he's failed her, he's disappointed her. And she's like, ‘what?’.

Ron: ‘It's only bread’.

Mon: It's just so funny. It's like these moments which are so tinged with emotion but also levity and they just do it perfectly time and time again.

Ron: And there are so many laugh out loud moments in this film and that really helps, because there are some devastating moments as well.

Like, we’ve already mentioned Peter B. meeting Aunt May, but Miles loses his Uncle right in front of him. And that entire sequence is so so sad, because we've already seen how much Miles loves his Uncle Aaron, and he also obviously loves his nephew as much. For them to be on opposite sides, and for Aaron to be killed just as he is realizing that Miles has become Spider-Man and that the two of them need to figure this out, it’s just an awful way for that entire sequence to go down.

And then when Jefferson comes to tell Miles, he can't really speak to Miles because Miles has been tied up by the Spider-People so that he does not get into any more trouble. So, Jefferson kind of goes about it very differently and he doesn't come out with what happens but he just tries to tell Miles that they're there for him, because they don't want Miles to end up going down the same pathway that Aaron did, which ended up in Aaron dying. It's a really touching scene.

And the two of them on the two different sides of the door, feeling this particular loss so strongly but not be able to communicate it, it just gets me every time I see it.

Mon: Yeah, this entire film is quite a rollercoaster ride, but it never feels like anything is too contrived.

Which is funny because this is an animated film with a whole bunch of Spider-People. But yeah, it just really understands the human condition.

Ron: When you're invested in the characters, you become more interested in everything that's happening in the film. And we haven't even talked about Wilson Fisk yet.

Yeah, he's the bad guy. But why is he doing what he's doing? We figure out that Wilson Fisk as strong and powerful and scary as he is, he had a family. And he lost that family because of the person he was. He's conducting these experiments with Doc Ock in the hopes that he will be able to get a version of his family from another universe.

And as I was watching this for the fourth time, I realized that Fisk is never going to get what he wants, not because the Spider-People are going to stop him—which they do—but because even if he does succeed, the version of his wife and son that he will get are never going to be his wife and son. They're going to be another Wilson Fisk's wife and son. And also, as we figure out, the alternative dimension Spider-people, they can't actually stay here, they start glitching. And the longer they stay, the more dangerous it becomes. And they finally figure out that if they stay too long, they will die. So, Fisk is never going to get what he wants, but he's so desperate. And what I realized was that it's not just desperation to have a family again, it’s desperation for that redemption that he's never gonna get.

Mon: So, with Fisk, the reason he lost his family is because they caught him fighting Spider-Man, and they rushed out and were in a car accident. The thing is, his need for redemption comes from the fact that he knows that he's responsible. It’s that guilt that is driving him to do these experiments over and over again, even though it is harmful for his city.

I think that, that just makes such a great character, because it's not just fridging the dead wife. It’s the fact that we know that he's a bad guy, he knows he's a bad guy and this is the one thing that he's lost and he needs it back. And the layers of knowing that he's never gonna get what he wants, makes the story even more powerful.

Ron: Every character is so well thought out in this film that you just can't not watch it again and again, because every time I've watched this film I found a new layer to another character. That's great! Because that's what you want in a superhero film, that rewatchability and to spend more time with people that you’ve ended up really caring about.

Mon: It's so easy, especially with genre films, to get wrapped up in spectacle and for far too long genre films only relied on spectacle. But in this film, you know from the very instance that it begins that you're going to be invested in the characters. And the story comes second, the gimmicks come third.

Ron: Gimmickry could have easily been the leading force for this film. There are so many different animation styles working in this film because of all the different universes. You've got Miles’ universe, You’ve got Peter B.'s universe; you've got Gwen Stacy's universe. You've got Spider Noir’s black and white world; you've got Spider-Ham’s 2D animation; you’ve got Peni Parker, who's from the anime universe. That's a lot and that's why it took this film so long to be made.

But all these different animation styles make it even more beautiful to watch. It doesn’t take away from the actual story or the characters. That’s what I love.

Mon: The combination of all these animation techniques add layers to the story and the plot, while the writing has added layers to each of the characters.

What I really loved about the animation is that it brings this vibrancy that we are so not used to seeing, even in animation. I mean, you can understand why it took them, what, four years to bring this movie to life. Every time we look there's something else that you find in the corner here or the corner there, because it's so artistic, and these aesthetics are from the comic book world, but for the screen. So, this is poetry in motion, quite literally.

Ron: Absolutely.

Mon: I mean I just love looking at this film; each frame can be a canvas that you can hang on your walls. It's amazing.

And it's no wonder that this film ended up getting the Oscar for Best Animated Film, it would have been an absolute travesty had it not.

Ron: Because Into the Spider-Verse brings together everything that we love about genre films, superhero films, and animation films, but it also does this amazing thing of appealing to a variety of audiences. It doesn't matter what age you are, you're going to love this film, and that's great.

Mon: Every time you see these Twitter watch parties or something, people are just going out of their minds with new things that they’ve found or new little Easter Eggs, and that’s why everybody loves this film. It's hard not to, because it's just such an incredible world full of incredible characters.

And we haven’t even come to the music and the songs.

Ron: So good, so good. I have listened to this soundtrack and score so much since I first watched the movie. I think my Spotify is bored of me.

Mon: What I like about the soundtrack is that it leans into the fact that Miles has mixed heritage, so there's a lot of songs by hip hop, rap R&B stars, and they really definitely add to Miles’ story. It’s incredible.

Especially the ‘leap of faith’ scene, and the ‘shoulder touch’ scene. Both of them, they’re incredible scenes, but the music and the score just add a whole new dimension to how you feel about those scenes.

Ron: Everything works so synchronously in this film. It's a masterpiece honestly.

Mon: And we don't use that word lightly, but I can't argue with that. Having watched it four times in two years, and to really enjoy it every time we watch it, that's what surprises me.

The last scene of the film definitely suggest that there's going to be a sequel. Now, we do know that there is a sequel planned for 2022. We're not entirely sure which angle they're gonna go with. It seems that they're going to bring in the Spider-People again. Let's just hope that it lives up to the layers of storytelling and characterization that it does in this film.

I'm looking forward to seeing these characters again, for sure. And I'm curious to know if Spider-Man 2099 is also going to be there.

Ron: We do get to see him, and it does seem to suggest that he has a dimension-hopping device with him. Whether that means that he's going to appear in the next film, we don't know. Voiced by Oscar Isaac, this is a character we definitely want to see. It will be fun to see the Spider-People that we already know make some new friends and add some new abilities to their arsenal.

Mon: I'm just glad that we got this film, and that it was received so well, not only was it critically appraised, but fans loved it, it was big in the box office. It's so rewatchable that I'm pretty sure Sony is making lots of money. Because stories like this, they need to be told, because they're a completely different perspective, completely different audience, and it expands who can watch,s enjoy and see themselves in these superhero films.

What I will say is that given the kind of strobe lighting and animation, for some people you might enjoy this film more as a home viewing experience, rather than on the big screen.

When we first saw it on the big screen, there's so much coming at you, it's a little too much stimulus. When you watch it in the comfort of your own home, you might be able to enjoy it even more.

Ron: I agree with you. The first time I watched it, I found it a bit too much. I wasn't able to concentrate on everything that was happening. But when I watched it again on a smaller screen, I felt like I could really appreciate the details.

Mon: Yeah, it’s not so overwhelming.

Ron: But this has been such a great film to go back to. And every time I've watched it, it's just been like meeting old friends, but also finding new characteristics and new details. It's been a wonderful experience, and I can't wait for the sequel.

What did you love about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse? We'd love to hear from you.

Ron: You can find us on Twitter @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email [email protected]. We hope you enjoyed this episode. And see you next week!

Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Transcription by Otter.ai and Mon.

#spider-man #spider-woman #spider gwen #into the spider verse #miles morales #peter parker #podcast #pop culture #stereo geeks

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maggotmouth · 5 years ago

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hello, i’m nora ( she / her, 24, gmt ) and i almost exclusively join dark academia rps. please find below everything i have thus far on otto ballantyne, a theatre and classics student who was arranged to be married to one of the students who disappeared. i’ve honestly been itching to write otto again for months, so thanks to this lil group for giving me the opportunity. can’t wait to get my teeth stuck into him again. please bombard me with discord messages for plots. here is his pinterest.

act one: application.

THOMAS DOHERTY , CIS-MALE , HE/HIM → according to the school records , OTTO HORATIO BALLANTYNE has been attending sacred heart for the past four years . i last saw them hanging around the cliffs ; i think they were reciting shakespearean soliloquies to the wind and a weathered old skull. at twenty - three years old , otto has been studying theatre & classics and get this , i heard that he was arranged to be married to alice rosseau before her untimely disappearance , and was desperate to call off the affair — figure it’s true ? everyone around here always associates them with an aged bottle of malbec glugged carelessly at the after - show , the kind of confidence that only a private education gives , white lines of powder snorted off a marble sink with lovers you’ll later deny . in the time since these strange happenings , they have have not encountered any unexplained occurrences . ( written by nora , 24 , she/her , gmt )

act two: the muse !

ok so lemme start off by saying otto is heavily inspired by if we were villains by m l rio and the secret history by donna tartt. very serious actor. into the classical plays, but would definitely fit in a production of posh by laura wade. originally i wrote him for a murder mystery dark academia group but when the group ended i missed him so much i decided to bring him here.

born in south london, but raised in cheltenham. went to eton or harrow or one of those posh english boarding schools for boys. we love the homoeroticism of learning latin with your homies and chanting sonnets in caves by candlelight.

youngest son in his family. was fiercely competitive with his brother nathaniel growing up. having an older brother who was incredibly intelligent and successful made otto learn to treat his life like it was a fight. constantly trying to be better and ‘prove himself’.

otto’s a brat. filthy rich public school boy vibes, very riot club. champagne all over the ceiling and driving well over the limit. custom-made cuff links he loses in taverns when he rolls up his sleeves to lean on the bar. needing to know so much about a character you’re playing that it consumes you ; you can no longer tell which parts of you are otto and which parts are macbeth.

characters who have inspired him: alistair ryle in the riot club, francis abernathy in the secret history, anthony marston in and then there were none, oliver marks in if we were villains, achilles in the song of achilles, dorian gray in tpodg.

a fun fact is he is a natural blonde and spent most of his childhood that way but he now dyes it dark because he thinks that’ll give him more versatility in terms of the roles he can play. blonde ppl are usually cast as only the lover or the innocent n he wants to play villains and heroes and leading men as well.

very gay, n that’s pretty much a known thing by everyone but his family?? his family have arranged to have him married to women twice n both times its not worked out. the first time he basically drove her away with his reckless hedonism and alcoholism, and the second arranged marriage was to alice, one of the four students who went missing

archetypes: the figurehead. the challenger. the magician. the knight. the underdog.

ENTP-T / the debater personality.

theatre arts major, minoring in classics.

trigger warning for internalised homophobia / familial prejudice.

act three: the biography !

heavy is the head that wears the crown, though yours is the size of a tennis ball when you are born three weeks premature, barely formed enough to open your eyes. for those first few weeks all your parents knew were fear and love — fear that you would leave them, love that you had made it through so much, hooked up to wires like a fish in a cryogenic tank. to them your heart that learned one day to beat of its own accord was a miracle. perhaps that’s why you became their golden boy.

being born as a boy on the brink of death makes you invulnerable. you were achilles and the world couldn’t touch you for you were shielded from harm by a mother’s protective spell. should nathaniel lay so much as a finger on your skin, a voice would raise like the sound of a god from the veranda where she sat sipping her wine, play nice, boys! the sound of it thick with merlot. in every fight they took your side ; angel-headed creatures never lied. you soon learned that adults would believe anything if they liked you, that flattery will get you anywhere and to the well-trained mind, conversation was little more than a parlour game.

you harboured your mother’s beauty, the softness of her voice, the firmness of her skin and light in the corners of her smile. of your father, they’d say you inherited his wit, though that was your own — as was the golden hair that tousled your head, taken not from ambrose ballantyne but rather the bout of his three-week business trip to germany when your mother had bedded the gardener. if he knew, he never mentioned it. to believe such a fate would imply that he was not enough for her. though you noticed one day when you were nearing five and the sun was ripe on your freckle-flecked skin that the gardener had stopped coming at all. the grass, once shaven to its scalp, now grew to your knees.

at school, you learned with porridge still clinging to your mouth that the way to win over your teachers was through your smile. yours was the kind of school where the christmas play was not the nativity but rather the story of the gods, and stardom came to you in the role of apollo, sun shining from your beaming face, a bright halo of hair around your head. this was the first time you noticed a coldness in nathaniel’s eyes as your father threw you over his shoulder and your mother drenched you in praise. a bout of food-poisoning on your brother’s part rendered the italian restaurant, visited in your honour, abandoned. you never did find out if he was faking.

the room to his door remained shut after that and you learned to wile away your hours in the company of nannies and children from neighbouring castles, played at knights and rescued princesses from nearby dungeons, a tin-foil crown lopsided on your head. you learned to seek influence in the faces of those around you, how their eyes would widen as they hung like stalactites to your words. storyteller. prophet. riddler. prince. you cut your tongue into a well-kept sword and sparred with it thrice a day.

by nine you had read all of dickens novels. by eleven, all of shakespeare’s comedies — though you understood them as much as a cricket knows the meaning of the cosmos. still, it sounded rich and impressive when asked by aunties at dinner parties, what are you reading in school, otto? he finds the curriculum tiring, your mother would say, stroking a hand through your thick head of hair. otto’s just finished the merchant of venice. soon you grew to ignore your brother’s glowers at your back. your mother’s was the only smile you needed.

in cap and blazer your mother would drop you off at school, gated and turreted, the kind that was the envy of poorer neighborhood wives. when you were young, you were sure the gifts that came your way were yours alone, though as you grew older, you learned to expect them in the same way the school expected cheques from your parents. they named them benefactors, you noticed one day, on the wooden plaques fixed to the common room walls. the same plaques you would one day notice their names engraved upon in the arching hallways of sacred heart. acclaim was bought, not earned, and your success was littered with blood money.

what’s a king without a kingdom? your father surely wanted you to inherit his, though it was not in law and corporal finance that you found yourself a castle, but rather upon the stage. when red curtains split, you found you could become anything with the power of your will — boy, man, lion, snake, each of them wrung out by wordsmiths dead in their graves, a certain romance in the dusky smell of stage lights. when every eye in the room was focused on you — that was when you felt most powerful. like a piece of art, you were something to be looked at and admired — and perhaps in the absence of self-earned merit your vanity blossomed, for even if the trophies that lined your cabinets and the a-grades in columns on a sheet came from heavy pockets, your parents could never buy the sound of applause.

actors are by nature volatile. though your facade was swifter than an arrow, backstage they would call you tempestuous, bigoted, vain. still, it never left the wings of the theatre. there was a kind of reverence surrounding you that words could not taper, godliness following you from school to college, a peer admired in the practice rooms of sacred heart where you poured over chekhov and ibsen but yearned to read sophocles and euripides.

you learned to pride yourself on your looks — a sharpened jawline and a sharper tongue — and found that people would do almost anything for a beautiful face. in the beginning, alice was one so much. first colleagues, then friends, then a frequenter to the table in your family’s house. with arrogance carried in the curve of your brow, you only ever saw her as an accessory. that changed when you met her brother, let yourself stumble, brogues in a size that differed from your own kicked beneath your bed, a shirt with a larger neck size, pulled sheets, the smell of a foreign cologne.

talk travelled. it wouldn’t do to have word of your deviance spread further than the ballantyne house. while your parents would claim they were forward-thinking, more lenient than their parents had been, there was a conservative priggishness to the way they’d brush such matters under the rug, your father scarcely able to meet your eye over the dinner table. soon after, the arrangement was set with you all but exalted from the plans until alice had been informed. too late to back out, neither of you all that eager to be wed, though your families would coo when you fixed your hair or she, in keeping with the role, adjusted your tie. at first it amused you to play house with one such as alice, but soon you grew listless. like a caged beast you felt suffocated by the falseness of it all. you’d leave the dinners held by your joint households and return bedraggled, smelling of whiskey and sex. you’re not sure alice ever knew the reason why you couldn’t love her, though perhaps she suspected. at night, the names that would fall from your lips would never be hers. oliver. daniel. mason. rupert. charles.

act four: character investigation !

otto’s an extremely materialistic character who obtains pleasure through the things you can buy in life rather than that which comes to you by way of humble experience. he likes rolex watches, armani suits, louis vuitton travel bags, silk scarves imported from india. he likes to drink wine from decades gone by, where he can almost taste the funk of a victorian farmer hand pressing the grapes into a pulp, or to read a manuscript from the special collections section of the library that he knows has passed through hands which have gone on to achieve greatness. to otto, alice was always an extension of this hedonistic, pleasure-seeking attitude — she was something to be paraded like the equestrian trophies on his bookshelf, or his name on the honour roll. it’s not that he didn’t see her as a person — he’s hardly a chauvinist, although it could easily be inferred from the disdain with which he talks to some women — but rather that he saw her as someone ethereal and admirable and of high social standing who would elevate his social standing, by extension, were he to spend time with her. (this was such a convoluted sentence omg sorry)

the engagement was not his choice. even the idea of it had never crossed his mind. he had never thought to marry – marriage to otto was a tool used for financial gain — and being already wealthy, he was content to live out his days as a bachelor. he would take lovers, of course, but it would be on his own terms without the involvement of the law. alice was chosen as a match for otto because she was from a wealthy, well-liked family and the two had been friends since childhood. it seemed to their parents inevitable that they would marry, and so all that was left was the agreed arrangement between the families and the exchanging of rings. strictly speaking, if the marriage between otto and alice had gone ahead, then alice would have been nothing more than a trophy wife to otto. it would have been a miserable marriage for her, and he would have grown to resent her for it — not resent her for the fact that he could never truly be free to love someone he wanted (for he still would) but resent her, and by extension his family, for taking the option to do that openly and publicly away from him. she would always be seen as the beard, the scorned lover, the cuckold, and it would dampen any future relationships he held with the stain of that upset.

act five: wanted plots !

people who he was friends with as a child (either in london or cheltenham if anyone in this group has a muse from there) but grew apart from when he was sent to private school / they view him as entitled now and the two no longer have much in common

someone who auditioned for the same role as him, but otto got it, and they’ve resented him for it ever since ! want this bad. or put your thang down flip it and reverse it: someone who got the role otto wanted and he loathes them for it.

hasn’t really dated anyone? at college, he tends to hook up with people in a vapid sort of way? so he wouldn’t rEALly have past relationships with boys unless it was….. incredibly quiet and on the DL, literally meeting up in the woods after school to read plato and play with each others hair. suddenly realised i want this. someone give me someone he reads plato in the woods with and kisses up against tree bark because even though everyone basically KnOWS otto isn’t out n probably never will be :/

alternatively someone who he had a vapid, senseless hook up with and grew attached to :/ rude. in this house we lov angst

i guess some friends he actually likes would be cool. maybe someone who he has a hold over, because he’s quite an engaging character with good leadership qualities, like at parties he’ll be the one telling the story and gesticulating wildly and everyone’s watching him or looking to him for where they’ll go next / how the night will pan out. if he has a hold over someone maybe he has some sort of leverage whereby they’ll complete his work for him if he’s out getting drunk which he usually is. if tht sounds like ur character is naive n could be coerced, hit me up

people he knows on a very superficial and base level in the fact that their only interactions together involve doing coke off someone’s sink and stumbling home in the dark. otto’s a massive hedonist. if he were a greek god, he’d be a mix between dionysus and apollo, but he has achilles’ vanity.

#heretics:intro #heretics:ooc #throws my boy out into the wind x #hope u lov him as much as i do #sorry i will mostly be using medium gifs in his threads cos his icon resources are sparse x

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sparda3g · 5 years ago

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Kimetsu no Yaiba Chapter 178 Review

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There’s an old saying that perfectly describes Kokushibo’s character, “Jealousy is a disease.” If it’s not removed, it will ultimately lead them to their rock bottom; never able to recover. This tale began with the cause stemmed from his childhood. It’s the adulthood that shows its effect. It’s not asking for fans for forgiveness, but it shows arguably the most grounded and relatable scenario that we should all be aware before it’s too late.

By this point of the chapter, Kokushibo is filled with envious feelings towards his younger twin brother. He went from feeling pity to feeling hatred; spouting words that are just as painful as taking a stab. The image of a young pale-looking boy with hateful lines is striking. It’s a sad yet realistic viewpoint of how someone is already in the path of darkness.

The only time it would seem he found “happiness” was when Yorichi was reported missing; disappeared without a trace. Whether he was kidnapped or killed, it didn’t matter to Kokushibo, because his wish came true. That’s so sad for a boy to wish a brother to die for his selfish desire; no one should wish death upon the innocent. It’s even sadder that despite his life was relieved from envy, he was bored. He got married and had a child, yet he appeared to be empty. The irony (and the sad part) is, his life only rise up when Yorichi is present.

In a moment where Kokushibo was attacked by a demon, his younger brother returned to save him in time; in a really cool page no less. This should have been a tearful reunion of a lost brother; instead, great envy returned full force. To him, it’s bad enough that Yorichi mastered the sword; it’s worst that he was alive. It’s as if he’s treating him like a vicious criminal. Yorichi didn’t help the matter when he apologized for arriving late; insinuating that he can easily handle anyone, but time is an essence. In other words, time is fault, not his strength. It ruined Kokushibo devastatingly; perhaps to the point of no return.

He abandoned his family and chose the path of Demon Slayer, so he can one-up his brother. This really painted him as immature. Joining the Corps is basically joining the army in today’s world. Men join to protect their loved ones and fight for their home. Kokushibo joined simply to surpass his brother. That’s just sad.

The interesting part is the origin of the variations of Breathing technique. Because Yorichi’s Sun Breathing is incredibly tough for his subordinates to handle, he decided to change his teachings to match their capabilities. Thus, multiple forms were derived from it, one after another. This explains why moment like Tokito’s red blade occurred since it originated from Sun Breathing alas Yorichi. Also, due to change of balance, the Marked ones began to increase in numbers, and Kokushibo finally obtained his, similar to Yorichi’s.

The cruel irony doesn’t end. They’re twins and obtaining a similar Mark should also mean a similar power level. Sadly for him, he only obtained a second-tier known as the Moon. You would think they both would have the same Mark, but instead he maintained second place or in his mind, second fiddle. I thought the Moon Breathing meant to be the second path; like it’s equal to Sun Breathing with its own style. This revelation is interesting yet hurtful to realize how Kokushibo can never match. Not even having the same blood can help.

It’s a sad case of a character who forever remained in the underdog story with no destination in sight. A selfish man tried many, many times to grow, but the only part that grew is his despair. What sealed the deal for his future was when he learned about the Marked ones’ timely death. As a reminder, they will die in age of 25, and that meant Yorichi technically doomed them all. It’s not his fault, but it is sad that their era will die so young. Now I understand Kokushibo’s feeling when he was stirred by Yorichi mention from Himejima. The fact the brother can live longer makes him sick. That moment was where he lost hope for his future. That’s when Muzan stepped in.

It’s rather very simple for how Kokushibo became a demon. Muzan stepped in and told him that he can be immortal, defeating the curse of the Mark. And so, he agreed to his offer. Very simple, but that’s the sad part. Kokushibo was in rock bottom by that point, so he would take anything, including selling his soul. Although it’s distasteful for him to stoop this low, it would at least grant him freedom he wished for. Even that didn’t help, which then skips to the moment when Yorichi died.

To put it simple, Kokushibo’s life is never satisfied, never pleased, and perhaps never freed. Seeing his brother’s body standing before him is the worst taunt he can ever receive. I find it morbid that he cut him down into pieces when he’s already dead; the symbol of hatred runs very deep. Yes, he does scream hate in his mind, but the sight with context is disheartening. Brotherhood gone horribly wrong. Or so I thought.

The sensation goes 180 when the flute was presented after the body was cut down. The same flute Yorichi was gifted by his older brother; the time when he had a warm smile. This hits the emotional point greatly. It goes further when Kokushibo shed tears. He has fallen too far to ever recover. Everything was solely on Yorichi, the face only he can remember yet desired to forget. I find this to be very poetic. It’s the face he hated, yet it’s similar to his, hence being a twin. Yorichi represented as himself if his dream was fulfilled. You can also see it as symbolic, as if he’s speaking to himself for being a disgrace. You can only be jealous when someone has what you think you can have.

The first half of the chapter had Kokushibo filled with hatred. The latter half however has him filled with despair. It’s remarkable. I felt pity and somewhat frustrated at his behavior to discard everything for his selfish desire. Thinking it thoroughly, I realized how realistic this emotion can take a man to the downward spiral. It’s relatable in a sense that we too can fall if we don’t let go and appreciate what we have. His childhood destroyed him, but his adulthood had a chance to revive with a family. It wasn’t enough; only lived to hate his brother.

It’s kind of hard to read Kokushibo’s words slowly converting to depressing tone with questions toward his life. He can’t remember anyone’s face but his brother’s; again, the irony fate of the twins. It’s at this moment he is filled with total sadness; admitting the damages he caused. He abandoned his family, ended his descendants, and abandoned being a Samurai. He’s living in a shell of his former self.

One last interesting tidbit is his and Muzan’s desire to kill all swordsmen who knew Sun Breathing and its forms. I believe that’s why Tanjiro’s family was killed off specifically. It does confirm the Dance of the Fire God is related to Sun Breathing. That or they’re referring to any slayer with techniques. Both make sense for Tanjiro, since the heritage has slayers’ bloodline. One way or another, anyone can be a threat if one can evolve to the same level as Yorichi.

The chapter closes on a depressing note with Kokushibo questioning why his life was even born. I read it like he was begging for answers. It’s painful to hear someone asks that kind of question; clearly, he had nothing. To end on a heartbreak, Kokushibo dust away, leaving the sole object behind; one that defined the brotherhood. That was powerful. I got a feeling the anime is going to deliver big time when the time comes.

This was a pretty grounded, sad chapter. It may not be sad as Akaza’s, but it’s realistic and relatable. It’s not asking the fans to forgive Kokushibo, but understand how a man can hit rock bottom from envy. Not only it taught an important lesson, but uncover the origin of all Breathing techniques. The first half was frustrating, but the latter was depressing; ultimately a very solid storytelling. The narration grows stronger over the course; wouldn’t surprise me if you drew any sympathy towards him. The last panel indicates his end, unless he does get an answer. If not, it’s a shame, but as the old saying goes, “Life is not fair.”

#demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #chapter 178 #review #spoilers

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joyofcrime-elinorhigh · 6 years ago

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RWBY REVW:

** Disclaimer: When I do reviews, I make it my mission to point out both the good and the bad in whatever I'm reviewing. And I want to make it clear that me doing so is in no way meant to be taken as disrespect to anybody who worked on the show, especially the late Monty Oum. He was a visionary animator and it's a tragedy that he was taken from this world so soon. Anyway, with all that out of the way, let the regular review commence. **

** **Hello everybody, my name is JoyofCrimeArt, and I've always had a particular fondness for web series. There's just a certain charm to online content that I don't think can be repudiated with other more conventional mediums. Unlike other mediums, web series have the most creative freedom to do whatever the heck they want. They don't have to adhere to studio notes, focus groups, or censorship guidelines. It's just a group of people, or sometimes even just one person, deciding to put something out there into the world. Simply because they want to see said thing exist. And I think that the freedom that can comes from that can result in some very unique and creative piece of entertainment that may not have been approved if they had been pitched to a more "main stream" outlets. Not to mention the fact that web series, when compared to film and television, are definitely the underdog. And who doesn't love a good underdog story?

I've talked about several web series before, (like _Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared _and _Camp Camp) _and I'm defiantly going to talk about more in the future. However, today I wanna talk about a certain web series that managed to do something that very little other web original series have done. And that's break into main stream through sheer force of will. And that series is RWBY.

RWBY, created by the late Monty Oum and produced by Rooster Teeth, is an anime inspired online series that premiered in 2013. Now in the middle of it's sixth season (Oh, I'm sorry. Not seasons. Volumes? Cause we have to be all different all of a sudden.) it is still going stronger than ever. Now Rooster Teeth had always been one of the biggest companies out there for online content, and have had plenty of success with their very popular Red vs Blue machinima series, along with other projects. So RWBY doesn't exactly have the same underdog story as most other web series out there. It was made by a studio, and had a decent budget behind it from the start. However, the thing that I find noticeable about the series, and the thing that drew me into the series in the first place, was just how different it looked compared to so many other web series out there.

Animated web series as a genre is very much a dying breed. Sure, they were all the rage back in the early 2000's on sites like Newgrounds, and with shows like Homestar Runner and Eddsworld. But ever since the rise of Youtube and the algorithm shift they've become a bit of a dying art. (Outside of the "Animated Storytime Video" genre but that's kinda it's own separate thing.) Why spends weeks or even months on a three to five minute animation when you could just record a let's play or vlog in a fraction of the time, and get way more views in the process? And if you do decide to devote yourself to web animation than you gotta find a way to make it cost effect. This usually means short, comedic, easy to animate sketches. Often with some kind of parody element included to help get the viewers in. That way the series would (hopefully) become financially viable enough that more animations could be made. (Like How It Should of Ended as an example.) And this isn't necessarily a bad thing. There's nothing wrong with the shows that follow this formula. But I bring this up to show how much of a contrast RWBY is by comparison.

A fully original action anime inspired series, not based on any pre-established i.p, where the animation was the main focus. Rather than being animated in flash it was animated with motion captured CG. And despite all of that the series had new episodes coming out on regular basis and getting millions of views with every released. This series broke every rule in the book, and somehow ended up becoming insanely popular in the process. There wasn't very many web series like it. Now, I've brought up this series several times in other reviews. Sometimes I praised it, other times I made fun of it. Which is why I think it's time to finally put the jokes aside, and give my honest on RWBY.

Now there is a lot to go over with this series. Like, I said earlier, there are six sea-VOLUMES out as of the writing of this review. And given that this is a story based show with a changing status quo, it makes reviewing the show a bit tricky. And since I wanna have this review act somewhat as a introduction to the series for people who are on the fence about watching it or not, I'm going to try to keep spoilers somewhat light. But there will be some things I'll have to talk about, so if you want to go into the series COMPLETELY BLIND without knowing anything, you should probably drop off now. And if there's enough support in the comments (or if I just decide to at some point) I may come back to this series at a later date and do a more spoiler heavy review focused on events of the newer volumes. But with all that said, let's dive right in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x9zjk2MgVQ

The plot of RWBY is actually pretty simple. (GASP!-)

The series follows a young teenager names Ruby Rose. She's a protege when it comes to the art of combat and dreams of being a huntress. What a huntress you may ask? Well hunters and huntresses are warriors who's job is to protect humanity from the Grimm? What are Grimm you may ask? Well Grimm are monsters that are manifestations of humanities negative emotions. Try to keep up. Anyway, Ruby, along with everyone else in this world, has aura. aura is used to channel there semblances. _WHAT ARE SEMBLANCES you may ask?! _Well there basically superpowers powered by aura used by hunters to fight Grimm. But then there's also Dust, which is not the same thing as a semblance or aura and is DEFINITELY not magic. Magic is a whole separate can of worms that comes up later. Dust is energy (not aura though) that hunters put into there weapons to fight Grimm. RWBY semblance is super speed and her weapon is Crescent Rose, which is a scythe that's also a gun. Understand that? Good, cause that's just the first three minutes. Don't worry, it's all very well explained, and not convoluted in the slightest. Anyway-

Basically, the world functions like an JRPG. That's all you really need to know. There are random monsters everywhere, everyone has weapons and abilities, and they can equip the weapons with special elemental attributes attributes. After a chance encounter with some mysterious villains Ruby, despite only being fifteen, is selected to attend the worlds top school for hunters and training. Weapon Meister Academy, I mean Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, I mean UA Academy, I mean Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, I mean Beacon Academy! Yeah, that's the one!

Ruby ends up getting sorted into her house-err, I mean-sorted into her team, Team RWBY. (convent, I know.) where she is joined by her half-sister Yang Xiao-Long, and her new teammates Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna. _Can these rag-tad team of huntresses in training learn to harness there abilities, and just maybe learn friendship along the way?! _Well if you've ever seen a piece of fiction before, you probably know the answer.

Now, I know I just got done taking a ton of jabs at the shows premise for having so many similarities to so many other popular piece of media. But all jokes aside, I don't think that any of that is actually a problem. As they say, there are no original ideas. So taking some inspiration from other works isn't really an issue as long as you have your own unique execution and spin to it, which RWBY thankfully does. RWBY has this unique style and flair to it that's all it's own. And it really does help it stand out as it's own thing. Also, since it borrows from so many different genres and franchise, the series ends up being this really bizarre melting pot of concepts that I haven't really seen done in tandem before. There's elements of action, drama, fantasy, magical girl, superpowers, coming of age stories, giant robots on at least one occasion...and THAT'S pretty original.

It's like the people at Rooster Teeth decided they wanted to make an anime, but couldn't decide on what kind of anime they wanted to make. So they just said, "Screw it!" and decided to do them all, And while that might sound like a criticism, it really isn't. I love how over the top and crazy this show can get. It's kinda part of the charm.

Now let's talk about the characters. I've seen a lot of people (mostly hard core anime fans) argue that the characters in this series are cliche and uninspired. And in my opinion at least, there both kinda right and kinda wrong. It's true that a lot of the cast do fall into the somewhat standard "anime" tropes. Ruby is the typical wide eyed genki girl who's greatest skill is her kindness and optimism. Weiss is the stuck up snob tsundere from an upper class family who has to learn the power of friendship. Blake is the quite bookish girl with a dark and mysterious past who learns to open up. and Yang is the hot blooded action girl slash cool older sister archetype. Basically, there's a waifu for every flavor.

But like the series itself, the series makes up for some of these more cliche elements by adding more elements to the characters as the series goes on. These developments start fairly basic with things like "Oh, Ruby has to learn responsibility and leadership" or _"Oh, Weiss has to learn to stop being a fu*king BITCH for like the fifteenth time this week." _But as the series goes on we get much more complex and serious themes. From Ruby's history with her dead mom, Yang's struggles with PTSD, Weiss' broken family, or Blake' history of racial predigests. These are all themes that are tackled, and they are tackled well...for the most part. For a show that starts out pretty light it ends up in some dark places. But despite this it never deviates so much that it loses it's root, and becomes unrecognizable from where the series started. The series ages with the audience and the characters.

In addition to Team RWBY we also have Team JNRP (Juniper). They're kinda like the "B-Team" of the series. However, they become more important as the series goes on, and are basically main characters in their own right too. They're's Pyrrha, a prodigy huntress, gifted with natural talent. She's smart, kind, popular, and a skillful leader, and is literally selected as the objective best student by the school's headmaster in volume three. But she's not a Mary-Sue or anything...she has problems! Like how people are intimidated by her because she's so perfect and...she's not a Mary-Sue I swear! We also have Jaune, the leader of the team. He's a pathetic loser who has no skill, no semblance, and literally had to lie his way into the school. So of course he's the one who Pyrrha has the hots for. Because wish fulfillment. There's Ren, a stoic but sensitive ninja warrior who, judging from his hair and season four redesign, really seems to like the color pink despite being...y'know, a ninja. And Nora, a hyperactive genki girl who's job is to hyperactive and generally genki when Ruby's not around. Also, there all named after cross-dressers for literally no reason.

Like Team RWBY, while they all start kinda cliche they become more and more interesting as the series develops and we get more into there development. From Jaune's arc (Heh, get it?) of becoming a competent warrior to protect the people he cares for. To Ren and Nora connected tragic upbringing. To Pyrrah...being too perfect. Y'know, all good character arcs that really helps develop the cast.

I don't know why I keep making fun of Pyrrha. I really do like her as a character, and her arc with Jaune is very captivating...She is a Mary-Sue though.

These arcs end up being just as interesting as the arcs the members of Team RWBY go through, an help make these "side characters" all the more interesting and human. Even if there not the stars of the show, I ended up finding this team just as interesting as our main protagonist, if not more so on certain occasions.

And sure, the characters may rely a bit on common tropes, but it's all about the execution of these tropes that determine the quality. I'm not going to act like their the most complex characters ever made or anything, and a lot of the darker themes I talked about before have been explored better in other series. But that doesn't mean the cast is bad, by any sense. I was still invested in there stories, and felt suspense for them when I was suppose to. There's a real comradely with the teammates, and they good chemistry with each other. They feel like real friends, and that's what matters the most.

Let's talk about the animation. I've seen a lot of people either really love or really hate the animation of the series, and I noticed that the difference seems to often be based on what standard it is being judged by. People who judge RWBY as a web series seem to be really impressed with the visuals and action scenes. While people who judge it as an "anime" seem to think that the show looks cheap and uninspired. And while I can understand the later viewpoint I do tend to find agreeing more with the viewpoint of the former. RWBY isn't an anime...

_-**YES IT IS! SHUT UP! **_

...And while Rooster Teeth is a big company, but it's still not as large as other major anime productions. They obviously were on a budget, especially early on. And they were taking on a project on a scale much larger than anything they had done before. It's an all CG motion capture web series, featuring entirely new and original assets that had to build from the ground up from scratch. So yeah, or course it's not going to look as good as other animes. But I don't think that should be held against it to much, given the circumstances. Plus honestly, it's still probably one of, it not the, best looking web series I've ever seen. It's definitely one of the most ambitious.

That being said though, I'm not going to be one hundred percent nice here. Looking back at early episodes, yeah, they look kinda rough. They still look good, especially by the standard of web series. But you can definitely see the budget show in some parts. It's clear they were biting off a bit more than they could chew in some respects. That being said though it is remarkable to see how much the shows animation has improved overtime. By the time we get to volume four, where a new animation engine was introduced, the show goes from "looking good by web animation standards." to "looking genuinely good by animation standards in general." I honestly really like the shows visuals a lot.

And don't forget the action scenes! This is the part of the show that you can tell the most amount of effort was put into, and the part that the shows original creator, Monty Oum, was the most personally involved in. From the animation to the choreography, the action scenes are what gives the series it's sense of style. The action scenes are over the top, flashy, stylish, and such an array of pure insanity, and it's hard not to be blown away by them. And in a time where so many western cartoons are so comedy oriented, it's really a breath of fresh air to see an american action show with fight scenes as hype as the ones this show presents.

The voice acting is also pretty good. Starting out with a cast mostly reusing actions known from Rooster Teeth's other works. I admit that there were some growing pains early on with the cast, but they really did grow into there roles pretty fast. And as they series goes on they get a lot more "high profile" actors. From the likes of Vic Mignogna, Aaron Dismuke, Chris Sabat, Yuri Lowenthal, and Cherami Leigh among others. All the actors do really good jobs preforming there characters, for the most part. If I had to nitpick any performances though, and these are nitpicks mind you, would be the performances of Ruby and Pyrrah. Maybe it's just me, but I never felt like either characters sounded like the ages they were suppose to be. Regardless, these are nitpicks, There more of just an observation rather than a "fault" in the series.

So the show has good animation, good characters, amazing action scenes, and a pretty all star voice cast. Sounds like the show is pretty awesome show, right? Sure they've been some nitpicks and complaints here and there, but it's mostly been over all pretty minor stuff. Nothing that would impact the show that much.

So, Let's talk about the shows writing.

So remember when I said that this show was convoluted? This is a serious problem. Things in this show are often not explained very well. For example, in most stories where a character has a special powers, there powers would be shown off or explained right when the characters are introduced. We'd learn how they work, and what there limits are. There are several characters in RWBY who's semblances I still don't fully understand. Like Ruby's super speed. Does Ruby turns into roses peddles when she uses her super speed or is that just an artistic license thing? And there are some characters who we don't even figure out what there semblances do until WAY late into the series. Ren for example, who's introduced in volume one, semblance isn't shown until volume four! And it's not like he only unlocks his powers in volume four or something, he's always had them. It's just never mentioned or came up before, and you'd think it would be. Things like "How are characters powers work." are things that should be established early on!

The show is also REALLY bad at set up. (Don't @ me!) They'll have these moments where a "big twist" is suppose to happen that's suppose to catch the audience off guard. And they do, but only the twist are set up in such minute ways, there's no way the audience can realistically be expected to see it coming. I know the idea is to help make these twist surprising, but they don't give the audience enough hints to piece things together. They'll be a minor, one off line in one episode, that'll be a major plot point volumes down the road, with nothing to imply that said line was significant. And since these twist aren't set up very well, a lot of these twist just end up feeling like, "um, okay. This is a thing now." I know it's probably all planned out from the beginning, but it's not properly set up. It sometimes feels like the people behind the show are just like "Hey, you know what would be cool?" and just throw things at the wall until they stick. This can work sometimes but other times it just feels random. The shows acts like "They got us." when really it's a problem with their own writing.

The show also has a major problem with focus. I listed Team RWBY and Team JNPR as the main characters. That's EIGHT different characters to divide focus between, which is already a lot when you only have twelve to fourteen episodes per volume to work with. And while those eight character are the closest thing the show has to "definitive main characters" there are so many other side characters who that I didn't mention in order to keep this review spoiler free/not ten thousand words long. addition to Team RWBY and JNPR, there's also _(Slight Spoiler Warning) _Team SUNN, Ozpin's circle, Cinder's group, Salem's group, the White Fang, Raven's tribe, the various teachers at the school, the characters extended families, That useless rabbit girl that the fandom likes for some reason. etcetera. (Spoilers Over) There's just too many characters to keep track of! And while there's nothing wrong with having a large cast, (personally I tend to gravitate more to shows that do.) it can defiantly be hard to juggle all that screen time. Sure these side characters are often interesting, but they end up distracting focus and taking time away from the main cast, and side characters shouldn't do that.

Often, characters will only have a few moments per volume to really shine, due to just how much screen time they have to share. And sometimes it can make big character moments feel a bit undeserved, as there just isn't enough build up to make the moments feel as powerful as they should. And this is a problem that has gotten more and more prevalent overtime as the series has become more ensemble. But I'm hopeful that, given the series extending it's length from twelve episodes per volume to fourteen, as well as the episodes getting genuinely longer, this problem may be able to be fixed in the future. Maybe. Please...

So to sum up, is RWBY a perfect series? No. It is a very flawed show. VERY FLAWED. Particularly in the writing and the story department. However, I do not think that the show is as bad as a lot of the more vocal hatedom seems to think it is. Just because a series is flawed, doesn't mean you can't enjoy the elements that do work. Even when the flaws are extremely glaring. And that's how I feel about this show. Sure it has problems, but in my opinion the positives out-way the negatives. The action is still done very well, the characters are all pretty fun to be around. The world, while a bit overly complicated at times is interesting. And more importantly, the series never feels like it's being lazy. You can feel the passion that went into the series, and the show can be a lot of fun. There are just some parts where you might need to turn your brain off for a bit. There are plenty of worse series out there that don't try as hard and provide a lot less. But overall, the element I think I enjoy the most about RWBY is what the show represents.

What RWBY shows is that it is possible for a web animated series to hit the main stream. You can get RWBY T-shirts and merch easily, not just online, but in actual retail stores without much effort. The series can be watched on Netflix and Cruchyroll._ _There are not one, but TWO tie in manga's. There's a spin-off comedy series that's on it's third season. It's one of the four franchises represented in _Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle! _And most importantly it is partially responsible for transforming Rooster Teeth from a fairly successful internet company known for video game parodies, to a studio that is seen in the same light as the likes of more main stream television outlets! Never in my life had I seen a web animated series see this level of success. And sure, you could say that all that just means that the show is just good at selling out or whatever, but I like to have a more positive perspective. I think the show deserves to be respected for it's accomplished.

And to me, that's inspiring. It's like the weeb equivalent to the American dream! And that's why I have a RWBY poster hung over my work desk. As a reminder that there is no limitations to how far an online content can go. With just some hard work, determination, a studio of about three hundred employees, a stellar marketing team, a close connection to the anime dubbing industry, and a ton of money, you too can make your dreams a reality. And that's motivational...I think...maybe. And if they can make it, maybe I can make my own weeaboo dreams a reality...

_ **SPIRIT WARRIORS COMING OUT TWO THOUSAND AND NEVER!~

**_ So that's my review of RWBY. What do you think of the series, and would you like me to do another review of the series in the future? Maybe on volume six or something, kinda like what I do with my Dragon Ball Super reviews? Tell me all this in the comments down bellow. I'd love to start a conversation, even if you disagree with my points I made here. Please fav, follow, and comment if you liked the review and have a great day.

(I do not own any of the images or videos in this review all credit goes to there original owners.)

https://www.deviantart.com/joyofcrimeart/journal/RWBY-REVW-775726477 DA Link

#RWBY #Rooster Teeth #Ruby Rose #Review #anime inspired

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metalgearkong · 6 years ago

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Avengers: Endgame - Review

5/6/19 **SPOILERS**

Directed by Joe & Anthony Russo (Marvel Studios/Disney)

The original Iron Man came out a year after I turned 18 and graduated high school. Effectively, the Marvel Cinematic Universe began as soon as I started my adult life, each film acting like 2 or 3 checkpoints every year, always giving me something to look forward to. While I haven’t loved or liked every movie so far, the MCU has been incredibly consistent, slowly increasing in quality on average as time goes on, not to mention having that sentimental factor of facing the world along side it. Scale has also increased in these films over time, seeing more and more team-up movies with larger and larger casts crammed on screen. Endgame is the biggest super hero movie of all time, and not just based on box office earnings, but based on fan expectations, concluding such an incredible saga.

The Russo brothers have been a godsend to the MCU, directing what are most of the top tier entries so far, including The Winter Soldier, Civil War, Infinity War, and now Endgame. While Infinity War was essentially Thanos’ story, Endgame shifts perspective back to the heroes, picking up the pieces and desperately trying to undo what Thanos accomplished. Endgame is sometimes overwhelming (in a good way), with several instances catching myself holding my breath. One of the best things about this film is the level of pay-off it gives for those who have followed the series since the beginning. While I don’t think I enjoyed it more than Infinity War, Endgame is certainly one of the biggest super hero movies of all time, but sometimes the logic of the story detracts from the emotion and memorable moments of the film.

The movie picks up 5 years after Thanos’ genocide. The remaining Avengers discover a possibility to use the quantum realm (Ant-Man’s shrinking machines) to go back in time and collect the infinity jewels before Thanos does. While this is a “time travel” movie, I like the explanation that Bruce Banner gives that you simply cannot just go back to an earlier time and change the current present; going back in time is like visiting an alternate dimension where what you do does affect that timeline, but yours when you go back continues as its been. This essentially takes care of the “grandfather paradox” of why you couldn’t just go to the past, kill Hitler, changing history for the better. You could tell the writers of this film anticipated question most theater-goers would ask, like “why not just go back and kill Thanos as a baby?” and things like that.

After being rescued from space by Captain Marvel, Tony Stark has officially retired from being an Avenger. He understandably has lost the battle, and resides to live his life with Pepper Potts and their 5 year old Morgan. Tony’s home life and dynamics with his daughter are some of my favorite moments in the movie, as it further humanizes Tony, and offers even more deconstruction of super heroes this series is known for. When the other Avengers think of a possible way to fix everything, I actively wanted them to leave Tony alone and let him have his earned life of peace, even if half the universe was killed off. But, being the guilty genius he is, he can’t fully let it go, and works with quantum tech to make a time machine for the heroes to use. Quickly, they develop a plan to split off and go to different teams and time periods, and retrieve the infinity jewels from their original known locations.

Seeing the current Avengers physically revisit famous scenes from prior movies was incredibly satisfying and felt like an appropriate use of fan service. Some of the best scenes of the entire movie are current heroes accidentally meeting up with themselves in the past, or accidentally coming across people they miss dearly. One of the scenes that come to mind are Steve Rogers meeting his younger self during the events of The Avengers (2012), and the ensuing duel. It instantly reminded me of playing a fighting game with your friend, but you’ve both picked the same character. It was one of the most and creative and clever moments of the movie. The other best time travel moment easily goes to Tony revisiting the 1940′s and having a hear to heart with his unwitting father, getting closure and a feeling for full circle his character didn’t even know he needed.

One one the complaints I do have about the story is that Thanos is no longer the same Thanos from Infinity War. When problems emerge during Nebula’s trip to the past, Thanos from that time period learns that someday he is successful in using the infinity jewels to wipe out half the universe. Through convoluted events, he is able to travel to the future (Endgame’s present) where he faces the Avengers head-on for trying to spoil his plans. This means the Thanos of this film (B) isn’t the same Thanos as in Infinity War (A), as he hasn’t done anything from those events yet, nor has any history with the heroes. Thanos B also seems to have a more malevolent and less complex attitude about using the infinity jewels, and comes off more as a typical bad guy, and less of a complex emotional psychopathic environmentalist, which is what made his character so interesting in the first place.

The other major issue I have with the film is its seemed to shoot itself in the foot with all the time travel multiverses. The movie feels like it breaks its own rules for the sake of the big emotional character scene at the very end. I’m of course referring to “Old Cap” and how he somehow went back to the past to live out his life with Peggy Carter, yet was able to show up back in Endgame’s timeline as an aged man to pass off his shield to Falcon. Once he went into the past, he, by this movie’s own rules, cannot appear back in the regular timeline because visiting the past is basically a parallel universe. What makes it doubly bad is that it’s not in Cap’s character to simply allow the world to go through the turmoil it did while standing aside through all of it. Don’t even get me started on how this would have affected Peggy’s life and the entire conception of SHIELD. If someone can explain to me how this was all possible, please do, otherwise, it felt like either a genuine mistake, or more likely, the movie bending its own rules for the sake of a payoff (which left me scratching my head and took the emotional impact completely out of the final scene of the movie).

However, I’m extremely happy with the rest of Captain America’s scenes. Aside from the scene mentioned earlier (Cap vs. Cap), his use of Thor’s hammer in the end battle was incredibly satisfying and cathartic. I’ve always felt that if anyone was “worthy” of being a good person and warrior, it was always Captain America. Why he could barely budge Thor’s hammer in Avengers: Age of Ultron is beyond me (unless he was faking it to protect Thor’s feelings). Hell, if Vision could lift the hammer, why couldn’t Cap before now? Cap also gets a lot more time on screen in general, which was nice after barely having any lines or presence in Infinity War. Hawkeye, Black Widow, and other side characters also get their best moments of the entire series combined, and it was nice to see the regular people among the Avengers still have emotionally and plot poignant scenes as good as the super heroes.

Thor’s story arch could be seen as criticisms of the film as well. While the universe in its throws of coping with half of all life disintegrated, and how that would affect hugely every aspect of life, Thor meanwhile settles for comically getting fat and doing absolutely nothing. While I still found Thor in-character and funny in this film, upon further speculation, I really wish Thor continued the high he rode after passing what was his darkest chapter in Infinity War. I thought Thor finally settled into his own, and was confused why he regressed into a gag, even if I found it humorous at first. But, I was thankful certain other characters didn’t steal the limelight, especially Captain Marvel. I still find her way too powerful and her personality wildly unlikable and inconsistent. I tried to defend her character in her own movie back in March, but seeing Brie Larson once again strutting her ego made it impossible to root for a supposed underdog. One of my greatest fears of Endgame is she’d use her power to steal the show, and overshadow the legacy of the original characters in their fight against Thanos.

Summing up every great scene or character moment in this review is impossible, and they certainly outnumber the scenes or concepts I disliked. Almost every character gets some resolution or moment in the spotlight by the end of the movie. The final words of Tony Stark, “I am Iron Man,” was a triumphant moment as it capped off the entire series so far, further establishing Tony Stark as the heart and soul of the MCU. While Tony has never been my favorite Avenger, Endgame pays huge respects to him and his accomplishments, and I was a bigger fan of him than I ever was before. Its too bad that the plot raises so many questions in my mind, especially related to time travel and alternate dimensions. Endgame has too many conveniences for the sake of a big bombastic super hero climax, and I wish some of the logical issues with the plot or characters could have been executed differently. If you have any affinity for this series, you owe it to yourself to see Endgame, and while it has many moments of pay-off and awe, it isn’t the series’ most airtight film.

8/10

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rainbow-hatted1 · 6 years ago

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What Boredom looks like

1. You just opened up a web browser. What is the first site you visit?

https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/

Yeah, that’s sort of my jam. Reddit in general but that is my go to.

vv more below if you wanna deep dive. vv

2. You just walked into a bookstore. What section do you go to first?

The local published section. If it’s a good bookshop they usually have one. Usually it’s poetry, or short essay compilations or local history books but I tend to like the offerings and you’re supporting people who don’t have a big platform yet.

Otherwise, comics and fantasy are my next first stops.

3. You are hanging with your closest friends. What are you most likely doing?

Lately, not much of anything. Arguing… not talking… depressing things.

Ideally, though, there’s a good meal. Either we’ve cobbled it together on our own or it’s a decent take out option and video/board games. Quidditch if it’s a nice day. Basically, where we can sit and bullshit and laugh a lot. That’s the best time with my mates.

4. You just turned your car on. What station is the radio tuned to?

The independent/alt/rock station. In spite making pop music myself I don’t listen to it a lot. Which is probably weird.

5. You have just woken up for the morning. What is the first things you do?

Try to go back to sleep.

6. Complete this phrase: You cannot buy happiness, but you can buy____.

Tacos

7. What would you do if you woke up as the opposite gender?

Probably touch my boobs entirely too much. Liz calls them boob checks… well, if they’re quick and random, this would probably be fondling. I am ashamed of this answer but it’s likely what I’d do.

8. Are you more likely to cook for yourself or buy food from a restaurant?

I’m prone to laziness but I actually find cooking relaxing so cook for myself. Saves money too. It’s just a good practice to have in general.

9. If you had to lose one of your senses, which one would you rather lose?

Smell, probably. I enjoy food too much to lose taste. And between sight and hearing, I’d miss not having those senses and touch is just kind of important as a human being.

10. If you could relive any one year of your life, how old would you be?

Dunno

11. Would you take a bullet for anyone you know?

A few someones

12. Would you rather be rich and dumb or poor and extremely intelligent?

Poor and intelligent. Better chances of bettering my situation with that one.

13. What TV character do you most relate to?

Sam Gardner from Atypical.

14. You just walked into a supermarket. What section do you first go to?

Produce. Yeah, you all thought I’d go for the bakery and desserts. Don’t lie.

15. Is sex before marriage wrong?

No. It’s human. So is waiting. It shouldn’t be as polarizing as it is. Sex is part of life and how you want to experience it is entirely up to you.

16. You just won the lottery. What is the first thing you do with your winnings?

Get a lawyer and not tell anyone I won. People get shitty when you have a lot of money. They expect you to make it rain and I wouldn’t. I’d also take the weekly installments. More money overall and you are far less likely to tank yourself with the winnings. Just saying.

17. If your best friend admitted that they have a crush on you, how would you react?

I would be awkward as fuck. Love him, not like that and he has a girlfriend so yeah… it’d be fucked up.

18. Will the USA ever have a female president?

At this point in time: no. Again, this is a polarizing question that shouldn’t be. A woman could run the country I’m not women in charge by that answer. Don’t read into it. I’m merely saying, that with the way the country appears to be currently they will not vote for that. I’m sorry. It’s stupid.

19. You are carpooling with your friends. Are you more likely to be the driver or a passenger?

Passenger. I don’t drive.

20. How short is too short for skirts and dresses?

I’m not ancient or wearing a skirt so I don’t think it matters, but I tend to prefer more modest options on girls.

21. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, without any consequences, what food would you choose?

Pizza.

22. It’s Saturday night. What are you most likely doing?

Sleeping.

23. You go on a blind date. Your date is extremely beautiful and physically captivating, but you hate their personality. Would you want a second date?

No.

24. How strict should gun laws be?

I think Australia had the right reaction to a massacre

25. Would you rather be the worst player on the best team or the best player on the worst team?

Best player on the worst team. Hopefully, they wouldn’t resent me and we could have a good 90’s style underdog story.

26. How well do you work with others?

Not well.

27. You have the ability to cure only one fatal disease and eradicate it forever. What disease do you choose?

I don’t want that power. Either way people are gonna die and wonder why I couldn’t cure all cancer or something else that’s just as bad…and inevitably another disease will surface that’s worse. There will always be disease even if we don’t like it.

28. If you could go back to college and choose a different degree to study, would you?

Well, considering I’m not in college yet I can still change my mind on that one, but I probably wouldn’t. Care of Magical Creatures but I haven’t zoned in on the specific avenue I want to go in that field yet.

29. Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

Er… traveling the countryside looking for magical creatures and documenting them in the wild. It’d be cool if my friends joined once in a while.

30. Are you pro-life or pro-choice?

Pro-choice isn’t anti-life, for fucks sake people.

31. Would you attend a same sex wedding if invited?

Yeah. If my mates fell in love and get married, I’m gonna be at the party regardless of sexes involved.

32. So far, what has been the greatest day of your life?

The first time HM played to a sold out crowd. That was pretty shocking. We’ve done it since and Nik has carried on doing it on his own but that day was scary and humbling and epic.

33. Has anyone you know ever been arrested?

Yeah, wrongly so but they saw what they wanted and went that’s our guy. Luckily, he didn’t get sent away for good.

34. If it could be one season year-round, what season do would you want it to be?

Fall. But like warm fall not close to winter fall. That fall sucks.

35. What is your biggest regret in life?

Saying such shit things about Anna and Charlie’s mum because I was mad at him. We’ve never recovered from it and it was a stupid in the moment blind rage bullshit thing I can’t ever take back.

36. If you could bring one celebrity back from the dead, who would it be?

John Lennon, probably. But the thing is, not everyone is upset their deaths were untimely. That’s more the livings problem than the dead, I’ve come to learn.

37. What offends you the most?

When people assume how I’m feeling. I’m not exactly easy to read, I know that, and I have a hard time wrapping my own head around my thoughts and feelings. So when I am feeling something and someone says I’m feeling another way because my face doesn’t wash with an emotion or my reaction doesn’t match like it allegedly should it’s really upsetting to me and just makes things worse.

38. Would you rather have an ugly hairstyle or be bald?

Do what you want. It’s just hair

39. At what age did you have your first alcoholic beverage?

16. Yeah, I think that’s right.

40. What do you think happens to us when we die?

Ideally, you move on to another plane. Kind of like a multiverse but one for endings. For a bit you can linger between the here as we know it and there but eventually you either stay and become a ghost or a poltergeist (which depends solely on your continued mental state on the matter of your death) but most move on beyond the veil.

41. What do you think is the best way to quit smoking?

I don’t know.

42. If you could take home any one animal from the zoo, which animal would you choose?

A bear of some sort. Polar, Grizzly, Black…. Whatever they’ve got. Not all zoos have the same bears.

43. Were humans created or did we evolve from earlier species?

I’m gonna go out and say something that pisses people off but I don’t see why it can’t be both. Something came out of nothing which is creating, right? The act of creating something is taking elements and making them something or straight up creating an element. What did that, I don’t know. But at one point there was a creation moment. From there everything on this planet has changed and adapted to the situations and surroundings they came into. Life is change, you don’t change you can’t survive. So both. Both sound right to me.

44. What scares you the most?

Losing everyone I care about… and bugs. Fuck bugs

45. What personality trait turns you off the most?

I hate when people play dumb.

46. You got offered a job to do something you hate, but the pay will make you rich. Do you take it?

No.

47. If today you only had what you were thankful for yesterday, how much would you have?

Sadly, not very much probably.

48. How often do you get mad or upset at yourself?

Everyday.

49. If you could choose one celebrity to be your parent, who would you choose?

I’ll keep my parents, thanks but to answer the question: Reign. At least I’d still have family.

50. If you could only listen to one musical artist for the rest of you life, who would you be listening to?

I would probably choose not to listen to music after a bit. I like variety and I’m not always in the mood for an artist of one flavor but the Beatles? At least their breadth of music is pretty wide.

51. Have you ever used you cell phone while driving?

52. Has anyone you were close to die way too young?

Yes.

53. Is world peace possible?

No, I don’t believe it is. It’d be great if it could be. There’s no reason for all this hate but people are always going to clash. We get on for a bit and then boom, it’s done. Peace is an impossibility but we should still strive for it regardless.

54. You go on a blind date. You date is extremely ugly and physically appalling, but you are madly in love with their personality. Would you want a second date?

I don’t know. I want to say yes, be that guy who doesn’t care. Looks really are not everything but ultimately, you should be attracted to your partner. If you aren’t it isn’t likely to work even if their personality is the most beautiful thing in the world.

55. How did you discover that Santa Claus isn’t real?

My little brother told me and I was devastated.

56. Do you believe in God, or some form of higher deity?

I honestly want to but I have a hard time wrapping my mind around how things can be the way they are if a loving god is out there watching us. I think the Futurama episode where Bender gets life on his ass is a great example of how my brain wants to look at it.

And then I read the Bible and get to stories like Zechariah and I’m just left thinking that guy probably had a stroke while praying and the rest is a coincidence.

57. If you could save someone you deeply cared about, but it meant breaking a law, would you do it?

Fuck yes. Without hesitation

58. What is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done for money?

Sold my soul for a sickle once.

59. If you were to make a YouTube video about what you know most about, what would the subject be?

Magical Creatures. I could go on for a very long time about that topic.

60. What do you think is your greatest personality flaw?

I’m rigid. I have a hard time shifting directions when I get going.

61. If your friends spoke to you the way you speak to yourself, would you still want them as friend?

I haven’t got many actual friends so maybe. Better than being alone, I suppose.

62. Have you ever “woke up like this”?

No one has ever “woke up like this”. It’s a lie. It’s always a lie. Even if they look good, that caption shows intent and planning: don’t fall for it.

63. You got offered a job to do something you love, but the pay is one of the worst out there. Do you take it?

If I really fucking love it, yes. But I’m also in a position where I can have a shit paying or no paying job and basically be fine.

64. What do you think is your best physical feature?

My lips?

65. What do you think is your worst physical feature.

My nose is big.

66. Do you know anyone who has committed suicide?

Not suicide no. But I know people who have considered it. Glad they didn’t follow through.

67. What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done for someone you don’t know?

I dunno. I have a habit of giving my bus ticket away if it still has time on it. I know it’s not much but as for random acts of kindness that weren’t really put on display for charities or a fluff news story, that’s the one I’ve got.

68. Have you ever had a night’s dream come true?

No, can’t say that I have.

69. Would you reject a date offer from someone you didn’t like?

yes

70. Which do you think is worse: Failure, or never trying at all?

This is one of those what I say is not really what I do things. I think the second is worse but I often freeze when it comes to choices like this. When I’m by myself: I freeze.

#random #asks #questions #bored #mild entertainment

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juliabenerdy · 6 years ago

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Top 12 Female MCU Characters

In celebration for Avengers Endgame coming out I wanted to do a post that was fun and non spoilery to put my love out there for Marvel. Since I am all about women power and things I thought this would be a great thing to do!

I am only doing women in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and this does not include TV shows that might slightly tie in to them. That was really hard. This is my opinion and not everyone will agree with it and there certainly can be a discussion but no bashing anyone of opinions. That is totally not nice. Anyway..like i said there will be no spoilers for Avengers: Endgame, but all other movies prior is free game--Be Warned!

12. Nebula

Abilities

Superhuman strength, agility and durability

Regenerative healing factor

Skilled hand-to-hand combatant

Skilled assassin

Wrist blasters

I love Nebula. Who doesn’t love an underdog story, plus she is probably one of the characters that most people could relate to. Who can’t relate to someone who has sibling rivalry? Of course, most people don’t have an insane father that will pit his children against each other into battles of almost death and when one looses the loosing child will get tortured with mutilation when getting cybernetic enhancements. The thing that most amazes me about Nebula in the MCU is her character growth. She shows that she truly loved and cared for her sister and it was the tyrant between them that kept them apart for so long. Ultimately she realizes that she was following a maniac and she starts helping the good guys in Avengers: Infinity War. I can not wait to see where her journey goes from here!

11. Hope “Wasp” van Dyne

Abilities

Size manipulation

Flight

Bio-electric energy blasts and extendable claws on her gloves

Skilled hand-to-hand combatant

Hope is the definition of independent woman in my eyes. She is a fighter. She is intelligent, not afraid to run with the big boys, teaches men how to punch, ambitious, and makes being the Wasp her own. Despite being estranged from her father for most of her childhood she learns forgiveness and softens to him when she finds out the truth about her mother. It takes a lot of character to forgive someone in my opinion and being lied to most of her life would be a lot to forgive, but in the long run letting love be the ultimate thing to win in her relationship with her dad and with Scott instead of pushing away is true bravery and a bad ass woman.

10. Agent Peggy Carter

Abilities

Skilled hand-to-hand combatant

Trained in Fire Arms

Military Combatant

Skilled Agent

Peggy Carter, the one that falls in love and gets the heart of Captain America. (Lucky....) Seriously, she is definitely a woman that can be a role model for little girls. She is like the ultimate bad ass. Smart, knows how to take care of herself, refuses to be a damsel in distress type, tough as nails, but still keeps her own form of feminine charm. Like I said bad ass and great role model. I would love to learn to kick butt from this woman and I would gladly tell everyone she was the Agent I learned from.

^ Brilliant

9. Okoye

Abilities

Skilled in many forms of combat

Exceptional in using various Wakandan weaponry and tools

Brilliant Tactician and Military Strategist

When I watched Black Panther I was moved and amazed by the female empowerment in the movie. You can actually see my previous blog about it! I am still in love with that factor of the movie. Okoye is one of my all time favorite characters of the MCU and favorite parts of Black Panther because she is smiply awesome. The King of Wakanda has women...women back him up. I want all sexist pigs out there to soak that in for a moment. If you are still grumbling and thing that T’Challa was wrong, remember all this:

youtube

8. Shuri

Abilities

Animorphism

Genius-level intellect

Expert martial artist

Necromancy

Super speed

Stone skin

Use of high-tech equipment and weapons including vibranium uniform

Enhanced agility, durability, endurance, reflexes, senses, speed, stamina and strength

I love this girl, because in the MCU she is one brainy badass. In the abilities listed above we definitely see the genius level intellect and her high tech weapon use.

I am going to just say right now I will loose my ever loving mind if i see her animorphism and necromancy skills in the next Black Panather movies. Holy crap. Mage and Harry Potter crap there! LOL Anyway, Shuri is definitely a refreshing woman to see in movies today. A woman that can take care of herself and lets say save the man in distress.

7. Mantis

Abilities

Master martial artist

Empathy

Plant manipulation

Accelerated healing factor

Astral projection

Ability to communicate telepathically with the Cotati

Energy projection

Okay, so in my opinion Mantis is one of the coolest Marvel heroines’ that has ever been introduced. I will be the first to say that she was actually one that I was not to familiar with until I looked her up after the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 came out. Honestly, I do not think they have touched on half of what Mantis can do. Master martial artist? Where was that? Plant Manipulation? Um, yes please enhance Mantis characterization in the next films please Marvel because empaths can be totally badass and she is apparently no different. In Infinity War she jumped on Thano’s back and practically immobilized him! She was that powerful! Her power made it to where she almost made Team Iron Strange (lol like what I did there with the Team that was on that planet?) successful in Infinity War. Almost...*sigh*

6. Pepper Potts

This entry will be a little different. I said I was not going to spoil Endgame and I plan on keeping it that way. I will probably not have any blogs stating anything specific about the movie plot and things for a little while longer. That being said I still wanted to include Pepper because even though there is things I don’t want to say about her character and her story line in Endgame I still want to say how much I love her. She is smart and a very capable women. She is the one running Stark Industries after all and the woman that is in love with Tony Stark which is also hard, but I think she is the proof that Tony has a heart throughout the entire MCU.

5. Black Widow

Abilities

Expert tactician, hand-to-hand combatant and secret agent

Slowed aging, and enhanced immune system

Expert marksman and mastery of various other weapons via gauntlets

grappling hook

knock out gas

taser

explosives

tear gas pellets

radio transmitter

If you would ask me which female superhero I would want to be like the most, I would probably tell you the super femme fetal Black Widow. Who wouldn’t want to be a beautiful super spy badass? Natasha Romanov does not need super powers to be amazing. She just is and that is part of what makes her great. She is also not afraid to say that she has demons in her past and she is definitely wanting to atone for things that she has done wrong. That takes courage and guts to want to strive to be a better person. Not many people would even try to atone for anything. Natasha...you are definitely my hero.

4. Gamora

Abilities

Superhuman strength, speed, agility, and durability

Skilled assassin

Skilled hand-to-hand combatant

The Most Dangerous Woman in the Universe

I love Gamora. I think she is fierce, smart, strong, independent, beautiful and everything a badass woman should be! She fought for what she thought was right despite going against her father’s wishes. It can be extremely hard to go against family. Let’s pretend for a moment that her father was not a total psychopathic tyrant for a moment and consider that that is a hard thing to do. Yeah, if we go back to the fact that he is a psycho and he techinically murdered half her people, including her real family, and basically kidnapped her, it would still be weird to go against the man who raised you. It would at least takes guts to go against the person that raised you into the total badass bitch machine that you are now, knowing that he is a psycho so you could become a Guardian of the Galaxy because you have better morals and values! Gamora is legend. She is the Most Dangerous Woman in the Universe!

3. Valkyrie

Abilities

Superhuman strength, speed, durability, and longevity

Mediumship with spirits of the dead

Valkyrie is one of the most complicated female characters in the MCU so far and given a lot of depth in my opinion. She suffers from PTSD, which I can relate to, because of her battle against Hela. There are not many characters that you see with Post-Traumatic-Stress-disorder. Being the only survivor of the Valkyrior because of the battle against the Goddess of Death, she suffers a lot of loss, and she was also saved by one of her sisters in arms when almost speared through the heart by Hela. She drowns her sorrows in alcohol which is actually a very human thing to see despite the fact that we are supposed to be watching a woman that is superhuman. .The reason why I really like Valkyrie so much is because how much I relate to her. Instead of drowning in sorrow she realizes that she can not run from her past but get stronger from it. She is a inspirational woman that kicks total butt!

2. Scarlet Witch

Abilities

Reality warping

Magic

Probability manipulation

Teleportation

Matter manipulation

Time manipulation

Energy projection, manipulation and absorption

First of all, I think magic in the MCU world is fascinating, needless to say I am a fantasy nerd and mages, witches, and magic is a true love of mine anyway, but Scarlet Witch is right up there with Dr. Strange. When talking about pure power and abilities she is extremely the bomb. I wont go super nerdy on everyone here because most of the reason why I love her is because of playing her in old video games like X-Men Legends (turning bad guys into boxes--hahaha boxes) and the comic story lines (House of M anyone?). If I think about her character in the MCU alone I still love her because her powers are still ultimately powerful due to the mind stone. Her powers are more telekinetic and telepathic in nature in the MCU because of this. Remember when she manipulated the Hulk? Yeah that is power! She has had to go through a lot of crap and she always uses it to make her stronger. This is what makes her awesome.

1. Captain Marvel

Abilities

Superhuman strength, speed, endurance, and stamina

Energy projection and absorption

Flight

I really struggled with how I was going to rate my last five. I was not sure whether I was going to make our dear Captain Marvel number one, but she is number one to me, because I related to her. Simple and probably selfish, but it’s my list so LOL, This is my opinion of course, but I really did pick this a lot based on how I relate to Carol Danvers. She is one powerful woman and it was a lot of manipulation that toned down that power until she realized she could utilize her emotions to make her stronger. Her character growth was essentially understanding who she was and letting herself not be afraid of her power and her emotions. Danvers is powerful, sassy, funny, a fighter pilot, and an adventurer! Who wouldn’t want to be her?

So this is my list..like I said its all my opinion and I put a lot of what I feel in the reason. If you agree or not that is cool. I love to hear people’s opinions, that is if anyone is reading this LOL, but no battering people for their opinions! No spoilers for Endgame!

Just saying also...can we please get She-Hulk in the MCU! SHEESH!

At some point I might do a top list of males in the MCU with Spiderman coming out in awhile. Maybe a list of what I love about Spiderman..cause I love Spiderman. Who knows haha

#marvel mcu #female marvel mcu list #top 12 list #top female characters #nerdy approved #female warrior #marvel superheroes #marvel superhero females

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theearlymorningbookclub · 6 years ago

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Where the Crawdads Sing By Delia Owens

I don’t even know where to begin with this one...I finished reading it just over a week ago and I’m still feeling its effect on me.

At the very least, this is a “Coming of Age” story about a young girl named Kya. Kya and her family live in a marshy coastal town in North Carolina. Kya’s life is not an easy one. She is abandoned by her family. One by one they all leave, until it’s just Kya and her alcoholic father living in their marsh shack. But even he leaves her too. In order to survive on her own, Kya is forced to learn about money, work and going without way before a person should have to learn those lessons.

Lonely, Kya turns to the marsh to be her only friend. She spends her days studying and examining the marsh and its ecosystem. Kya makes diagrams, displays and recordings of her findings. It’s actually really amazing. Kya basically self-teaches herself biology, botany and earth science. And of course, like any good Coming Of Age story, Kya falls in love with her only real friend, Tate.

I won’t tell you any more because I don’t want to give away anything....

However, I’d like to comment on how wonderful it is that Mother Nature literally becomes Kya’s mother. Her family. Her everything. Her means of survival. She loves and depends on the marsh. It’s truly a beautiful relationship.

I’ve never read anything by Owens before but you can sign me up for anything by this woman! Her writing is magnificent. The prose is so lyrical. The novel reads like poetry. The imagery is so vivid. It’s seriously perfect.

Throughout the conflict, Owen does a great job not telling the reader what to think. Facts and details are stated and the reader makes up their own mind. The ending will punch you right in the face.

The novel spans years and the reader journeys with Kya through life’s milestones and mishaps. We root for Kya. We love her. Delia Owens poured her heart into this novel and it’s very clear.

Where the Crawdads Sing is for the reader who needs a breath of fresh air. Someone who believes in nature’s amazing powers and appreciates the awesome wonder of the world that we live in. Someone who always roots for the underdog. Someone who falls in love with the “good guy”. This novel is for anyone who wants to read something purely and genuinely spectacular.

Cheers.

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idolizerp · 6 years ago

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LOADING INFORMATION ON JAWBREAKER’S MAIN RAP ELEANOR MOON...

IDOL DETAILS

STAGENAME: Ellie CURRENT AGE: 24 DEBUT AGE: 19 TRAINEE SINCE AGE: 16 COMPANY: KJH SECONDARY SKILL: CF modeling

IDOL PROFILE

NICKNAME(S): n/a INSPIRATION: back in america, ellie discovered her love of rapping and after regular trips to korea to visit family, she discovered the rap side of kpop. this inspired her to audition and better explore that side of heritage. SPECIAL TALENTS:

games: it’s well known that ellie is competitive, and she seems to back this up by excelling in most games she’s presented with on variety shows.

staring/don’t laugh competitions: she’ll hold the gaze of a host without blinking, without laughing or smiling, or any other challenge they give her involving keeping a straight face.

english: obviously, growing up in america, her english is flawless so it’s

NOTABLE FACTS:

came in fourth place on the 2016 season of unpretty rapstar.

big fan of the LA dodgers, often seen wearing one of their hats.

can’t cook if her life depended on it.

IDOL GOALS

SHORT-TERM GOALS:

After joining KJH and being pushed to promote more than she’s used to, Ellie feels like they actually want her to succeed. It’s been in talks to let her potentially have a solo career, and soon. Sometime within the next year, she hopes to launch that career and release her first single.

LONG-TERM GOALS:

No group lasts forever, Ellie knows this, but she wants to last forever. She wants her solo career to take off and to carry her for the rest of her life. She loves the spotlight. She wants to become an icon in Korea, like BoA or IU. Except for rapping, obviously.

IDOL IMAGE

the marketing team at singularity have an idea in mind when they hear about the new foreign trainee. silly american, still getting accustomed to the language and the culture; it was a stereotype they assumed she’d slide into easily. when word of this reaches her ears, it’s obvious to her that they haven’t done their research. that’s not who she is; she’s not even sure she could pretend to be that. they have yet to speak to her about it, and it doesn’t look like she’s debuting soon, so she does everything in her power to change their mind. she knows she has to be respectful of her new company. her father’s words ring sound in her mind: “don’t speak back to anyone like you spoke to your teachers here; you’ll be sent back home without a second thought”. more than anything she wants to succeed and debut. but she decides she needs to be bolder. she speaks to her superiors with a surprising confidence. in any class or lesson, she’s always at the front, eager to learn and even more eager to impress. eleanor knows she’s more than a stereotype; she just has to show them.

when it’s time to debut, the image they’ve come up for her isn’t one she would pick for herself, but it’s better than the original idea. there’s an emphasis on respect (that’s not a surprise to eleanor); they’re the newcomers on the scene, they have to earn their spot. they want people to like them, to feel like they’re at the same level. be humble. they know eleanor has a tendency to be brash, and though they claim they want her ‘true personality to shine’ they also want to reign her in. she can come off as straightforward and a little gutsy, but there are boundaries. don’t insult, don’t offend, don’t show the group or company in a bad light. everything in moderation.

they decide to play up her underdog story. her parents, korean immigrants wanting a better life for their future children than they were able to provide in their previous circumstances. a girl raised in a different country wanting to get back to her korean roots, feeling a calling of some sort to be apart of it all. rap competitions she came in second, never first, so she pushed herself to be better. to be the best. and here she was, finally succeeding and debuting as a main rapper. achieving her dream. it’s a story spun to inspire girls around the world, that anything is possible. ellie proves to them that she’s not so different from them.

eleanor thinks higher of herself than most of the world does, though she doesn’t always let it show. she’s been quoted claiming that she’s the self-proclaimed visual of her.oine, and the true reason for their success. no one is ever entirely sure if she’s joking or not, or if this is all an act. she doesn’t want them to know the answer. it rubs some the wrong way, and others think it’s cute and naive. when asked who she’d want to trade places with for a day, she said ‘no one’ because she can’t imagine being anyone better than who she already is. her favorite part of any comeback is her rap (“it basically defines the whole song”, she claims). a meeting with her management and a very firm slap on the wrists follows.

this gains her backlash. it’s been there since day one, but this really stirs it up. why does she get to be the main rapper? what makes her specially? the other members are more talented than she is, she reads. they have far more experience, and she can’t deny that. one of them was raised by a rapper/producer. three years feels like an eternity to eleanor, but there are trainees that have been working for over six years and still haven’t managed to debut. what does she have that they lack? while she wants to scream back that she has talent, passion, and drive, she keeps her mouth closed because it’s what she’s supposed to do. when asked to comment on her criticism, she just smiles and promises fans that she’s working her hardest to be the best she can for them. when has she become this person?

despite her big mouth and sometimes too-much confidence, she is depicted caring for her members. she may let out a huff or roll her eyes when one hugs her, but she can be caught passionately cheering them on in any ventures outside of the group or out at dinner with one of them, letting them pick off of her plate. she’s not motherly of the younger girls, and not a maknae-type by any means. more of the teenage daughter who acts too cool for her family but deep down would do anything for them.

things change when their label goes south and they get bought out. her.oine is no more. who knows what their new concept will be. from what she’s told, the changes aren’t too drastic. it’ll still be a girl crush group (thank god), she’ll still be the main rapper (thank GOD). but as far image, they want her to play up the foreigner card. talk about los angeles and where she’s from. not in the same way singularity did. she doesn’t have to play dumb, she already has her image and for now it’s fine. they don’t want to stir up any trouble before they can get the group going again. it’s just that atlas has been so successful overseas that kjh hopes that jawbreaker having an openly foreign member will help bridge that gap for them too.

what they want eleanor to be and who she wants to show the world are completely different people though. her confidence is obvious to anyone who interacts with her. it oozes out of her pores, out of her mouth, impossible to ignore. she’s someone who knows what she wants and is committed to getting it. she’s the girl in school you were afraid to talk to. the one you thought just might bully you but instead empowers you to be a stronger version of yourself. the male fans would love her for her body, her rapping skills, and the not-so-subtle winks she hands out like party favors. the girls would see the more dangerous side of them in eleanor, the side they wish they were confident enough to show to the world.

but for now, she waits. she waits for their next concept, for the reviews to come in, for a chance to be a little more herself. it seems just out of grasp, but she’s fighting for jawbreaker’s success and the freedom she misses.

IDOL HISTORY

eleanor is practically born with middle child syndrome. she has an older brother her family adores, he’s a natural at everything he tries. the only thing she’s good at is talking. the babbling starts at an early age and her parents wish they could go back to a day when she didn’t make a sound, because now she never stops. and when she learns a word, three more come quickly after and before they know it, she’s talking their ears off again. it’s nonsense of course, but it’s never ending. as a child, she’s needy and can’t seem to entertain herself; she craves the attention. on the day she turns three, her birthday party is canceled as her mom is rushed to the hospital prematurely. she returns with two more kids, a boy and a girl. everyone is fussing over the new additions instead of bringing her presents and talking to her. at that age she doesn’t understand why, but ever since, her special day wasn’t just for her. she had two others to constantly share with. share toys, share her parents love and attention. she had never been a fan of sharing. a young eleanor tells her parents very boldly that she hates her new siblings before slamming the door, causing the babies to cry.

at home, it’s all korean all the time. they speak it because it’s easier for her parents, and to make sure they don’t forget that part of who they are. eleanor’s mother cooks traditional korean food, just like her mother did. she tries to get her kids interested in it and her oldest is a natural, of course. eleanor can’t seem to get the hang of it or find any interest in it, so she’s shooed out of the kitchen. a bitter scowl is present across her face during dinner. the only time when she feels truly included is during their summers in daegu. she cherishes the time she gets to spend with her grandmother, because at times it feels like her grandmother is the only one who cherishes her.

her father is a professor at a local university, teaching korean language and asian studies. her mother is a pediatric nurse. with two parents that work full time and three other siblings, it’s near impossible for eleanor to get any alone time, or even attention, from her parents. so, like a true middle child, she begins to act out. at first it’s talking disrespectfully to teachers. she even writes a rap about the vice principle and his snaggle-tooth and performs it for everyone at recess. once she decides to spend a week pretending she suddenly forgot english, which prompted a parent-teacher meeting. as she gets older, things get worse. showing up late to class and telling her teacher to ‘fuck off’ when asked where she was. skipping class altogether to hang out with the kids that finally took notice of her. she was suspended for underage smoking in the school parking lot. if anything, her parents were stressed and angry. but they were also busy, so her punishments were minimal and poorly policed.

the crowd she finds herself involved with aren’t exactly stand-up citizens, but they give her the attention she craves. eleanor sneaks out most nights to meet up with them. it’s something new every night, but it almost always involves alcohol, cigarettes, and something illegal. whether that be drugs, breaking into someone’s house, graffiti, or spending time with boys who are too old to have her best interest at heart. she’s spiraling, flying head first down the wrong path, and no one seems to notice.

her favorite nights involve taking a bus down to lincoln heights to watch underground rappers perform and battle. thanks to her friends, her main interests lie in rap and hiphop, so she’s not foreign to this style, but seeing it live is something else. it awakens something in eleanor she wasn’t sure she’d ever feel: passion. it’s during a trip that a friend encourages her to enter an amateur competition. she does so with surprising confidence for someone so young and is eliminated the first round. laughed off the makeshift stage. her quick temper boils up and she’s furious and embarrassed at the same time, claiming it wasn’t her fault that she did so bad; that person she was against COULDN’T have been a beginner. despite her claims, she begins to practice, and practice hard. she enters as many competitions as she can, missing more and more school. but she’s getting better and that’s what counts, placing higher and higher.

eleanor’s grades begin to drop and that raises a red flag to her parents. rules are stricter, she can’t sneak out anymore. there will be no more absences from school and she’ll come straight home afterwards. she’s finally getting the attention she craves but it feels all wrong. something is missing and she knows exactly what that is.

it’s one of these friends that tells her about the audition. the boy and his sister are older than her, but two of the only korean friends she has. they were the ones to introduce her to kpop and khiphop to begin with. some of it is ridiculous, some of it flows better than american hiphop, but it all piques her curiosity. she has no idea what groups are under this label, singularity, or anything about it, other than it’s kpop. somewhere deep inside, this audition is her only chance at freedom. life at home with parents who don’t understand is a prison. out in the industry, she’ll be able to do what she loves. maybe it’s not originally how she imagine herself, but it’s s step in the right direction, the only direction that makes sense to her right now. she signs up for the audition and prepares a song in english for them, and one in korean.

eleanor acts unsurprised when she gets offered a chance to audition again in seoul. the extensive time spent with family in korea makes it easy to get her parents to agree to let her go. and when she gets offered a spot in the company, she tells her parents it’s exactly what she needs to get on the ‘right path’. they have no problem with it, though she had hoped they would act a little sadder to see their oldest daughter move out of the country before she’s even eighteen.

trainee life isn’t at all what eleanor expected. she didn’t know it was going to be so… strict. she thought she had left this life behind in california. she also didn’t expect to have so much competition. the whining is short-lived (much to the gratitude of the other trainees). she knows what she needs to do to get to where she needs to be. so she trains day in and day out. she barely eats. she’s at the gym constantly. every tidbit of adive they give her she gobbles up, eager to improve. she’s ruthless and some of the other trainees are rubbed the wrong way. she doesn’t care. she doesn’t care about anyone other than herself and it shows. others aren’t the biggest fan of her personality, though in front of her superiors, she puts on a kinder face. her temper again gets the better of her and she yells at a younger girl for accidentally tripping her. while she knows deep down her reaction was uncalled for, her pride keeps her from giving a sincere apology until she spots the girl crying one day. she offers the girl a hidden candy bar and mumbles a nearly incomprehensible but sincere “sorry”.

korean classes weren’t anything eleanor had expected when she moved. she thought her korean was good. great, actually. but that was just her over-confidence doing her a disservice. there are things that only come with a native language that they need to pound into her. her dialect skews some words that they want her to be clearer on. she needs to know what idioms work and what don’t, and the ones that are special just to the korean language. she has to finish school still which is done locally, and it nearly feels overwhelming. there’s so much about history and tradition her family hadn’t taught her, and here she was trying to play catch up while also training. she’s constantly tired, making her even more snappy and short with the other trainees. they just think it’s her personality, but really she’s worried about whether she’ll be able to succeed or not. maybe she’s not cut out for this, maybe she can’t do it. maybe she should go back home and just be a teacher even though she’s not the biggest fan of kids. doubts aren’t foreign to eleanor and at times she has trouble pushing through them.

her training doesn’t lightening up as a year passes, and then six months, and then six more. she’s two years in when she nearly blows her voice. her practicing is consistent until she wakes up one morning unable to speak. her stomach drops and her heart breaks just a little. is this the end for her? a quick meeting at the doctors proves she’ll be okay, but she gets put on voice rest for a week. she only lasts five days before she’s back rapping, a little more cautious, but just as determined.

it’s another year before eleanor debuts, with a nickname not foreign to her. her dancing and rapping has improved, she’s proven to be a talented and passionate trainee, so ellie is debuting as the main rapper of the new girl group, her.oine. when she’s finally in private, she bursts out in tears. all her hard work was finally paying off. it was her first real glimpse at any kind of freedom. she loves the concept, loves her role. feels… okay about the other girls. she’s never been great at sharing the spotlight, but at least she feels important here. and over time she warms up to the other members.

she still has a ways to go. she’s met with endless criticism from fans and critics alike. she’s not good enough, she’s foreign, she’s just another ‘idol rapper’ and not even a great one at that. she’s boring, she’s rude. anything they can think of comes out and she feels the tears start, but she swallows them. this isn’t the time to wallow in self pity. all she can do is try to prove them wrong, even when she really wants to give up.

singularity gives her one chance to prove herself. they don’t seem to invest much in her or the group, they don’t seem to care about them. so she’s surprised when they meet her halfway and both parties agree to let her go out for unpretty rapstar. it’s at least… something. it gives her something to do while the group sits idle. always the competitive type, she tries her hardest. but her korean is still not good enough. she doesn’t win, doesn’t even come in second place. she finishes in fourth place which she’s told is pretty good but it’s not good enough for her. she vows to practice harder, to not be so humiliated again. little does she know that her time as part of ‘her.oine’ is limited.

the always-confident ellie feels her confidence falter when their company goes under. for a brief moment, the group’s future is uncertain. her future is uncertain. until they’re told that they’re the one good thing to come out of singularity. kjh global creative is going to take them on with some minor changes. for the better, they say. she’s very skeptical of the company, of what they have prepared, and even of their new name (jawbreaker is a dumb name, if you ask her). but she doesn’t have a choice. eleanor is ready to get back in the spotlight, no matter what it takes.

and she does. they do. their debut song doesn’t win any awards, but it’s good. it’s well received. and she surprises herself by loving it. ellie’s riding a high, but it’s not over yet. kjh has them preparing for a comeback already, much to the group’s surprise. she’s not used to this kind of attention, this kind of investment, but it’s what she’s always wanted and she’s thriving.

#id.bio #id.kjh #id.jawbreaker #id.son naeun #id.wild&free

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diveronarpg · 6 years ago

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Congratulations, TYRA! You’ve been accepted for the role of BIANCA. Admin Rosey: Be still, my heart! For you, Tyra, have created a storm in it -- a storm of utter adoration and devotion to our beloved Brigette of Verona. They are hard to capture, something ethereal but something horribly, horribly real. I honestly thought it would be awhile before anyone would grow to love our dear Bianca, but you have them down to a T. The sample that you provided sealed the deal and the plots you had in the works were merely the icing on a devilishly sweet cake. Take care of them for me, will you? Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Age | 20

Preferred Pronouns | she/her

Activity Level | i just copy-pasted my this from my old app. I’m a college student and things can sometimes get super hectic for me, especially when I try to avoid studying and then I end up with so much work to do. But all in all, I think I’m a pretty active person and when I love a muse, there’s nothing that can stop me from playing them.

Timezone | gmt+2

In Character

Character | Bianca

What drew you to this character? | The mankind is poised midway between the gods and the beasts and while Brigitte wants to believe that she’s a god, there’s no doubt to me that she’s a true beast in an expensive and ornate disguise. Every good story needs an antagonist and it truly appears like Brigitte fits that role so well in Verona. You already know how much I adore strong women, but I wouldn’t technically call Brigitte strong. Brigitte is wicked and clever and once you mix that with her background you get a real ‘bad bitch’. Yes, I had to write that, because Brigitte is a definition of a spoiled princess whose ferocious appetite can’t be satisfied. She always wants more, more and more! She’s so greedy, but also ambitious in my opinion. I feel like that greed and all the riches are slowly devouring her on the inside. It’s a curse of all the wealthy people, but once you have the whole world served on a silver platter, you really start wishing for more - daring to challenge the Gods themselves. The hearts of others, love, adoration, jewelry, money - it’s not enough. She could devour the whole Verona and it still wouldn’t be enough. Those are the reasons that simply made me love such a bad person and perhaps loving someone so rotten and spoiled should make me feel guilty - but I don’t feel any guilt at all. She is rotten and I see that when I compare her to her sister - Katarina helps others, the part with birds just shows that she does have a sweet heart, but Brigitte only brings trouble and has the potential in her to wreak havoc in Verona. Katarina would help a wounded animal, but princess Brigitte would simply turn it into a lovely fur coat, after all the princess always gets what she wants. All of her imperfections make her perfect for me. Brigitte is also so cunning and the way she plays with people makes me respect her even more. Others have their fists and pistols, but Brigitte has her golden curls, pearls and sweet words. She’s the thorn in probably many eyes, but she lives her life to the fullest. Plus, who doesn’t love rich bitches who are ready to sink their teeth in the flesh of their opponents? And my god, this little wolf surely has big teeth.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? | ( future plots always make me a little nervous because I’m an indecisive person and I never know what sort of idea could come to me the very next morning. )

ー let’s start with her darling sister. I want her to get under Katarina’s skin so much that basically Katarina gets a desire to arrest her. I don’t think she’ll ever let her sister live peacefully. It’s a secret feud, but Brigitte would do all in her power to probably sabotage her own sister. Let it be known that she is the only one their family loves. I think this constant bickering would be good for her, as it would keep her on the edge of her seat and make her wish to always keep improving herself. Her sister should always keep one eye open, even when she sleeps, because Brigitte is one malicious girl.

ー a test of patience and loyalty would also be quite intriguing to see. Brigitte is that type of person that is ( in the end ) only loyal to herself and she does everything for her own personal gain. So, perhaps it would be nice to see her doing something that could come across as being disloyal to the Capulets? Maybe it could appear that she’s a bit too close with some of the Montagues? How would they react to that? She plays so much, but what if she gets all caught up in the game?

ー the next one belongs to Cyrus as they’re a match made in hell. Exploring their friendship/relationship is something that needs to happen. I do want them to get in trouble, but also cause so much trouble! A part of me believes that she’s very reckless and that if it ever comes to that, she’d support Cyrus and all of his decisions - especially when it comes to reclaiming his throne. Wouldn’t that make her his accomplice? But also a queen of the city? - And isn’t that the closest thing to a god? Watch them turn Verona into nothing but ashes, they’ll watch it burn like the Library of Alexandria.

ー of course, I had to include Vivianne. While there’s no mention of her in Brigitte’s biography or connections, I think it would be so fun to explore their dynamic. Vivianne is the underboss and well Brigitte has to technically respect her, but I feel like that would only be a mask. In fact, she only supports her son and it’s quite clear that they don’t have a good relationship. So, how would Vivianne react to one of her soldiers being so close with her underdog son? Please let the drama unfold.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | This question is tricky, but I wouldn’t be too worried about Brigitte! Mostly because I have a feeling that she would come back to haunt everyone. ;)

In Depth

In-Character Para Sample:

Every city had its poisons and rotten apple, and for that reason dear reader, Verona had Brigitte. But she, oh she wasn’t your typical rotten fruit. No, she was dipped into gold, an apple that even Snow White herself would pick in a basket filled with plenty of others. She truly looked like the sweetest apple, but underneath that layer of opulence and charm was hidden a sour disappointment. Never trust just your eyes.

She entered a splendid banquet room dressed in a red lavishing Versace gown - but wasn’t their symbol Medusa’s head? It was a strange coincidence but my darlings - to kill this gorgon you would have to bring Perseus himself from the dead! Around her neck she wore no necklace, for she had two most beautiful and mesmerizing sapphires right above her nose - and just like Medusa, she could stop a man or a woman in their tracks and bring them to their knees with just one mischievous look. Blessed were the beautiful ones, for everyone adored and showered them with affection. Her abundant golden hair cascaded down her back, creating a holy image of a crown upon her head.

Among such a big crowd, she still managed to swiftly find her favorite and gullible targets - gorgeous men and women who would practically beg her to listen to their deepest secrets and fantasies. However, the biggest satisfaction came in the form of a realization that her darling and surely forever jealous sister wasn’t there. With a glass of the finest french champagne in her hand Brigitte made her way through the crowd, casually pushing people aside and making them look directly at her - she truly wanted them to take a good look at her, wanted them to admire her beauty and even fantasize about her. Plant a seed of a pretty illusion and watch it grown into a wild obsession. That was the perfect trick, wasn’t it? Leave them wanting for more. However her true charms and faux sweetness was saved for someone else, her darling targets.

First came a man dressed quite formally - however the bow tie around his neck almost looked like it was smothering him. Nevertheless he still managed to plaster a sweet smile on his face for the lovely Brigitte, filling his sight with every inch of her mesmerizing face. He was surely twice her age, but by now creepy men were just the norm for this Italian gem.’’Brigitte, my darling. It’s such a pleasant surprise to see you here.’’

She tossed him a coy smile, nodding sweetly like a little fool.’‘But Verona is my home, monsieur. I should be the one that’s surprised. However, I do have to agree with your words and the pleasure is all mine.’‘

‘‘Brigitte, ah please you’re far too–’‘ She didn’t let him finish. Instead, she placed her index finger over her own peach painted lips and said,’‘In the presence of a man like you I have no choice but to speak the truth. My hearts doesn’t let me tell lies.’‘Her words were too good to be true, but he still believed her. Completely bewitched, he sought to pull her close but she spun laughing from his grasp.

‘‘You’ll have to give me a tour around Verona one day. I would be the happiest man in the world with you as my guide. I’m certain I could learn so much about you. What is your favorite place in Verona? Perhaps, we could meet there?’‘

She batted her long eyelashes at him, rosé blush slowly painting her porcelain cheeks. Dear Lord, she could even blush on cue - and such great talent undoubtedly made the best thespians in fair Verona envious. ‘‘My favorite place in this city… is wherever you are. I believe that when you’re in a great company, even the most dullest places can become beautiful. ‘‘

‘‘Oh Brigitte, you flatter me too much.’‘

‘‘But if I had to pick one, the Phoenix and the Turtle cafe is the one I’d gladly pick for a pretty meeting. They serve the best coffee in all Verona and I simply can’t get enough it of.’‘Lies, lies, lies. Brigitte actually loathed coffee, the taste of it was beyond awful and even sweets and cakes mixed with coffee were something that she always avoided. But she knew that her darling target adored coffee and so for the sake of her great performance, she had to lie. There were other places, too of course. Like the stunning cathedral of Verona, but she wasn’t an ideal example of a good believer. Even as a child, quite peculiar thoughts had plagued her mischievous mind. Imagining her own face upon the stained glass windows ( high above the commoners, glowing so holy ) - was a far more satisfying option than actually praying with her parents. Perhaps her own mind was the prettiest place in all of Verona.

‘‘Brigitte, then we must meet soon.’‘However, she stopped listening to him when she noticed another target, one that was far more important to her. ‘‘And we shall, but I must go and greet my other friends now. Until we meet again.’‘She bowed her head slightly and moved closer to the man, leaving a soft kiss upon his left cheek. God, he even tasted like sweat. Luckily, her other target seemed to be much more refined and in a better state.

The woman wore a beige dress that somehow made her black braided-hair stand out so well and even from a far, she left a trail of lavender scent behind. She looked unapproachable, almost stone-cold and no man had succeed that night in striking up a conversation with her that lasted longer than two minutes. However, Brigitte, like a true clever snake, knew her weakness and she just waited for the right time to strike.’’Do my eyes betray me or am I truly in the presence of Aphrodite?’’ Overly saccharine words fell from Brigitte’s lips, but she knew exactly what she was doing.

‘‘ Brigitte?’‘ The woman’s eyes lit up with excitement, scanning Brigitte’s gorgeous body from head to toe. Everybody always had the same tendencies. ’‘But my eyes don’t betray me. And how could I forget your eyes?’‘ They both chuckled in that moment, playfully observing each other.’‘Well they say my sister has eyes green like the American money and while I think that’s a beautiful comparison, most claim that my eyes are as blue and clear as the Aegean sea.’‘

‘‘They are not wrong, my dear. Aegean sea is the most beautiful one. It’s no wonder people wish to compare your eyes to it.’‘

‘‘You are far too kind, but I have to admit that my heart skips a beat each time when you speak.’‘Those who actually believed Brigitte only had one thing to worry about - their precious lives! ( But if you’re foolish enough to trust her, isn’t that what you actually deserve? )

‘‘Would you like to join me for a walk? I can’t breath here, but I don’t wish to go alone.’‘The snake with the golden hair inquired, never once taking her gaze off the other woman. Her eyes held so much power that they could devour people. A killer cobra, she was nothing else.

‘‘How could I turn down such beautiful company?’‘

…

The two women strode alone, not daring to touch each other. It was upon Brigitte to make the first move and for the sake of victory, she did exactly that. She gently rested one hand on the other woman’s upper arm, tugging her slightly toward herself. And in just one moment, she pressed her lips to hers.’‘You’re as sweet as the finest Italian honey.’‘Brigitte whispered, giving her own lips a new shade with each kiss.’‘I’m a little bee and I wish to drown in all of your sweetness.’‘In the wilderness, most snakes had the same approach when it came to killing their precious prey. ( Locate them, distract them, sneak up on them, wrap your body around them and enjoy in your delicious little meal. ) She was the favorite Du Pont daughter for this exact reason. She wasn’t a wild lioness that roared at every target like her foolish sister, but a beautiful serpent hidden beneath the most beautiful roses, always waiting for the right moment to strike.

‘‘Brigitte, I…’‘She shushed her with another passionate kiss, delivering her deadly blow.

‘‘Come, I’ll take you to my room. There, you can tell me anything you wish.’‘

And they always did.

Sometimes death was as sweet as a lover’s kiss. Confess your sins to your favorite god who carries the name Brigitte.

Extras: /

#accepted: bianca #accepted

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