#but I do think perhaps Char has thought more deeply into their relationship and is more fixated on it by virtue of Garma being his only

[87foxeninaboxen]

Y'know, with how common depictions of charma are with Garma overly adoring Char while Char is more stone faced, I actually think canon more fully supports Char being the one more in love with Garma than he is him. Sure, in canon Garma clearly sees Char as a close friend and ally, but he's the one showing his fiance off to Char and saying he'll leave his family for her, Char is the one watching them from the window.

It's because he's having murder fantasies, yes, but I think there's also an aspect of him being kind of obsessed with Garma. He's watching him from afar and fantasizing about murdering him, he's mourning him on the night of his funeral, he's saying goodbye to him on the night he finishes his revenge when he should really be thinking about anything else, he's weaving all these little jokes into their conversations.

Compared to what we see from Garma, I think it's pretty stacked on Char's side.

[mcyt-imagines]

hi! i’m like 80% sure requests are open but if they aren’t feel free to ignore this! i was wondering if i could get some fundy confessions? like a similar piece of writing to what you did with ranboo? which by the way was very good and your writing is super neat :]

I’m so glad you enjoyed the lil Ranboo confession hcs, I hope you enjoy these just as much! :)

Fundy Confession HCs 

Realising he likes you 

Fundy knows he’s crushing on you immediately. But he doesn’t understand how deeply he cares for you.

Fundy finds himself surprised when he doesn’t have to chase you, you actively pursue him as much as he pursues you.

Fundy usually doubts himself when he finds himself crushing on someone, unsure whether he should pursue them. But with you it’s different, your support makes him feel confident in his feelings.

Sometimes he feels as if he could never confess, scared he could ruin your friendship in case you don’t feel the same way. (Even though you very much do, he just thinks you deserve someone better too)

Fundy spends a lot of time contemplating his feelings for you, mostly in his head whilst the two of you are hanging out. He finds himself zoning out while you’re speaking, his eyes wandering between your vibrant eyes and your gesturing hands, landing somewhere in between, usually on your soft lips. However, if your back is turned to him, he will simply fixate on your hair, his hands desperately wishing to feel it. He knows that it's soft from the few times he’s fixed a stray lock of hair to a spot behind your ear. Basking in the pride he feels when your cheeks tint a soft pink, wondering whether it was real or just a cruel trick played by his imagination.

Fundy often finds himself thinking of you whilst streaming, he’s mentioned you a few times. Not enough to raise any questions about what your relationship with him is, just enough so his chat can try and appreciate you as much as he does when he allows his mind to wander mid-game.

Fundy finds himself slamming into an epiphany late one night when he realises that dating you isn’t about whether he thinks he deserves you but whether you do. And he hasn’t even given you the chance to answer, all this time he’s made the decision for you because he’s too scared of what your answer would be. He makes a promise to himself that night. That you deserve to make that decision yourself.

The Confession

Fundy knows that if he’s going to confess, he needs to make it extravagant and perfectly tailored to you.

This man plans out his confession to you for MONTHS, meticulously crafting props, making bookings, and trying his best to coordinate far away friends. Meanwhile, your friendship continues to strengthen with each night chatting until the both of you fall asleep in lone discord calls.

You know that Fundy has been busy with a project he refuses to tell you anything about, changing the subject with nervous stuttering whenever you bring it up.

You have let it keep you awake for a few nights before concluding that perhaps he finally managed to snag a partner and he was unsure how to tell you. So, the next time you meet up you make a note to drop some hints about knowing what his little project is. This freaks Fundy out instantly. How the hell did you figure it out? And you seem super okay with it? Was he wrong, do you actually feel the same way? Fundy’s head is spinning as you continue your casual conversation alone, “But don’t worry, I can wait. I only want you to tell me when you feel comfortable.” Your words snap Fundy out of his spiraling thoughts as your warm hand squeezes his knee and he forgets how to breathe.

Fundy spirals yet again that night after he gets home. You seemed okay with him liking you? But you didn’t confess either!? What does that even mean!? Fundy groans loudly before stuffing his pillow over his face, wishing that his love life could be easy.

He sets to work the next morning, finalizing all of his plans. When once again, he is struck by another epiphany. You wouldn’t want this. Some big extravagant show with the pressure of your mutual friends watching from the sidelines. You’d want something sweet and personal. That only you and he would understand, or even care about. He doesn’t bother cancelling the plans and bookings, instead of texting you to meet him at his place for dinner. If tonight works out the two of you can still experience the more extravagant side of his confession, but if this whole encounter goes sour it can go sour in private rather than public.

You arrive promptly, as you always do. Happy to spend time with him and perhaps seduce him you dress a little cuter than usual. Hoping he takes notice. He definitely does, and you can tell. The second he opens the door to reveal your frame he’s grinning, a light pink rests at the tips of his ears almost immediately. He is quick to greet you and lead you inside.

Fundy spent all afternoon regretting that he had sent that text to you. As he had to frantically run around the kitchen trying to come up with a meal to cook because there was absolutely no way, he was going to feed you takeout! Normally of course he wouldn’t have minded doing that, but not the day he plans to confess! That’d just be embarrassing. He spent a good thirty minutes deciding on the menu, thinking he’d do something Dutch to show off a little. And then he promptly realised that over half of the Dutch dishes he knew required no cooking but days of prep-work. Which took out a lot of what he knew how to cook.

So, by the time you arrived, he actually hadn’t finished cooking anything yet. And he was internally screaming as he heard your knock upon his door. So, to distract you he invited you into his room for some Minecraft. He repeatedly thanked his past self for furiously cleaning his room even though he originally had no plans for you to come in here.

As you play your eyes wander around Fundy’s room, allowing yourself to be distracted by his nerdy décor. “Creeper!” You scream as you’re brought back into reality as Fundy’s character jumps in between yours and the exploding mob. You gasp dramatically, “Fundy, my hero!” You pretend to swoon, grinning as he chuckles at your antics. “My shield is now practically broken.” He whines, “Take mine.” You drop it in front of him before moving your character back over to the iron ore you’d spotted in the cave earlier. He readjusts himself beside you, shimmying his shoulders as he mutters out a quick thanks. You lean against him softly, “No worries.”

It is at that inopportune moment that he remembers he had been cooking before you showed up. Thank god his oven had a safety feature to turn off after a certain amount of time. He ducks out for a few moments to quickly check on the mess of ingredients he’d chucked into a casserole to find it charred black. He repeatedly slams his head against his countertop as he began to enter both yours and his usual order of Chinese takeout into his phone. “You good with Chinese takeout?” He calls towards his room, wishing a hole in the ground would open and swallow him up pulling him straight down to the ninth circle of hell for his crimes against love. “Hell yeah, I am!” You respond with an enthusiasm that allows him to unclench his jaw and unfurrow his brows. God, you were definitely too good for him. Even as a friend.

Hours soar by with ease as the two of you play, trying your best to speedrun Minecraft and absolutely failing. Fundy does manage to make a nether portal pretty quickly using the lava pool strat. He allows himself to puff out his chest, pride swelling as you cheer him on with a grin. You don’t stop playing even when the takeout arrives continuing to communicate through mouthfuls of rice and complaints about trying to not get grease on your keyboards. Fundy cant remember that last time the two of you spent time like this just hanging out with no pressure from his stupid feelings and you absolutely glowing with joy beside him. He knows you need to do this more often.

“YES! FUNDY HIT HIM! AHH!” With one final blow, the dragon is slain and you finally beat Minecraft. You throw your arms around Fundy laughter bubbling from your lips, his arms grip you tightly pulling you close. His own laughter reverberates against his chest causing you to realise just how close he was holding you. You gulp down your rapidly growing nerves before looking up to meet his gaze, finding his face a lot closer to yours than you had expected. Fundy looks down at you as his cheeks burn a bright crimson and he tries to stutter out the words he’s been dying to tell you for the past six months.

And that’s when it hits you like a tonne of bricks. The bullshit he had been hiding this whole time wasn’t a partner, he wanted you to be his partner! Your mouth falls open in surprise for a few moments as Fundy continues to gape at you. “Holy shit Fundy.” That causes his gaze to snap to yours, eyebrows furrowed and lips in a firm line. “I thought you were hiding the fact you were with someone from me!” You laugh at your own absolute stupidity, hand coming to press high on Fundy’s chest. “Wait, what!?” The exasperated expression on his face only causes you to laugh harder, “Yeah, I thought that’s what you were being super cagey about. Sorry my bad, misjudged that one.”

Fundy finds himself chuckling too, his shoulders relaxing as he does so. “Yeah, a real good read love.” He laughs, your gaze rises at the pet name. “Real presumptuous of you Fundy, I haven’t even said if I feel the same yet.” Your teasing tone doesn’t even stop him as he pulls you even closer to him, pressing your body flush against his. “I think I can read you pretty well now. Not to mention you’ve been blushing this whole time.” He grins into your hair, squeezing you with an unbridled joy you find so contagious. Or perhaps you’re feeling that way because it turns out your crush isn’t actually dating someone else but instead likes you back? 

“B-but like, just checking you actually do really like me-“ Fundy begins, feeling his nerves inevitably creep up his spine. Before he can even finish you cup the back of his neck with your free hand, the other clenching his shirt as you kiss him with all the intensity you can muster. “That answer your q-.” You begin to respond against his lips only from him to silence you, which maybe you deserved. Fundy can’t help but smile into the kiss. Somehow things actually turned out alright. Squeezing your warm soft hips, he ponders who the hell is looking out for him upstairs. But as your hands tangle in his hair, he makes a silent promise to himself he’ll consider praying to them tomorrow.

~Requests are always open!~

[sortinghatchats]

Sorting Firefly

Note: in the way we like to play this sorting game, “primaries” are WHY you do things and “secondaries” are HOW. If you want to learn more about our system’s definitions, check out our other tumblr posts, our blog at sortinghatchats.wordpress.com, or our quiz at https://ejadelomax.itch.io/sortinghatchats. 

Malcolm Reynolds is our go-to example for the Burned Hufflepuff Primary. An Unburned Hufflepuff Primary values community, fairness, and empathy. A Burned Hufflepuff still has those inner values, but thinks it’s impractical, naive, unsafe, or foolish to prioritize them. They tend to think of themselves as bad people -- practical, sensible, maybe, but not very good. 

It can be tempting to consider Mal perhaps a burned Gryffindor instead, but look at him in the war, before he burns. His faith isn’t in the righteousness or the cause, but their people—”hear that? That’s our angels coming.” Mal has a big heart and he wants both to help and to believe in other people. (This is one of the reasons River is so vital to him—but we’ll talk about that later). 

Mal after the war is no different in what he wants — he’s just had to settle, injured, for a smaller world. “You’re on my crew,” he tells a bewildered Simon. (Simon’s Slytherin Primary is absolutely flabbergasted by Mal’s stubborn loyalties to him and River, which is based in their need and their being part of the family, where Simon’s loyalties are razor-edged and individualistic). 

Mal can’t love the whole world anymore, or even just the Browncoats, because he knows that would destroy him— it already almost did. But he can love his crew. He can make Serenity a home.

Mal’s Puff Primary shows up in other places, too, sneaking past the Slytherin Primary model he’s used to keep himself alive and sane after the breaking of his too-big heart, like when he gives the medicines back in Train Job, risking Niska’s wrath. 

Zoe, who first fell into step behind a Hufflepuff years ago, questions him about it in the movie—an unburned Mal, the one from the war, would never have left a man behind. This Mal shot the bystander begging for rescue (a mercy) to save his crew. That prioritizing (or, rather, the instantaneous decision of it) points to his Slytherin model—but it eats Mal up the way it would never eat up Simon, an actual Slytherin Primary (“remember, River, it’s okay to leave them to die”). 

Mal wishes, deeply, quietly, that he could save everyone. But war and loss burned his young, faithful Hufflepuff into a man who thinks one of the basic truths of the universe is that you can’t save everyone and that it will destroy you to try. So he’s sunk his stake into these eight Serenity-boarded souls and decided it’s enough.

This is one of the things that makes his relationship with River so interesting. The Burned Puff knows he should not be trusting and investing in this broken bird and her verse-wide bounty, her untrustworthy triggers and destructive lethality. But in letting them stay in the pilot, in pulling her back to the ship in Objects in Space, in joining her crusade in Serenity, he defies all these hard lessons he’s learned and he trusts her, he fights for her, he believes. By ignoring his “better judgement” and investing in this one unlikely young woman, he’s starting to heal his Hufflepuff and have faith in the good fight once again. The last moment of the Firefly-filmed universe is Mal Reynolds teaching River how to fly. 

(For a definition of teach, anyway.)

For secondary (the “how”) — Mal’s a Gryff. “If I shoot you,” he told Simon, “You’ll be awake, you’ll be facing me, and you’ll be armed.” Badger mocks him for it in the pilot— Mal wants the world to be honorable. He wants to be fighting the good fight, and he wants to do it in the good ways. 

Gryffindor secondaries are an interesting mix of stand-up integrity and mischievous (even deceitful) rule-breaking and chaos (think Fred and George). These potentially conflicting traits come from this— Gryffindor Secondaries are self-defined. 

Their integrity and their honesty is a deal with themselves, not others. They stand firm to their own rules, but find other peoples’ or organizations’ insignificant, or even downright offensive. The other secondaries all can and do break rules—a Slytherin Secondary might play the system, a Hufflepuff Secondary might invest in it, a Ravenclaw might find its loopholes—but a good rule of thumb for identifying a Gryffindor Secondary is this: is rule-breaking a tool? or is it a personality trait?

Simon, who destroyed his whole life to get to River, and was willing to let Kaylee (the epitome of the innocent bystander) bleed out in order to keep his sister safe, is a Slytherin Primary. He looks slightly Puff occassionally—this is because he’s tied part of his worth to the Puff-like doctrine of a surgeon: service and do no harm. You see it when he saves the patient on Ariel and then chews the attending physicisian out, offended to his core. These are beliefs he holds close to himself, that help define him—but at Simon’s core, no matter how Ravenclaw clever or kindly even bumblingly Hufflepuff he can seem, he puts his people first and he loses no sleep over that.

He’s got a Ravenclaw Secondary—asked to describe his usefulness, Simon would first and foremost claim his intelligence and his skills. He’s best when he’s in his “element,” drawing on skills, knowledge, and tolls he’s already learned and comfortable with. 

Simon’s got a Slytherin Secondary model on top of his Slytherclaw heart, which I suspect he learned from his dad. The Ravenclaw/Slytherin combo in the secondary/model space (in either order) often looks a little bit like a criminal mastermind (or someone who wants to be one, anyway). When Simon is uncomfortable, falling back on his model, his starts to look a bit like a plotting villain—in the pilot, on Ariel, and at the beginning of Serenity the movie.

Zoe is a Gyffindor Primary who really likes Hufflepuffs (see: Mal, Wash). Like Mal, she’s been burned by the war. Puff Primary Mal has become disillusioned by a cruel ‘verse that requires you to abandon some people to save others. He has lost faith in both the fairness of the universe and his own ability to make it more fair. But Zoe, a burned Gryff, has lost faith in her own ability to tell right from wrong. 

She’s not deeply burned—more a light char—but instead of trusting her own gut these days, she trusts Mal’s. Her internal moral compass feels like it’s gone awry or silent. She feels lost. This is a burned Gryffindor, and it’s not uncommon for a burned Gryffindor to try to find their morality somewhere outside themself. Zoe finds hers in Mal.

Part of it is that she knew him in the war when he was fearless, his Puff effortless, and because it’s easy for her to fall into the structured hierarchy of their roles-- sergeant or captain. She has given him not just practical but also moral authority. She questions him, but she trusts him in the end, almost always. And, though it’s framed within the “sir” and the war, the reason for it lies on the quality of Mal himself. Zoe would never give her allegiance to anyone who did not deserve it. But she feels she cannot trust her own internal compass, so instead she trusts Mal’s heart.

For secondary: Zoe does not charge, comfort, or connive. She’s straightforward because it’s useful, not because it’s a moral imperative. Ravenclaw Secondary I think—look at the comparison with Mal’s Gryff Secondary in the “tin of beans” flashback in The Message. Where Mal shouts and hollers and charges, a different school of thought, Zoe is organized, efficient, deliberate (and deadly).

The way Inara freaks out and skiddaddles when she realizes how important the Serenity crew (and esp. Mal) have become to her — that is a Slytherin Primary trying so hard to Petrify. She’s mourning Nandi and she’s mourning herself, and she just wants everything to stop hurting.

Inara looks a lot like a Puff Secondary, because she performs Hufflepuff so damn well, but she’s not. In her introductory scene, on the job, we get snatches of her “inner” thoughts while she smiles and pours tea— she’s sighing, shifting, rolling her eyes. There’s clearly a disconnect between how she feels about this man and what she’s doing.

A Slytherin/Hufflepuff Inara (which, on the very surface, would look very similar to most of her behavior) would have to convince herself to “mean” the affection for her clients, even if only for the allotted time slot. Eyerolling, internal or external, wouldn’t happen until she was back on the ship, curled up with Kaylee, telling stories, and that’s if the eye-rolling happened at all.

Inara talks like that, though—that she chooses people she ‘connects’ with, that kind of thing. She’s got a lot of respect and wishfulness when it comes to Hufflepuff, which I think is where she bonds best with Book— he performs Puff, too, and wishes that giving warmth was closer to his core.

Inara has a Slytherin Secondary model, which she uses to excel at the “performance” of her job. The flexibility and cultivated appearance of that secondary work for her well. However, her actual secondary is Ravenclaw, a learner, a studier, and a collector of skills. Slytherin’s adaptability is just one more skill her Ravenclaw has worked to learn. 

When Inara’s with the crew, she tends to live simply in her Ravenclaw secondary, giving off an impression of precision, clarity, and certainty. Her Ravenclaw and Mal’s Gryffindor secondary, both strident, solid houses, like to have sparring matches/bonding times while their Loyalist House primaries make doe-eyes at each other. Dweebs.

Jayne Cobb displays neither a Slytherin Primary’s strong loyalty drive, a Hufflepuff’s need-based service, or a Ravenclaw’s constructed, systematized morality. He appears to be a Gryffindor Primary whose felt morality is “whatever I want.”

If you read him really complexly, you could maybe imagine a Ravenclaw Primary there, who’s settled on that morality of self-serving ruthlessness. But moments like the one where he joins up with Serentiy—he shoots both his buddies on Mal’s suggestion—suggest against that. The betrayal doesn’t make Ravenclaw any more unlikely than Gryffindor, but the instantaneous decision to make a moral choice he’d never considered or run through his system before suggests that his is an intuitive “gut” morality—just a really unsavory one.

His selfishness looks temptingly like a Slytherin Primary, but he lacks any of the loyalty. He’ll betray anyone and it doesn’t seem to be because he’s Petrified—he still likes and bonds with people. He cares not just practically but emotionally about what they think of him (his plea to Mal not to tell the others about his betrayal in Ariel). But when push comes to shove, he doesn’t seem to be driven strongly by that affection, the way a Slytherin is tied to their personal loyalties. A Gryffindor, then, just an ugly one. Sorry, Gryffindors.

His secondary, though, we think is Slytherin. He looks a lot like a blunt Gryffindor Secondary, but it’s just his Slytherin Secondary neutral state, which he likes to live in and which shares the blunt or even abrasive honesty and delighted tactlessness of some Gryffindor Secondaries.

When Jayne needs to lie, deceive, connive, or betray, he does it easily and without a touch of dismay. He schemes and jockies for advantage. He’s a good example of the uglier stereotypes of a Slytherin Secondary. Sorry, Slytherins.

Kaylee Frye is a Gryffindor Primary like Jayne and Zoe, but where Jayne’s is self-serving and Zoe’s is quietly shattered, Kaylee’s shines bright through her Hufflepuff Secondary. She community-builds like nobody’s business and even her technical prowess is described in terms of intuitive empathy.

In the episode where they pick up Simon and River, she’s sitting outside Serenity asking people why she should let them onto her ship, why they want to be on her ship. And the only answer she accepts, Book’s, is a philosophy of wandering and traveling that sits close to her heart. It’s a Gryffindor recognizing someone who looks to share her view of the world. It’s a Gryffindor who’s bonding over shared ideas and ideals. And what does she do with this information? She brings Book aboard the ship. Welcome to the family, you share our philosophies, and I think we’ll get along great.

One of the (many) ways she does her part on Serenity is by community building with people who are good, who are worth getting to know, or who are interesting-- who aren’t just picking their ship because it’s a ship that they happened to see, but because they’re able to pick up on that something special that Kaylee values so much about Serenity.

Book is a burned Gryffindor with a Slytherin secondary and a Hufflepuff performance. He’s devoted himself to the truth of the Word, of the Bible, of his religion-- like, Zoe he doesn’t have faith in his own ability to tell right from wrong. Where Zoe places her faith in Mal, Book places his in  his religion. 

His secondary is a bit hard to sort, but from his laid-back, go with the flow skills and his comfort with lying or gilding the truth, he reads as a Slytherin Secondary to us. 

Wash is a hard sort, because you can read or not read so many different depths to him. Is he really as utterly transparent as he seems? He looks like a Hufflepuff Primary, but maybe he’s a Ravenclaw with a loud model—because if he’s a straight up Puff, then the boy wears his heart and thoughts on his sleeve all the time.

But Zoe has a pattern—she likes Puffs—so we’re gonna go with that. 

Wash really is that honest and straightforward, his emotions obvious on his face. I think someone with the sort of built layers that are easy but not necessary to read into Wash wouldn’t be the kind Zoe would fall in love with. She likes hearts that know what they’re doing, that are instinctual in their kindnesses. Wash is himself, all the time, and that self plays with dinosaurs, loves his wife, and headbutts with Mal over ethics with the thoughtless confidence of two Puffs who disagree.

Ravenclaw Secondary—he’s quirky, delights in sarcasm and wit even when what he’s trying to be is kind. His Puff center makes his secondary look a lot warmer than burned Gryffindor Zoe’s Ravenclaw secondary, but the fact that this couple shares a secondary makes sense.

We think River was originally a Ravenclaw/Ravenclaw with Slytherin Primary and Ravenclaw Secondary models — basically, as a kid she modeled Simon’s Slytherclaw. She’s not a Slytherin Primary herself, but she finds comfort in Slytherin loyalty and she often sees the world through that lens—an emphasis on interpersonal connection, a sense of “mine first,” and loyalties owed.

By the time she’s on Serenity, however, she’s been rubbed so raw she doubts her Slytherin model (“I didn’t think you’d come for me” “Dummy,” says Slytherclaw Simon, who never could have done anything else) and she has almost entirely dropped the show-off Claw performance of the little girl who had corrected her big brother’s spelling. As the show goes on, she grasps more and more of her Slytherin model: she gets to bring back one of her layers, regain her trust in Simon’s Slytherin, rebuild her model of a world in which one universal truth is that her brother will always come for her.

But River’s drives and connection to the world are understanding it. She wants to know what’s going on, both in the observant, academic sense of the Ravenclaw Secondary and the more abstract Ravenclaw primary—she’s looking for purpose, shoulds and shouldn’ts, for identity. 

A Slytherin Primary in her situation might have attached themselves to Simon like a baby sloth, but River doesn’t. He’s her solid ground, but not her reason.

A young Gryffindor might be reactive, responding with their gut, or perhaps cynical and shattered after their self had been so invaded. In rebuilding, a Gryffindor would be looking for something inside themselves, a sense of solidity, a sense of purpose — River is looking outside. 

A Hufflepuff Primary might have clearer eyes for the people of the ship— River views them with a detached fondness. There is genuine affection there (see: Objects in Space), but when it comes to River feeling steady in the world she’s almost more interested in the engines than the crew— not their mechanics, but the beat of them. 

She’s a Romantic sort of Ravenclaw Primary, sure, but she’s got a need for systems to build and inhabit. Her sense of reality has been shattered and the first thing that gives her some peace and stability is this — not safety, certainty, or community, but a sense of knowing what is going on.

River’s trying to figure out how this all works and the heart of this show (because River more than any of them lives in the meta-text) is Serenity.

River’s trying to find a base from which she can build. Her world, her models, and her ability to perceive and believe reality have been shattered. Mal pulls her back to the ship at the end of the last episode—it’s a homecoming, yes, but perhaps more than that he’s giving her a place to stand. 

That episode is easily Firefly’s most existential/meta and it’s fitting that we start it with River detached from reality—ocean wave audio, mistaking a gun for a fallen branch, pushed to untrusted outskirts—and that we end it with River landing firmly feet first on Serenity, beaming through her suit visor.

tl;dr:

Mal - Burned Hufflepuff / Gryffindor

Inara - Slytherin / Ravenclaw 

Jayne - Gryffindor / Slytherin

Kaylee - Gryffindor / Hufflepuff

Book - Burned Gryffindor / Slytherin 

Zoe - Burned Gryffindor / Ravenclaw

Wash - Hufflepuff / Ravenclaw

Simon - Slytherin / Ravenclaw 

River - Ravenclaw / Ravenclaw

[paperdoe]

Char facts

Stolen from deviantart

1) What's their FULL NAME (First, middle(s), last)

Ehhh elves go by father, mother, and espesse (given name) 

So in that order. Halordin Telphindor Daerhovan (He mainly goes by his espesse) 

2) Do they have siblings? if so what are their names/ages

4. Haldor is 1800, Heledirnien (N/A) and the twins Losseneth and Lossenduin are both 1200. 

3) What were they like in their elementary, middle and high school phases?

.Seeing as those terms don’t exist in Middle Earth, i’ll break it down by age. 

1-200

Extremely sheltered and curious. Drove his mother and mentors insane with how many times he’d try to get to Forbidden Places. Wanted to know how everything worked and why and then how why those things worked functioned the way they did. Hyper focused on the natural world, natural history, and the history of his and other free peoples. Read voraciously when he wasn’t trying to sneak away.

200-700

Young and inexperienced in the works of his calling. Often rash when it comes to making difficult or time sensitive decisions. In isolation for most of his early centuries in his desire for knowledge. Sought to learn more of the world and traveled far and wide. Developed deeper relationships with people more than animals as his business lead him out of isolation. His resolve to save what he loved strengthened from nearly world ending events. 

700-8,000

Preserves his love for his interests throughout his lifetime. Very diligent in his duties as a naturalist until the later years of his life when he becomes deeply depressed from the loss of everyone he’s ever loved or befriended and the changes to the world. Gets a little better near the end, but finally feels that it’s time to move on, and fades into the west.  

4) What is their hometown?  

Caras-Galadhon. better known as Lothlorien. 

5) Did they go to college? If so what for? and did they graduate?

While I love the idea of universities in Middle Earth, Daerhovan was mentored by various independent teachers throughout his early life. Most notably Orthir of Lothlorien, Arasdir (brother in law who taught him much about botany) and Radagast the Brown. 

6) Are they married, single, in a relationship, or crushing on someone who has no idea?  

Daerhovan gets married to a dwarrowdam, Badari of Erebor during his lifetime. Before then sheer curiosity of romance led him to dalliance with two others. A widow from Rohan and another elven man he grew up with. (Though it never really escalated to sex with the latter two.) 

7) Don't be shy tell us their name~

I DONE DID

8) How do they get along with that person?

Rather well I imagine since they spend the rest of Badari’s life together. Perhaps there was a bit of intimidation on Daerhovan’s side at first as he wasn’t used to dealing with people with a fiery demeanor. Never mind dwarves in general.   

9) What's your favorite canon moment that's happened and no one else knows about?

During one of his early attempts at trying to understand the natural world, tried calming down a maddened huorn. The huorn lashed a root at him in it’s rage and sliced him from pectoral to navel, leaving behind a ghastly scar that took centuries to completely heal. he was saved by Radagast the Brown before he could bleed out. He doesn’t talk about the incident out of sheer embarrassment. But it did teach him a hard lesson about the reach and influence of evil in nature. And being with Radagast during his healing taught him most of what he knows later in life. 

10) Do they have kids? Do they want kids?

.Badari and he don’t have kids and to be honest I don’t think Daerhovan would want any. They tend to make him nervous and unsure, and whatever paternal instincts he has are for baby animals. He doesn’t mind baby-sitting for close friends and family most of the time though. 

11) What do they currently do?

.Oof currently? I’m gonna take currently as in the current timeline of Lord of the Rings Online (Where he was first born as an OC) Which is some months after Sauron’s defeat (Or is it weeks? lol) 

What i’ve described earlier really. He’s a herbalist, naturalist, forest warden, and anthropologist. And anything that’s related. (And Gandalf’s errand boy apparently) 

12) Do they have a job outside of that?

What was listed above is his lifestyle really. I’ll say that before then in his teenage years he was a grape vine tender and assistant scholar of the trees of Lothlorien. 

13) How do they entertain themselves?

Reviewing past notes, reading. horse/elk back riding. Swimming. Likes to have his hands occupied. 

14) What's their biggest fear?

Losing those he loves, drastic change, places he holds in his heart becoming lost to time or by machine, losing his will to live. 

15) How do other people see them? does this affect them or do they brush it off?

Depends. Within his own kind among the Galladhrim he’s viewed as a novelty and trouble maker because of his circumstances  (The way his father and brother were killed, his mothers extreme efforts to keep him safe which lead to his wild escapeds, made for some hot gossip) He didn’t like the attention on him and his family, and this was probably a catalyst that lead to him becoming enamored with places beyond The Golden Wood. If only to get away for a bit. 

With other races they’d probably be a bit put off by his lack of social skills and tendency to info dump. This hurts a little, but trees are great listeners at least. 

16) Do they have exes? if so what's their name, what happened </3

Can’t really be called an ex if they weren’t official in the first place? 

17) Do they have a strong relationship with their parents?

More like a tenuous unconditional love if that can make sense. he never knew his father that well. And his mothers extreme efforts to shelter him made him somewhat embittered.  

18) how often do they see them?

Once or twice a year when she still dwelled in Middle Earth. And then not for a very, very long time until after he faded and was reborn in Valinor. 

19) Why did they not go to bed until 4 am??

.What is sleep to an elf. 

20) Can they do tricks??

He’s acrobatic? 

21) Are they pretty much the same through the stages (toddler-adult) or have they gotten more mature? less mature? etc.

I like the thought of him retaining his playfulness and childlike curiosity throughout most of his life. 

22) Do they have a phobia?

Being deep below the ground and the nameless things that gnaw at the earth. Moria was fine but perhaps the catalyst to the fear that would grow overtime as the dwarves and nameless would clash more often. 

23) What's their favorite animal

Lynxes and forest elk. 

24) What's in their fridge. you heard me.

No fridge here! He’ll eat nice smelling flowers occasionally. Roses are his favorite....and he wonders why people look at him strangely. Normal people food wise, he’d have berries. So many berries. 

25) Give us a secret~

He can’t hear or feel the pull of Valinor from the cries of the gulls or the sea. 

26) How would they react to a random confession text from their crush? :eyes:

Bear with me and pretend phones exist for him for the moment. Furious blushing, finger twiddling, curling up in fetal position. 

27) What do they fear losing the most?

I mentioned it above alreadyyyy

28) What was their worst injury as of now?

ALSO MENTIONED 

29) Which of their parents do you think they take after more, in looks, personality or both

His mother Gaelwen. inherited her silverish hair (She’s a descendant from prominent Sindar from lost Belariand) and paler skin. 

re on their deathbed who would they want by their side? (Can have 3 and only 3!)

Badari, Mallovorel (best elven friend and like a sister) and Losseneth (His fav bio sister) 

anyone else who wants to do this feel free. just say i tagged you ;) 

[kuuderekun]

Most critics of fiction seem to believe strongly in Nuture over Nature.

Most critics of fiction seem to believe strongly in Nuture over Nature. 

You may or may not know that within the world of psychology there is an ongoing debate about why people are the way they are, called Nature vs Nurture.  Are we who we are because of what we've experienced, starting with how we were raised? or is that simply how our Brains are wired?  Or is it a combination of both?

And even though most people take that third option, they still want to debate whether it tips one way or the other.

But the way fiction is critiqued seems to show a clear bias towards Nurture from critics and anyalists.  Now in fairness this largely starts with how many successful and influential writers have clearly strongly advocated for Nurture in their writing, and their writing is what many critics are taught as examples of how it should be.

This kind of overlaps with the over reverence for Deconstructions.   Which come from the philosophy that certain unconventional character traits can only be the result of some kind of trauma or abuse.

This is part of why I'm so often at a disconnect with critics.  I'm seeing people criticize something I like by saying "they never explain why these characters are this way".  Or praising something that I feel wasted to much time on backstory by saying "It's so great to see this character trait being given an explanation for a change".

Though perhaps it's unfair for me to bring this debate into it.  Because even if I fully agreed with Nuture over Nature I'd still be like "THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS STORY IS ABOUT, WAIT FOR THE DAMN PREQUEL!!!!".

In fact given my history of praising Prequels as an art form, you might be surprised to see me be so critical of the Nuture argument.  But the Prequels I like reflect a decent balance between Nuture and Nature.   Anakin Skywalker was influenced by his experiences, but he did not start out a blank slate.

And then there is Lupin III The Woman Called Fujiko Mine.  What I love about this Prequel is how it starts out seeming like your generic Deconstruction, "obviously a woman would only behave like a Femme Fatale if she was horribly victimized" to in the end say, "NOPE, she was like that all long, deal with it".

I watched a video on YouTube praising how Lucky Star deals with familial relations.

Lucky Star is one of my favorite Animes, and I do like how it depicts all it's relationships, so for that I like and recommend the video.

But this video also expresses an annoyance at how other High School set Animes write around the parents (western shows will also do this, "Out of Town" is a meme in the PLL fandom).  I have always been fine with that, a tv show only shows us 20-40 minutes a week of the characters lives.  When I was in school I had no friends and still spent way more time then that away from my parents. ��The parents aren't who I watch Cute Girl shows for, in fact I like them best when it's possible to imagine that the male gender doesn't even exist.  (Yet SciFi stories explicitly based on that premise tend to bore and disappoint me.)

This video and even more so it's comments talk about how important it is to show how our families shape who we are.  And that annoys me, who I am can't be logically explained by my parents.  My ideology doesn't resemble theirs enough to say I simply became them, but isn't opposite to theirs enough to say I'm just rebelling.

But this is at it's most annoying when it's applied to the Anime Tsundere, where I see comments like "the tsundere schtick is handled well when the trope is treated like a mental hangup bordering on mental illness."-a YouTuber calling themselves Char Azanbel.

You see I've paid enough attention to the world to know that the Tsundere isn't unique to Anime.  It can be traced back to Shakespeare at least.  Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing describes Beatrice's feelings for Benedick thusly:

By my troth, my lord, I cannot tell what to think of it but that she loves him with an enraged affection: it is past the infinite of thought.

Skye Sweetnam had a song called Tangled Up In Me where she was basically singing about being a Tsundere.  That whole common idea you've heard that if a girl was picking on you on the playground it probably means she likes you, is exactly what the Tsundere is based on.  It's only become so well categorized in Anime because we Otaku obsess over categorizing everything.

It is common in fiction because it is a damn near universal experience. We've all been a Tsundere towards something at some point, before I started writing blogs I would hide much of the fiction I enjoyed.   Frankly I think Digibro is a Tsundere towards Sword Art Online, I think secretly he loves it, but can't admit that to himself because it breaks those writing school rules he worships.

So Asuka from Evangelion keeps getting praised as the best written Tsundere. I was unable to find her likeable regardless of her backstory, and that's as someone who's bias is always to favor the female characters.  So I get sick of seeing Asuka praised for being Traumatized, while Rin Tohsaka is considered just a visual novel cliche by "educated" critics. And Kagami ignored for being from an Anime that isn't story driven at all, but that's what I like about Lucky Star.

What amuses me most however.  Is when these critics who are generally just as Liberal as I am are applying this Nuture bias to every character trait but sexual orientation.  But remain deeply offended at any suggestion that Homsoexuals aren't born that way.  My position on being "born that way" or not is first that it should be irrelevant towards Gay Rights, or whether they are viewed as human beings, or whether it's a Sin or not (I strongly believe it is not). But I firmly agree we can't control who we're attracted to, but that goes right down to an individual basis. And every sexual preference I have also has it's exceptions, from gender to hair color.

[recentanimenews]

Celebrating Gundam Day with Legendary Creator Yoshiyuki Tomino

On Friday, November 15th, it was officially declared Gundam Day in NYC. Not so coincidentally, it happened to be the same day that the legendary creator of Gundam himself, Yoshiyuki Tomino, was in New York City for the first day of Anime NYC. Later, in a crowded room full of hundreds of fans, Austin Walker of Vice Games brought him out for a candid, illuminating chat about the legacies both he and Gundam have left behind. He walked on stage to a standing ovation and hundreds of fans chanting his name, to which in English he simply replied, “I love you too.”

  Walker began the discussion by asking what about Gundam has made it so enduring in Japan and around the world. “Every single thing I work on, I try to make a super mega hit... and they all fail,” Tomino said. “You tell me.” Walker replied that with Gundam, he told a story that brought people in with action and spectacle while sneaking in a universal message with characters they could relate to. “In short,” Tomino added, ”Because I made it.”

    When asked about how he thought animation had changed in the past forty years, Tomino said it was a difficult question since he hasn’t really watched any recent anime. Walker pointed out that he made Gundam Reconguista in G back in 2014, to which Tomino replied, “Five years ago when it first aired it didn’t get much public recognition. I’m still very depressed about it.” He added that he’s currently remaking it so that it can be popular this time, but that it would be hard to market to the audience since it’s aimed at kids.

  Walker asked if there are any technologies he has now making anime that he wishes he’d had before. Tomino said that new technology allows him to create different types of space colonies and bases he couldn’t before. “I really wanted to create a donut shaped base. The fact I can do that now with digital animation is a very big plus.” 

  Walker noted all the different mediums he’s worked in over the years and asked which of them is his favorite. Tomino said that because he’d started out in TV animation, film was newer and more interesting for him, but licensing always posed an issue which is why he made novels. 

    When asked how he’d evolved as a creator, Tomino admitted “I don’t think I’ve evolved at all... I’m getting up there is age, so I’ve been finding it hard not to a backward roll. It’s a daily fight.” Walker added that with the rerelease of Reconguista in G everyone will be able to see for themselves if that’s true, and invited Tomino to introduce everyone to the Regild Century it takes place in following the Universal Century, to which Tomino groaned. 

  “What if the theme of it was 'I wanted the earth to be eradicated.' I can’t blurt something like that out,” he began. “I realized having such an opportunity like this to meet all of you, there’s something I have to rethink. In short, to be here and to meet all of you and to actually have fun, it’s something good for me because it makes me think about the future. In terms of what I mean by I have to rethink... I have to look at how I can envision humankind evolve in a good direction and hold on to hope and bring new stories.”

  “Most of all what I wanna say is I am at this age, but those of you who are young, I want you to be like, ‘Man, adults shouldn’t be so dark and depressing.’ I want you to think that’s bad and go home and create new ideas and concepts by seeing negative examples. I’m hoping to help be a part of the experience to teach you to go back and create new animation that tackles real life problems and within the creative process come up with possible solutions.”

    “Coming here to New York City this time I felt deeply that perhaps this is the best place that can give birth to new hopes. I’ve actually been to other gatherings in many cities across the world. I feel the emotional atmosphere of Anime NYC is so much more colorful and diverse than any places I’ve been. It doesn’t get me down, so I myself can remain positive as well. Thank you.”

  Walker then asked Tomino which of Gundam’s many themes means the most to him, to which he answered, “We all must aim to become Newtypes.” When asked if there are any themes he’d like to see Gundam address in the future, Tomino simply said, “Actually, I don’t think so. I think we’ve covered quite a bit.” Walker concluded his Q&A by asking if the people of the Universal Century learned anything from all the conflict and destruction of their time. Tomino replied that it’s actually because he doesn’t believe they learned anything that they arrived at the story of Reconguista in G.

  The floor was then opened to audience Q&A. One audience member asked if Turn A Gundam will ever get a prequel. Tomino admitted that he’d never even thought of it, which makes him feel like he can’t write a good enough backstory, so he considers its story already complete. Another asked if Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam will ever get an anime, to which Tomino slyly smiled and answered, “I think so.”

    Another asked if there are any moments or scenes from Gundam that are significant to him on a personal level, to which Tomino said that he makes it a point not to have any favorite moments or scenes. He later gave a similar reply to a similar question about characters, and added that he finds himself leaning towards background and supporting characters who get little screentime. One audience member pointed out all the musical credits he has for Gundam and asked if that was done out of necessity or if he has any musical background. Tomino said that in the beginning he’s ask other people to write the lyrics, but was never quite satisfied with the results. He does try to lean on professionals whenever possible.

  When asked about what inspires him when naming characters and how they connect to the personalities, he said, “It’s a very challenging process. Each and every time I figuratively sweat profusely. It’s a very momentous and gargantuan process, especially because I like to use unique names. I do have to sometimes use existing names. It’s very difficult.”

  Another audience member eluded to Gundam’s more adult themes and asked how he’d like to see younger Gundam fans and their understanding of them evolve as they grow older. Tomino said that he can’t speak to the more recent series and that he had always been aiming for a ten to fourteen year old demographic. However, he pointed out, plenty of movies we enjoy as kids have mature themes we don’t appreciate until we’re older. “That’s the power of movies. I no longer feel like I need to aim for a certain audience. I can make things people of any age can enjoy, and they’ll find new things to appreciate as they grow older.”

    When one audience member asked if he’d always envisioned Gundam’s popularity, he said “It was always the master plan.” When another asked how involved he was in the life-sized, moving Gundam statue being built in Yokohama, he admitted, “I was quite involved in the beginning, except no one would listen to my opinions. I don’t know if I’ll actually be able to like it.”

  One referenced some comments he’d made recently about the works of Makoto Shinkai lacking intimacy and asked what anime were sexy enough for him. Tomino said that he didn’t think “sexy” was the right nuance for what he’d said, but added that in his mind the ideal sexy animated character is “Disney’s Snow White.” Another asked him for his opinion on the relationship between Char Aznable and Amuro Ray. Tomino suggested they ask the two of them directly. 

  As the time wound down on the panel, one fan asked which of his non-Gundam shows should Gundam fans watch. Tomino said that as much as he’d love to recommend some, he wouldn’t. “My personal philosophy is if the creator themselves pitches a project, it’s because it’s unpopular or unsuccessful.” For the last question of the day, someone asked if he’d ever drawn inspiration from American sci-fi such as Star Trek. Tomino said that sadly, he had been too busy writing his own space odysseys when those were airing, so he was never immersed in them.

    The first of five Gundam Reconguista in G compilation films is set to release on November 29, 2019 in Japan.

  Are you a longtime Gundam fan? A newer one? If you could ask Tomino one question what owuld it be? Let us know in the comments below!

    -----

Danni Wilmoth is a Features writer for Crunchyroll and co-host of the video game podcast Indiecent. You can find more words from her on Twitter @NanamisEgg.

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