#but also their best selves due to influence on each other. they care about each other and love each other....

[pakekajeka]

Ok so I've finished Magnus Archives and Malevolent for the first time and these are my main takeaways from them

[fictionkinfessions]

More Hero Posting (!!!!) because it seems like villains and their philosophies have been getting all the love lately:

• You're still a hero even if you've made mistakes in the past. Change and growth are healthy and should be encouraged. Your other selves are still proud of you. Keep going.

• You're still a hero even if you struggle with your mental health. You're amazing because you're still here. As long as you stick around, things can improve.

• You can become a hero to others even if you haven't been one before. True compassion is understanding that sometimes circumstances have inhibited people from making the best decisions but... You can always try again. You can become the person you want to be instead of being the person everyone else (including yourself) thinks you should be. You're not stuck in a negative place.

• Everyone has the potential to help and save other people, in small and large ways. We can choose to be kind and to deeply care about other people in a world that encourages detachment and exclusion. You can make a difference. Small actions that may take a second for you to complete could change someone's life for the better forever.

• A good role model isn't someone who has never messed up. It's someone who learns from those mistakes and discourages others from doing the same thing. If you can help other people with their suffering and pain due to your past experiences, go for it. Be a positive influence. ("The world is cruel, therefore, I won't be.")

This is just my personal belief... But we have a collective responsibility to each other, to treat each other with respect and fairness. If we discourage negative behaviors, it should be to minimize harm, not exclusively to punish the person who did the thing.

Someone who stays true to who they are, no matter the circumstances, someone who is a light in the darkness—to me, that's a hero. If you can bounce back and embrace your scars while also trying to work on them, you get a thumbs up from me.

x

[fountainpenguin]

Who were you rooting for to win in each finale of Total Drama (including Ridonculous Race)?

?? It has literally never occurred to me to root for someone while I watch. TIL.

[Disclaimer - I do like Total Drama but this post involves me talking about ships and characters I don't like; I don't like putting that kind of stuff in the tags. I'm not disabling reblogs but please only reblog if you like this post and not because you want to fight; I'm just answering an Ask]

R-Race was the only one that left me truly "Aw man" about it. The characters who are my favorites to watch vs. those who I would expect and/or desire the narrative to reward with my author eyes are absolutely different, ha ha.

So for those who don't know, in the first 3 seasons (maybe more?), the two finalists each have an ending, and different endings air in different countries (I believe they were determined by voting on the Total Drama website during the final week).

All my TD 'fics take place in the same universe and the canon winners in my storyline were Owen, Duncan (who felt guilt-ridden about it, which was the plot of my one-shot "Chris Missed"), Heather, Cameron, Zoey, Shawn... I didn't post any R-Race 'fics beyond the opening bits of Lions Under Palm Trees, but I remember being disappointed by the winners. But that's more because I dislike Geoff with a fiery passion than anything else.

The characters I would argue are the narrative's main characters of their season... I would say Gwen for Island, Duncan for Action, Cody for World Tour, Mike for Revenge, Zoey for All-Stars, Jasmine for Pahkitew, and the cops for Race. Those aren't necessarily the people I personally want to be winners; just saying I think that's who the writers liked a lot and it showed.

World Tour was my first season; I was exposed to it by a sibling listening to it in the same room as me (which also means Aleheather came out of NOWHERE for me because it was purely audio exposure and missed all the small visual cues and I thought they just hated each other... I mean, I've rewatched the series several times since then and I still dislike this ship because I feel like it came out of nowhere and I don't feel any love between them, but idk how much of that was influenced by my first non-visual exposure to their relationship. And just because it's a NOTP for me, that doesn't mean I consider it non-canon... but that's how I write all my 'fics when my NOTPs are canon, so).

I was definitely exposed to the World Tour versions of Courtney's, Heather's, Cody's, Ezekiel's, and Noah's personalities before their Island selves, which I think influences my interest in them as characters in the prequels. Hands down TDWT favorite season, absolutely no contest for me. Pahkitew is close second, though.

I think Cody's the only character I would consider myself to be "rooting for" during a season. The concept of a character who got mauled by a bear in his first season, had to sit out the second season, then finally comes back and gets a fangirl who is obsessed with him to the point that he can barely participate in half the challenges because she is In The Way is SO funny. I also feel like Cody suffered more than most characters on the show due to the combo of bear mauling and having his boundaries consistently violated... He deserved a win. I know he's already a rich kid but I don't care.

In no particular order, my favorite characters in the series are Ezekiel, Eva, Noah, Leonard, Topher, Max, Dwayne Junior, and the Adversity Twins, but I wouldn't describe myself as rooting for them... they got as much screen time as they needed to. Leonard and Topher are some of the best characters I've ever seen in media though, I love them so much <3 To this day, I've never loved writing a character as much as I've loved writing Leonard. He's SO funny and he's a goofy little angel. I have so many unfinished Leonard drafts... I'd love to finish those 'fics someday, but I just don't have time to do everything.

I don't know what current fandom opinions on Topher are, but back when Pahkitew was airing, my quip to my siblings was that "Topher is so manipulative, he even fooled the fandom into thinking he's not as bad as he is." That kid played up the manipulative angle to look shallow on purpose... to hide the fact that he legitimately was super manipulative. He's fantastic. I haven't seen Pahkitew in about 7 years so a fresh watch might affect me differently, but... man. Topher, my absolute beloved.

(In my 'verse Topher is the son of Don (the R-Race host) which means he was just chilling around the elimination area in my R-Race elimination 'fic Lions Under Palm Trees, and man... my love for "character who lives in a hotel, doesn't have either of his parents around, who has mostly been left to care for himself, and he looks up to his dad with stars in his eyes despite also being the most manipulative slimeball in the world..." He's horrific, wants you to think he's a cinnamon roll but can and will absolutely destroy you just because he's bored... I love that 'fic draft so much.)

One of my favorite R-Race teams was also the couple who was super mushy at the start and then started fighting all the time (I think their names were Ryan and Stephanie, but it's been years so I might be wrong). I didn't feel attached to them as characters but I loved how they were portrayed, if that makes sense. My family were big fans of Amazing Race for years (used to watch it weekly) and we watched the second half of R-Race together as a family. We were crying laughing about how accurate their fighting was to the couples who actually participate in Amazing Race. Absolutely 10/10 characterization. No notes.

I don't know if any of that answers your original question, but that's kind of all I have to say. I liked characters who did neat things, but if they weren't competitive enough to fight for victory then they did not deserve to and I would have been mad if they ended up in the finals despite not being a good player. If you're weak then you deserve to go home like the weak links you are <3

I root for "being fun to watch" I guess. And Cody in World Tour.

(Zeke deserved better but also I wouldn't change his World Tour arc for a second. Becoming blinded with obsession to the point that you literally become a twisted, feral version of yourself and start hunting the other characters down and that's it, that's your character arc is the best thing I've ever seen. That moment of quietly cold, calculated, absolutely suppressed fury on Zeke's face after he kidnaps Chris in "All Stars" and Chris is monologuing about every horrible thing he's ever done to Zeke is my everything. That moment when you see what a broken human he's become. That moment he realizes Chris doesn't care he's hurting and doesn't want to help him because feral Zeke is "good content." I need everyone to understand.)

[fire-kitty-lol]

I know nobody asked but imma give out some Hollow Knight headcanons!

- Gods have their mortal selves and their true selves, they don’t often show their true self, as it could blind mortals or drive them mad to witness such raw power. The true self also has a few personality differences from the mortal self.

- Pk is unnaturally cold, so much so that unless water is hot enough to cook a bug alive, it will freeze to his shell.

- Pk talks in whispers, as being a the god of mind/soul gives him a powerful voice that can influence mortal bugs.

- Radi is a poodle moth

- Pk and the Nightmare King were buddies at some point in time! Grimm only really knows PK from what NKG has told him.

- Wyrm’s are born intersex, and don’t really have a concept of gender or sexuality.

- Hornet inherited a small bit of PK’s foresight, it comes in the form of strong feelings about places or people

- Speaking of foresight, Pk’s foresight, while it can be used on command, can also be triggered by touch. Making it so that he can see a specific person’s future if he is touching them while using his future sight.

- Gods can change the temperature of a room to match their moods

- Gods have magic themed around elements that represent them, but are capable of other magics (Grimm is a fire mage, PK is a frostmancer, Radi had light magic, Root can do plant magic, etc)

- The vessels have a form of telepathy between each other, but have to use sign language to speak to anyone who doesn’t have a connection to the void.

- each god has their own realm, the realm contains their memories, but mostly take the form of environments that best fit them, and deteriorate or change depending on their physical health or state of mind

- Pk doesn’t like his more brutal instinct, but does trust it (it’s never steered him wrong in fights or hunts)

- God are more physically frail the more powerful they are. Extremely powerful gods will have very defensive fighting styles, with lots of ranged attacks.

- Bugs have always had minds, as instinct is a part of the mind, when PK got to Hallownest he didn’t give them a mind/intelligence, just greatly enhanced what was already there.

- Pk had ADHD, hence the meticulously clean palace versus the messy workshop (he has a system, okay?)

- Pk is a socially awkward recluse, many people find him intimidating due to the fact he doesn’t talk very much, and when he does it’s in cold, echoey, whispers. Truth is he has no clue how to socialize

-Root forces PK to socialize with the dreamers and the five knights (He and Ogrim became good friends due to this)

-speaking of the dreamers, Lurien admires the king, but more like how a kid would admire their older sibling, rather than some one sided crush.

- He and Herrah have a “you don’t bother me, and I won’t bother you” relationship. It’s not hostile, but it’s not peaceful ether, (pk is not great at first impressions) (and Herrah does not give second changes)

- PK did his best to be a good father to Hornet, but was clueless about children, though they are easier to interact with than adults (children are so genuine and easy to read, adults have so many social rules)

- Root did most of the talking when she and pk were in public

-Pk and Monomon get along well, they’re friends, but they aren’t particularly close (mostly because they both get so absorbed in their work they never leave their studies)

-The great knights are loyal to a fault, but do have some gripes with the royals

- Hegimol thinks PK needs to be more aggressive and assertive

- Dyraa has a one sided crush on the Queen, both royals know, Root thinks it’s cute, PK doesn’t care because in the end Root chose to marry him

- Isma believes that a little patience and kindness is all the push the king needs to get out of his shell, and admires the queen for her kind heart. She is also vegetarian

-Wyrm’s cannot eat vegetables, they will make the Wyrm sick, (PK forced himself to eat Isma’s cooking anyways because she worked hard on it)

- Le’ Meer (did I spell that right?) has no opinion on the queen, just didn’t interact with her often, did think that Dryaa’s obvious flirting was unprofessional, and Hegemol needed to stop being so forcefully in his attempt to spar PK, also had little to no opinions on PK. The royals were just Le’ Meer’s employers. (I do not know Le’Meer’s pronouns)

-Pk did not commission the statue of him, or the idols, but though it was a nice gesture

-Wyrm’s are born blind, pk is no exception, he just uses his other senses to navigate, and memorized each persons footsteps, speech patterns, and tells them apart based on their voices. (It get hard with people he’s not around often)

-Monomon is a jellyfish, and cannot leave her little tube/tank (?)

-Hornet was named after Herrah’s first kill

And that’s it! For this post anyways, it’s getting long

[ninjastormhawkkat]

Alliance Swap Au: Other Characters

In my first post for this au, I mentioned which ally of Wordgirl is swapped. Some of this involves a swap of powers. It will also involve a swap of personality. Here is the outline for each characters.

Victoria and Violet:

I noticed that Victoria does have some good qualities despite her overall villainous character. (That is definitely her parents fault.) One thing I noted is that Victoria does have somewhat of a dependable character and she is smart enough to realize her situation and mistakes (when her ego is not in the way). In one episode (I forgot the name) Victoria was willing to work together with Wordgirl to get Wordgirl’s powers back from Victor. Even though Victoria’s main motivation was to not be out-bested by her brother, she did prove dependable in helping Wordgirl out. In this au, I increased Victoria’s better qualities. She is a loyal and dependable best friend to Becky. She still acts brash and is somewhat brutally honest, but she will acknowledge her flaws and sincerely apologize when called out for her bad behavior. She is sassy and will throw hands to protect her friends, even when she doesn’t have to. (Tobey and Becky often have to pull her back to keep Victoria from getting hurt or worse.) In this au, Victoria has a single ponytail, regular hair ribbons that are blue in color. She wears a light blue shirt with a grey jacket. Her skirt, shoes, and socks are the same as in canon. Victoria likes Pretty Princess (not to an extant as Becky). In this au her parents are corporate people. (Idk the jobs) They are better than their canon selves, but are a little distant due to how busy their jobs are. They do love their children and want the best for them (not pushing them to be the best always) they just don’t have the time to spend with them as they want to. Victoria’s parents do let Victor and Victoria stay with friends or a good babysitter when they are extremely busy. The Best’s home is not as extravagant as in canon and the rest of the family are dressed more normally and comfortably. (They are still an upper-class family, but look like a normal family to everyone else.) Instead of Art, Becky and Victoria take music class together. (Becky is still terrible.) Victoria does not have her powers. Victoria is sensible in this au, but does try to become a superhero because it looks awesome. “Violet Superhero” happens a little differently, but Victoria does not take the mantle anymore because she realizes she is not cut out for heroics and leave it to the professionals. She and Tobey are still fans of Wordgirl, neither are easily fooled as the rest of the city. (Victoria’s hero outfit is same as canon.) Victoria is basically sassy mostly and does have General Smoochington, but treats him like a loving pet in this au and is definitely a lot more caring toward him. 

For Violet, I decided to twist her good qualities and make them corrupt. This was based on the villain from Wander over Yonder, Dr. Screwball, and how he wanted to make everyone laugh, whether they wanted to or not. Violet in this au wants to live in a world where everything is all sunshine and rainbows and everyone is happy all the time. She thinks that everybody is a winner and it is not fair when someone gets a trophy when another person doesn’t. Violet was raised in an environment by her mother where everything and everybody needs to live in peace and harmony and those who don’t need to be shown the error of their ways. Ex. In the introduction episode for Victoria Best, Violet gets upset when Victoria earns a lot of trophies (not every trophy like in canon). So she takes them to “teach her a lesson” about humility. (In this au, Victoria earned her trophies because of her hard work.) Violet also gets upset when she sees how Wordgirl treats the villains even though she is just doing her job and treats them the same as canon. Violet does get mistaken for Wordgirl and does try to take up the role of Wordgirl just to prove that Wordgirl is doing a terrible job and she should become a hero to be more sympathetic to everyone. (Her hero outfit is “The Framer”). Her powers are similar to Victoria’s. She has pink eyes when she uses them to move and levitate stuff. Violet paints and shows everyone her painting which puts them in a hypnotic trance which keeps them in a peaceful state until the control wears off. (If anyone has watched the Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated episode “When Walks Aphrodite” it is similar to that.) 

Tobey and Scoops:

I sorta did the same thing as I did for Violet and Victoria in this au. There are no interest or ability swaps for these two.

Tobey in this au is just an avid, albeit a little too energetic, inventor. Tobey is head of the media/technical club and is in charge of the media stuff used in school such as electronics used for classrooms and organizing technical special effects for school events. Tobey still dresses the same, but acts like a lovable nerd. Both he and Becky have crushes on each other, but the boy is oblivious as heck that Becky has a crush on him. Becky is not as lovey-dovey as she is in canon with Scoops when expressing herself towards Tobey in this au. Tobey has no idea that Becky is Wordgirl until the “Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers” episode. Tobey still invents robots for fun on the side. 

For Scoops, you remember how I made his character in my Morally Gray Wordgirl au? Well he is a lot worse in this au. He is still a reporter and a part of the Daily Rag (not head reporter). In this au, Scoops will do anything to get a Scoop, even sometimes aiding villains or helping to cause incidents to just get a great story. (Since Tobey is not a villain in this au, I have Dr. Ape Brains taking over most of Tobey’s canon roles with some shifts to other villains.) He is obsessed with finding out Wordgirl’s identity and causes an incident where he messes with Tobey’s Robots which cause them to go on a rampage at Becky’s home and a few other instances. Scoops does not mean to get people hurt, but he is too focused on “getting the BIG scoop” to notice. He does get punished by his parents. Canon outfit.

Eileen and Rex:

Now I chose to swap these two because they are both similar in personality. The both have childlike curiosity and are equally energetic. They both tend to ignore what others tell them and seem to think they know what they are doing. 

In this au, Eileen is a alien superhero from the planet Gigantian. She can control her size changes and is super strong. She can’t fly but has incredible stamina and dexterity that allows her to leap high in the air. She still has the baby talk (kids on Gigantian talk like a baby until their 13.) This annoys the heck out of Becky. Steven now has to deal with two energetic superheroes. (Sarcastically) Lucky him. Her hero name is Giantess. Her hero outfit is a pink mask. She has a suit style similar to Kid Math’s, but the main colors are pink with purple gloves, boots, and a cape. Her insignia is a mini green person in a strongman stance with black radio wave lines surrounding the person which symbolizes Eileen’s growth and shrinking abilities. Her secret identity outfit is the same as in canon. Her hairstyle as a superhero is in a ponytail while her secret identity has her canon hair and bow.

Rex is a kid villain known has Math Whiz. He treats everything as a research study. Rex does believe every day is his birthday which entitles him to do anything he wants all in the name of research. In the introductory episode for Eileen (changed for this au) Rex takes Squeaky for a lab rat and obliviously ignores Squeaky biting him all the time for release. When he doesn’t get what he wants he uses his powers. Rex is able to project holographic math monsters of various sizes that either protect him, steal for him, or attack anyone that bothers him (on command). These monsters may be holographic but can hurt someone physically. They look like math numbers and equations, have sharp teeth, cartoon eyes and arms, and are mainly white in color with a blue hue that surrounds them. Luckily, the amount of math monsters Rex is able to generate depend on his level of entitlement. If he is greedy for one thing or if it is for small reasons, he can usually generate one monster. Even if he is able to generate multiple math monsters at once, it takes a lot of energy out of him so he can only do it a few times.  

Rose Franklin and Chazz:

Recently, I decided to do a character change swap for Rose Franklin. I originally picked Katy because she was friendly and apologetic with Toby like Rose was with Scoops. Writing this post, I began to think about how Chazz was in the episode where he was being a bad influence for TJ. Since I have Scoops being a villain in this au, why not do the same for Rose. In this au, Rose acts like a cool girl/bad influence which impresses TJ and he develops a silly crush on her (which then ends when Wordgirl gets him back to his senses). She has an outfit and attitude similar to Chazz’s, but adjusted for a girl. Rose in this au is called Roe. 

Chazz in this au is a laid back, but intelligent kid who uses focuses on environmental science. The “News Girl” episode is retitled “Science Boys” for this au. In this au, Chazz accidentally insults Tobey by saying building robots isn’t really a helpful science as it would make people too dependent on robots. (Tobey is immediately upset and ready to throw hands because NO ONE insults his robots. Becky holds him back before Tobey does something stupid). Chazz in this au is called Chad Hudson. He moved to Fair City with his mom who is the new Forewoman (idk what a female foreman is supposed to be called?) for the Power Plant. Wordgirl and Mouse Ace stop the energy monster from destroying the plant and giving Chazz’s mom more work. In this au, Becky takes Chad to natural places along with technical places to get him more comfortable with the city and to ease the issues between him and Tobey. (Tobey does make friends with him in the end.) Tobey during this tour gets upset when Chad creates environment experiments that are beneficial for the civilians and villains. Ex. he creates an organic, environmentally friendly, gel that is great for Chuck’s bread skin and helps the grocery store manager to grow more head hair which he talks to Chad about profiting in his store. Chad figures out Becky’s identity the same way Rose does because this guy is smart. He plans Becky’s exposure as a major science project because her identity and life is a great scientific study. Steven is doing work stuff when Becky calls him to help her fight the bad guys so Steven is not on the tour with them. Steven finds out about how Chad discovered her identity after Becky tells him. Steven, after Tobey, confronts Chad (Tobey’s talk is similar as Scoop’s talk to Rose) and he basically explains the importance of keeping Wordgirl’s identity secret (acting as an adult) and also sort of threatens Chad (Two Brains’ canon character is showing). Luckily Chad, at this point, had already decided to not reveal Wordgirl’s secret and do something else for his project.He is from now on scared of Becky’s dad. It also takes a while for Steven to fully trust him.

Everyone else is pretty much the same for this au. Steven and Becky are neighbors to the Botsfords, TJ is still a fan of Wordgirl with Johnson as his sidekick (I decided to not bother swapping them for the au), and Miss Powers is still an evil alien (I couldn’t find anyone for her or Colonel Gigglecheeks). I don’t have any ship ideas for Victoria or the rest of the characters in this au. Except for Tobecky.  

(Another thing I forgot to mention in my first post about Squeaky is that the mouse sometimes travels with Becky in her pocket. So he does come with her to school sometimes. He usually sticks with Steven in the lab. Squeaky is kidnapped as was Bob in the “Birthday Girl” episode and is put in a girly dress which he despises with every fiber in his being. He also escapes the “Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers” mind control and helps Becky because his body was too small for the button to stick on well.) 

So that is my Alliance Swap au for Wordgirl

[justmyimagination92]

Why Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and Theon Greyjoy are similar, beautifully grey and real characters that represent overcoming abuse and manipulation and it makes no sense to love one but hate the other, a thread:

*Disclaimer* I have only watched the GoT series & SW movies, I have not read the books or comics for either series but I have done research into both so anything I’m pulling that’s not from the movies or show has been taken from research/information I have gathered from others who have used these sources for their own opinions/arguments/statements as well as from a GoT class I took my senior year of college

Life of Mental/Physical Abuse:

They both had mentally abusive upbringings which is obvious to say has a huge effect on your development and how you perceive the world around you. Theon was the youngest of 4, known to cling more to his mother and not care as much about the ironborn mentality of piracy and raiding as his older brothers did. He was constantly tormented and bullied by them for it as well as feeling neglected by his father for “showing weakness” which made him feel like he didn’t belong and wasn’t accepted in his home. He was then sent off to be Ned Stark’s ward (prisoner) and would be executed if Balon tried to rebel against the throne again. This knowledge is constantly hanging over his head and threatening him even though he makes the best of the situation, especially by finding a brother in Robb. The North and most of the Stark family don’t accept him despite his best efforts in trying to do his best while also missing the Iron Islands and not being able to fulfill his right as the heir to the salt throne

Ben has been mentally abused since he was in his mother’s womb. Palpatine has been in his head since he was conceived, trying to seduce him to the dark because he knew the power Ben would possess from his family. Now were his parents abusive towards him like Balon, Maron, and Rodrik were to Theon? No. But they were afraid of who he could become which definitely drove him towards becoming what they were afraid of to begin with. He felt isolated and alone. Aside from questioning why his parents were afraid of him with no explanation (making him feel like he was some sort of monster), Han was gone the majority of his upbringing and Leia was building the New Republic. He was often left with droids to watch him, further developing his isolation. There’s also apparently an instance where a droid fantasized about killing him and how they’d be able to cover it up? Eventually, L&H sent him off to be trained by Luke due to their growing fear of him becoming like Vader, but he didn’t know because they never told him Vader was his grandfather. He ended up finding out later on when it was announced at a senate meeting that was broadcasted on the holonet. (Keep in mind he’s consistently being mentally tormented and tempted by the dark but fighting it off)

Loss of Identity:

I think you can argue that Theon and Ben have struggled with their identity their entire lives. Before Theon was taken to Winterfell he already felt like he didn’t belong. Then he does his duty as Ned’s ward, placing him in the midst of the rest of the Starks and trying to figure out his place without stepping out of line but also wanting to fit in as best as he can. After Ned dies and he’s at war with Robb he is able to return home to persuade Balon in lending his fleet to help Robb. Balon refuses and now Theon is stuck in deciding if he should help Robb or win over his father and take back his place as a Greyjoy. He leads an attack at Winterfell, betraying his loyalty to Robb, killing two farm boys that all of Westeros believes is Brand and Rickon, which leads to him getting overthrown by the Boltons taking Winterfell back, putting him in the hands of Ramsay who tortures him mentally, physically, and spiritually to the point where he takes on the persona of Reek and truly believes that’s who he is, who he was meant to be and who he deserves to be

Ben has also had this lifelong struggle. He’s tried to follow what his parents have taught him while fighting everything going on in his head. He looked up to his dad and wanted to be a pilot like him despite Han being gone a majority of the time. Not to mention just the pressure he faced with being Han & Leia’s son as well as Luke Skywalker’s nephew. But he could sense and sometimes hear his parents discuss their fear of who he is/who he will be. He was under the impression that they thought he was or could become some sort of monster and gave him no explanation on why they would think that and then was sent off to train with Luke (when there’s no real indication that he wanted that, he just voiced how he wanted to be a pilot) Luke could sense the same darkness in him as H&L but instead of helping him and having a conversation about it he decided to sneak into Ben’s tent one night and kill him before his fears came true. Ben awoke to his own uncle standing over him with an ignited lightsaber about to strike him down. Yes, Luke regretted it the minute he ignited it but it was too late, Ben was awake and betrayed. What he didn’t do (but the galaxy thought he did) was destroy the Jedi temple and the rest of the padawans, a higher power (most likely Palpatine) did and Ben was upset about it and he didn’t want them all to die. He felt like he had nowhere else to go and succumbed to the voice that had been tormenting him for 23 years (but in a way was the only consistent thing in his life) and went to Snoke. He felt unwanted, untrusted, and doomed to become this awful being everyone around him thought he would. He took on the persona Kylo Ren and allowed Snoke to continue to torture him mentally and now physically and spiritually to ultimately turn him into Snoke's chess piece to take over the galaxy

Path of bad decisions driven by the need to please their abuser who gives false hope of a home:

Parts of this are redundant but they both have made some terrible decisions that were heavily influenced by the manipulation of their abusers and a need for a sense of acceptance and belonging. Theon wanted to please Balon and later Ramsay, Kylo wanted to please Snoke and his grandfather (who we later find out was all Palpatine). The majority of deaths that Kylo is blamed for were under Snoke’s orders and Kylo was either unaware they were happening or tried to prevent them and resort to other solutions to get whatever it is they wanted. He killed his father because he was convinced it would make him stronger and reach his potential on “who he’s destined to be” when really it tore him apart and destroyed him, 

similarly to how Theon felt after he killed those farm boys and saw what his actions had created for Winterfell and Westeros 

Acceptance of “who they truly are” through self-hatred and regret:

Through this they come to terms with their actions and the destruction that has followed from those actions. They believe they deserve the pain and suffering they’ve had their whole lives. Theon is constantly saying how Theon is dead, he’s Reek and he deserves to be. Ben states how Ben is dead, he’s only Kylo now and that he deserves to be seen as a monster.  

Needing help to be pulled back to their true selves:

Their inner conflict is clear through both of their journeys and it’s clear that others can see that. They need help to be pulled in the right direction and reminded that they’re not the person they think they are. Yara comes for Theon when everyone else has given up on him. He’s her brother and regardless of what he’s done she still cares for him and believes in him. However, even the love of his sister can’t persuade him or break the abusive turmoil he’s been suffering and he stays with Ramsay as Reek. 

Then Sansa comes, someone he has grown up with and cares for. She learns the truth that he didn’t kill Bran and Rickon. She knows who Theon really is and she brings him back, she needs him back and gives him the strength to do it. 

Similarly, we see Han trying to bring Ben back in TFA, and like with Yara and Theon, it doesn’t work. He believes Ben is dead, that his family gave up on him and he did too so he can only be Kylo now. And as we see later on, the act of killing Han only made it worse and caused a deeper pain and regret to Ben as well as the conflict on where he lies in the force. In TLJ we see this and how Kylo seems to be chipping away from coming to terms with everything he’s done. 

(I would also like to point out that in TLJ Ben couldn’t kill his mother and it’s stated that had he noticed quick enough he would’ve stopped the blasters from hitting the bridge) He gets a connection with Rey, who at first wants nothing to do with him and sees him as the monster he thinks he is. But similarly to Sansa, she finds out the story Luke told her about him destroying the Jedi Temple was a lie and from then on they’re able to console in one another and understand the pain and isolation they’ve both felt their whole lives. 

When Luke refuses to go back and help Rey and the resistance she takes it upon herself to go and fight to bring Ben back to the light because she can see that he’s still there.

Taking a stand against their abusers, specifically to help save someone they love:

They both go against their abusers and take a huge leap towards taking back their true selves. Theon wants to help Sansa and she gives him a few chances too, for example with the candle but he ends up telling Ramsay. However when Ramsay is gone Sansa is crossed by Miranda and even though he’s still filled with fear and conflict, he throws Miranda off the ledge to save Sansa and finally defies his tormentor and everything that he’s done.

Kylo retrieves Rey when she lands on the capital ship and takes her to see Snoke. In the elevator they both state how they’ve had a vision of seeing them by each other’s sides. Kylo takes it as Rey joining him in the dark but Rey sees it as him reclaiming who he was supposed to be and even refers to him as Ben which he responds to. 

(for the majority of knowing him she called him Kylo, monster, etc but since they touched hands and she saw the conflict she now sees him as a real person and more importantly Ben) Snoke wants Kylo to kill her in order to reach is full potential since killing Han only made him question the path he was going down even more. However, he tricks Snoke and instead kills him instead of Rey, destroying his abuser and saving Rey who is the only one he’s ever been able to connect to.

Reclaiming their identity:

Even though they have someone in their corner, believing in them and helping them to come back to who they are, it takes time. Theon stays with Sansa until they cross paths with Brienne and Podrick and knows she’ll be safe with them. He then heads back to the Iron Islands to join Yara and help her however he can. He still feels as though he’s Reek and doesn’t deserve any redemption or to be trusted/loved. 

Overtime those who still believe in him and given time to heal he reclaims himself as Theon Greyjoy, not even the one from before, but a better and stronger man because it’s who he chooses and wants to be. He saves Yara from Euron and goes back to Winterfell to help fight against the dead. He protects Bran at the Weirwood tree bringing it back and trying to rewrite his wrong when he took Winterfell from Bran and caused him to abandon his home. Even though Arya is the one to ultimately save Bran by killing the Night King, she wouldn’t have been able to without Theon and his sacrifice.

Now Kylo’s is a little different and his journey back to Ben takes a few more steps. Killing Snoke was supposed to be him reclaiming himself and finally getting rid of the demons that have been haunting him his entire life. But now we’re aware that Palpatine created Snoke and was the one who has been in his head the whole time so really those voices are still there, abusing and tormenting him to do what they want. Except now he has something more to fight for. He knows Rey believes in him and they have a bond, a force dyad, that hasn’t been seen for centuries. We don’t get to see much of how Supreme Leader Kylo Ren deals with First Order affairs but I would assume it would be different from how Snoke handled it considering (as stated earlier) Kylo tried to get what they needed in the easiest way, preventing as much unnecessary harm or death. (I also would like to point out that at the beginning of TROS we see Kylo in Mustafar and all of the people he’s killing are Vader cultists so they were bad beings) He then travels to Palpatine who reveals it’s been him all along in his head and Kylo threatens to kill him, but then palp shows his army he’s been creating, how it could be Kylo’s, and reveals who Rey truly is. Palp wants him to kill her and he tricks him into thinking he will when really he chases her around to tell her this information as well as see if it’s true and to prevent her from getting killed. They fight a lot but it’s always Rey initiating it and Ben defending himself when he needs to. He gets distracted during one of their fights because Leia is reaching out to him and in the process, Rey stabs him with his own lightsaber (death of Kylo Ren) but ends up healing him and tells him that she did want him, the real him

He then has a vision of Han and basically reenacts what happened in TFA but has it play out how he wished it did the first time. He is now truly Ben Solo and goes to Exogal to help Rey and defeat Palpatine. After Rey kills Palpatine she dies and Ben comes back (he was thrown down deep pit) and transfers his life force to her to save her. Like the situation with Theon, if Ben wasn’t there Rey wouldn’t have been able to defeat Palpatine and save the galaxy.

Only got to live in peace with themselves for like 2 minutes:

They both get complex, intriguing, and beautiful arcs of redemption that represent realistic struggles of life and grey morality that people face throughout their lives. But they both end with a terrible message that the only way to fully redeem yourself from past mistakes, bad decisions (even if it was influenced by a life of mental/physical abuse) is to sacrifice yourself.

Theon sacrificed himself to save Bran and the fate of Westeros and was only able to be at peace with himself for about the last 20 seconds of his life because Bran forgave him, told him he was a good man and confirmed the type of person Theon really is and always wanted to be.

he deserved to feel this way for a MUCH longer time and continue to heal and grow and live a life that gave him much more peace and happiness (preferably with Sansa 😏) but instead he only gets to feel good about himself for the first time in his life and have it only last for a moment.

Once Rey defeated Palpatine it’s safe to say that the voices stopped in Ben’s head. There’s no more tormenting, persuading, or taunting. He climbs out of the pit to find Rey dead (his literal other half) and channels the rest of his energy to bring her back and it works. Similar to Bran, Rey confirms her joy and acceptance of Ben being back 

and he would’ve been fully content with that, but Rey kisses him and he smiles for the first fucking time we’ve ever seen. His mind is at peace, Rey is alive in his arms and for the first time he is truly happy. And then he DIES. 

Who knows what would’ve happened to him and how the resistance would’ve reacted, but he deserved the opportunity to atone for the mistakes he made, live life with a clear mind, as well as continue to be the other half of Rey that brought balance to the force and galaxy.

Bonus:

They both deserve to be with the only person that fully understands them and their pain and can grow, heal, and live in peace together.

[linkspooky]

Put on a Happy Face

We talk alot about how shigaraki is told to hold on to his trauma and emotions forever and carry them as a burden, but are we gonna talk about how Deku is told not to express his emotions either by […] Toshinori Yagi?

Are we gonna talk about how that kid despite all his tears and emotions is still being told to just smile through it all? No wonder Toshi is such a terrible teacher. @sweetened-apples​ [x]

A response to a post by sweetened-apples, who made a wonderful point that I want to expand on. Both the main hero and the main villain of this story, are constantly told to hold onto their painful emotions inside of them and never let them out. Which has led to both Deku, and Shigaraki alway smiling when they are hurt or distressed. 

Shigaraki and Deku were both taught the same faulty coping mechanism their mentors, and because they do not allow themselves to feel it leads directly to their self harming tendencies. Both the hero and villain of this story smile when they are in pain. 

1. The Failures of the Mentors

When I say that Deku is forced to always smile, I don’t mean that it is a bad thing to smile while saving someone to reassure them. However, the manga has consistently shown that even outside of fighting, those who follows Toshinori’s teachings are encouraged to always smile. Crying or feeling sad is a waste of time when you can be smiling. That’s not smiling to comfort someone else or reassure them, that’s not smiling in a show of determination. That is just repression. 

Psychological repression is a defense mechanism in which we unconsciously push away painful or traumatic memories, thoughts or desires. [x]  

Simply put there is a difference between working through your emotions, crying, and then eventually having to smile again, or forcing yourself to smile because crying is a waste of time. One of them feels your emotions and works through them, the other just denies having emotions in the first place. 

Yes, the ability to keep smiling and stay hopeful can be a sign of strength. But it can also be denying weakness. There are good and bad sides to every piece of advice given. For exmaple this is the well intentioned advice that Night-eye gives Mirio while Mirio is mourning the death of an incredibly close mentor. 

This is how Mirio acts the next day. One whole day after someone precious to him died. 

It’s good to see he got through the entire grieving process in twenty four hours. At this point Mirio has not processed his loss in any way. He is not so much able to smile after everything he has lost, but denying the fact that he wants to cry. He’s pushing his sad feelings away rather than dealing with them. 

While yes, it makes Mirio appear more optimistic if he’s always smiling from now on rather than just sitting around, mourning his losses the point is those feelings are not just something that can be shoved down or go away. Mirio has not learned how to cope with these feelings in any healthy way. In fact the opposite, he has been taught by his mentor that his feelings are a burden on others and that he can only ever show them his smile. 

In the heat of the moment it makes sense not to cry, but what about afterwards? Are heroes just neer supposed to get hurt, or never feel pain all of their lives even when they are not being heroes? Mirio has been taught an incredibly unhealthy way of dealing with his emotions by his mentor. 

Coping techniques can be adaptive, which increase functioning while decreasing the of perceived level of stress, or maladative which do not increase functioning, but rather temporarily decrease the symptoms of stress while the stressor maintains it strength, or worsens.

Simply smiling does not make the pain go away, in fact it’s a way of holding the pain close in the exact same way Shigaraki was taught to. Both Deku and Shigaraki are taught extremely maladative coping mechanisms from their mentors that make them incapable of dealing with their pain. 

But All Might was the strongest hero and he was always smiling! Except, that All Might while being well-intentioned is extremely emotionally immature. All Might is expected to be the adult figure in Midoriya’s life, and yet All Might can’t even handle the simplest of confrontations. 

His primary strategy for dealing with literally anything remotely emotionally challenging, like the sidekick he lost in the past, or telling Midoriya information that might endanger him or disappoint him is to just avoid the conversation entirely. All MIght one of the most brave and heroic characters in the series, is a coward who runs away at any show of complicated feelings.

All Might is so obsessed with being a symbol that he literally cannot function as a person. That is why All Might and All for One parallel each other. They both have tremendous strength and exist in the symbols of good and evil, and yet, their real selves are incredibly injured, broken bodies, frail and barely clinging to life. 

This is exactly what he was meant to learn from Mirio. All might isn’t being heroic here, he’s refusing to accept anybody’s else, because that would be an admission that he was weak. He’s not trying to heal, he’s just refusing to believe he was ever injured in the first place. 

All Might just cannot accept help, or cannot accept that he is weak like a proper adult. The result of repressing his emotions his entire life, he does not know how to handle any negative emotion at all. He does not know how to admit when he’s not strong. He leaves out extremely critical information and keeps secrets, not because he thinks it’s for the best but because it’s just difficult for him to hold a human conversation. 

Theseare also habits that lead to All Might’s self harm. Fighting until the point that he’s coughing and spewing up blood. Not caring about the condition of his body at all. It’s no longer a selfless sacrifice, it becomes an act of self harm. 

All Might despite having already experienced what a tragedy it was to keep fighting until your body was broken, and his fall out with Nighteye does not try to teach Midoriya to be better than him in this regard. Instead, he encourages and pushes on the same unhealthy attitudes to his protege.  

He’s pushing this emntality on a kid who is young, and doesn’t know any better. All Might who should have learned from all of his mistakes, instead unawarely, passively, passes on the exact same mindset that lead to his demise. 

All Might says he can’t give Deku all the answers, when he literally has not given him any. Even in his attempt to teach Deku, he does not admit he made a lot of mistakes in his life and his philosophy could be wrong. He just… tells Deku to stop punching and kick with his feet instead. 

All for One actively encourages Shigaraki towards self destruction. However, All Might passively pushes the same self destructive mindset onto Deku without being aware of it. He does not go out of his way to stop a child from repeating the mistakes that he an adult has mad, and instead constantly throws Deku straight into sink or swim methods of teaching and expects him to learn it all by himself. Which is no wonder why we have seen Deku repeat the same self harming behaviors, and continually breaking his own body to save others, over, and over again with no one attempting to stop him or curbing his behavior. 

Yes this is not intentional on All Might’s part the same way it is for All For One, but it is still something he should know better. All for One’s manipulations are particularly effective because they actually prevent Shigaraki from healing, or moving past his pain in any significant way while at the same time telling him that this is the only way for him to heal. 

Shigaraki has been influenced to believe that he will always be in pain, and rather than trying to let go of that pain he should keep it inside of him because there’s no true way for him to release it. 

This was an intentional manipulation on All for One’s part, so Shigaraki would never grow up, and never develop into anything but the exact kind of successor All for One wanted him to be. He would forever remain a powerless child lashing out, unable to be reasoned with, and unable to heal in any way. 

The reason Shigaraki smiles when he is inflicting pain on others is because he is coping the same way that Deku does. He believes that when he lashes out, it’s the only way he’s capable of feeling good, that if he lashes out enough the pain will go away.

That feeling is the temporary relief from the emotions that he constantly feels inside of him. He has been taught that the only freedom for him will come by holding all of his painful emotions close to him and never letting go. But All for One’s manipulations show he cannot work through his stress in any meaningful way, because he always has to hold his stress close, the moment he relieves it he starts to pile it up again. The same way that All Might by denying his pain keeps fighting until he is broken, Shigaraki by always holding onto his pain believes that there’s no such thing in comfort for him in life and his pain will never go away. That there is nothing in this world that can truly make him feel good again. All of his smiles are faked, all of his smiles are forced as he tries to enjoy destruction like he was told he would enjoy it. As he tries to feel better about the things sensei told him would make him feel better. 

That rather than being a crying weak child, he needs to become stronger than anyone else. That these emotions cannot effect him if he is powerful. It’s the mirror image of All Might’s own philosophy.  Deku and Shigaraki smile for the same reasons, because both of them are told if they put on a smile and force themselves to enjoy things, then the pain will go away. They’re both taught that pain is something that they have to hold close to their heart and never let show, or let go of. 

2. Shigaraki and Deku’s Self Destruction

Due to the fact that both of them constantly repress their own pain and do not allow themselves to feel it, they also ignore the warning signs that their body gives them and constantly break their bodies when they fight. Not in a brave, or heroic way, but a way that’s simply unhealthy and could destroy them if left unchecked. 

Yes, these  acts where Deku sacrifices his body for the sake of others look heroic at first, but at the same time this is always Deku’s first go too response. He always thinks it’s best if he’s the one who’s hurt. It’s fine if he’s the only one who is hurting. 

And let’s say in the fight against Muscle he had no choice because a kid was there and he had to save him. Even if you give Deku that concession look at how Deku immediately acts when he is out of danger with both arms broken. When he really needs to run away and give himself a chance to heal because he could seriously die in this condition. 

He rides piggy back on Shouji with two broken arms, even though there are others heroes fighting too. His decision is not to get himself to safety, but throw himself back in harm’s way again because that is always Deku’s response. 

Deku when the battle ends does not work through his emotions in any kind of meaningful way, and he does not learn from them. Which is why every single time that someone is endanger, he will repeat the same, reckless, habit of throwing himself into harm’s way without thinking of the consequences on his body. For Deku smiling is not being strong, it’s just flipping a switch that turns his emotions off. 

Yes, in the moment you might have to smile and stay calm, the point is even after battles the switch stays flipped off. Deku isn’t told to learn from his mistakes and take better care of himself, and not end up the same way All Might did, he’s only ever told, get stronger, get stronger, get stronger, as if strength is all that matters to being a hero. 

Which is why we see even as far as the Chisaki arc, Deku still has not learned better. His response to a situation of danger is to recklessly throw himself in and the result of that is he nearly dies once again when Eri’s quirk goes out of control. 

Deku never learns from his pain, and therefore the source of his pain is never removed. He acts like he has grown stronger when he just succumbs to the same mistakes over and over again. Then there is Shigaraki, who desperately seeks to be liberated from his burdens and yet at the same time lets those burdens pile up.

Shigaraki’s destruction and lashing out in the end never relieves him. Even if he’s smiling, even if he’s laughing and enjoying himself in the moment inevitably the itch always comes back. 

Shigaraki’s attempts to deny and escape his pain only aggravate his psychological wounds further, and due ot that fact the itch always comes back when he’s come down. The character who seems the freest in the manga, is actually the most burdened. He’s trapped in a cycle of abuse he cannot escape from, or grow past in any meaningful way because he never faces his emotions just like Deku, he just tries to deny them, vent them, or throw everything away. 

And from that we can see, Shigaraki fights almost the exact same way Deku does. He throws himself straight into danger, he fights until his body is in pieces. A month before Deika, he fought Gigantomachi exposed in the mountains without eating, sleeping.

As a result of that it’s clear both Shigaraki’s mind and body are breaking down, but his response to that is just to throw himself into another fight yet again at the next available oppurtunity. 

We see Shigaraki literally losing his mind and breaking down in the middle of battle, and what is his response to that. He throws himself into danger once again even while he’s in the middle of breaking apart, and fights Re-Destro head on. Re-destro even comments, that Shigaraki does not dodge attacks that he should dodge because he’s too focused on fighting and inflciting damage and cares little about what happens to his own body as a result.

ANd Shigaraki denies that he is in pain. He denies that anything bad has happened to him. He instead chooses to keep fighting and loses his mind, smiling and laughing while everything breaks around him and he breaks. 

And this is the result of Shigaraki’s failed coping. He fights until he is completely in tatters, and then has broken his body so much that in the aftermath of the body, covered in bandages he can barely stand up. 

Even then he hides his pain and pretends he’s just fine, and still walks around when he should be recovering. Shigaraki is the extreme result of what Deku ignoring his own pain can lead to, but in the end both of them are coping the exact same way. 

Denying their weakness does not make them strong, in fact it does the opposite as it is something that can get them killed. 

[hs-analyzing-and-theorizing]

Prince of Heart

Prince: They destroy/destroy via their aspect

Heart: Identity, Self/Soul, Emotions, Ultimate Selves, Narrative & Character Arc

Heart We have a canon example of a Prince of Heart in Dirk Strider although not all Princes of Heart will be like him, he still is a deep well to draw from both in analyzing this classpect along with writing a Prince of Heart if you happen to have an oc with the same classpect.

Personality

Princes tend towards ignoring and denying their aspect in themselves, refusing to realize that they actually hold a great amount of their aspect in themselves. Eridan coming off as pessimistic when he clings on to hope for some comfort. Kurloz keeping a cool and collected persona all while letting his negative emotions get the better of him. And then of course most relevant to this post is Dirk, who tries so hard to be emotionless, who calls himself “heartless” all while caring deeply for his friends.

Heart players are usually very self motivated people, being able to act out on their own thoughts without stopping to worry about what others will say about it. Though if being influenced by the right classpect that might end up leaving them. According to The Extended Zodiac they also tend to be self interested, not necessarily in a bad way but in a way where they wish to understand themself and build a coherent narrative for themself. They can be a bit of a social chameleon when the situation calls for it.

So a prince of heart that leans towards ignoring their emotions when lean towards being like Dirk, interested in creating a version of themself where they wouldn’t feel bogged down by the intense feelings they have. They might come off a ruthless and calculating, with only cold hard logic behind their actions, but if you take a step back it becomes clear that all their actions have been motivated by a feeling they continue to deny, for Dirk that feeling would be a longing for safety for both himself and his friends which makes sense considering his backstory. For other Princes of Heart that feeling that motivates most of their big actions will probably be something else, for some it might be wising to be recognized, for others it may for simple entertainment.

Another way a Prince of Heart may deny their aspect is refusing the fact that they have a strong sense of self. Perhaps they’ve lived a wish that requires being what others want of them, from being a high blooded troll with many responsibilities to being a human survivor of abuse. They try to be a social chameleon and to make themself small, but their actual thoughts and feelings mange to poke through, they may say they agree with their boss bu their actions say otherwise. They are trying to feel the ways others want them to, and they can fake a smile or tears, but it still pokes through. Their big actions would tend to be motivated by what they want even if it goes against what others want.

Princes of Heart tend towards a lot of confusion over their identity with many splinter versions of themself. They may try to distince themself from other versions of themself due to those versions reminding them of their own flaws, but it does tend to fail to help, and in the right circumstances their splinter selves may take a hold of them in the form of their ultimate self. Which can be good for some classpects is very dangerous for a Prince of Heart, as their other selves don’t tend to be very nice people, and it can threaten to destroy their very sense of self.

Of course not everything is doom and gloom, a Prince of Heart is not inherently doomed to always stay emotionally stunted or become a supervillian ala Dirk. No classpect is inherently bad or evil. A Prince of Heart can learn how to healthy deal with the things they are avoiding and use their skills, powers, and flaws against people who mean them or their friends harm instead of accidentally causing themself or allies harm. 

At their best a Prince of Heart is a good mole in the enemy ranks, therapist to deal with dangerous parts of people, and is equipped to stop someones progression to their ultimate self if it’d be harmful. At their worst a Prince of Heart may be callous, selfish, prone to playing games with other peoples lives, and a danger to the concept of a sense of self.

Powers

Soul Sucking: Yeah this could use a better name, but anyways. A Prince of Heart can suck the soul out of a person effectively killing them as they only thing to do with the soul is the next listed power, and without a soul in a body it is an empty shell. The target can resist this power and presumably a fellow player of heart would have an easier time resisting this power

Soul Destroying: The Prince can destroy a soul that they have sucked out of a person.

Splintering: This is less a power and more of a skill and meta ability. Princes of Heart have a knack of creating splinters of themself (I.E Lil Hal) or having splinter selves (I.E Brain Ghost) These splinter selves have the tendency to serve some sort of purpose and without some sort of stabilizer like the powers of another classpect (I.E a Page of Hope) or being joint together with someone else they tend to be emotionally unstable at best and downright cruel at worst.

Self Merging: Princes of Heart have an easier time than other classpects gaining benefits from their other selves and merging their information and skills with each other. This also makes it easier for them to reach their ultimate self.

Splinter Destruction: Presumably a Prince of Heart would have an easy time destroying another persons splinter selves, though it is less likely that they could easily destroy their own due to the fragmented nature of their classpect.

Splinter Severing: A Prince of Heart might be capable of cutting off a version of a person from the other versions of themself, they by preventing any sort of merging  or that version of the person being a part of a ultimate self. This could also be used to separated a dream self from a waking self preventing the waking body from being used to god tier.

- Mod Void

[ice-cream-nekogirl]

Adrianna is the fusion between Amy Martinez and Madison Montgomery.

Wanting to experiment with her new fusion spell, Amy turns to her closest witch friend and sister Madison, who surprisingly decides to give it a try if it means trying something new. Although at first the dance is somewhat awkward due to the girl’s differing tastes and styles, however their discordant dancing becomes smoother as the girls are able to synchronize and fuse.  

Since fusion ends up combining two or more parties’ personalities, Shinsou was extremely hesitant due to the fact that Madison is a bad influence on Amy, and Amy tends to follow her, but as usual the girls disregard his concern as they go on to fuse.

The fusion is born excited, smiling despite the confusion, and decides to call herself ‘Adrianna’ because of how the name comes from ‘Hadria’ meaning ‘dark’ which would later sum up their fusion’s nature.

Adrianna is the combination of Amy’s hyperactive, free-spirited and reckless attitude and Madison’s arrogance, selfishness and vulgarity, and due to the fact that the girls are very similar in terms of viewpoint and temperament the fusion becomes her own individual. As a result, Adrianna is a rebel at heart, a free spirit and a hedonist, but also a selfish and even cruel young woman since she looks out mainly for herself.  

In short, she is a major bitch. Amy’s a bitch, Madison is a bitch, when you put two bitches together, you get a straight-up bitch.

Adrianna at first resembles Amy and Shinsou’s fusion Mariko in terms of free-spiritedness but then it becomes clear that Adrianna is much more unstable and has much less compassion than the fusion made of Amy and Shinsou’s friendship. Because of Madison’s lack of moral restraint and Amy’s wild nature, Adrianna is an extremely aggressive and volatile mix of their worst traits as she has no qualms with breaking the rules and making her own, and is the ultimate hellion who does what she wants and has no regard for anyone else who disapproves of her because she doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her and only cares about indulging in the things she likes and giving into her worst impulses. 

Unapologetic and untamable, Adrianna breaks all of the rules and disregards all figures of authority, even knocking them out with Concilium, showing that she has no problem using force if it means getting what she wants. Since Amy and Madison are known as ‘The Sin Sisters’ among the students of 2-A, Adrianna lives up to this by committing every sin imaginable without a care in the world. She is also very lustful as she aggressively flirts with Kaminari, Monoma and Mirio, and had to be held back by Shinsou and Bakugo so they didn’t act so vulgar. But Adrianna tends to react violently when told what to do and shoves anyone aside who attempts to do so, including Aizawa, who Adrianna later plays a dangerous prank on.

Adrianna also seems to lack some of Amy’s attachments to her classmates, which might stem from Madison’s lack of care towards them, or rather, it’s revealed that Adrianna DOES regard the students of 2-A but because of the fusion’s instability, she still lashes out and doesn’t care if they get hurt. Adrianna doesn’t have a problem with people getting hurt, but still holds fondness for Shinsou and Kaminari due to Amy’s friendship with the two boys and the fact that Madison thinks Shinsou is the ‘least terrible one’ and her own fondness for Kaminari. Likewise, Adrianna is also somewhat gentle towards Todoroki due to Amy’s friendship with him and the fact that Madison prefers him over the other boys. Although Adrianna is hostile towards people that Amy or Madison doesn’t like, and still holds a huge amount of resentment towards others such as Aizawa and especially Midoriya, even as Amy is working through her issues, Madison’s bad influence outweighs that as she encourages her to stay angry at them. She’s also quite unfriendly towards Bakugo, because of Madison’s own dislike for him.

Adrianna is also very mean to the other girls, calling and dismissing them all as ‘basic bitches’ and calling them ‘weak’ because they’re boring and uncreative with their quirks. Adrianna is also a sarcastic, quick-witted bully who acts like a Queen Bee as she relentlessly mocks the girls for their power and taste in fashion to the point of making Yaoyorozu and Uraraka cry, despite Amy’s fondness for the former. Showcasing that Adrianna is something of a female misogynist since while she has Amy’s feminism, Madison’s distaste for weaker girls and non-witches overwhelms that. Although, Adrianna is nicer to Ashlen than the other girls because she’s Amy’s best friend Madison tolerates her at best. She can hold a rational conversation with Ashlen, but later grows distant from her because of Madison’s jealousy towards her and tries to get Amy away from her when she starts expressing disapproval for her fusion’s actions.

Adrianna may be the most unstable fusion as of yet due to her violent temper and lack of hesitation for maiming and even murdering people which shows that she’s also probably a psychopath and has nothing holding her back from seriously hurting someone. Although because Amy and Madison care enough to not murder anyone, Adrianna resorts to merely harming people, but still doesn’t hold back in injuring them enough to cause pain as she also appears to enjoy fighting as a means to win and show off her strength. Nonetheless, Adrianna is a very destructive person and doesn’t have a problem fighting Amy’s friends and Madison’s acquaintances.  

Despite all of her cruelty, Adrianna does have a vulnerable side though which comes from both Amy and Madison’s troubled souls and hidden vulnerabilities, insecurities and fears. Adrianna is also extremely self-aware as she can see and tell just how much fear she’s earned from the students of 2-A, she leaves to go to Amy’s mansion and breaks down crying, not so much out of guilt, but out of loneliness and feeling like no one can understand her or love her except for her two components. Although it’s implied that Adrianna IS capable of remorse, but is too self-centered to make amends when her two counterparts are enabling each other’s bad habits in their misguided attempts to comfort each other. 

Madison would often tell Amy that ‘witches look out for witches’ as a means to keep Amy to herself and distance her from her friends, especially whenever Amy was beginning to fear being abandoned by a friend or whenever she felt triggered enough into isolation from her positive relationships.

Adrianna could serve as the embodiment of that belief of witches looking out for each other, and it may be why Amy and Madison were able to fuse so easily because they can understand each other the most.

Although when Adrianna remains fused for far too long for about 24 hours, Shinsou begins to fear that Amy and Madison being fused for too long will cause them to lose their own individual selves and will remain as Adrianna until they’re forced apart.  His hypothesis isn’t unfounded as Adrianna is the representation of the toxic friendship between Amy and Madison, because although the two girls care for each other, Madison is still a bad influence on Amy because she encourages her to indulge in her worst impulses and tells her it’s okay to do bad things and that she won’t judge her anything she does, no matter how bad they are. 

Because of this, Amy is attached to Madison because she validates all of her worst traits so she doesn’t feel as bad whenever she does bad things. Likewise, Madison is attached to Amy because she’s the only witch who always cared for her even when she was bad, and so the two remain fused because they make each other feel better in unhealthy manners and use even more unhealthy coping mechanisms (binge-eating, drugs, shop-lifting) when the ghosts of their pasts come back to haunt them. 

This co-dependence is what makes it hard for the two girls to unfuse, which makes Adrianna even more unstable as she lashes out at Amy’s friends and refuses to come apart. Adrianna also has some mental illness which may stem from Amy’s own mental health issues and Madison’s alcoholism and addictions which makes her very hard to get through to. Especially since Adrianna focuses on all the bad things that happened to her components, past traumas, painful memories and negative emotions as a means to fuel herself in an attempt to declare her independence and refusal to unfuse. It frighteningly works as Adrianna decides to stay fused and becomes impossible to reason with and Shinsou comes to the conclusion that they need to fight her in order to force her to come apart and bring their friends (mainly Amy) back. 

Adrianna proves to be a force to be reckoned with as she effortlessly defeats the pro-heroes and the students of 2-A, and it took the combined forces of Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki, Kaminari, Iida, Shinsou, Ashlen, Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu to eventually wear her down. Unfortunately, Adrianna’s power overwhelms them as another burst of anger allows her to push them all back when they do get her down for a moment and she puts Kaminari, Iida, Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu out of commission which would then force Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki and Ashlen to improvise and trick her as Ashlen’s Cancel quirk stuns her and allows both Midoriya and Bakugo to use all of their power together to force the fusion to finally come undone in midair. The two young witches plummet down to earth but are caught by Aizawa (who arrived on time to see the fusion’s defeat) and Todoroki before they could hit the ground. 

When they come to, the girls are shell-shocked, but also admit that being Adrianna gave them both a high that was almost addictive and the two girls are tempted to fuse again but Shinsou and Ashlen begged for them not to. Reluctantly, Amy and Madison agreed not to fuse again unless it would become necessary or as a last resort. 

However, the two girls do admit that Adrianna just showed that they are ‘really fucked up’ and need to seriously work on themselves and their friendship so they can be less toxic, but they do they say that it was really fun and that they enjoy being with each other. Which implies that Amy and Madison plan to work on their friendship and become healthier together.  

Adrianna was a very powerful individual as she had the combined strength of two already strong witches Amy and Madison, two girls who knew six of the seven wonders. However, where Amy excelled in Divination, Madison failed and Amy failed in Vitalum Vitalis but Madison excelled, and Adrianna allowed them to make up for their shortcomings and she could perform all of the seven wonders. Despite that, it does not technically make Adrianna a ‘Supreme’ because she’s not exactly an individual and is merely two people in one. Still, Adrianna is implied to be powerful enough to take on the original Supreme, and also because of Amy and Madison’s raw power and versatility with magic, her telekinesis and mind control are amplified and makes her strong enough to destroy the entire training grounds of UA and lay waste to all of the pro-heroes. 

Like Amy, Adrianna can also use Sentio Compassios, but to a much stronger and more lethal degree due to sharing the emotions of both Amy and Madison to fuel her power and overwhelm more than 30 opponents (although Shinsou theorizes that Adrianna could easily wipe out an entire fleet of soldiers by herself) all at once, making her a two-person army. Adrianna also was able to use Sentio Compassios to construct a scythe out of pure aura that she would use against Iida, Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu and Kaminari which instantly knocked them out once they were hit.

Adrianna also earned the fear of all of Amy’s friends and allies due to her unpredictable nature combined by Amy and Madison’s short tempers as well as her sheer power. Shinsou in particular was so afraid of Adrianna’s power that he suffered a panic attack in the midst of fighting her because he saw Amy and Madison’s fury in Adrianna’s eyes and ultimately couldn’t continue to fight. Midoriya also nearly froze in horror when he saw the same hatred in her eyes, particularly the lingering resentment from Amy as he recalled flashbacks from his last fight with the latter, and it took a punch from Bakugo to get him back to his senses. Nonetheless, Adrianna was an extremely intimidating figure whose maniacal laughter alarmed and unnerved her opponents. 

Because of this, Adrianna was an extremely difficult and dangerous opponent that gave already powerful students such as Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki a hard time because of her brute strength and overwhelming magic. She was very hard for them to defeat as she was still able to fight back even when it seemed that they had her down, and it took having to resort to drastic, manipulative measures just to beat her. 

So there you have it… Adrianna, possibly one of the most dangerous fusion I’ve drawn as of yet. I guess that’s what happens those when you put two awesome bad bitches together though, Ames and Mads are pretty awesome. XD 

She has the voice of Ariana Grande

[eelliescott]

Lifestyle Module. Reading Week- Initial Research

Over the reading week, we were set a research task, the task required us to research 5 brands, and find out the following-

The Brand Ethos- What is the brand about, what do they stand for? Who are they?

Their Inspirations.

Their Product- What do they sell?

Price.

Place- Where they sell?

Promotion- Where do they advertise/promote products? Campaigns?

Customer- Who are they? Age? Job? 

The 5 brands I looked at were Converse, Urban Outfitters, Acne Studios, Dr Martens & We Are Cow. 

Converse Research

Brand Ethos/Identity-      

‘ALWAYS CREATING AND EXPERIMENTING’

Street style classics that can be worn by anyone.  

‘What you wear defines sport, street, and creative culture, and we’ve been redefining it with you all along. When you wear Converse products, you create a culture of authentic street style’ Converse.  

‘What We Do

Converse believes that unleashing the creative spirit can change the world. We strive to make a positive impact in the communities in which we live and work. We empower our community partners to unleash their creative spirit through Music, Art and Skate, with a focus on inspiring and enabling young people to be their true authentic selves. We aim to connect, be useful and be a company that cares.’ Converse.

Inspirations- The youth of today. ‘Converse is empowering today’s daring spirit of youth by celebrating freedom of expression through individuals and their movement(s).’ Converse.

Product-  

‘MADE FOR THE STREET’  CONVERSE.

Best known for footwear & apparel. Their bestsellers are the Classic Chuck Taylors hi & low top. Along with a slightly different variation, Chuck 70’s.  

Converse do limited edition shoes, for example, the ‘Breaking Down Barriers "Celtics" Chuck 70’ which is celebrating the legacy of Chuck Cooper, who was the first African-American player to be drafted on an NBA team. ‘The sneaker pays homage to Cooper, including references to his life, his career, and basketball in the 1950s. It is also the first time another name has ever replaced Chuck Taylor’s on the sneaker’s license plate.’ Converse.

Converse also do collaborations with other high-end designers. Converse x Comme Des Garcons. Converse x Golf le Fleur.

Price- Converse Footwear- Range from £30-£160. (incl. men & women)

Converse Apparel- Range from £16-£180 (women) £15-£160 (men)

Place- Worldwide. Online. Department Stores. Shoe Stores.  

Uk- Online. Majority of their classic styles & some limited editions are stocked in UK shoe stores such as Schuh, Office, Foot asylum, JD sports.

Some limited edition Converse styles are only stocked in a reduced number of stores. For example, Converse X CDG is only stocked on Dover Street Market, End Clothing & Selfridges.

Promotion-  Facebook Advertisements. Twitter. Instagram. Collaborations. Advertisement board (billboards). Working on campaigns with young influential creatives who suit their brand ethos.  

Customer

‘We serve those who play outside the mainstream. Those who are willing to try new things, make bold choices, and shape their world. Bringing a daring spirit to everything we do not only influences the culture, it can change the conversation. Dreamers, makers, movers and connectors—welcome home’ Converse.  

Although I have seen Converse across all cultures and worn on many different people with different styles.

Urban Outfitters

Brand Ethos/Identity- ‘lifestyle retailer dedicated to inspiring customers through a unique combination of product, creativity and cultural understanding. Founded in 1970 in a small space across the street from the University of Pennsylvania, Urban Outfitters now operates over 200 stores in the United States, Canada and Europe, offering experiential retail environments and a well-curated mix of women’s, men’s, accessories and home product assortments.’ Urban Outfitters.

Inspirations- Youth Culture (music, arts, universities, creatives, artists)

Product- Urban Outfitters has grown into a worldwide retail store. They sell Men & Women apparel (Clothes, Shoes, Accessories) along with a wide range of home & lifestyle products (Furniture, Technology, Books, Gifts)

Price- Women's- Range from £12- £756   Shoes- £35-£230   Accessories-£3-£358 (all categories incl.UO own stock & Brands)

Men's- Range from £17-£320   Accessories £6-£20   Shoes- £18-£195 (all categories incl. UO own stock & Brands)  

Home & Lifestyle- £3-£1099

Place- Retail Stores & Online.

Promotion- Instagram. Facebook Ads. In store promotions (offers, visuals, discounts)

Customer- When personally visiting UO stores I have noticed they have a younger demographic ranging from 15-30. Creatives. College/University Students.  

ACNE STUDIOS

Brand Ethos/Identity-  

‘Acne Studios is a Stockholm-based fashion house with a multidisciplinary approach. Through founder and Creative Director Jonny Johansson’s interest in photography, art, architecture and contemporary culture, an alternative path has been found, turning Acne Studios into a well-respected creator of ready-to-wear, magazines, furniture, books and exhibitions.

The collections are defined by Jonny Johansson’s signature juxtaposing design and attention to detail, with an emphasis on tailoring and an eclectic use of materials and custom-developed fabrics. The collections cover men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories and denim.’ Acne Studios.

Inspiration-  Architecture, Art, Contemporary Culture, Photography.  

Product- Acne Studios design men's and women's ready-to-wear fashion, footwear, denim, and accessories including handbags, small leather goods, and eyewear.

Acne Studios stages runway fashion shows for its women's Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer collections twice a year.

Price- Women Ready To Wear- £85- £2400 Accessories- £35-£1200

Men Ready To Wear £75-£2000 Accessories- £35-£540

Place- Online at Acnestudios.com. Retail Stores Worldwide in Major Cities. Luxury Department Store Selfridges & Harvey Nichols. Online Luxury Retailer Netaporter.com

Promotion- Runway, Photoshoots, Instagram.

Customer- Young, Creative, Professional. Aged25-30. Men & Women. Wealthy. Creative Jobs (PR, Graphic Designer, Fashion, Photographer)  

WE ARE COW

Brand Ethos/Identity-  

‘We Are Vintage. We Are Sustainable.

We Are Cow.

Cow Vintage is your best bet for finding big brands, one of a kind vintage and handmade rework garments to fill your wardrobe sustainably.

We have stores all over the UK and our website ships worldwide. Stunt on all your mates with clothes you can't get anywhere else.’ We Are Cow.

Inspirations- Throughout the Eras. 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s.

Product-  We Are Cow stock a range of vintage products from many eras. Accessories, Shoes, Outerwear, Day to Day Wear.  

‘Keep ya style different from everyone else with one of a kind vintage garms, big brands and Cow exclusive reworked pieces.’ We Are Cow.

‘Rework is Cow's answer to upcycling, where our talented UK based team takes salvaged and damaged vintage and turns it into our own signature style pieces to add eco-chic to your wardrobe.’ We Are Cow.

Price- Womens (all)- £12-£210 Mens (all)- £16-£165 Reworked- £15- £45.

Place- Online at Wearecow.com & Vintage Stores Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield & Manchester.

Promotion- Instagram. Blog Posts. Flyers. Word of Mouth.

Customer- Young Conscious individuals who want to stand out and buy unique pieces. Students & Young Professionals. 16-30. They have a large customer base due to their ethos.  

DR MARTENS

Brand/Ethos- ‘Dr. Martens’ appeal to people who have their own individual style but share a united spirit – authentic characters who stand for something. People who possess a proud sense of self- expression. People who are different.

On a stylistic level, Dr. Martens’ simple silhouettes allow their wearers to adopt the boots and shoes as part of their own individual and very distinctive style; on a practical level, their famous durability and comfort make them ideal for the unforgiving world of gigs and street fashion; and then finally on an emotional level, they are a badge of attitude and empowerment.’ Dr. Marten

Inspirations- ‘Without music, Dr Martens would have remained a workwear boot. The music of tribes who wear Dr. Martens has become inseparable from the brand itself.’ Dr. Marten

Youth Culture, Sub-Cultures, Working Class, Arts, Music.

Product- Typically popular for their classic 1460 boot. Along with 1461 shoes. They sell a range of leather shoes/boots, along with vegan leather alternatives.

Price- Womens £3-£239 Men's- £3-£239 Kids-£3.50- £90 (All Including Shoes & Accessories)  

Place- Worldwide, Online, Retail Stores, Department Stores, Other Retailers such as Urban Outfitters & Asos.

Promotion- Social Media, Instagram, Facebook Ads.

Customer- ‘The brand’s adoption by a diverse range of tribes, celebrities, musicians and free-thinking individuals – each subverting and twisting the boots and shoes to their own personal needs, attitudes and identity.’ Dr. Marten  

16+, The brand promotes diversity, therefore, attracting a diverse range of customers.

This initial research has allowed me to see which elements are important to consider and have in-depth knowledge about when creating a brand. In order for our brand to be successful we must really understand our customer, what they want from life, where they hang out, their age, otherwise how are we going to relate to them? All of the above brands fully understand their ethos and everything they do communicates it that, from where they sell, how they promote it, how they wear it.  

In addition to this, these brands are often created as a response from something that has happened in the world. For example, Dr Martens was created for the working class. They were born in the era of social change and were a staple shoe for the ‘skin heads’. The original ‘Skinheads’ were formed as making a statement, they were part of the British working class and proud of it, many of whom grew up in government-funded housing, they were seen as ‘uncool’. The skinhead movement started because initially they were fed up of feeling isolated from the ‘hippie movement’ at the time, which was generally associated with the middle class. In addition to this, they were fed up with empty promises from the government. Dr Martens was there go to shoe, it symbolised the working class. 

The Dr Martens boot has lived on many years since the ‘Skinhead’ movement. It is now worn through so many different social cultures & classes, yet even though they are now seen worldwide on celebs or even catwalks, they will always be linked to punk culture. As that was there original stamp, thats how they were born, they were used as a response between social classes and that has lived with them throughout the years. 

Its really interesting to see how the public use fashion as a response as well as the fashion industry responding to world events, social change & new technologies. When creating our brand I will be careful to think about what we are responding to & how we will demonstrate this, as we don't want to be miscommunicating our message.

[3w-writer-with-wings]

Why did Windy attack his partner?

Now that’ve finally seen the face of Windy’s partner there’s no more Lost Children to be revealed. But still we don’t have all the answers just yet. Even though Jin has been a big part of the latest arc, we still don’t know much about him and neither do we actually know Lightning and Windy. So what are their reasons for turning against humanity? Why does Lightning keep Jin as a puppet? And why did Windy hurt his Lost Child?

Starting off with Windy, what exactly do we know about him? It is clear he prefers his AI lifestyle, having a program of his creation carrying him around and living in his AI world. He also wants everything to go his way, loses his temper when things don’t turn out the way he wants and hates to be seen weak. Each Ignis in a way represents a different child behaviour: Flame is the cool kid, Aqua is the caring kid, Earth is the shy kid, Ai is the airhead/playful kid, Lightning is the intellectual kid. And Windy? He is the bratty kid. A spoiled child that is used to having his way and throws a tantrum whenever things don’t go his way.

It is still not clear if the Ignis are based on their Lost Children completely but considering their behaviour –Ignis are their Lost Children’s six year old selves. Yusaku did appear to be friendly, outgoing and cheerful before lost incident just like Ai is right now. Judging from the photos, Takeru did try to look cool. Spectre wasn’t keen on interacting with other kids. Miyu was nothing but kind and caring towards Aoi. We don’t know much about Jin’s time before the incident, but he might’ve been intellectual and interested in a lot of things like Lightning. Windy’s child on the other hand might’ve been the exact opposite – a spoiled brat if not a school bully. It would also make sense why he was picked – maybe he acted all high and mighty over being the best duellist at school like Seto Kaiba in the first series and was actually really good. So he would make a good test subject.

But even an overconfident child would break under the torture of Lost Incident. School bullies often become helpless the second someone with more power appears and in this case it was his opponent. Something must’ve broken in that child – he no longer had the power and was at the mercy of the Lost Incident. Just like the rest with an exception of Spectre he must’ve cried, was in pain and without hope of ever getting out. Maybe he started thinking he deserved it and was determined to get out in order to redeem himself, therefore becoming stronger.

Windy hates being seen weak and hates the word weak in general. He is convinced that humans are weak and teaming up with them makes Ignis weaker. His hatred of weakness might reflect the one of his Lost Child – how he hated being weak and so he did everything in order to feel more powerful. But one things that strikes me as well is how unknowingly gullible Windy really is. It’s quite obvious Lightning is the mastermind behind everything, but Windy does act like his right hand. There were numerous occasions where Windy could’ve acted on his own, but no - he is following Lightning’s orders – he wanted to go after Ryoken, but he didn’t because Lightning told him not to. The hatred of humans might’ve even come from Lightning. Windy doesn’t appear to be a type of a person to really think much before doing something, he bluntly does what he wants and what Lightning tells him to do. So what if it was Lightning who told him to take care of his Lost Child?

But why would Lightning want Windy’s origin out of the picture? He trapped Jin’s soul, put Miyu in a coma so why not removing another Lost Child? Lightning doesn’t want Ignis to be influenced by their origins that had changed over the years and due to their experiences from the Lost Incident.

Both Ai and Flame might’ve greatly changed once meeting their origins. Aqua has learned enough to disagree with Lightning’s plans even before meeting Miyu and Aoi. Spectre wasn’t an issue since he worked for Knights of Hanoi and even if he were to become one he can’t now. Jin is still stuck in Lost Incident since he never really recovered so he makes a perfect puppet for Lightning. But Windy’s child? He might’ve been the one to change the most.

It is quite clear that Lost Incident greatly damaged the lives of innocent children. Yusaku developed PTSD, Takeru became a shut-in, Spectre became fascinated with disturbing things, Jin became trapped in his own mind, Miyu might’ve also suffered in some way. But Windy’s child? He appears to be just like any other school boy, living his life, hanging out with his friends and talking about the future. He is living exactly the same life that Akira wanted for Yusaku. But how can this be? How did he recover from all of this?

I think Windy’s child saw Lost Incident as a chance to fix mistakes of his past. Maybe the thought of becoming stronger kept him going until the end of the experiment and once he was rescued he used the experience as the lesson. He might’ve had treatments for few years, but then he recovered and strove for better future. He wanted to become the best version of himself, leaving the past behind. If Windy were to reconnect with him, he could’ve seen a brighter side of life and therefore try to change from the six year old mentally he once was. But Lightning didn’t want that to happened – he needed a loyal ally and out of all Ignis, Windy was the easiest to manipulate.

So he fed him every lie and assumption about humanity he could. He analysed Windy just like every Ignis and knew well how self-conscious is Windy about being weak. He was a perfect minion but to make sure he stays loyal he had to remove the only obstacle that could change Windy. Judging from school uniform in the flashback, Windy’s child was either in middle or high school when the car crush happened – so it must’ve happened recently and quite possibly around the time Ai left Cyberse World. Maybe Lightning saw how Ai became attached to Yusaku and since Dark Ignis was vital to his plan, he feared it could change other Ignis as well. So to secure at least one Ignis to his side, he choose to manipulate Windy and used his weakness to turn against his origin and therefore humanity as well.

Remember when Knights of Hanoi nearly killed Windy? Lightning just stood there, watching a fellow Ignis literally melt away and didn’t do a thing until Ai shouted his name. All was a part of a plan. Lightning probably sees Windy the same way he saw Haru – someone who obediently follows his every command. But unlike Haru, Windy is higher on Lightning’s scale of importance since he has free will though still – even with free will he is gullible and easy to manipulate. As he was slowly wasting away he was no longer of use to Lightning but when Ai shouted his name, Lightning used the opportunity to declare war between Ignis and humans and took Windy with him to use him further. While he was recovering Lightning continued to ignite his hatred so he may become strong enough to defeat the rest of Team Playmaker. The hatred may made him stronger, but at the same time it is making him lose his cool which he even points out himself. Perhaps Windy is now a second Haru – someone who is there only to buy time.

To conclude – I believe that it was Lighting who made Windy hate his Lost Child and humans in the first place. Perhaps Windy didn’t like his origin for the fact how much he changed or how miserable he was during the first days of Lost Incident. Windy hates weaknesses and Lightning saw an opportunity to shape him into his liking.  Or maybe Windy hated how fast his Lost Child recovered, leaving his past and consequently him behind as well. He hated being abandoned and he might be even secretly jealous of Ai and Flame with their partners, but he is too proud to admit it and rather hides behind Lighting’s great plan. It could as well be possible that he wasn’t satisfied how his partner turned out to be and he hated his new life, refusing to accept that his origin had the least experience.

Who knows – it could be entirely different reason as well. In any way, I’ll further discuss it once the new episode is out.

[kiliosthestarmaker]

Nyehehe 1-49 >.> all of dem 😏😉

I EXPECTED THIS BUT YOU’RE GOING TO K I L L M E

The Basics1.     Do you listen to music when you write?

YES, Gods yes! The inspiration! The characterizations! The playlists I listen to when dealing with a particular character I love it I crave it!

2.     Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Plotter, most things have already been decided on within my stories.

3.     Computer or pen and paper?

Computer, I’ll use a pencil and paper only when I have no tech on me. 

4.     Have you ever been published, or do you want to be published?

I’d like to be published

5.     How much writing do you get done on an average day?

Interesting question, I have no clue

6.     Single or multiple POV?

Kind of multiple? It’s all in third POV but we follow around different characters

7.     Standalone or series?

*cackles* SERIES

8.     Oldest WIP

A whole series called Ratio Cor that I finally got back too

9.     Current WIP

Worlds Rejoined

10.  Do you set yourself deadlines?

No. Gods no, I’d stress myself out.

The Specifics11.  Books and/or authors who influenced you the most

Lord of The Rings

J.R.R. Tolkien

George Martin

Harry Potter

Rick Riordan

C.S. Lewis

My two writer friends Wolfe and Jacks

12.  Describe your perfect writing space

My room, blasting with music in the morning when I have no school

13.  Describe your writing process from idea to polished

Sure

A) Wake up at 2 AM with an idea

B) write it down 

C) go back to sleep until you have to wake up properly

D) Write out a decent plot

E) Characters

F) World Building (My fav part)

G) Write and Feel your book

H) Make others suffer with you

14.  How do you deal with self-doubts?

Music and talking to Wolfe

15.  How do you deal with writer’s block?

Music, scrolling through Tumblr, talking to Wolfe and Jacks

16.  How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied with a project?

Who the heckity heck knows

17.  What writing habits or rituals do you have?

Grab some food and a drink

18.  If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and what would you write about?

I WOULD COLLABORATE WITH @princess-east AND @stressedwolfe and it would probably either be about the gods or some action/adventure/fantasy thing and we’ve done it before AND ALSO @koalajake CAUSE THE IDEAS HE HAS 

I

ADORE

19.  How do you keep yourself motivated?

My dad expresses interest in my plots (the only family member that do), he tells me about showing it to other people at work or while he’s busy with something and the person just so happen to be there. My loves also encourage me.

there is also music

20.  How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

........ ehe well there is 1 collection, 4 series within that collection and about 3-4 books within each series sans one which will probably have more than that. Other than that...I have many, many ideas

The Favourites21.  Who is/are your favorite character(s) to write?

I absolutely love writing Kilios, not only is he my favorite character, he’s just purely iconic.

22.  Who is/are your favorite pairing(s) to write?

Most of my pairings are platonic as most characters are teens or children. There’s also those who have been married and are widowed now so-

OH THERE IS KOLFE I ABSOLUTELY LOVE WRITING THOSE TWO

23.  Favorite author

Wait I have to choose??

24.  Favorite genre to write and read

Fantasy

25.  Favorite part of writing

WORLD BUILDING!!!! I SWEAR ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS BE LIKE “Hey Kilios you wanna help me build a world for this AU?” or “Hey Kilios can you help me build the world for my story?” AND I WILL BE ALL OVER THAT

26.  Favorite writing program

Lmao does google docs count?

27.  Favorite line/scene

From...from my book?

(Ratio Cor)

“Okay...” She hums softly as she screws on her arm. She flexes the mechanical fingers slowly before twisting her wrist. She grimaces slightly at the creaking of the joint. “Grandfather where’s the thing?”

“What thing?”

“The...the thing...uh...whot yz yt collud… THE OIL!” Kala exclaims after figuring it out. She hears her grandfather laugh. Kala huffs softly at the laughter. Her grandfather taught her the surface language at a young age. He told her it might come in handy one day, but she doesn’t understand why it would. The Markian language was harder to learn afterward.

(Working Title: Caelum Enterprise)

“That's a child.” Kai whispers. Kilios nods his head in agreement. “That’s a child.” 

“Thirteen years old.” Kilios offers with a small grin. Kai’s face turns blank, and he stares at Kilios. A cold rage settles in his soul.

“So, I have to kill Zeus?” Shadow chokes on his laughter as he wraps his arms around Kai’s waist. Kilios snorts in amusement even though he knew his friend could kill the Lightning God if he wanted to.

“Now, now. Revenge is best served cold as you may know.” Kilios hums softly as they smirk at each other. Shadow and Oketh look at each other before shaking their heads in exasperation. “Zeus seems to want this kid somewhat broken down, so we’ll give the child the best childhood.”28.  Favorite side character

Kai and Shadow, purely for their dynamic

29.  Favorite villain

K,,,kilios

30.  Favorite idea you haven’t started on yet?

Three siblings were reborn as siblings in the modern world. One problem, the ex-youngest sibling is the only that remembers their past and the evil that caused them to die before has followed them. So now, the sibling has to reawaken their siblings' past selves and strive off the evil force all alone. What will happen if the evil, instead of harming the ex-youngest sibling, takes them away to where they are treated as they should be and are loved. What happens when their siblings do reawaken and come after them? What happens if the ex-younger sibling doesn’t want to go? After all, they found love in the darkness. They found light within it as well insert King Keir who isn’t willing to let his consort be taken without a fight.

The Dark31.  Least favorite part of writing

The,,, the writing part

32.  Most difficult character to write

Alim??? I guess cause he’s like grandfatherly and most characters I’ve done in the past never met their grandparents?? 

33.  Have you ever killed a main character?

Yes, even better! I’m going to kill one in one of my books!!

34.  What was the hardest scene you ever had to write?

Kilios’,,,, death I’m-35.  What scene/story are you least looking forward to writing?

KILIOS’ ORIGIN STORY

The Fun36.  Last sentence you wrote

“Yeah, I’m alright.” She assures her grandfather after he gives her a look showing that he didn’t believe her. “So, what’s for breakfast?” She quickly changes the subject.

37.  The first sentence or your current WIP

“Three creators, each lost in their own right. Their names were taken from books and erased from history. The first to come back will be the one who breathes the anger of volcanoes. Next will be the one who freezes the stars. Finally, the one with powers that are forbidden will come to light. Once together united as one. All will hail the Cold Sun.”

38.  Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had

All of them

39.  Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had

A manipulative character that ends up saving the world due to having the ability to see at least ten steps of ahead and calculating an infinite amount of possibilities for options due to having who is literally the concept of the creation of stars and demihumans/hybrids as a bearer (Aka Kilios)

40.  Share some backstory for one of your characters

AHAHAHAHA

Kyle Evren was born from a phoenix and the Primordial God Khaos. The toddler was neither male nor female. Ze was an outlier much like the being known as Udushunamir, who was a being created by the Egyptian Great God Ea. Kyle was born to die for the Gods.

Kavya Esther was created with the body of Saiph and life was breathed into her by Astraea. Her mother was a phoenix and the Star Goddess Astraea. Kavya was very radiant and creatures of all sizes tended to flock to her. The child was kind and lovely. Kavya was born to die for the Gods.

Kit Keir was born from a phoenix and the Hindu Celestial Deity known as Rahu. Kit was both male and female. Due to cer odd parentage, Kit gained both sexes from cer parents. Kit was a very elusive and dreamish teen. Ce would often be found drifting off into cer own little world without a care of anyone around cem. Kit was born to die for the Gods.

Kilios Caelum was born from the ashes of who he used to be. He was ruthless and tired. He was angry at what he’s been through. He swore to rise far above what he attempted to accomplish beforehand. He would build an empire, he would rise to the sky. Kilios refused to die for the Gods.

The Rest of It41.  Any advice for new/beginning/young writers?

Jot down any idea you have, no matter how vague or bizarre it is, write it down.Research, for the love of the gods, research whatever you need for your book and please please use multiple sites.Talk to other writers and ask for input, it’s alright to be nervous so just message them privately. Hell, you can ask me I’m always up for learning about new writers.

42.  How do you feel about love triangles?

As long as it makes sense and doesn’t cause the main plot to be pushed as a subplot I’m good with it fam

43.  What do you do if/when characters don’t follow the outline?

Mutter dark threats under my breath and curse my characters for putting me in the backseat of my own damn writing.

44.  How much research do you do?

Literally, a third of my whole writing process is contributed to pure research.

45.  How much world building do you do?

By the time I’m done, if someone finds it they’d think I just found the world and wrote down what the people told me.

46.  Do you reread your own stories?

Yes and it’s physically painful

47.  Best way to procrastinate

Youtube and Drawing

48.  What’s the most self-insert character/scene you’ve ever written?

KILIOS IS LITERALLY ME THEN HE WENT OFF AND GOT HIS OWN STORY THE BASTARD

49.  Which character would you most want to be friends with, if they were real?

All of them because they are my children and I love them.

[aili]

Valentine’s Day Music Newlsetter 2019!

Welcome to the 13th Music Newsletter! Short intro for the newbies - I love music. I love sharing music with other people. In college I started a "music newsletter" email with some playlists (aka mixtapes) I've made and some song/band recommendations. Why Valentine's Day? Because I think this day should be about love in many ways - including love for music!

That brings us to today. The first Valentine's Day mixtape I put together was actually a physical mix CD that I mailed to my home friends while I was away at college. That was in 2008 (11 years ago!). A lot has changed since then, but my love of music has not. While I feel sometimes too busy or too old or too out of touch to know what I'm even talking about, I hope you'll get some enjoyment out of this - as much as I've been enjoying listening to these songs and picking them for you! 

*Click here to download Valentine's Day 2019 mixtape!

Click here to play Valentine's Day 2019 on Spotify!

*Note that the file downloads as a zip file, double clicking on it to open it up should give you the individual songs. Then move the songs to iTunes into a playlist!

1.) "Happy Unhappy" - The Beths New Zealand indie rockers The Beths debut album, Future Me Hates Me, is full of catchy, energetic sad-twinged songs. This song feels like it could have come out back in the 00s when we had to find new music by reading blogs and actually downloading MP3s - it feels closer to the Garden State soundtrack era of indie than the recent moody electronic vibe. It's a lot of fun! Sounds like Courtney Barnett by way of The Wombats, with a splash of Los Campesinos.

2.) “City Looks Pretty” - Courtney Barnett Courtney’s 2018 album “Tell Me How You Really Feel” is only her second studio album, but somehow it feels like she’s been around forever. The album features a “fuller” sound and more production, which may appear dulled next to 2015’s “Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit.” However, I feel excited by Courtney exploring a more mature sound and think it accurately reflects the albums depressive theme. “Sometimes I get mad / it’s not all that bad” is sung with a definite apathy compared to her shout-singing past record. As the bridge settles in, Courtney captures the depression symptom of lack of interest in things you used to enjoy. The city looks pretty when you’ve been stuck inside isolated for two weeks. 3.) “Screwed” - Janelle Monáe feat. Zoë Kravitz Janelle’s 2018 album “Dirty Computer” is an anthology of songs (and truly, poetry) that tell of reckoning with being a queer woman of color in an oppressive, violent society. It’s an incredibly personal album with her fans in mind - “I want young girls, young boys, nonbinary, gay, straight, queer people who are having a hard time dealing with their sexuality, dealing with feeling ostracized or bullied for just being their unique selves, to know that I see you. This album is for you. Be proud.” (Rolling Stone, 2018). My favorite part of this song is “See, everything is sex / except sex / which is power / you know power is just sex / now ask yourself who’s screwing you.”

4.) "BAGDAD - Cap.7: Liturgia" - Rosalía 25-year-old Rosalía Vila Tobella from Catalonia has an excellent 2018 album El Mal Querer. The album combines traditional flamenco with modern R&B. The album is a story of love and heartbreak over the course of 11 chapters/songs. This particular one might sound familiar due to the sampling of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River."

5.) "Gun" - St. Lucia St. Lucia's first release off of their 2018 album Hyperion caught my attention with its connection to a more traditional rock sound and the heavy-hitting, one-word title. The production and sound almost reminds me of Oasis or U2. Turns out that the album is indeed produced by someone who worked on records with PJ Harvey, Depeche Mode, and U2. In interviews, Jean-Philip Grobler talks about how this song is generally about both gun control and power. "You said you wanted to feel a gun in your hands" in Verse 1 transforms to "You said you wanted to feel the blood in your hands" in Verse 2, highlighting the fact that guns are designed to kill. 

6.) “Apathy” - Frankie Cosmos With a catchy bass line, gorgeous lyrics, and endearing vocals, this song and entire album are not to be missed. As you may notice on this year’s playlist, this year I was super into what I would describe as punk-influenced, low-fi indie female vocalists. Pretentious enough for you? Haha. I just mean that there are a ton of young women blowing up in the indie music scene with a huge crossover in sound. As demonstrated in “Apathy,” many of these songs are short, lack a traditional pop music format, use low-fi production, and have a storytelling aspect of almost speak-singing. These elements are all found in traditional punk music, so it’s interesting and exciting to see these artists shaking things up and challenging the punk genre. Frankie Cosmos has a long history of creating music, under various projects using Bandcamp as a teenager. Her 2018 album “Vessel” is nothing short of delightful and another one of my favorites of the year. 7.) “Your Dog” - Soccer Mommy Soccer Mommy is Sophie Allison, singer-songwriter based out of Nashville. She opened for Paramore on their recent tour and she has launched into the indie music scene with a lot of attention in the past couple years. I love how her voice clearly carries so much anger as she sings about an emotionally abusive relationship. Her lyrics describe the agony of small, sweet gestures pushing her back to her ex, despite her wanting desperately to end it. Using the metaphor of being a loyal, sub-servient dog, she describes the way her SO treats her like she’s his property. Because the song lacks a traditional “pop” format (verse 1 / chorus / verse 2 / chorus / bridge / chorus), there is a sense of the story ending unresolved. Fortunately, she has an excellent album (one of my favorites) from 2018 called “Clean” where you can learn more of her story. 8.) “Pristine” by Snail Mail A stunning debut from 19-year-old Lindsey Jordan, “Lush” is a 2018 release not to miss. “Pristine” perfectly encapsulates teenage life and love - “it just feels like the same party every weekend. Doesn’t it?” There is such a sense of genuine hormonal angst that she is almost joyfully celebrating. Her album reads more like a diary - and how lucky she is to have these future memories and be able to approach them with such wisdom.

9.) "Uncomfortably Numb" - American Football feat. Hayley Williams Paying homage to Pink Floyd, legendary emo band American Football joins with Paramore's lead singer Hayley Williams for a devastating track about losing emotional sensation. "I blame my father in my youth / Now as a father, I blame the booze." I couldn't find too much information on the exact inspiration behind the track, but it's the second track released off their upcoming album out March 22nd. Hayley is usually front and center as a singer, and it's interested to hear her take more of a backing role, as well as explore a bit of a lower vocal range than she usually does.

10.) “Geyser” - Mitski Mitski absolutely killed it last year with “Be The Cowboy,” which was consistently rated not only in the top 5 best albums, not only top 3, but making MULTIPLE end of year lists as the number one album of 2018. It’s easy to see why, given the incredible breadth of music she wrote for her album. I see Mitski's influence reflected in the rise of fame in other punk-inspired female vocalists in the indie scene, building off her ability to capture the attention of a wide audience. Which is also very interesting because she incorporated elements of many other genres on this album (spot any disco on “Nobody”?) While it was difficult to pick one song for my playlist, “Geyser” stands out to me as not only an excellent album opener, but a fascinating look into Mitski’s own relationship with the art she creates. In an interview, she explains that this song is about her feeling like she has to create music because she would never be satisfied in life without it, but feeling sometimes stifled, stuck, and resentful when she puts music above basic needs such as her health and self-care. She needs her art to survive but it simultaneously kills her.

11.) “Me & My Dog” - boygenius It’s impossible to pick just one song of this album. Boygenius is the supergroup of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker - who each could also have one of their incredible solo songs on my playlist. Partially because they enjoyed each other’s creative energies and partially as a response to constantly being compared to each other as “women in indie,” the trio came together to create an EP of emo-influenced, folk-inspired gorgeous tracks about grief, loneliness, identity, and heartbreak. This particular song features Phoebe Bridgers in the verses and is a beautiful representation of the embarrassing and frustrating feeling of being in love with an ex. Please check out the individual work of these artists too!

12.) "bless ur heart" - serpentwithfeet Serpentwithfeet, aka Josiah Wise, has a gorgeous, intimate voice throughout his 2018 debut album, soil. This song starts off with a question of how his art will be received by the world. The rest of the song is a tender message of gratitude to his first love. It seems like Josiah questioned the choice to speak about his experiences with his ex in such a public fashion - with complexities of privacy, being open about sexuality, and possible painful memories on the table. Josiah's writing is very much like poetry, and his raw, unfiltered, un-autotuned vocals match the beauty of his words.

13.) "Bury A Friend" - Billie Eilish 17-year-old Billie Eilish is set to release her debut album, When We Sleep, Where Do We Go? next month. This song matches her goth aesthetic with a creepy story from the perspective of the monster under the bed. We learn that the monster is part of Billie herself, who is struggling with her own demons. 14.) "Loading Zones" - Kurt Vile A gorgeous guitar track, Kurt Vile paints a picture of his hometown Philadelphia and feeling on top of the world exploring his city's streets. He included a hilarious marketing strategy of sending fake parking tickets to fans in the mail to promote the song. Kurt Vile talks about the metaphor of "I park for free," which is how he sometimes lives his life - breaking the dumb rules because it's his life, his streets, his town. 15.) "Dylan Thomas" - Better Oblivion Community Center Is it possible to already be nostalgic for the late 2000's? Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers released this surprise collaboration last month and this is the standout track for me. Conor Oberst's incredibly recognizable voice is hard to match in terms of strength, timbre, and uniqueness. While Bridgers is young enough to be from a different generation than him (she also grew up listening to Oberst's music), he saw something in her that resonated with him. I love how they sing in unison on this track (and much of the album) and think their voices sound really good together.

16.) "Butterflies" - Kacey Musgraves Kacey Musgraves is bringing a breath of fresh air to country. After self-releasing three albums, she tried her hand at reality TV through Nashville Star over a decade ago. Golden Hour is her fourth album using a record label, and she just won Album of the Year at the Grammys! Her voice is beautiful and has an earnest, authentic approach in joining elements of country pop. 

17.) “Prior Things” - Hop Along “Bark Your Head Off, Dog” is Hop Along’s third album, released in 2018. Singer/songwriter Frances Quinlan has the ability to transform the themes of her songs. Layered with a multitude of different sounds and instruments, it could easily sound scattered and busy, but instead feels like we are huddled around a campfire with an enthusiastic, stream-of-consciousnesses storyteller. “Prior Thing” is the last song on the album and crosses time, space, and memories with the start of a hallucinogenic drug trip. She has the ability to take a phrase and transform the expected - pausing or elongating notes at unexpected places. This method keeps you invested in figuring out what the song is really about or what the conclusion is. 18.) "Kids" - Pup Emo/pop punkers Pup have a new album Morbid Stuff coming out on April 5th. Their songs are made for live shows - shouting/singing alternates, sing-a-long catchy lyrics reminiscent of the Hold Steady, and unison whole-band lines. Pup frontman Stefan Babcock said this song is about finding someone who agrees with your view of the world being a fucked up place, and enjoying small moments of solace in spending time with them. 

SPOTIFY

Don't forget to subscribe to my playlists on Spotify! Here is the link to listen to this year's mixtape on Spotify.

I try to add new songs at least once a week to this playlist: What I'm currently lovin' (updated freq)

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I hope you guys enjoy the new music and feel free to send me recommendations of anything you like!<3 aili

Previous Mixtapes:

Autumn Love mix | Autumn Love Spotify

Copenhagen mix | Copenhagen Spotify

Valentine's Day downbeat 2010

Valentine's Day upbeat 2010

Valentine's Day 2011

Philadelphia mix | Philadephia Spotify

New Crime mix | New Crime Spotify

The City mix | The City Spotify

Drive mix | Drive Spotify

Valentine's Day 2012 | VDay 2012 Spotify

King's Myth mix | King's Myth Spotify

Hold On mix | Hold On Spotify

Valentine's Day 2013 | Vday 2013 Spotify

Valentine's Day 2014 | Vday 2014 Spotify

Valentine's Day 2015 | Vday 2015 Spotify

Valentine's Day 2016 | Vday 2016 Spotify

Valentine's Day 2017| Vday 2017 Spotify

Valentine's Day 2018 | Vday 2018 Spotify

[thetruthseekerway]

Concept of Friendship in Islam

New Post has been published on http://www.truth-seeker.info/jewels-of-islam/concept-of-friendship-in-islam/

Concept of Friendship in Islam

By Truth Seeker Staff

A friendship that is made for the sake of wealth, position, beauty and such things will disappear automatically when those factors come to an end.

Human Beings in all phases of life, from the very beginning of childhood and youth, old age till his death, are in need of friendship and association with others. Owing to his social nature, man is compelled to live in society and with other individuals. And most of our lives depend on interaction with others.

Friendship is such a beautiful gift. A friend in need is a friend indeed after all. A friend is a very important person in one’s life. Those who have worthy friends are never lonely and friendless in the world since in joy and sorrow, their true friends help and support them. Naturally, a human being feels happy at the companionship of friends, and is sad at being lonely and distress and having no worthy companions.

Islam has placed tremendous importance on the aspect of sociability and friendship. This sense of companionship holds a lot of significance in any relationship.

Today, we see intense disputes and altercations arising even between parents and children and as well as among siblings. This is chiefly due to the fact that, though their relationship is marked with blood ties, the all-important sentiments of fellowship and friendship are sorely missing. Our experience will tell us that friendship often takes precedence over blood relations. Man tends to heed his friends more than his relatives. He trusts his companions more than his own kin. The youth today, confide in their friends while being discreet with their parents.

Islam is in complete harmony with man’s nature. Hence, it has dealt with this topic of friendship in detail.

For us Muslims, who are living in a society where we are clearly a minority, the issue of choosing the right companions is essential for preserving our religion (Deen). Befriending righteous and virtuous Muslims is an essential means for staying on the Straight Path. Strong individuals are the core of a strong community, something that Muslims should always strive for.

We all know that Allah (SWT), the Most High has brought us to life in order to test us. Thus we are here for a relatively short period of time and that we shall meet Allah (SWT) one Day, so we need to use our present life for what is best for us in the Hereafter. Once we know our purpose and our goal in life, we should seek ways to achieve them so as to benefit our own selves.

The point to which the scholars of Islam pay great attention in connection with friends is that it may be considered worthy only if it is fostered for the sake of Allah (SWT), and a reliable friend is the one whose friendship is based on spirituality. To choose someone for friendship purely on the basis of his piety and faith, only to satisfy Allah (SWT) is akin to earmarking a place in Paradise.

This was one facet of friendship. Now let us look at the flip side. A friendship that is made for the sake of wealth, position, beauty and such things will disappear automatically when those factors come to an end. No material thing can act as the basis of a lasting friendship or produce happiness.

Many people establish their bonds of friendship and enmity based on the gain they are likely to accrue on a personal level. That is, if a person has some utility, he qualifies as a friend, else he is an enemy. However, that should never be the benchmark for Muslims.

Another point to which Islam attaches much importance is the choice of a friend. From the viewpoint of Muslim scholars, one should not make friends with each and every individual, since there are some persons whose friendship is harmful and dangerous. Without any doubt, every friend affects the material and spiritual affairs of his own companion, and each of them unconsciously influences the ideas, morals, and conduct of the other.

Friends are by no means only a means for ‘time-pass’ or entertainment. Indeed friendship is more profound than that. Friendship and companionship are inseparable aspects of an individual’s life. Experience has shown, too, that many friendships have changed the destiny of individuals and their course of life. Friends influence each other’s ways, faith, and religion. That is why while Islam has emphasized the importance of friendship, it has also stressed on the qualities that a friend should necessarily possess. It has clearly demarcated who is worthy of friendship and who is not.

Prophet Muhammad (saw) has said: “Man is influenced by the faith of his friends. Therefore, be careful of whom you associate with.” And at another place Prophet Muhammad (saw) has said: “A person is likely to follow the faith (Iman) of his friend, so look whom you befriend.”

Prophet Muhammad (saw) who has the noblest character and dealings with fellow humans gave us a very clear and simple message and advice in regard to friendship.

Friendship with worthy individuals is a great factor of happiness, and friendship and companionship with impure and polluted fellows are a cause of decline and distress.

Some people are so confident of their own purity and nobility; they imagine that they will not be subject to any harm in their association with wicked persons. They consider their personality as strong enough not to be influenced by vices. However, they forget that cotton wool gets aflame by proximity to fire, and glass breaks when it comes in contact with stones. Unfortunately, corruption and impurity can very quickly affect the human spirit, and easily make it catch fire like gunpowder, and burn the entire world with their flame.

Supposing you are so dignified and noble that you aren’t influenced by the wicked persons you associate with. What will people say about you? Will they not consider you as one of the rabbles when you associate with them?

One of the Hadiths says as: “Don’t judge anyone’s goodness or badness until you see his friend, since a person is recognized by his likes and companions, and is related to his friends.”

It would be impossible not to be affected deeply in our character by association with those around us, since man is by nature, an imitator, and everyone is more or less influenced by the conduct, manners, and ideas of friends and companions.

Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: “Man imitates his friends. Hence, you must consider them whom you want to befriend.”

Association with biased and selfish people produces great losses since the effect of their character leads to the obscurity and limitation of thought, and to the death of the spirit of manliness and noble qualities. In association with them continues for a long time, the heart becomes heavy and hardened, moral powers are weakened, and willpower, sense of progress and excelling are destroyed in man. On the contrary, friendship and contact with those who are wiser, more experienced than us, are very valuable since their association breathes a new spirit into us, teaches us a better way of life, and reforms our views about the attitude towards others. It appears as if they make us share their wisdom, knowledge, and experience.

Thus, for building up morality nothing is more useful and effective than association with learned and active individuals, since such contact enhances our mental powers, adds to our willpower, sublimate to our objective in the world, and prepares us for managing our own affairs and assisting others.

———

Adapted from a Facebook post with major editorial modifications to suit the style and purposes of Truth Seeker website.

[okase]

Nera: 41, 06, 36, 26

This was for an OTP questions ask, which I’m still open to if anyone wants ‘em. Meme is here, answers is below:

41- Are they party-goers? What are they like when they’re drunk? Does it happen often?

Nera is definitely more so than Fenir, but they both have their fun in the right company. When they’re drunk? Alone, Nera is gregarious, obnoxious, flirtatious and maybe a bit of a bad influence, where Fenir is giggly, happy, and has fewer inhibitions. As drunk people do. Together? They’re disgustingly affectionate and will probably figuratively or literally get a room before they get cast out by the other part goers. They’re both very touchy and Fenir in particular is very emotional when drunk and it’s just a disgusting yet ultimately harmless combination.

As for how often they party/get drunk, in Mass Effect they have their fair share of both casual get-togethers and professional fancy parties but it’s nothing too extreme. Nera is definitely a once-a-week or so bar/club hopper when she’s young but by her mid-20s she tones it down quite a bit, not really having the time or desire for it in the same capacity. Fenir is and always has been the type who usually needs a bit of a push or a good reason to go out and party, and as such he tends to go only once and while and typically with Nera or someone else he knows.

It’s… kinda the same for Dragon Age and Elder Scrolls, only the partying(Esp the fancy partying, tho they might still occasionally happen) in general is significantly less for both of them and particularly for Nera. She’s a lot more of a casual bar goer in Dragon Age and in Elder Scrolls she’s in a middle ground between her two other versions.

6- - Any tasks that are always left to one person?

In Mass Effect, cooking is always left to Fenir, as is driving. Always. At least until Nera has a significant amount more practice with both, since she’s gosh dang terrible if not abysmal at it.

Meanwhile laundry and bathroom duty are almost exclusive to Nera since, well. She uses the bathroom and wears a lot more clothes than Fenir does lol

On a less domestic note, technical and diplomatic stuff is usually left to Fenir and anything that specifically needs muscle or requires a more mercenary persona tends to go to Nera. It’s not -always- like that, they’ve spent enough time around each other to be able to switch with a relative amount of ease, but they ultimately always have their specialties and know when a task is best left to their partner.

Nera is a lot more versatile on the homefront in Dragon Age and Elder Scrolls, having had a normal upbring. She can and does cook fairly well, qunari!Nera moreso than khajiit!Nera, but neither are as disastrous as their turian counterpart. Fenir obviously doesn’t have the immune issues he has as a quarian so he’s a bit more skilled in the domestic department.

Non-domestically, it’s essentially the same only with Fenir being more magically adept as opposed to technologically.

36- - What’s their greatest strength as a couple? Their weakness?

I’d say, in any setting, their greatest strength as a couple is that they compliment each other, ability-wise and personality-wise, but even more that they communicate and they grow together. Even in settings where it’s more difficult due to their pasts or personalities, they’re always able to be stronger where the other is weaker, and to compromise and change without changing who they are. They’re basically inseparable, and that’s precisely because they know it’s important to talk and have a dialogue when something is bothering them or isn’t working, and then how to work it out. They’re malleable without compromising their core selves.

As for their weakness, I’d say that sometimes, despite their good communication between each other, they can be a bit too alike in some manners, and different in others. They’re too alike in that they can be proud, and they can be stubborn, and sometimes that leads to a rock hitting a hard place and nothing being able to be done until they can have time to themselves to chill out and remember what’s important.

Also, another weakness I’d say is that in some aspects they can have differing moralities, and that can definitely cause a clash between them that ends up as a hurdle to jump over. Nera is more okay with stealing or killing in certain circumstances, for example, and that causes a clash when Fenir’s morality won’t stand for it. And their arguments can get pretty nasty unfortunately due to Nera being harsher than usual when angry and Fenir being pinpoint nasty with his counterarguments. Thankfully they make up after, but it’s never pleasant during.

26- - How do their friends feel about their relationship? Their families?

I feel like this question might best be asked to @greyfen, @bioticplaneswalker and @rollknowledgearcana due to a lot of Nera + Fenir’s friends and some of their family being played by them, but I’ll do my best for this.

I know at least, for turian Rana and Nero, well. Nero doesn’t know Nera exists so it’s not applicable there, but Rana is, while initially surprised to say the least, but ultimately happy that Nera has someone that cares about her as much as Fenir does. She thinks Fenir is sweet, and even comes to regard him as family- particularly when she finds out he was disowned and then orphaned by his actual parents. They don’t always get each other, but Rana would protect Fenir with her life. So yeah, she’s happy for them. Zeela is in the same boat, really, only she used to tease the two of them (particularly Fenir) when she first found out they were together. She means well, though.

Unfortunately on Fenir’s side of things, his parents are xenophobic and disapproving of Fenir’s lifestyle so they never see eye-to-eye about well… anything, but particularly his relationship with Nera before they die. And Nera wants to deck them so lol, the feeling is kinda mutual

Qunari!Rana’s relationship with Fenir is a bit more rocky due to Rana’s dubious attitude towards magic, but it gets better, albeit apprehensively over time even if Rana doesn’t quite understand Nera’s elven partner. Qunari!Nero is, while very stoic, thankfully more accepting and even happy about it.

And thankfully, Nera’s relationship with Valir is improved immensely over the ME version of it, with Valir going so far as to consider Nera her daughter and accepting her, and later her grandkids, into her clan with open arms. It starts out rocky, with Valir being justifiably suspicious of outsiders and her relationship with Fenir already being rocky to start with, but after spending time with Nera and reevaluating how she views and treats her son, things become much more amicable. Unfortunately Fenir’s dad, Saris, is isolationist af and doesn’t have the same character growth and thus doesn’t view their relationship as legitimate ever lol

And then Khajiit!Valir’s attitude is more chill about her son’s partner than even Dalish!Valir, because her relationship with her son is even less strained, a bit, and Valir is a bit more chill in general due to different life circumstances. The biggest hurdle for Valir’s approval towards Nera and her son’s relationship is the fact that Nera isn’t a big fan of Nera’s occupation. It’s not a complete dealbreaker, but it does take some time and effort for both parties before Nera is accepted. Ironically, Saris is even more chill in this universe and thus becomes accepting of things even faster, much to Nera and probably Fenir’s contentment.

Aaand Khajiit!Rana and N’eroh are the most chill people on the planet so they’re honestly just happy Nera is happy lmao

Feel free to ask me or @greyfen more of these! I love ramblin’ ‘bout these fools

[aquaburst3]

And because I’m bored and to organise my own headcanons for my Reverse Voltron fic…especially for the villains, these are what I imagine the mirrored versions of the Paladins and Lotor’s team to be like. (As a side note, I might do another post like this for some of the side characters like Shay, Merla, Cossack, Hazar, Romelle, Avok etc in this fic if anyone wants me to do it)

If you don’t want to be spoiled to my Reverse Voltron fic, don’t read this!

(Keep in mind, the Paladins and Team Sincline are reversed so the former is more morally grey like canon Team Sincline…if that makes sense.)

The Villains

Alfor: He was once a just, kind man, being exactly like his canon counterpart. Once he was in severely injured during battle with one of the monsters from the rift and was on Death’s Door Step, Haggar decided to test out a new substance on him that she was starting to do experiments on–Quintessence. Despite knowing he would object to being a lab rat and already was wary of the stuff, she did it anyways to save his life and collect some data on the substance that she could never properly test out before. Once he woke up, and also thanks to a serve blow to his prefrontal cortex in that same battle, Alfor begins to change, becoming more brash, quick-tempered, violent towards his enemies (not his family, especially Allura), callous, and arrogant, who thinks he’s automatically morally righteous.  As he takes more and more Quintessence and the death of his wife (she died from natural causes), these negative traits only amplify and he becomes corrupt and misguided. His goal is to spread justice and peace throughout the universe, transforming it into an utopia, but at any cost, including blowing up Diabazaal to close to the rift while everyone was on it, turning people into non-cogs along with much more. He also thinks in order to complete his goals, he needs to get the lions back along with his old bond with Red which he thinks he’s still ought to after everything. The closet comparison I can come up with is Dartz from YGO and Kuvira from Korra.

The Canon Paladins

Them as a group: As a group, like the canon paladins, they are very tight and  like a family. They are all working for Allura at the Castle of Lions, which in this AU basically the entry level fighters of the Altean Empire and are fresh out of training except for Shiro, for some reason or another. They are bound by one goal–to spread peace throughout the empire. Over the course of the story, the characters’ eyes open to what is truly happening and while they still believe in peace, they disagree with how Alfor is going about it, deciding to side with the rebels cause of stopping Alfor. Also, they are all Altean in this version and resemble their canon selves if they grew up in different circumstances (or I hope the latter is the case).

Shiro: Since he was born Altean in this AU, he wasn’t tossed into the arena to live out the alien version of the movie Gladiator or kidnapped by aliens. Instead, he’s a young promising commander in the military, however due to one of his first missions gone wrong, which also resulted in Matt and Sam Holt going missing, he is under close watch by Alfor, being forced to bow his head down, keep his trap shut and play nice out of fear of become a non-cog along with being haunted by said mistake. He’s also the first one to have his eyes completely open to what Alfor is really doing and rebel against the empire, telling these thoughts to Keith first. Also, thanks to his military background, he had his arm amputated after said mission failure, being replaced by his robotic arm from the canon, along with getting his scar as well. Personality wise, he’s like his canon self on the surface, however, the best way to describe him is he’s like if Shiro had Kuron’s personality with some slight hints of when Haggar made herself look like Shiro during s1. He’s a knight in black armour.  He has a sense of honour and loyalty, caring about his teammates, especially for Keith and Pidge, but can get hostile, calculating, prideful and arrogant. He can also do a fantastic evil laugh...even if that’s something he’d hardly ever do. (As a side note, am I the only one that loves Shiro’s evil laugh during his first fight with Haggar?)

Keith: He’s pure chaotic neutral vs canon!Keith’s chaotic good. He was orphaned as a baby, being given to Kolivan, who is a part of the Mamora (basically this AU’s version of Pollox from DOTU/Go Lion) royal family, because of Keith’s mother’s last wish. Despite Kolivan’s efforts to control and discipline Keith to be a proper prince throughout most of his life and because he didn’t have a Shiro to ground him most of his life, he’s an uncontrollable ball of angst and fury, who makes very brash decisions for his plans, even at his own expense. He also enrolled in an Altean academy as another one of Kolivan’s schemes to discipline him, but he ended up being an amazing pilot and excelling at it, befriending Shiro and then his placed under his commanding squad after graduation. He is also half Galra and is unsure of what his other half is, but gets a good hunch when he sees Lotor’s group.  Over the course of the story, thanks to the influence of his teammates and especially Shiro along with the eventual realisation of what he’s actually doing, he slowly begins to resemble canon!Keith more and more.  

Pidge: She’s like pre-redemption Peridot from SU.  She uses technology, especially her robots, which she uses to send out to fight people, and computer hacking, as weapons. She’s more sarcastic then she is now, and more then likely taunt the hell out of Lotor and the Generals.  On a different note, since she grew up on Altea, she has longer hair along with working with Shiro to find her brother and father again.

Lance: The best way to describe him is that he’s like DOTU Lotor with a stronger/ well developed personality (without being as creepy towards women) and FMAB Greed.  He starts off as a brat, being vain, both egotistical and insecure and selfish, but does have a strange sense of honour to him and cares tremendously about his bio family and his friends. Like Sincline, he can be charismatic and is a flirt, even flirting with Lotor’s canon generals and Allura, much to their dismay. However, like FMAB Greed, he does transform over the course of the series to become less selfish and egotistical along with stopping flirting with Team Sincline. He is still an amazing sharp shooter.

Hunk: He’s a larger guy, so you don’t think much of him, until he outright destroys you. Like his canon self, he’s a mechanical genius as well, being able to tinker with machines to do his bidding. Outside of these traits, he’s like his canon self, but a bit more confident at the start. Also, Hunk and Shay are dating, thanks to Lance and Pidge, who was roped into his scheme, who hatched a plan to make them admit that they have feelings for the other.  (As a side note, since Alfor doesn’t destroy planets for Quintessence like Zarkon does in the canon, so the Balmerians and Alteans have a mutual relationship, working along side each other more.)

Allura: She’s akin to VLD!Lotor in some ways or like a more intense version of Mai from YGO. Like canon Allura, she is a very just person with a kindness and warmth to her, but still has her haughtiness and her black and white thinking along with being spoiled. She believes in her father’s goal to spread peace, without being truly aware of the lengths her father is going to, and prove herself to her father that she is a strong warrior and leader. She thinks she’s doing right by all of this, but really isn’t. She’s a strong leader, but also someone who’s gone mad with the idea of everything being perfect. Thanks to her just awaking up out of cyrosleep and her father going great lengths to keep Allura sheltered, she’s also extremely naive to what lengths her father truly is going to reach his goals, thinking he is just being diplomatic like in the past instead of…all the shit he’s doing in the present. Also like canon Allura, as she sees more and more what is truly happening around her and what monster her father transformed into, she turns against her father and tries to take him down.

Coran: He’s like his canon self. However, out of fear and loyalty to his life-long friend along with many attempts to curb some of Alfor’s plans, he bows his head down and stays quiet to what he’s doing.

Team Sincline

As a team: The girls are very much like their canon selves, with some key differences due to their different upbringings and are less sadistic. The dynamic between Lotor and the girls is very similar to the show, but has a shaky start since Lotor doesn’t know any of them outside of Acxa and visa versa, but do bond with time as they try to get to know each other more and learn how to work together. They are more willing to do a lot more morally questionable/dubious methods to try to meet their goals then the paladins in the canon like tricking them with a distress signal and snagging the Black Lion from the Castle of Lions.  So they’re more moral grey, but lean towards the good side of it instead of the darker side like their canon selves. Unlike the canon, they are human outside of Lotor and Acxa, who is half Galra or Altean (still hoping around about that one).

Lotor: He’s much like his canon counterpart, being a cunning, intelligent plotter and a strategic smooth talker, but is less manipulative and ruthless in his calculations (so no flinging random grunts at anomalies to see what happens or sending people he finds annoying to The Planet of Sandworms from Dune). He has more slip-ups compared to his canon counterpart due to both not having as many resources as his canon counterpart (since Lotor doesn’t exactly have an army or robots at his disposal) and just not being as experienced.  Zeth, Nasrin and Azora (especially the latter of the three) think he’s very stuck up and snotty at first before they see his more casual side. Lotor keeps at a distance at first because of circumstance before he loosens up around them.  Unlike Allura, he’s trying to do anything in his power to avoid being like his father, who he didn’t get along with when he was alive, due to Zarkon still be a classiest, ridged man in this AU, and wants to break free of his father’s shadow, proving to himself that he can be a strong man in his own right. Also, once he woke up from forced cyrosleep few years prior, he’s a highly wanted fugitive of the Altean Empire with a bounty on his head, trying to hop around the empire in order to avoid Alfor’s gaze…kinda like what happens in S4 of the canon, but before the start of the story.

Acxa/Asha: She is pretty much exactly like her canon self, but more inexperienced and can be more brash in her decisions due to not having her temper be as controlled throughout her life. Due to her father dying a couple years ago, she bounced around the foster system, struggling a lot in the wake of his death.  She’s also curious about her alien half of her heritage and learn more about her mother. She tries to be the big sister/ “Team Mom” of the group, despite being the same age as them, trying to keep her teammates in line and helping them out when they are in trouble, even to the point of neglecting her own issues at times.

Narti/Nasrin: She’s like a mixture between Toph along with canon Pidge and Hunk. Nasrin is the biggest question mark to the rest of the group, due to her keeping her distance from them before she begins to grow close to them. Thanks to being blind and mute, she was sheltered by her parents, who treated her like a fragile doll that can shatter at any moment and she grew to resent their treatment of her. Despite being blind and mute, a curiosity grew in her to learn more about the world around her and rebelled against her parents. After pestering her parents for a long time to enrol at the Garrisons out of life long interest, they let her go and they fix her eyesight as part of enrolment.  While she’s there, she becomes suspicious of the school and finds out about what happened on the Kuriboros Mission, seeking out to find out more and more about it until she stumbles across alien signals. Personality wise, she is stubborn, curious, confrontational, sarcastic,  and steadfast. She is also eager to prove herself and gets defensive when others doubt her.  Once she does warm up to her fellow paladins, she does see them as family and is always there for them. She’s also Muslim as well.

Zethrid/Zeth: She’s a mixture between canon Keith and Hunk or like DOTU Hunk with a more well developed personality. She’s always like, “Let’s go! We need to fix things and save people.” more then anything else. She does love a good fight, but more on the sparing side for the fun of it to test how strong she’s gotten. She’s also the most straight-forward thinker of the group outside of Azora, which helps things out a lot. Like Hunk, she cares about her friends and tries to support them. She has a dry wit to her as well. Due to her military parents, she tries to live up to their expectations, but sometimes feels like she fails to do so along with feeling like she’s living their shadow.

Ezor/Azora: She is like a mixture between canon!Lance and Ty Lee with some hints of Charlotte from Princess and the Frog. She’s a genuinely optimistic, energetic and cheerful person, instead of using a Costumer Service persona as a mask against her enemies like in the show. She cares tremendously for her friends and wants the best for them, willing to take a bullet for them if they are in danger.  Like Ty Lee, she came from a very wealthy household, having a wealthy Guatemalan business man  as a father and a Japanese mother. Because of this, she can be vain and selfish along with being repulsed by things and situations she dubs “gross”, but she slowly out grows this and trudges her way through it (for example, she would be grossed out by food that looks unappetising or moving through a smelly air vent, but tries to get through the situation). Due to growing up with many siblings and being the middle child, she sometimes acts eccentrically in order to stand out at times. She has a dry sarcastic wit to her at times as well. Fighting wise, she is very acrobatic like in the canon from years of marshal arts and cheer-leading. (As a side note, since her and Narti are human in this and humans don’t seem to have special powers in the Voltron universe, they don’t have their mind reading and cloaking abilities.)

Honerva: She’s the “Coran” of the group, but her personality resembles the more serious and intelligent nature of Go Lion/DOTU! Coran…if he was more 3d of a character (no really, I still swear he was just there to spout out exposition and complain about how Allura shouldn’t be getting into trouble and pilot Blue along to protect Allura a little bit). After  waking up and hearing about the death of her husband, she wants to do anything to make Alfor pay for what he did. She is haunted by her past choice of injecting Alfor with Quintessence, since she feels personally responsible for what he became afterwards. Personality wise, she’s like her canon self at the very start of the flashback before Quintessence began to corrupt her. Honevera’s less cruel and manipulative… not having her darker powers thanks to not beefing up on Quintessence for millennia. She’s still pretty ambitious about her work, getting easily caught up in it, having Helicopter Mom tendencies that pissed Lotor off when he was younger… and in the present. She can get rather controlling of aspects of Lotor’s life, slowly learning that Lotor is 18, went through a lot and capable of making his own decisions.  Despite this, Lotor loves her to death and they get along a lot vastly better than him and Zarkon, but they still have a rocky relationship.