#he's a trickster and a shapeshifter type villain

[my-reference-notes]

Character Archetypes

There are a number of common character archetypes. In this article, I will be discussing eight of the most important character archetypes. While you do not need to have each one of these character archetypes in your story, I would suggest you have the majority of them. Take the time necessary to find a place for each on in your writing. If you are having trouble developing a plot for your first book, you can check out the Magic Mirror novel writing prompts to create your own story. [x]

CHARACTER ARCHETYPES ACCORDING TO CAMPBELL

In The Hero of a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell explores the eight types of characters in the hero’s journey.  These character types include the hero, mentor, ally, herald, trickster, shapeshifter, guardian, and shadow.

HERO CHARACTER ARCHETYPES

The hero is almost always the protagonist, the central character in the story. The audience wants the hero to succeed. The hero usually grows throughout the story to meet the challenges in the story.

Examples: Luke Skywalker, Neo, Shrek, Mulan, Pinocchio, Batman, and Harry Potter.

MENTOR CHARACTER ARCHETYPES

The mentor is usually an old bearded man who assists the hero by offering advice, assistance, or with a gift. This character is older and wiser, but for some reason needs the hero to complete the adventure.

Examples: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Morpheus, Dumbledore, and Gandalf

ALLY CHARACTER ARCHETYPES

The ally is the character who assists the hero on the adventure. The adventure might be too difficult for one person to overcome and the ally helps the hero succeed by providing something the hero lacks, such as knowledge, a distraction, or just an extra pair of hands.

Examples: Chewbacca, Hermione, Watson (Sherlock), and Robin (Batman)

HERALD CHARACTER ARCHETYPES

The Herald is the character, or something else such as an item or event, that signifies that something is about to change for the hero. This archetype appears at the beginning of the adventure, often delivering a message.

Examples: R2D2 (with message from Princess Leia, messenger owl (from Hogwarts with a letter), and the letter to the ball in Cinderella

TRICKSTER CHARACTER ARCHETYPES

The trickster is the character that adds humor to the story. This character might also challenge the status quo or make the character reconsider their preconceptions or thoughts.

Examples: Donkey (Shrek), Dobby (Harry Potter), and Mushu (Mulan)

SHAPESHIFTER CHARACTER ARCHETYPES

The shapeshifter is the character that changes. This might not be a physical change, but instead is one between ally and enemy. For example, the character might start off seemingly helping the character only to betray the hero. The shapeshifter might be thought an enemy at first only to be revealed to be an ally.

Examples: Han Solo, Severus Snape, and Catwoman (Batman)

GUARDIAN (THRESHOLD GUARDIAN) CHARACTER ARCHETYPES

The Guardian is often the character who stops the progress of the hero on his or her adventure. The guardian might not be an actual character, but might be an obstacle instead. The guardian might not be an enemy, but is there to warn the hero that he or she should not go ahead because it is dangerous. The hero usually has to either trick, defeat, or find some other way around the guardian to continue on the adventure.

Examples: Wall guard (Stardust), hall monitors, and Whomping Willow (Harry Potter)

SHADOW CHARACTER ARCHETYPES

The shadow is usually the villain in the story, although this might not necessarily be true. For example, if something exists to cause conflict or create a threat the hero has to overcome, it would be considered the shadow.

Examples: Darth Vader, Voldemort, Sauron, and Dottie (the asteroid from Armageddon)

FIND A PLACE FOR THESE CHARACTER ARCHETYPES IN YOUR WRITING

If you are planning on writing a book, I would take the time to find a place for each of these characters archetypes in your novel. While you don’t have to include each one, I would include as many as you can. I would also decide upon distinct personal archetypes for each character in your book as well. If you are interested in writing a book and need novel writing prompts, check out the Magic Mirror writing prompts.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Well…

… What better thing to do when you feel like absolute crap in the morning and it’s starting to get too hot again? DX

Watch Ryusoulger! ^^ Subbed! XD

In no order and w/ many typos bc I am a dumb who stayed up to late and I have a headache. Also it’s almost eighty degrees here and I hate everything:

Aw, Asuna is playing games for snacks. ^^ Definitely think she has a very high metabolism.

This super cute, too, the kids hanging out and playing carnival games. Asuna asking Melto for advice. XD Ah, my babies.

Aw, it’s sweet that everyone claps.

A year’s worth of snacks is that little? I think they might be underestimating Asuna’s eating speed. And mine.

Melto’s pouting bc he feels like his advice wasn’t needed. Aw, don’t feel bad, sweetie, she wouldn’t have asked if she didn’t want to hear it.

Okay, this is fine. Could have been… Hm, but Asuna clearly wasn’t afraid at all, and looked annoyed, which is in line w/ her character, and Mori jumped in very quickly—which is what I was hoping for, bc no way you can make me believe Asuna actually needed saving, but it makes sense that someone seeing the situation from the outside would want to assist someone they thought was in trouble. In fact, I’d say that Mori just saved those guys’ lives. Like, pretty sure she’d’ve cold cocked on herself if he had been a little slower. XD

And then he starts fighting them, and Asuna’s just like ‘oh, okay, I guess this is happening now. *shrug*’

Honestly, he didn’t seem to need help, so I don’t blame her.

She knows what boxing is? I mean, not the strangest thing.

Aaaaaand… Crayon the mushroom man makes another entrance.

Every time we watch the opening, I’m reminded that we still don’t know who hooded man is… I mean, they’ve got time, but I’d love some more hints. And while we’re at it… Actually, never mind. I think everyone knows where I was going there. XD

That scene where he approached the brothers is really getting at me, though… Like, not even Touwa has mentioned it? Which makes me very curious/suspicious.

Honestly, I like the troll Minusaur’s design…

Did you two try to call the others?

Kou, you doof! Though I guess he didn’t know Mori was there.

I really like that Crayon has trouble controlling the Minusaurs, it’s a nice touch and usually leads to funny hijinks.

I guess it was the force of the explosion that sent them rolling like that. That’s what I’m going w/. No way a Ryusoulger would get detransformed from rolling down a hill.

Aw, she’s so sweet. I’m love her.

I really like how she can be silly, but also a really cool, strong sort of ‘big sister’ at the same time. Anky Mom raised her well. ^^

Touwa, don’t be so defeatist!

Kou! DX Honestly though, that’s kind of in character for him to so… Hyper-focused, I guess?

Asuna’s face, though! Honey, just grab him by the ear and pull, okay? That’ll shut him up.

Not you, too, Melto! DX Asuna, grab both their ears! Just smack them!

I’m glad the point here is that they were wrong to ignore her.

I don’t so much blame Banba and Touwa there, bc they were just kinda… There? They could’ve called the other two on it and didn’t, though.

I am now going to hyper obsess about a single line in regards to my ‘Banba becomes everyone’s rock’ view. Bc he totally just kind of ‘reground’ the discussion there. XD

Touwa and Banba don’t even go here. XD It’s okay, I don’t think Banba plans on eating anything. He just got up bc everyone else did.

Aw, Tyramigo’s trying to comfort her! You’re right, sweetie. Good to try and be proactive. I say, like a bloody hypocrite.

It might have been wiser to go back in and smack them, but she’s justifiably annoyed at them so it makes sense she wouldn’t.

On the one hand, that drawing looks pretty good from where I’m sitting, on the other, I’m a perfectionist, too. And maybe the issue isn’t that it’s not ‘good,’ it’s that it’s not what he ‘wants’ it to be?

Asuna here w/ the very direct line of questioning.

Don’t tell him that! Though I do appreciate that the whole ‘she says the wrong thing/speaks too bluntly sometimes’ thing is more subtle. Like w/ what she said to Melto before and here. It’s not there all the time.

Other thing I like about this, is that it’s not ‘the girl can’t beat the Minusaur alone.’ It’s that ‘no one can beat the Minusaur.’ Yes, they fare a little better when there’s more of them, but it’s not bc Asuna is a ‘girl’ or at all ‘weaker.’ It’s that this Minusaur is quite strong. It wasted Kou and Melto before, too. Also the fact that it’s just reflecting their own power back at them (multiplied, too, I believe), means that it’s using their own strength against them. So the stronger the attack, the more damage the reflection does. After all, Asuna does absolutely fine on her own later, and even frightens the current General, and it takes three of them and the Kishiryu and some strategy to beat the Minusaur (and some of Asuna’s luck).

A plus mediation, Kou. You guys can discuss this later.

Crayon should really learn to watch his mouth w/ the Generals…

Wyzul’s incurable need for theatrics will become his undoing. By pissing off Asuna.

The fact that Banba does everything just slightly slower than the others, from drawing his sword to charging the Minusaur, just to be that much sexier is vexing and I love it.

Wonder what varsity jacket did to make Mori so pissed at him? Or… Is he a coach or something? If he’s a coach, he needs to be fired, though.

Wait, did art boy offer to punch a dude for Mori so that Mori could fight in an upcoming boxing match, but someone would still punch the dude? That’s so sweet, oh my god. DX

Nah, man, Asuna’s right. I think you’re overreacting a little. I say, like I don’t overreact every day of my life.

I’m sobbing. Anky Mom raised a good girl. Asuna is a princess and a damn wonderful big sis. She’s still dad friend of the trio, though.

Banba is dad friend of the whole team.

Melto is mom friend no matter where he is.

I feel like these three’s reactions are telling of their personalities. XD Kou just takes one to the face, Touwa dodges a bit the ducks for cover, and Banba blocks a little but stands his ground and somehow manages to avoid being hit by… I dunno, sheer power of sexiness?

I think I regret getting used to that word.

This is very much dramatic irony. It’s pretty obvious to the audience that it’s Wyzul—but Mori doesn’t know about Wyzul at all, or that he can shapeshift, Asuna knows about Wyzul and that he can shapeshift, but has no reason to think he’s here. I mean, sure, Minusaur, but Crayon has gotten left to his own devices before. And they haven’t seen him yet. Asuna isn’t the suspicious type, either.

Where they just letting Kou wail on it while they watched. I mean, I guess more eyes are likely to notice something, but it’s just funny.

Ah, it’s her injured wrist, that probably made things harder. It does seem like she makes conscious decisions when to put her whole strength into things, most of the time, w/ only the occasional slip ups.

Hey, not a bad plan, Kou. MistSoul is pretty noncombative.

Yeah, but not all the attacks went through his… You know what, I don’t care. In the positive way. I don’t care for positive reasons.

I love how they just let Kou wail on it again in Kishiryu Oh. Though I guess they couldn’t form anything w/out Asuna and Ankyrose.

Asuna here w/ the princess carry. True knight in shining armour. ^^

The new mecha suit actor is really good. The torch has been well passed. ^^

Also, pour one out for the miniature city set designers and builders! Technically physically possible, whatever! That was impressive! And how many times must they have had to build and test everything. And then there’s the effects. O_o I salute you, folks.

Oh, yeah, and… It’s HAMMER TIME!

Asuna for one of the best big sisters ever award. DX

I love Naohisa and his ‘ah! places!’ reaction to Asuna coming in. XD

They made a sign? And why is Ui wearing a helmet? I’m so confused. But this is so cute, gods love them.

Not all of them are smiling, dude. Banba has to keep glaring, it’s in his contract.

No it, it’s not. But he’s def not smiling yet. One day he is gonna smile, though, and I am going to implode.

 Okay, but has DimeVolcano just been wandering the forest giving deadly quiz shows? Is that what’s been happening?

Kinda like how the preview is like ‘yeah, new power next week!’ right off the bat instead of being all ‘mysterious’ about it or something. XD

Okay, who implemented a quiz into a Kishiryu? Why? Why does it rampage if you answer wrong? This seems like poor seal design, Ryusoul predecessors…

And apparently he can talk. They taught the Kishiryu to talk so that it could give quizzes. This seems like a lot of effort.

And the fact that the quiz thing is apparently such a thing that it’s featured in the historical writings that were found by palaeontologists.

Also they got my boys in the house again—I don’t know why I love that so much, but I do—and I just noticed Touwa is holding a mug. For some reason this is so important to mea, I will be including a picture at the bottom

Really curious as to how the quiz scene goes down, bc there’s shots of what seem to be Crayon and Myzul trying it, and shots of the trio trying it, but… What happened to the brothers? They’re there on approach, and there’s a shot in the online preview that seems to indicate they’re there in the scene where they’re talking to DimeVolcano, but they seem to disappear. Very curious what the actual scenario is.

That’s all, folks! Virtual fondu for anyone who read all that. I liked this episode very much, Asuna is wonderful and I love her to pieces. I was a little apprehensive when I first read the summary, but I think they handled it fine. Asuna did get to call the boys out for not listening to her/taking her seriously, which was nice. Sad we didn’t get Anky Mom, but there’s plenty of time for her to come back at some other point. Find it hilarious that Banba insists on sitting w/ his back to everyone during discussions. I am totally over obsessing over minor things, but I’m choosing to interpret that tiny moment (where he was like ‘but first, we need to figure out it’s weakness’) as something to indicate he’s becoming the ‘rock’ of the team. Kinda like Hikari? W/ the whole ‘anchor’ thing? He’s the most sort of… Like, ‘down to earth’? In a way? Like, they all absolutely can focus and be ‘serious’ and sensible about things, but they can also kinda ‘wander off’? Kou, Touwa, and Asuna will rush into things, each in their own way, Melto overthinks, so on and so on. Goodness knows what kind of nonsense Kanaro will get up to. And Banba can be the grumpy, stubborn, often taciturn rock that supports and anchors them. Did any of that make sense?

Bonus:

Touwa holding a mug. Bc it’s somehow funny and cute to me and almost implies the boys came over for lunch or breakfast or something.

Have also remembered my random thought about the possibility of Wyzul masquerading as one of the team this ep. I feel like the new info makes it a little unlikely, but not impossible. They’ve got a hostage, yes, but Wyzul does like to be tricky—case in point, last time they had a hostage. So it’s not impossible.

[starfirexuchiha]

The Flower Meanings behind each P5R Flower Keychain Merch

After pre-ordering the P5R flower keychain merch, I decided delve into the flower meanings that each PT character is associated with in the new flower keychain merch.

I’m going to research into the Hanakotoba (花言葉) meaning of these flowers, the English meanings, and the relevant flower essences to hopefully get the right information. Then I’ll try to connect how they relate to the characters. Understand that what I’ll say may not be 100% right, because this is my own interpretation.

The flower meanings I gotten are based on the Japanese websites and English websites that I looked into. THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY LONG POST so please excuse any potential grammar mistakes I may have made.

If I ever have time, I might make separate posts for each Phantom Thief regarding the history, folklore and meta of their flowers.

Ren Amamiya - Red China Asters & White Daisies

China Asters are called 蝦夷菊 (Ezogiku) or in Katakana, エゾギク in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) China Asters in general mean:

追憶 (Recollection)

私はあなたを想うでしょう (I will think of you)

変化 (Change / Shapeshift)

信じる恋 (Believing in Love)

貞節 (Fidelity)

And Red China Asters in particular mean:

変化を好む (I prefer change)

The English meaning of these Asters are:

Patience

Elegance

Daintiness (Gentle and Kind personality)

Afterthought (Remembering someone who is no longer with you / Thinking if things should have happened differently)

Love of variety

And the Red color in an Aster is the color of passion that expresses strong emotions towards these meanings.

So basically China Asters mean Change and Recollection (Remembering something/someone), and “私はあなたを想うでしょう (I will think of you)”.

Note: There are 2 different classifications of Aster flowers. One is the Shion (シオン) Aster. The other is the China (エゾギク) Aster. There is no such thing as a red Shion Aster. China Asters on the other hand, comes with a variety of colors including red. Therefore, the red asters are China Asters.

Shion Asters tend to have the meaning: “君を忘れない (I won’t forget you)”. China Asters tend to have a similar meaning which is: "私はあなたを想うでしょう (I will think of you)”. This indicates remembering someone who is no longer with you, or when they are far away and separated from you. It seems that Asters in general involve remembering someone and not wanting to forget them.

How this connects to Ren:

Since Red Asters in particular mean “change”, I think this refers to how Ren is a “shapeshifter” (from the Beneath the Mask song), since he is a WildCard user who uses different personas and masks. I think the “変化を好む (I prefer change) ” meaning refers to how Ren wanted to reform society as a Phantom Thief.

China Asters in general also mean “recollection”, I think this refers to what happened between Ren and Akechi. Ren deeply regretted how he wasn’t able to save Akechi in the engine room and wanted things to happen differently between them (Like peacefully playing chess with Akechi in his room in the “Bad Ending”).  For Akechi to be present and by his side...that was his wish in the dream world. This can also refer to how Akechi said “If only we had met a few years earlier...”. Recollection is also connected to the "私はあなたを想うでしょう (I will think of you)” meaning. Ren still remembers his promise with Akechi, even after the dream world ended. Akechi was separated from him twice but Ren still carries Akechi’s glove with him, thinking of him.

The meaning of these flowers are probably connected to the meaning of Akechi’s Forget-Me-Nots that I will mention later in this post.

Daisies are called 雛菊 (Hinagiku) or just デイジー (Daisy) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Daisies in general mean:

純潔 (Innocence / Purity)

美人 (Beautiful person)

平和 (Peace / Harmony)

希望 (Hope)

And White Daisies in particular mean:

無邪気 (Innocent)

The English meanings of these Daisies are:

Innocence

New Beginnings

Purity

Harmony

If the Daisy color is White then that specifically means “Innocence” and “Purity”.

How this connects to Ren: 

Ren has his own sense of justice and righteousness, and he believes that what he’s doing is for the greater good. He is the Trickster who brings hope and drives away ruin. Shido falsely accused Ren of assault even though Ren’s innocent. He gotten a criminal record even though he is innocent. Ren started off as a misunderstood hero... and yeah I guess Ren is pretty good-looking too “美人 (Beautiful person)” lol.

Ryuji Sakamoto - Sunflowers & Red Ace Hydrangeas

Sunflowers are called 向日葵 (Himawari) or in katakana ヒマワリ in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Sunflowers mean:

私はあなただけを見つめる (I only have my eyes on you)

あなたを幸福にする (I will make you happy)

崇拝 (Admiration / Adoration)

光輝 (Brightness)

あなたは素晴らしい (You are amazing)

偽りの富 (False Riches)

The English meanings of these Sunflowers are:

Adoration

Faithfulness

Loyalty

Joy & Happiness

So basically Sunflowers mean admiring someone or adoring someone and it also means happiness.

How this connects to Ryuji:

Ryuji is Ren’s best friend, and he also greatly admires Ren for being the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Ryuji is also the type of guy who is loud, cheerful, and optimistic. This can connect to brightness and happiness.

Hydrangeas are called 紫陽花 (Ajisai) or in katakana アジサイ in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Hydrangeas mean:

高慢 (Boastfulness / Arrogance)

冷酷 (Ruthlessness / Cold-Hearted)

謝罪 (Apology)

The English meanings of Hydrangeas are:

Gratitude

Honest Emotions

Vanity

Boastfulness

Desire for forgiveness

Regret

In Japan, Hydrangeas are usually used to express apology for bad behavior. That’s why negative words like 冷酷 (Ruthlessness / Cold-Hearted) and  高慢 (Boastfulness / Arrogance) are associated with it. It’s to apologize for behaving like that.

How this connects to Ryuji:

Ryuji is a delinquent and a troublemaker. However, he’s also the type to apologize for the things he messed up on. One example is Ryuji feeling sorry for his mother because attacking Kamoshida ruined his chances of making things easier for her (like getting an athletic scholarship). Another example is the 3rd Semester where he deeply apologizes to Ren for abandoning him to enjoy the dream world. For 高慢 (Boastfulness / Arrogance), Ryuji wanted to have more fame and recognition as the Phantom Thieves were becoming more popular, but that was until the Okumura incident.

Ann Takamaki - Red Roses & Strawberry Blossoms

“A Beautiful Rose has thorns!” - Ann

Roses are called 薔薇 (Bara) or they can be just called ローズ (Rose) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Roses in general mean:

愛 (Love)

美 (Beauty)

And Red Roses in particular mean:

あなたを愛してます (I love you)

愛情 (Love / Affection)

美 (Beauty) 

情熱 (Passion)

熱烈な恋 (Passionate Love)

The English meanings of Red Roses are pretty much the same: Passionate Love, Romance, and Beauty. Roses are the most well-known flowers across the world.

How this connects to Ann:

Ann is associated with the Lovers Arcana. Ann’s phantom thief attire is also associated around the themes of beauty, lust, and love. This is because her Persona is Carmen, who is a Femme Fatale (An attractive and seductive woman, especially one who is likely to cause distress or disaster to a man who becomes involved with her). Like what Ann said in battle: “A Beautiful Rose has thorns!“

Strawberries are called 苺 (Ichigo) in Japan.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Strawberry Blossoms mean:

尊重と愛情 (Love and Respect)

幸福な家庭 (Happy Family)

あなたは私を喜ばせる (You please me)

先見の明 (Foresight)

完全なる善 (Perfect Goodness)

The English meanings of Strawberry Blossoms are: 

Perfection

Righteousness

Spring / Rebirth

So basically Strawberry Blossoms mean perfection, love, and righteousness.

The essence of a Strawberry Blossom can help those who are going through a mental loop of fear and anxiety. For people who are worrying themselves to exhaustion and tears.

How this connects to Ann:

Ann is very kind, compassionate, and also cheerful when she’s with the Phantom Thieves. When it comes to “righteousness“, Ann has moral values and tends to reflect on whether her’s or the PT’s actions are right or wrong. She also has a strong desire to help those in need. I think “perfection” connects to how Ann is confidant about her physical appearance, but she also wants to be mentally strong and confidant like the female villains she watched.

The essence of a Strawberry Blossom (a mental loop of fear and anxiety) could connect to what Ann was going through during the Kamoshida arc. She worries a lot about Shiho, and was unfortunately put into a situation where she had to deal with Kamoshida’s threats and sexual harassment. This is because she feared that Shiho would lose her position in the volleyball team. This situation was so stressful that she suddenly had to talk to Ren about it at the station.

Yusuke Kitagawa - Nemophilas & Lily of the Valleys

Nemophilas (aka Baby Blue Eyes) are called 瑠璃唐草 (Rurikarakusa) or  just ネモフィラ (Nemophila) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Nemophilas mean:

どこでも成功 (Success everywhere)

あなたを許す (I forgive you)

可憐 (Sweet)

The English meanings of Nemophilas are pretty much the same: Victory and Success.

However...

Nemophilas have essences for anyone who during their childhood, had lack of support from their father figure or had issues with their father figure.

How this connects to Yusuke:

Sure the “success” meaning could probably connect to Yusuke trying to succeed his art career, but I think the Nemophila essence meaning connects to him more. Yusuke did have a father figure in his childhood who is Madarame. Madarame adopted him shortly after his mother’s death. He became corrupted by his distorted desires and treated Yusuke as a tool to help bolster his fame and riches. Yusuke had issues with Madarame‘s abuse and eventually fought against him in the Metaverse.

However Yusuke still have this conflicting case of Stockholm Syndrome towards Madarame and it shows during the 3rd semester. In the dream world, part of Yusuke’s wish was to have Madarame be a supporting and sincere father figure towards him. This can connect to the Nemophila meaning of “feeling supported and loved, especially by male figures”.

One of the birth flower dates for Nemophilas is January 28th, which is Yusuke’s birthday. So these flowers are REALLY for Yusuke!

Lily of the Valleys are called 鈴蘭 (Suzuran) or in katakana スズラン in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Lily of the Valleys mean:

再び幸せが訪れる (Return of Happiness)

純粋 (Purity)

謙遜 (Modesty)

優しさ (Kindness)

The English meanings of Lily of the Valleys are:

Motherhood

Womanhood

Purity

Sweetness

Return of Happiness

You made my life complete

So basically the Lily of the Valley flowers mean “Return of Happiness” but it could also mean “Motherhood”, because this flower is considered to be the perfect flower for the month of May, and Mother’s Day takes place in May. On May 1st, it is a custom to give a loved one Lily of the Valleys.

Lily of the Valley also has essences for those who are yearning or desiring relationships that are unattainable.

How this connects to Yusuke:

The “再び幸せが訪れる (Return of Happiness)“ meaning could refer to Yusuke becoming part of the Phantom Thieves and obtaining new friends. The PTs saved him from Madarame. Note that Yusuke first met the Phantom Thieves on the month of May, and Lily of the Valleys are heavily associated with that month.

I think this also relates to the Sayuri painting. The true form of the Sayuri painting expresses motherhood. The woman in the painting is holding a baby. Yusuke’s mother created this painting of herself happily holding her newborn son in her arms. “Yearning for relationships that are unattainable” could probably refer to how Yusuke deep down yearn for parental love. His biological parents aren’t present in his life and Madarame is a corrupted father figure. I mentioned before that part of Yusuke’s wish in the dream world was to have Madarame be a supporting and sincere father figure towards him.

Makoto Niijima - Canterbury Bells & Pink Tree Peonies

Canterbury Bells (aka Bellflowers), are called カンパニュラ (Campanula) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Canterbury Bells mean:

感��� (Gratitude)

誠実 (Sincerity)

節操 (Loyalty)

思いを告げる (Telling your Thoughts)

共感 (Sympathy)

The English meanings of Canterbury Bells are:

Gratitude

Humility

Everlasting Love

So basically Canterbury bells mean “Gratitude” and “Telling your Thoughts”.

The essence of Canterbury Bells are for those who are stressed and cannot think for themselves. Canterbury Bells can help clear their minds so that they can stand up for themselves and make their own decisions.

How this connects to Makoto:

Before she joined the Phantom Thieves, Makoto was considered to be an obedient “good girl type of pushover” who followed the rules and couldn’t make her own decisions. During the Kaneshiro arc, so many things were happening to her at once such as the Principal giving her a difficult task, Sae getting angry at her during dinner, and Goro calling her a pushover. All of this really stressed her because her obedience is suffocating her. This connects to the “思いを告げる (Telling your Thoughts)“ meaning because it wasn’t until she entered Kaneshiro’s palace that she was finally able to speak her mind and stand up for herself. 

One of the birth flower dates for Canterbury Bells is April 23rd, which is Makoto’s birthday. So these flowers are REALLY for Makoto!

Tree Peonies are called 牡丹 (Botan) or in katakana ボタン in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Tree Peonies mean:

王者の風格 (Personality of a King)

富貴 (Wealth and Honor)

はにかみ (Bashfulness)

恥じらい (Shyness)

思いやり (Compassion)

The English meanings of Tree Peonies are:

Good Fortune

Bravery

Honor

Nobility

In Japan, Tree Peonies are well-respected and known to be called the “King of Flowers” (花の王様) or the “King of a Hundred Flowers” (百花の王). The reason why they’re called that is because back in history, Tree Peonies were used to decorate throne rooms and royal palaces. That’s why Tree Peonies tend to have meanings relating to royalty and honor.

The essence of Peonies are for those who are overworking themselves and trying to work hard for everything.

How this connects to Makoto:

Makoto’s code name is “Queen”, because of her bossy and strict personality. This also connects to the “王者の風格 (Personality of a King)“ meaning. Makoto’s bossy personality can be a King-like trait. Also a Queen is just a royal female version of a King. Makoto also worked hard to keep her grades in check and studied a lot in order to go to a good college. This could connect to the Peony essence for trying to work hard for everything. Makoto also drove a lot in P5 Strikers and exhausted herself from it. This could mean that Makoto is also the type to overwork herself.

The “はにかみ (Bashfulness)” meaning could probably connect to how Makoto has vulnerable or cute sides to her. She is scared of paranormal activity and have cute buchimaru merch in her room.

Futaba Sakura - Dandelions & Red Carnations

Dandelions are called 蒲公英 (Tanpopo) or in katakana タンポポ in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Dandelions mean:

愛の神託 (Oracle of Love)

神託 (Oracle)

真心の愛 (Sincere Love)

幸福 (Happiness)

別離 (Separation)

The English meanings of Dandelions are:

Happiness

Joy

Youthful Thoughts

Dandelions are known to be a fortune-telling flower which is why words like “神託 (Oracle)” are associated with it. It seems like Dandelions also mean “Happiness” but also “Separation”.

How this connects to Futaba:

Obviously Futaba’s code name is “Oracle”, so all of the “神託 (Oracle)” and  “愛の神託 (Oracle of Love)“ meanings of this flower connects to her. The “別離 (Separation)“ meaning could refer to how Futaba is separated from her mother because her mother died. The “幸福 (Happiness)“ meaning probably refers to how Futaba became happy again and gained new friends after the Phantom Thieves saved her.

One of the birth flower dates for Dandelions is February 19th, which is Futaba’s birthday. So these flowers are REALLY for Futaba!

Carnations are called カーネーション (Carnation) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Carnations in general mean:

無垢で深い愛 (Innocent and Deep Love)

魅惑 (Fascination)

愛情 (Affection)

And Red Carnations in particular mean:

母への愛 (A Mother’s Love)

The English meanings of Carnations are:

Admiration

Love and Affection

Fascination

Distinction

Carnations are known to symbolize Mother’s Day which is why “母への愛 (A Mother’s Love)“ is associated with it. The Red color of that flower in particular are used the most for Mother’s Day.

How this connects to Futaba:

Futaba loves her mother (Wakaba) a lot and she also misses her mother a lot. The whole Futaba Palace arc was about Futaba struggling to overcome her mother’s death. She later realized in her Palace that her mother doesn’t hate her and still loves her. This connects to the “母への愛 (A Mother’s Love)“ meaning. Futaba deep down still hasn’t overcome her mother’s death and it shows in the 3rd semester. Futaba’s wish in the dream world was to have Wakaba still alive. Futaba knew it wasn’t real early on, but she still rolled with it anyway because “If I got to see my mom again, then it was okay...”. She eventually apologized to Ren for this though.

Haru Okumura - Pink Roses & Hypericum Berries

As you already know, in Hanakotoba (花言葉) Roses in general mean:

愛 (Love)

美 (Beauty)

But Pink Roses in particular mean:

しとやか (Graceful / Ladylike)

上品 (Elegant)

可愛い人 (Cute person)

美しい少女 (Beautiful Girl)

誓い (Oath of Love)

感銘 (Deep Impression)

The English meanings of Pink Roses are:

Gratitude

Grace

Joy

Gentleness

Ann’s Red Roses represent passionate love and romance. Haru’s Pink Roses on the other hand, have a different meaning. Pink Roses are more associated with beauty and grace.

How this connects to Haru:

Haru is the “Beauty Thief”, and is associated with the themes of classy elegance, beauty and grace. This is because her Persona is Milady, who is a sophisticated and elegant woman. It’s also because Haru is rich. Haru is familiar with what it’s like to live in a high-class lifestyle.

Hypericum are called ヒペリカム (Hypericum) in Japanese

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Hypericums mean:

きらめき (Sparkle)

悲しみは続かない (Sadness that doesn’t last)

The English meanings of Hypericums are:

Cheerfulness

Inspiration

Antidepressant

Hypericums are usually given to those who are grieving or lost a loved one. They are also known to relieve depression, because the medicine that uses this plant are antidepressants. Hypericums are also used to drive away devils, witches, sorcery, and misfortune. This is the reason why Hypericums have “悲しみは続かない (Sadness that doesn’t last)" as its meaning.

How this connects to Haru:

I think this is connected to how Haru lost her father and she was really sad about it. Hypericums are for those “who are grieving or lost a loved one“. The meaning of “driving away devils, witches, sorcery, and misfortune“ could refer to how Haru had to fight against her father in the Metaverse in order to stop his corruption and save anyone (and herself) who were affected by his distorted desires. Even after the Okumura arc, she still grieved about her father to the point that her wish in the dream world was to have her father alive again.

The “悲しみは続かない (Sadness that doesn’t last)" meaning could refer to Haru joining the Phantom Thieves and not being sad anymore. Her new friends relieved her depression.

Sumire Yoshizawa - Baby’s Breaths & Blue Star Milkweeds

Baby’s Breaths (aka Gypsophilas) are called かすみ草 (Kasumisou) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Baby’s Breaths mean:

清らかな心 (Pure Heart)

無邪気 (Innocence)

親切 (Kindness)

幸福 (Happiness)

永遠の愛 (Everlasting Love)

The English meanings of Baby’s Breaths are:

Everlasting Love

Newborn babies

Innocence

Holy Spirit

Unity

So basically Baby’s Breath mean “Innocence”, “Purity”, and “Everlasting Love”.

How this connects to Sumire:

The name of the flower. In Japanese, Baby’s Breaths are called “Kasumi” (かすみ) in hiragana. The name of Sumire’s twin sister is also in hiragana: かすみ  芳澤 (Kasumi Yoshizawa). It appears that Kasumi is named after the Baby’s Breath flower. Sumire on the other hand, is named after Violets, and Violets are called  すみれ草 (Sumiresou). What is the Hanakotoba meaning of Violets? “白昼夢 (Daydreaming)” and “あなたのことで頭がいっぱい (You Occupy my Thoughts)”.

Kasumi = Baby’s Breaths (Innocence, Pure Heart)

Sumire = Violets (Daydreaming, You Occupy my Thoughts)

Sumire was the first to be affected by Maruki’s power. Her cognition was changed, causing her to believe that she’s Kasumi. This is connected to the “白昼夢 (Daydreaming)” meaning. During her time being Kasumi, she was completely oblivious that she’s not Kasumi. This could connect to the “Innocence” meaning.

It’s also the reason why the Sumire keychain have Baby’s Breaths flowers instead of Violets. This is the Sumire that thinks she’s Kasumi.  

The “永遠の愛 (Everlasting Love)“ meaning could probably refer to the bond between the two sisters.

The Blue Star Milkweeds (aka Tweedias) are called ブルースター (BlueStars) in Japanese. 

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) BlueStars mean:

幸福な愛 (Happy Love)

虹あう心 (Rainbow Hearts)

信じあう心 (Hearts that believe in each other)

The English meaning of BlueStars are:

Faithful Affection

BlueStars are one of the common flowers that are used in weddings in a bride’s bouquet. I guess that’s why meanings like “幸福な愛 (Happy Love)“ and “信じあう心 (Hearts that believe in each other)” are associated with it.

The essence of BlueStars are associated with dream and reality. It helps balance the ability to daydream with the need to keep one foot fully grounded in reality.

How this connects to Sumire:

Sumire’s 3rd tier Persona Ella, represents Cinderella during her wedding day. The blue color of the BlueStars could also refer to the color of Sumire’s 1st Persona, Cendrillon.

But the essence of BlueStars seem to connect to her more. Regarding the Inharmonious Expression, Sumire wasn’t able to accept reality at first, and wanted to stay being Kasumi in the dream world. This could connect to her lack of ability to move forward and her inability to travel to another dimension (Reality). Then during her time in the 3rd semester with the Phantom Thieves and Akechi, Sumire eventually gained the courage to accept herself. She was finally able to keep one foot fully grounded in reality.

Goro Akechi - Lobelias & Pink Forget-Me-Nots

Lobelias are called ロベリア (Lobelia) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Lobelias mean:

悪意 (Malevolence / Evil Intentions)

謙遜 (Modesty)

いつも愛らしい (Always Charming)

嫌い (Hate)

The English meanings of Lobelias are: 

Distinction

Malevolence

Arrogance

So basically Lobelias symbolizes “Malevolence”. The reason why Lobelias have these negative meanings is because even though these flowers look pretty, they are really toxic flowers that can kill you.

How this connects to Goro:

Goro’s true nature is full of malevolence and hate. He had caused psychotic breakdowns, had killed some people, and had attempted to betray the Phantom Thieves and kill Ren. His hatred comes from his desire for revenge against Shido, because Shido is the one who ruined his life as well as his mother’s. The 3rd semester showed this side of him even more. He is more ruthless, vulgar, aggressive, and wildly feral especially towards shadows. He takes great pleasure in killing them. Goro can also make himself go berserk by using “Call of Chaos” on himself. 

Goro being a murderer and taking pleasure in killing things can connect to how the Lobelia flowers are really toxic and can kill you. 

The “いつも愛らしい (Always Charming)” meaning could refer to how Goro is still pretty and charming despite showing is feral side. Like come on, look at this baby face:

Forget-Me-Nots are called 忘れな草 (Wasurenakusa) in Japanese. 

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Forget-Me-Nots in general mean:

真実の愛 (True Love)

私を忘れないで (Don’t forget me)

思い出 (Memories)

And Pink Forget-Me-Nots in particular mean: 

真実の友情 (True Friendship)

The English meanings of Forget-Me-Nots are: 

Don’t forget me

Remembrance

True Love

Eternal Love

Desperate Love

Memory of a dead person

The meanings of “True Love” and “Don’t Forget Me” came from legends of tragic romances in medieval times.

The essence of Forget-Me-Nots are for those who never fully resolved their isolation and abandonment issues after experiencing the death of an important family member or friend during childhood.

How this connects to Goro:

The “私を忘れないで (Don’t forget me)” and “Remembrance” meanings refers to what happened between Goro and Ren. Goro made a promise with Ren and gave Ren one of his gloves. But then Goro “died” in the Engine Room and Ren was devastated about it. Ren still kept the glove that Goro gave him and remembers him from it. This can also relate to the meaning of the China Asters that Ren is associated with: "私はあなたを想うでしょう (I will think of you)”, and also relates to “Memory of a dead person”.

The “真実の友情 (True Friendship)” meaning from the Pink Forget-Me-Nots in particular could refer to how in P5R, Goro now has a manual confidant. Ren is able to have an “open and honest relationship” with Goro because of this.

The essence of Forget-Me-Nots also relates to Goro. Goro does indeed have isolation and abandonment issues. He mentioned how he’s an unwanted bastard child, and in the engine room he mentioned how he wanted to be loved. He also deep down wanted to be acknowledged by Shido since Shido is his only biological link. Shido of course took advantage of that. All of this is because during Goro’s childhood, his mother committed suicide, leaving him feeling alone and unwanted. The death of an important family member.

For the ShuAke fans:

Since Forget-Me-Nots gotten their name from tragic romances, this can connect to how ShuAke is a tragic and angsty romance as well. Since they have an “open and honest relationship”, their “真実の友情 (True Friendship)” can turn into “真実の愛 (True Love)” as the story progresses. Also… their flowers communicated to each other like:

Goro: 私を忘れないで (Don’t forget me)

Ren: 私はあなたを想うでしょう。 君を忘れない (I will think of you. I won’t forget you)

---------------------------------------------

Whew.... I gotta say, making this post has made me learn a lot about flowers and the flower language. Thanks to this new knowledge, I will consider using the meaning of flowers in my future video projects from now on. Making this post also made me delve into the meta of the other Phantom Thieves and I began to like them more because of it. 

Like I said, my interpretations aren’t 100% correct, so make what you will with this knowledge. 

You’re welcome 👋

[trashy-bowtie]

My Hero Academia Characters as Mythological Creatures

👊Deku - Angel. Not only does he embody a lot of goodness, but he’s there to help people. He also has that classic cherub look to him.

💥Bakugo - Werewolf, because this boy is VOLATILE af. He’s outta control and very aggressive, but strong.

👟Iida - Boread. In mythology they were fated to chase after something, perishing if they didn’t catch it. I feel like it’s symbolic of not only him chasing after his brothers legacy, but also his quirk as well.

🥰Uraraka - Faery. I feel like she needs a cute pair of wings on her. I know Fae can be mischievous but I feel like she’s a dryad of sorts. The Fae is a sort of broad term, so I’m thinking more stereotypical for this (since I work with them in my craft) so that means she’d be all cute, pastel, helpful especially in the garden. Perfect for my sugarplum BB.

🪨Kirishima - Genie, I feel like he’d be reminiscent of genie from Aladdin (Disney speaking). I also can imagine the shenanigans that would ensue and I’m here for it.

⚡️Kaminari - Raiju, since not only does it have power over storms and by association electricity, it also is just very odd in its behaviour which totally screams Kaminari to me.

🎧Jiro - Tengu. I feel like she’s more solitary, for sure, and just wants to chill in a mountain forest and vibe. Also she has a certain darkness about her style and since Tengu are originally more crow like in appearance which I feel like can be like Jiro. Also she probs has a trickster side to her, especially when it comes to Denki.

🐸Froppy - Mermaid, in keeping with the aquatic theme. She prefers to be in water and I could see her as a swamp or freshwater type.

🔥❄️Todoroki - Dragon. I feel like not only obviously fire, but there can be ice dragons too (or at least water dragons) and he could be reclusive because of that. Also very pretty dragon.

📖Momo - Tsukumogami. A Japanese myth where objects come alive due to energy from the surroundings over a long time frame. Usually they’re harmless and I feel like since she makes objects out of her own energy in a way it’s similar (obviously reversed) and I could see her as harmless to the general public since she’s very soft and composed.

🥊Mina - TBFH imma go with Alien. I mean, she looks like she could be one and honestly I feel like she’s too hard to type as anything else because it goes way too nicely with extra terrestrial stories we get.

🧠Shinso - Kitsune, I feel like not only is he very intelligent and can almost shapeshift his personality in situations (usually to get a response from people). I also can see that he has a duality of not only good (his desire to prove he’s not a villain) but also mischievous and I feel like he likes to cause a bit of a ruckus sometimes.

🪶Hawks - Gryphon because not only is it a flying creature, but it’s also a very important symbol. It also symbolises strength and leadership, which I feel like fits him really well.

🩸Toga - Vampire. Not only is her quirk blood based, but she also has fangs and I feel like she’d definitely have a Twilight phase.

🔥Dabi - Phoenix, because not only are they usually paired with dragons (iykyk) but they turn themselves to ash to be reborn. Not only does his quirk slowly mess up his body, but given his tragic backstory it fits his character arc very well.

[shadowqueen402]

How I Would Rewrite Reala's Info On Villains Wiki

Yes, Reala does appear on the Villains Wiki website. Here is how I would rewrite his info.

Full Name: Reala

Alias: Coward, Puppet for Wizeman (both by NiGHTS), Worthless creation (by Wizeman)

Origin: NiGHTS into Dreams

Occupation: General of the Nightmaren Army

Powers/Skills: Flight, deceit, master combatant, magical powers, summoning captures, able to dualize with Visitors, portal creation, shapeshifting, inhuman strength, inhuman speed, high intellect, manipulation, agility, intimidation

Hobby: Obeying Wizeman's orders, dueling with NiGHTS, giving Visitors nightmares, stealing Ideya

Goals: Serve Wizeman and obey all of his commands, capture NiGHTS for treason, aid Wizeman in obtaining the five Ideya and taking over Nightopia (all failed)

Crimes: Imprisonment, assault, psychological abuse, attempted murder, aiding and abetting

Type of Villain: Wrathful Trickster

Other categories he fits in: Video Game Villains, Comic book Villains, Sonic Villains, Genderless, Humanoid, Arrogant, Mastermind, Minions, Right-Hand, Game Bosses, Contradictory, Siblings, Related to Hero, Rivals, Sadists, Betrayed, Faux Affably Evil, Magic, Evil Creation, Vengeful, Neutral Evil, Charismatic, Master Manipulator, Gaolers, Presumed Deceased, Scapegoat, Abusers, Homicidal, Sophisticated, Charismatic, Wealthy

[lokiondisneyplus]

No character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has the staying power of Loki. Portrayed with just the right amount of smarm and charm by Tom Hiddleston, the impish trickster with the ability to shapeshift and cast illusions is a favorite among fans despite the fact he's betrayed friends and family multiple times since debuting opposite Chris Hemsworth in 2011's "Thor." The most predictable thing about him might be his unpredictability. And yet no one thought the character would return to the MCU after being killed by the all-mighty Thanos (Josh Brolin) in the opening scene of 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War." However, we're now on the cusp of the character leading his very own show.

Debuting Wednesday, June 9 on Disney+, the six-episode "Loki" follows a past version of the character, though it's not a prequel. This Loki is the man who successfully stole the Tesseract, aka the Space Stone, when the Avengers traveled to the past in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame." His actions that day ultimately created a branched reality — the very thing the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) warned the Avengers about when they attempted to gather the stones in the past. So when the show picks up, Loki will find himself being forced to work with the Time Variance Authority, an organization dedicated to protecting the proper flow of time, to help restore the main timeline he broke when he fled with the Tesseract in 2012.

It remains to be seen whether or not the series is one of the shows Marvel's Kevin Feige said was developed with additional seasons in mind. But with this particular setup — and assuming the show operates independently of the main overarching narrative of the MCU — this is the type of series that could easily run for multiple seasons should the people involved desire it. And given his comments over the years, Hiddleston definitely seems game to portray Loki until he's too old to do so.

But what is it about the character, a Frost Giant who was adopted by Odin (Anthony Hopkins) as a baby and raised as an Asgardian, that has allowed him to persevere – especially when Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and even Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) have not? What gives Loki, a character who has been both villain and antihero, such longevity in the MCU? Is it Hiddleston himself? Is he nurturing goodwill with his enchanting performance? Is it the character's unpredictability keeping things fresh? Or is it the potential of a flawed man still searching for an identity and purpose?

Over the last decade, Hiddleston — whose name was once bandied about as a possible James Bond candidate after a stellar turn in "The Night Manager" — has won favor with Marvel and its fans thanks to his continued dedication to the role of Loki and his support of the extended universe. Some actors have been happy to say goodbye after fulfilling their contracts, but you'd be hard-pressed to find an actor who loves his job with Marvel more than Hiddleston. (Never forget the time he dressed up in character and took over Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013.) But in addition to his acting chops and commitment to the role of Loki, Hiddleston is also just an effortlessly charming individual, and some of that natural charisma bleeds into his performance, making the character a richer and more complex character as a result. And it's a good thing too because a character like Loki — someone ruled by his emotions, whose only allegiance is to himself, and who wouldn't think twice before double-crossing his own brother — runs the risk of becoming either very annoying or quite tired rather quickly. Luckily, Loki is neither.

After learning the truth of his origins in the first Thor film, Loki's anger toward his family and the betrayal he felt put him on a path to finding his purpose, which resulted in him becoming the mouthy and manipulative, power-hungry antagonist of the first Avengers movie. At the time, no one outside of Feige and other decision-making executives likely knew what was in store for the future of the MCU.

But now we can look back and see Hiddleston's captivating turn in "The Avengers," in which he attempts to take control of Earth using an army of Chitauri forces, was more than just the catalyst for the various heroes recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to finally team up. It was also the beginning of what might be the best character arc in the entire MCU. No one save perhaps Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, has had a more complicated or effective emotional personal journey throughout the entirety of the Infinity Saga (and beyond). Perhaps that is why when Loki was eventually killed several films later in the middle of his redemption arc during the opening scene of "Infinity War," the heartbreak seemed to extend beyond the edges of the frame and into the real world.

The exceptionally fun 2017 film "Thor: Ragnarok," which immediately preceded "Infinity War," saw Loki forced to confront his past and make a decision regarding his future. The death of his father and the return of Hela (Cate Blanchett), the Goddess of Death and the sister neither Loki nor Thor knew existed, ultimately meant the end of life as he knew it. But rather than fleeing at the first chance like everyone assumed he would, Loki accepted his place in his family and returned to his brother's side after the destruction of Asgard. Of course, he also pocketed the Tesseract before the planet was destroyed, a seemingly innocuous decision that would unfortunately lead Thanos right to him. But learning to care about something more than his own immediate wants was a redeeming moment for Loki, as was his attempt to save Thor from Thanos, so his death was both an effectively heartbreaking moment that resonated with fans while serving as a harbinger of what was to come.

It also felt like closure, so when a past version of Loki popped up in "Avengers: Endgame" when Tony, Cap, and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) traveled to 2012, it was a pleasant surprise. That the new series "Loki" follows this branched-reality version of the character and won't erase the character's original narrative arc is what makes the show such an intriguing new chapter. When the show premieres, Loki hasn't gone through any sort of character evolution. He is still the angry man who tried to force all of humanity to kneel before him in a desperate attempt to find his place in the world. He has yet to go through the events of his mother's death or the destruction of Asgard. He's a man out of time, a man without a home. And it's the chaotic, still-in-progress nature of Loki and the inability to guess what he might do when an organization like the Time Variance Authority, which is dedicated to order, tries to force him to do what they say that makes this new chapter so exciting.

Each episode of the show, which also stars Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Judge Ravonna Lexus Renslayer, will see the character travel through time and space on a mission to restore order to the timeline. But will this Loki follow the same path as the man we know and love? Or will this version make different choices without Thor by his side? More importantly, will he find what he's looking for?

Loki is a man driven by insecurity and an ongoing struggle with his identity, though he deftly covers up his deficiencies with a devious wit and charm. The constantly shifting logo in the show's trailer represents both the character's shapeshifting ability as much as the idea that he doesn't know where he belongs or who he is yet. And although the beats of such a character arc are hardly new territory for Hollywood — you could argue they've even been done to death at this point — the potential for greatness still exists as Loki remains pleasantly unpredictable. It means anything can happen, and with Hiddleston promising a show that is unlike anything Marvel has ever done, there's no reason to believe Loki the man and "Loki" the show won't continue to endure and evolve even beyond this first season. After all, he certainly has the staying power.

"Loki" premieres Wednesday, June 9 on Disney+.

[spinosacha]

Why MCU Loki is a queer character

-Loki and queer parallels -

Tw: queerphobia

Spoilers for the Loki series and infinity war

This is gonna be a long post so strap in non cis het nerds.

This is inspired by a video essay about the queercoding of the joker but this is different because it’s about Loki, it’s not a video essay because that is too much work and yk this is not as good.

-Canon

So of course the obvious: Loki is canon bi and genderfluid in the mcu as confirmed in the new Loki series. But why did Marvel make Loki canon queer in the first place? Of course in real life people aren’t queer for a specific reason but when Marvel does it it’s been thought about. So what is queer about Loki?

Mythology

Now i’m by no means an expert, this is what i’ve gathered from just living in Denmark and hearing some of the stories plus a bit of extra research.

In the mythology Loki does magic and can shapeshift. He is a trixter and finds sneaky ways to steer conflict as well as solve them. Because he can shapeshift it makes sense that he isn’t what we would consider cis, at one point he turned himself into a female horse and had sex with a male horse and thus gave birth to Odins horse Sleipner. He has given birth several times which says a lot in it self. Also the way he deals with conflict, through magic and trickery rather than direct fight could also be seen as gender nonconforming.

A quick sidetrack about queer acceptance in the old north:

Nordic culture in the viking age allowed for men to have sex with other men and to some degree the same for women although the roman principle applied which basically meant that it was looked down on to be on the recieving end of the sex as that was seen as hummiliating and was even used to humiliate enemies. Sexual identity also wasn’t really a thing in the same way as today but being regarded as feminine as a man wasn’t exactly positive, in one of the norse myths Odin was even teased for practicing magic which was regarded as feminine (not sure if magic in general was considered that or just the type Odin did, if it’s magic in general then this would also apply to Loki naturally), so being a femme man wasn’t the coolest but you can fuck a dude just don’t be a bottom.

Mcu Loki’s story and queer paralels:

But what made many queer people relate to Loki even before he was explicitly stated to be bi or genderfluid?

-Otherness

Loki was the black sheep even before the events of the first Thor movie. Firstly very litteraly he’s black hair stands in contrast to the fellow family members blond and again his personality taken from the mythology as a trickster that avoids direct conflict is very different from the other heroes of asgaard. In the loki series we see him enjoy talking, philosophising, singing and creating bad metaphors for love. We dont really get to see that side of Loki in asgaard where prior to becoming a villain he is quiet and get’s picked on by the others, always in the shadow of Thor who in most ways perfectly captures the ideal Asgaardian hero not to mention that he is the one who is supposed to be king.

Of course when he finds out he’s adopted he feels more other than ever. Not just is he not who he thought he was, not just is he different from everyone else, he is a frost giant, the enemy of the people in asgaard. It has very much the same energy as this moment from Dan Howells coming out video:

-Rejection

On top of all the other things that makes him an outcast he is also a god of mischief Loki and creates waves in his surroundings that often isn’t t appreciated which also rings familiar to a lot of queer people.

After some time of being overlooked by his father, people expressing direct dislike to him (see lady Sif), standing in the shadow of the golden child Thor and figuring out that he is that creature asgaardians have used to scare their kids at night, he starts feeling unloved and rejected. Sadly something many queer people relate to.

He deals with this by rejecting people back, possibly overcompensating for lack of selfworth by feeling superior and thus we come to his villainy. That he is a villain is just obviously very gay so i could have just stopped it at that really.

Feeling othered, mistreated and rejected after suffering, taking the power back and recieving liberation at last? That is gay baby.

-Power and liberation/isolation and distancing

So. You have decided to take over earth to heal your daddy issues. What now?

Well you might want to reconsider because while distancing yourself from who you were and your home with hate might offer you freedom it might also make you feel even more lonely and unloved.

Loki is tired of feeling unworthy, he wants to be the one doing the rejecting from now on. He resents Thor and Odin because it’s just easier that way. He still loves them but hating them is loving them in a way that doesn’t make him vulnerable so he does that and makes sure to show it.

I personally have a weird relationship with some people that isn’t very accepting. At some point youre just tired of them having that power of rejection over you so you push them away and harden up. I’m not a therapist so i don’t know if that is good enough but none the less running from your past as Loki does get isolating.

But then we get to the loki series:

-Learning to trust and be loved

Friends are nice. To get good friendships though it helps to trust them. That might be hard if you think you are inherently unlovable and don’t like being vulnerable. Also friends restrict your freedom right? No not these ones.

Möbius might be a dick to Loki but he knows Loki and doesnt expect him to be someone he isn’t. He doesnt have an interest in trying to reform him he just wants to understand him to capture Sylvie. This apathy towards him is maybe what allows him to trust Möbius a bit. Sure after Loki leaves Möbius he’s hurt because he starts caring about him but Möbius saw and accepted him from the get go. Similarly with Sylvie he is being seen for possibly the first time and that is maybe what allows Loki to grow.

The Loki series seems to very subtly *cough* be about the journey to true self love and acceptance which is an important part of many queer peoples life which also often revolves finding people who see one for who they truly are. Loki is free now (not litterally though but yk in spirit) but he isn’t alone. And soon he will even return to his home and find more peace with his past.

Then he dies of course but let’s not think about that.

So there you have it, feel free to add to this :)

I didnt really get into comics because that is a lot to cover but there are definitely things to be said about that too

[cherryblossomfreak]

HELLO, MY NAME IS SHAPESHIFTER. WHAT'S YOUR NAME?

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTIONS CANNOT ACCURATELY BE DESCRIBED AS KINTYPES OR FICTOTYPES; AS A SHAPESHIFTER, THE FOLLOWING ENTITIES ARE SIMPLY THE FORMS I KNOW BEST.

I've already posted quite a bit about the forms I'm most acquainted with on this blog, but due to a terrible combination of insomnia and hypomania on this warm evening, I found myself typing out the "comprehensive guide" to my identity. Before I begin, please know that I can mentally shift into countless beings - if a figure in a painting or fictional character resonates with my soul, with what I call "the root" of every form I can take, I might shift involuntarily... and I never know at the time if it's a cameo shift or forever.

Please bear with me; I know I'm repeating myself quite a bit with this post... but I started this blog because I needed a place to express myself - fearlessly, and without shame. This blog is an act of defiance, and I'd like to thank you for being a part of it.

THE SEVEN DEVILS

THE ANGEL: The angel in me is stoic... He's seen men lose their minds to drugs and lose their lives to suicide. He's been threatened with a knife, with a pair of scissors and with a hand to his throat. His name is Moshe, and all I just mentioned really happened to me - I've been abused, raped, threatened and rejected. He arose from years of trauma... tall, lean muscled, with long brunette hair and dark wings. From the backs of his hands to his shoulders are an array of eyes - in gold, violet, ice blue and emerald green. His voice is husky, friendly. He's Atlas at heart, but he doesn't talk about it. Not with anyone.

THE ALIEN GOD: Key... he's the result of psychosis. After two years of unchecked schizophrenia, I found antipsychotics that work for me - but Key is a part of me now. Around seven feet tall, with snowy white skin - his arms are longer than a human's and he's improbably slight. No fingernails or toenails. His lips and the inside of his mouth are green - so is his hair. He has red eyes, slit pupils and a birdlike voice... a smile that can turn from friendly to terrifying in an instant. Sometimes he has green wings and a spindly black crown... he has an avian personality called "pretty bird" and a divine personality without name, with a booming voice - he can even remove his face to reveal another, godlike face with two eyes, a nose, and an array of eyes where his mouth should be... when he does this, he wears the "normal face" as a necklace. He's an alien. He's a trickster god. He's torn between good and evil and is tormented by memories of eternity... noemata.

THE CANINE: I've had a canine self since I was only a preteen... like so many others, I first thought myself a wolf. I taught myself how to howl and was my school's "wolf girl." It took a long time to realize I was the loner, the scavenger on the fringes, a denizen of both the urban and wild places of this place. Scrawny and skittish, with amber eyes - belonging to no one and nowhere. I am a coyote. I don't know how it started, really... I guess I've always felt more canine than human.

THE COMIC BOOK VILLAIN: so many of us see ourselves in infamous villains like him... for better or worse, we identify with the rejection, bitterness and violent urges of the misanthrope. One day, I stopped identifying "WITH" the Joker. I started identifying "AS" the Joker... very specifically Heath Ledger's interpretation of the villain. It was the result of schizophrenia, of course... within the perpetual agony caused by hallucinations and delusions, I found peace in this identity. I was untouchable... I was free. In moments of torment, I stopped walking and started stalking. The voice of my internal monologue became disturbed, almost inhuman... the jokes I told to myself kept my head above water, and I didn't care how alone I was. Nobody knew I was suffering for over two years... they still don't know, really, even after I admitted myself to the hospital and sought help. Joker didn't surface as a coping mechanism; he's the result of mental illness... but I credit my survival to him. Because of him, I laughed so hard my ribs were sore.

THE MOURNER: I first read James O' Barr's "The Crow" after the suicide of my first love, and as a result I identified strongly with the titular character. Again, in the throes of debilitating mental illness, I began to experience drastic changes in personality. In a shift, my thoughts turned into poetry - very dark and symbolic, a mixture of pretty Gothic themes and violence. I was more graceful. My inner voice is low and melancholy in a shift, and this profound sadness is always with me.

THE SPIRIT: this form is a spirit associated with death, and he doesn't have a name that I'm aware of. His face is comprised of the skull of a wolf with the antlers of a deer. His body - a hunched skeleton with a still-beating heart - is shrouded with a tattered black cloak. He speaks with an old, crone-like voice and is best described as gentle and eccentric. He's a petty thief and hoards shiny rocks. This form first appeared in false memories caused by psychosis.

THE DEMON: I'm concluding this list with the demonic identity that has always been a part of me. Always. He hisses. He snarls and grimaces. He has an insane, even malicious grin, and it's triggered by dark, heavy music (Nine Inch Nails is the best example) as well as "creepy thoughts." Interpet that however you'd like. I don't know what he really looks like. The main thing I know about him is that he ultimately wants to use his violent urges and demonic traits for good - to help animals (dogs, specifically). He can't stand humans.

IN CONCLUSION, MY ANGELS, MONSTERS AND VIGILANTES FROM ALTERNATE UNIVERSES:

THANK YOU if you took the time to read the entire post. I know it's tedious; this post is just an elaboration on things I've discussed in previous posts. But as I stated earlier, I joined Tumblr out of this desperate, urgent desire to both explore my identity and express the parts of myself that even the ones I love most neither understand nor respect.

It's 10:30 PM, and I'm restless and sleepless and loveless and listless - but I love you more than you know. Good night.

- from "The Vague Diaries"

[hjertetssunnegalskap1]

HOW TO PLAY WITH TROPES AND CLICHÉ CHARACTERS/ STEREOTYPES

One of the ways I get ideas to write, is that I take some characters I love and mix them with a trope I want to try out. Tropes are common expected plot devices. Some typical fanfic examples are Friends To Lovers, Fake Dating, Bed Sharing, Enemies to Lovers, Aliens Made Them Do It, Fuck or Die, sex pollen, etc. Tropes don’t always have to be cliched like these examples. But that’s how the term is used most often, I believe.

Trope inversion occurs when an existing trope is used in a story, but flipped on its head, defying the audience's expectations. Trope subversion is when the elements of the original trope might all still be present, but deconstructed. I haven’t really subverted or inverted many of tropes , and I would love to know more about how to do that. So I have picked up some tips and tricks. To be honest, I will probably mix the terms here. 

Now, I’m going to rant a bit about different terms, attempts at definitions and examples, so jump to my pretty awesome list of tips below if you don’t want to read all of this. 

Tropes are often based in archetypes - very broad, typical examples of a certain person or thing. Can be found in all cultures. Western descriptions of archetypes are King, Queen, Witch, Wise man, Joker, Hero/ Prince etc. More general descriptions are Sage, Innocent, Explorer, Ruler, Creator, Caregiver, Magician, Hero, Outlaw, Lover, Jester, and Regular Person. I have also seen the term used to describe elements/ roles in the hero’s journey. We have a Hero, a Mentor, an Ally, a Herald, a Trickster, Shapeshifter, Guardian and Shadow. I suspect that the suggestion that we only have 7 types of stories to tell, like Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Rebirth, Comedy  and Tragedy, implies that these story types also are archetypical. We all use them, all the time.

Tropes often end up as stereotypes, that are very typical oversimplified ideas of a particular type of character/ thing. Clichés, basically. So when I talk about tropes I suppose I mostly talk about stereotypical tropes. Since the term tropes often are used to describe typical plots and storylines, I’ll sometimes talk about stereotypes when I describe commonly expected or cliched characters. Like The Chosen One, Damsel in distress, Manic Pixie Dream Girl. All of these things are basically tropes. Hell, I will probably throw around these terms and mix them horribly. Sorry about that.

Example: The Geek meets the Manic Pixie Dream, falls hard, and grows to appreciate more in life

Let’s say you have a character who is based in the Thinker/Scholar archetype, a person who is constantly in search of knowledge, who meets a Creator, a person who wants to make things. 

The thinker can easily become a Geek, and that’s a typical western trope. And we have stereotypes about the Geek having poor social skills, being serious and wise etc. and these ideas can become cliched, boring and overdone. Just like the Creator stereotype often can become the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. The stereotypical trope would be that the Geek meets the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, falls for this person against his best intentions and grows to see more to life than facts. 

Example: Isak and Even from Skam

You can write Isak from Skam as this Geek meeting this brighter than life Even, falling for him against his will and growing from that. In a way, Skam starts out a bit like that. Isak has expressed prejudices as “hipster wannabe movie makers” like Even before, but then he sees this gorgeous Even and falls hard. However, in Skam, Isak was never written as a pure Geek role. He was more a Geek/Hero/Jester with internalised toxic masculinity, forced independence and abandonment issues based in his Christian upbringing, friend group, being left by his father etc etc. 

While Even appeared at first glance as a Lover/Creator/ Hero or Manic Pixie Dream Girl, he gradually showed more and more cracks in the facade, tricking the viewers to think he was more a Shadow/Trickster character, or a possible Fuckboy, until it was revealed that he  was a more rounded character with a troubling background, mental health issues, fears and insecurities. To be fair, Skam did follow a trope of Isak growing as a person because he met Even. They got their romantic happy ending and the viewers got what they wanted. 

It was everything but boring, though.

When trope subversions or inversions don’t work

There’s a price to pay if you subvert a trope, especially if you do it at all costs - like when they they subverted 5 years of character building in the last season of Game of Thrones. The first season has an example of excellent trope subversion (Stark). However, to pull out the rug at the end like they did in the last season, and disappoint the viewers’ trust, is probably not the best way to do this. 

Twists and turns can fail if they seem to come out of the blue. It can be smart to add some small hints of novelty from early on in the story, especially if you’re writing tropes that people find a bit boring. You won’t lose bored readers and you will prepare them that something is going on. Also, it can be good to do the subversion early enough in the story to be able to make interesting changes. 

If you choose to subvert a trope it can sometimes be wise to show why you do something differently. Like, if you write a female character who turns out to not fit the norm in the Victorian era, for instance, it could be smart to explain how this character has become who she is. If she’s this badass character fighting for equality, where do these ideas come from? Or if you have this character surviving traumas, abuse and lack of love, how does he turn into an empathic, more or less likable hero?

A lot of disappointment with trope subversions, like in Avengers Endgame or the last season of GoT, feel worse because the the characters act out of character. If you try to write something true, with characters that seem real, consistent and believable, that helps.  

If you play with a trope it helps if you manage not to make it too pretentious. I can’t think of any examples right now, but I know I have experienced it. Trope subversions often have a hint of nod to the trope itself, and humour can help making the subversion work. Like if the villain comments on how villains typically loses, before actually killing the hero. Or kissing the hero, lol, but that’s another trope.

A lot of build up that fizzles out can be disappointing. If our Victorian badass character has, say, superpowers, she also should have a reason (a way to use them). The readers expect that. So if you play with that and she fails using them, they probably should end up important in the story in some other, surprising way. Same goes with a romance where there’s a lot of pining, tension, heartache and misunderstandings and these are not addressed. If you choose to subvert this trope, it’s probably smart to address these things in a new way. 

All in all, when you subvert a trope you often will have to tread carefully to balance between meeting the readers’ expectations and not meeting them. Remember that the story always needs a satisfying conclusion.  

Then again, some say even trope subversions are becoming new tropes, and that there’s no reason to subvert them. Could be.

No matter what, I like to play with stuff like this. So. Here are some ways you can play with tropes and archetypes and maybe get some story ideas. 

MY PRETTY AWESOME LIST OF HOW TO PLAY WITH TROPES

1 Subvert clichéd characters

You can keep some parts of the wise man archetype, for instance, and change other parts of it. Instead of writing a “wise old wizard” (like Merlin, Gandalf or Dumbledore) you can make the old wizard into a cowardly old idiot. Instead of writing the love interest as a hot hero-type, you can make him more of a charming dork who is impulsive but also smart, intuitive, caring and with insecurities (Even from Skam). Another typical example from fanworks is to subvert typical gender norm characterisation or typical top/bottom or dom/sub characterisation.   

2 Parody the clichéd character

Write the typical “Hero/Warrior” character and take it almost too far - like with Thor in the Avengers, or even better, Thor in the Sandman series. In Skam, several characters are taken almost too far like this - up until a certain point. Eskild is written as the “funny gay” until he gives Isak some serious advice, Magnus is basically written as a typical horny idiot until he tells Isak some truths about bipolar disorder. Vilde becomes a parody at times, as well, as several of the other characters. 

3 Deconstruct the cliché/ stereotype

Why is the villain a villain? Why is the comic relief a comic relief? Identify the attributes of a character type - say, the likable and frivolous Comic Relief character. For instance Chris Berg in Skam. Explain her in a surprising way - perhaps she’s not just a clown or a funny sidekick, but uses humor as a coping mechanism. Reveal something deeper and true about the character (Chris wants to be a good friend but doesn’t know how to do this because of reasons, clowns are often sad behind the joker mask, etc). Make readers wonder if they’ve misjudged the stereotype. This can sometimes work with typical fandom clichés as well. 

4 Lampshading a character or a trope

“Hanging a lampshade” is the technique of countering your reader’s disbelief in a character’s ‘reality’ by acknowledging how blatantly they fit a cliché. The would-be victim in a horror story trips while running away (as they always seem to do) but the would-be killer stops and comments it. Perhaps they say, “Oh, you’re going to trip and make this boring?” Another typical one is when the villain has captured the hero and the hero finds a way to escape while the villain has his big speech. I love subversions of that trope, like in Black Orchid where the villain comments it and shoots the hero without a speech (if I remember correctly). In a way, season 3 in Skam does something similar to lampshading. The season is written as an epic love story, but the characters comment this in different ways, talking about epic love stories, movie references etc. 

5 Turn the plot trope upside down

You can hint about a trope, than turn things around. Sometimes this is called baiting, or showing that the expectation was a red herring. For example, you can write a story where you set up a typical hero story but the hero befriends the dragon instead of killing it. Or maybe the dragon wins. Bed sharing and it leads to nothing. Fake dating where they stop lying.  A setup for a possessive jealous partner who doesn’t get possessive at all. Soulmate story where the heroes aren’t soulmates. An ugly duckling story where the makeover doesn’t really change anything. 

6 Parody the plot trope

Write the plot trope but amp it up and make it extreme. Fake dating going too far (whatever that means), or soulmate story where all the brutal implications are clear. Ending in disaster, most likely. I can’t think of good examples here but I suppose crack fics are a bit like this. Oh, and parodic horror movies. Parodic movies in general, probably.

7 Deconstruct the trope

Somehow make it believable that the story builds as it does, based in the background of this world, or the characters. If I use Skam as an example again, the plot in season 3 is a quite typical boy meets boy trope, strangers to lovers, and it includes tropes like personal growth, miscommunication to communication, but it doesn’t feel forced because the characters feel true and real and their actions make sense based on their backgrounds. We get the feeling that there’s something deep and true behind it all. Isak’s difficulties makes sense, and so do Even’s and it also makes sense that they get each other.  

8 Changing the point of view

This is a neat trick. You can pick any fairytale and make something new if you write it in the pov of the villain, or the jealous hindrance character, or one of the helpers. You can write fake dating viewed from the outside. Or a coffee shop story where you’re the guy washing the dishes, or perhaps the owner of the coffee shop, getting annoyed at the baristas flirting with the guests? Or a cute meeting where you’re a bystander watching someone crash into each other, and you almost piss yourself laughing. 

9 Switch a story element

You can put the whole trope into a new location, like a new time or place, and make a new type of story. For instance, a love story in space can give an interesting twist. You can write a fairytale set in modern time. Most AUs are switched story elements like these. The trope is still being as it is, so this isn’t really a subversion, but the trope is dressed up in a way that's unique.

10 Averting the trope

This isn’t really playing with the trope at all, since it’s just avoiding it. Like, writing an action movie with cars but without a car chase (oh puhlease that’s like a dream, I hate car chases). It is when you would very much expect the trope but despite there being plenty of opportunity for it, it is never used.  

That’s it. I probably mixed a lot of terms and ideas. I still hope you found some interesting ways to play with characters and plots. There are so many more ways to do this, but these are my tips, I sure had a lot of fun writing this. 

[inkribbon796]

Snakes and Ladders

Summary: Deceit goes to confront Dark about messing around in Deceit’s business. It’s not exactly how Deceit thought he’d be spending his birthday.

The League was a carefully walked tightrope. With people like Wilford and Anti who could be as murderous as they were impulsive, and Google who had his own murderous streak to boot, a villain or any renown or ability had to learn to read the room.

Deceit prided himself on being the best at reading any situation he was in. The Light Sides had taught him a couple things: they were never going to trust a known liar; and two, he wouldn’t last. Patton’s crutch was to be ethically accepted, and Logan refused to help Deceit convinced Patton that he was wrong. Then there was Roman. Gullible, excitable, energetic Roman.

The League was the only beneficial choice for him and Remus.

So he was standing in the hollowed out shell of the abandoned orphanage that the police had tried to investigate before it had been set on fire. So he was standing in it, an illusion over the dark Side to make him look like a perfect copy of Dark on the outside. However because of the fact he didn’t know Dark nearly as well as he knew the other Sides it was more like an outer shell at best. If he tried to use Dark’s pockets it would shatter the illusion almost completely because they weren’t functional.

It took a bit longer than Deceit thought it would for Dark to confront him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Dark growled at him, stepping out of the Void.

Deceit made a show of checking a watch on his wrist, “Getting your attention. We’re overdue a long conversation.”

Dark clasped his hands behind his back, “If I wanted to have a conversation with myself I would have brought a mirror and just took your head off your shoulders instead.”

The trickster side just smiled, and turned back into himself. His typical smug look on his face. “I needed a place the heroes wouldn’t overhear. A place they gave up on seemed like a good location.

The Entity still didn’t look too impressed, motioning with a hand for Deceit to continue. An air of impatience heavy in the room, a shrill ringing that always accompanied Dark’s presence. “Leave Anxiety to me, he was my apprentice, he is my problem. Stay out of it.”

Dark chuckled a bit, as if finding this conversation endearing instead of insultive. He took a couple Something Dee didn’t believe for a second. “You were a big fish in a very small pond. So I suggest you tread very carefully before I throw you off this building and see how functional you can make your illusions.”

Deceit dared to scoff, taking his own step or two forward. “Remus would stop listening to you if you did, I am the only one who could ever hope to contain him. Unless you want a fourth chaotic entity in the city you have to manage, I don’t think I’ve run all the sand in my hourglass out quiet yet.

The greyscale Entity seemed to give it some actual thought, but whether he was seriously considering just following through with murder or just maiming Deceit wasn’t clear, “Careful, shapeshifter, overstep your bounds too much and you might get your toes cut off. That’s usually not very lethal.”

“What are you using Anxiety for, you’ve killed more important to you over less?” Deceit demanded.

“Virgil has some sort of honor to him, very useful, if a bit gullible,” Dark bragged. “How you thought he was ever suited for the League is beyond me, it was obvious for me from day one that he lacked both the bite and the determination needed.”

“They why humor us?” Deceit scoffed, not showing the visible discomfort he had at Dark knowing Virgil’s chosen name. “His powers?”

Dark chuckled at that, “That might be true, if he wasn’t obviously petrified of his own power. No, it got boring to watch him fumble about and it became abundantly clear to all of us that you have no plans on following him.”

“If you have no need for him within the League, leave Anxiety out of your business,” Deceit warned. “You have enough thugs.”

“Oh, you and the heroes can have him back, after he completes his end of the bargain,” Dark threatened. “I gave him a chance to back out, and he didn’t take it.”

“If he’s done, I suppose you’ll be done to him?” Deceit asked.

At Deceit’s words, Dark just laughed. “Yes, I suppose, no matter what he returns to me with, I doubt he’ll be of much further use to me. Not with that pathetic doctor and the rest of the heroes taking pity on him. You should have been rid of him years ago.”

“And should be rid of that puppet you have at city hall,” Deceit warned. “You can practically see its hinges and strings when you move it.”

“My business is not of your concern,” Dark growled.

“Leave Anxiety be, and I won’t care about what you do at city hall,” Deceit threatened back.

Dark just smiled again, and Deceit decided that Dark’s smile was probably his most obvious lie he had. They were dangerously close, but Deceit made sure not to flinch. The Entity was obviously waiting for it, like a wolf surveyed a herd for its old and feeble.

“Then you better help him find what I want, so that you can have him back,” Dark ordered. “Like I said, he’s unfit for the League.”

“You better,” Deceit reminded.

“Well I have to say,” Dark’s smile didn’t fade, neither had the ringing. “You never cease to amaze me, Deceit. You and your little attempts to undermine me. If you weren’t so useful, I probably would have killed you by now. But I’ll offer you this, I’ll give you back Virgil if you can tell me one thing.”

“Which is?” Deceit was eager to just be done with this whole mess.

“I want Captain Morality’s real name,” Dark told him. “Or I want him brought to me alive. I can have him unmasked either way.”

It took every ounce of control and illusions not to show any type of emotion. Not the concern and actual fear he felt at whatever had gotten Patton of all people singled out by Dark and not Logic. Or the desperate clawing need to get Virgil untangled from Dark’s network.

So he managed a chuckle, “Morality? What could that manchild be doing that could threaten you or your Network?”

Dark didn’t like that, his aura starting to curl around Deceit’s feet, “It is my belief that he’s seen something. I aim to figure out what he knows and strangle it out of him. The issue is, as far as Gainesville documents suggest, he has no paper trail beyond his superheroics. Which couldn’t possibly be true, because Average and Marvin have paper trails, so Morality is either being hidden by someone.”

Deceit felt a dangerous tap at his chest, glancing down to see Dark’s aura before casually looking back at Dark’s face.

“Or he’s not nearly who I think he is, and I’m looking in the wrong place.”

“So, I get you the oblivious Captain, and Anxiety is mine?” Deceit inclined his head, going for nonchalance.

“Immediately,” Dark promised, still smiling.

“I’ll give it some thought,” Deceit dismissed. “Morality is no threat, and I’m more intrigued by your need to have him over his cohorts, than turning him in.”

“Either way, I will find what I want to know,” Dark took a step away. “Besides, you’ve given me enough information to start.”

“Best of luck,” Deceit smiled.

Then Dark stepped through a tear in the Void, leaving Deceit “alone” with nothing but the city below and silence.

Checking the streets, Deceit turned into Logic in full costume and left the scene. A couple citizens tried to stop him, but Deceit gave his best impersonation of the side he knew all too well.

He just went back to the apartment he’d been staying at with the other Dark Sides. He felt drained and didn’t want to loop Dark around to Patton. As frustrating and infuriating as all the “Light Sides” could be, they were still Sides. Deceit still needed Virgil if he was ever going to form the Dragon Witch again. The serpentine Side was almost positive that if he was ever going to be Thomas again he needed Logan.

The instant he walked in, Remus physically jumped on him. The unexpected attack almost knocking Deceit over.

“Do you mind?” Deceit glared at him. He took stock of the apartment to find that, to his amazement it wasn’t completely trashed. Orange was on the couch, watching the Room, ignoring both of them.

“Hey, Dee,” Remus smiled, face dangerously close to Deceit’s.

Deceit grumbled, “Remus, you need to take a bath, you smell like sour garbage.”

The dark green villain just smiled, “Why thank you Dee, I’ve been dying to know when you would recognize my new cologne.”

He gave a little shoulder shimmy against Deceit’s arm.

“Ugh,” Deceit pushed him away. “Get off of me, before you make me smell like you.”

“So how’d the meeting go?” Remus asked.

“As well as could be expected,” Deceit took off his fedora to get some ash from the burned out shell he’d been in off of it. “Virgil’s gotten himself into trouble and Patton is not helping.”

“When will they learn to enjoy life?” Remus jumped onto the little table they had, assuming what he usually called his “paint me like one of your French boys” pose. “They’re no fun, Patton least of all. I mean, he’s even making Virge boring.”

Before Deceit could do anything more than stare at his hat, trying to figure out how to frantically dig the other Sides out of the hole they were digging for all of them, Remus took the fedora and placed it on his own head.

“Look at me,” Remus said in a poorly constructed Deceit impresion, even holding his hand up to pretend like it was talking. “I’m Deceit, I whine about everything, and worry too much to have any fun. Blah. Blah. Blah.”

Deceit glared at him, “Give me my hat back.”

Remus shrugged and took it off, reaching his whole arm inside the hat. Which was a talent that would have worried Deceit if he hadn’t become completely desensitized to it years ago. His face scrunched up and Deceit was mentally braced for the intrusive Side to pull out just about anything. He’d once reached in and used his powers to pull out a dead pigeon for a laugh, and that was currently on the hopeful end of Deceit’s expectations.

But to Deceit’s surprise he pulled out a beautiful lion heart lily. The yellow tips perfectly curled. The black and yellow flower looking out of place in Remus’s hand. Remus handed the hat, now looking like it was full of the black and yellow lilies, and knelt on the table to place the lily he’d been holding behind Deceit’s ear. “Happy birthday, my little snake.”

Deceit was completely speechless, just staring at Remus as he took his hat back, looking down at the flowers. Finally he managed out a, “Thank you.”

As if completely unaware of the effect he was having on the other Side, he jumped off the table like a feral raccoon, almost knocking the whole thing over.

“I’m bored, let’s go bother Roman,” Remus decided.

“Sure,” Deceit smiled at the flowers, gathering all five of them put in his hand to admire them.

“Then we can steal and ice cream truck,” Remus grinned.

“Sure,” Deceit was still admiring the flowers, remember to take the lily behind his ear and place it in the vase with the others.

“And drive it into the hero’s base,” he summoned a glass vase with skulls and snakes on it.”

“Sounds like fun,” Deceit place the flowers inside the vase. He carefully set it on the kitchen counter.

“Come on,” Remus told him, grabbing his hand in his. “Ory, try to burn the house down for me, I never got around to it.”

Orange flipped him off, but Deceit could only laugh, his mood greatly improved.

“Let’s go,” Remus pulled him out of the apartment, the two off to cause trouble.

With a hand still tangled in Remus’s, Deceit had to admit, as frustrating as Remus could be, he was a familiar type of frustrating. And the Deceit would take that over any type of villain or hero in the city.

[jng-animation]

3.Character Research - 9/10/19

So at the end of our character lecture our lecturer told us to go off and do some own independent research into some examples of archetypal characters beyond the examples we came up with in the lecture itself. So I thought I’d include one of each example of a character that (I believe) to fit each type of archetype (maybe even fit more than one...).

So here are my examples!

1. Hero = Hiro (Big Hero 6)

I didn’t only believe Hiro was a good example of a ‘Hero’ because his name fits pretty much perfectly, but I find him to have some interesting and deeper qualities that a compelling hero should have (or at least in my opinion). He is a kind and courageous character that has a high level of confidence in himself, or at least shown for the majority of the duration of the film. He loses confidence in his decisions part way through the film as he comes to the realisation he wants to kill the man behind the mask, the one that took the life of his brother. This is the arc we follow with Hiro, his loss of his brother is his call to adventure, the journey of his brothers avengement. The different worldly experience I believe is more of a psychological experience, as he must overcome the loss of his brother, and this is done by the untanglement of his killers loss of his daughter. Hiro instead feels sympathy for his antagonist’s loss and risks his own life to save his daughter and this is the moment he overcomes his inner shadow, by helping his physical shadow. This is why I think Hiro is a selfless, emotional but good-doing hero...

2. Ally - Jake (Adventure Time)

It is probably pretty obvious as to how Jake is a great example to the Ally archetype. Being the best friend to Finn, Jake will always follow him on every journey he goes on, usually being the one to give light-hearted humour and advice to keep the Hero on their journey. Although Jake shares as much of the spotlight on the show as Finn does, Finn however fits the Hero archetype more than Jake does, as Jake is more often helping Finn with his story arcs. (Although some episode are based more on Jake).

3. Herald - Hagrid (Harry Potter franchise)

“You’re a wizard, Harry” - the exact quote that perfectly shows how Hagrid is Harry’s Herald. Bursting through the door and giving Harry his escape from the Dursley’s, and the call of adventure to his own story arc. One might say that the sentient invitation letter was also a herald, in which I would agree, but Hagrid’s the real force behind Harry’s jump up to the wizarding world.

4. Mentor - Obi Wan (Star Wars franchise)

Luke’s first mentor, Obi Wan was also his herald into the force and the story arc to the destruction of the empire. Obi wan is has all the qualities of a mentor, supplying Luke with his father’s lightsaber and teaching him his first lessons into becoming his own Jedi, these are the needed gifts supplied by the mentor.

5. Trickster - Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes)

Bugs also being a main character of the Looney Tunes franchise, he is most certainly a perfect fit for the trickster archetype. Delighting in breaking the rules (especially those of physical capabilities), filling almost all of his screentime with comedy.

6. Shape-shifter - Loki (Norse Myth/Marvel)

Some wild catagorise Loki the God of Mischief as a trickster and as would I, I feel I definitely categorises into that archetype, however I believe his story to be much more compelling told through the lense of his character being a shapeshifter. Having two sides of the coin, Loki is both a physical shapeshifter as well as a psychological one. He has been known to change his appearance into that of his father to deceive his brother Thor with malicious intent, as well as changing his form into that of a snake to attack Thor. However, what makes his character arc more interesting is his own psychological shape shifting, as Loki goes through his life experiencing different events his intents and ideals change, from that of being jealous of his brother to helping him and being his best friend, and what makes it better is that realises this, he knows his wrong doings and makes the effort to change to please his brother. Taking an emotional self realisation of a journey which eventually leads to his self sacrifice for his brother, which is the polar opposite of his intents which were to kill him, proving his change.

7. Threshold Guardian - King Dice (Cuphead)

Although not a character with a very large description, I feel King Dice was quite literal choice for threshold guardian, being the loyal man to the final boss (shadow) of the game. Usually the one to talk to the protagonist, telling them about the challenge they’ll have to face with the big baddie, but you’ll have to get through him first. He’s a very plot essential character, being one of the story tellers in the game. Quite literally making you play a game to get to the final antagonist’slair.

8. Shadow - Killmonger (Marvel)

One of the most interesting villains in the Marvel Cinematic universe, as well as on the page, however his story was told brilliantly in the movie. Eric Killmonger plays a pivotal role to the development of T’Challa’s character. Being the sole reason why Wakanda is opened up to the rest of the world, as this is the desires of Eric in the beginning of the film. He descovers the killers of his father and his rights to be the King of Wakanda, challenging T’Challa and succeeding. He wants Wakanda to open up to the world and liberate black people all over the world by supplying operatives with the weapons and reasources they need, although this is not the act of a villain, he doesn’t see the world past his own reign, he wants world domination. These motives that the viewer can understand is why he is a well depicted character. But the reason he is the shadow is his malicious intent, in the movie he burns the ‘heart shaped herb’ the power of the black panther and this is a metaphor of his own persistence into leading a new reign that will last till the end of time. This is why he is the shadow, but a great and complex one at that...

[madam-o]

Six Potentially Controversial Opinions about Loki (MCU)

(Image from the upcoming Loki #1. OH YUSSSS.)

I feel like Loki and the Hiddles have such a massive following, and with the fandom having various headcanons/preferences/kinks about the character, sometimes the subtleties behind him can get lost. So here’s some of my personal takes on Loki as a Marvel/MCU character and his general symbolism.

1. It’s almost unfathomable to me that anyone can believe that his character in the MCU is actually dead dead instead of comic book “dead”. He may currently be, in fact, physically dead, but this is almost 100% likely to be a temporary situation. There’s too many hints that this is not the case. For instance, there are Loki comics, novels, and a friggin tv show (with Hiddles IN IT) coming out this year. And Loki was acting so WEIRD right before he died. There must be an explanation.

2. Loki dying heroically after redeeming himself is not actually a good arc for his character. Loki is not a hero. He can do things that are heroic, but he is absolutely not a hero. He is always either an antagonist or a deuteragonist and he can even sometimes play the protagonist, but his morality is always firmly grey. It is a defining trait of his character to be neutral chaotic.

3. Loki faking his death “yet again” is not actually bad writing. For one thing, that’s what comic book villains and trickster types DO. Constantly they’re doing the thing with the not actually dying! For another, Loki actually only faked his death once before in Thor: The Dark World. In the first Thor film Loki was trying to commit suicide by falling into a wormhole thingy after his father Odin had completely emotionally destroyed him by revealing that, whoops, he forgot to mention that Loki’s really adopted AND a frost giant and then he rejected Loki’s “gift” of trying to kill all the Jotunns. Loki couldn’t have believed he’d survive that ‘cause being an Asgardian/sorcerer/Jotunn only gives you so much invulnerability. And how the hell would he even know that he’d get picked up by Thanos and his goons after that?

4. Speaking of Odin, he’s not actually a bad father; neither is he a perfect father. Odin is actually an extremely complicated character. His past as a conqueror is extremely ugly and he’s been trying to make up for it for centuries. He makes mistakes but he’s also wise and loving to his family and his people. Everything he does and says has a purpose. He loves both of his sons and he knows all of their virtues and flaws. There’s a certain level of fate at play in all of this that Odin is fully aware of: the cycle of destruction and rebirth of Ragnarok and of Odin paying for his all his accrued wisdom and power by having everything he built fall apart while his sons turn against him and each other.

5. Loki isn’t misunderstood or unjustly abused. Loki isn’t good. Loki isn’t evil. Loki is a person who is always motivated by his personal feelings and desires rather than by grand ideas or a bigger morality. He is not guided by principles or ethics but by his ego and emotional whims, which is why he serves as an agent of chaos narrative-wise. He does good things when he wants to help someone he loves; he does bad things when he’s angry, jealous, or ambitious. He will do a virtuous act for an evil purpose or an evil act for a virtuous one. He’s very sensitive and insecure, as well as occasionally megalomaniacal and mentally imbalanced. He would enjoy watching the world burn, but only if he could have the option of putting it back together again after. He actually has a lot more in common with Odin than Thor does.

6. This is very much speculation on my part, but I believe he will be important to the MCU's concepts in phase 4, which is why he’ll be around. Phase 4 looks very much to be about going past the age of traditional heroes into the modern era, with more representation and unexpected heroic figures. The modern Marvel comics Loki is one of the few lgbtq+ characters in existence. He is a literal representation of genderfluidity, a shapeshifter who can choose to be anything - a child, a woman, an animal, a man - whatever he wants to be at the moment. He doesn’t really care about being labeled or defining himself as anything other than being himself. The new Disney+ show might explore his current comics character development, or it might be a flashback/aside to what’s been going on in the movies. But his popularity means he’s an easy investment for Disney, so don’t expect the character to be going anywhere even when Hiddleston eventually departs.

[guardiancherisher]

Netflix’s Hilda Fanfiction Time! (outlined ideas only) (free use) (Please give credit)

David AUs

Secretly the son the bug queen

Turns out he’s a changeling

Queen’s child

Amnesia Hilda AU

AU rewrites first meeting of the great raven

Hilda loses memories while climbing mountains

Would have died if the raven didn’t save her

The raven tries to help her regain memories

Meanwhile her friends and family are looking for her

Hours turn to days turn to months

Finds scarf but not Hilda

The raven grows protective of Hilda

Amnesia Hilda has started living with the raven in his nest

She wants to do something for him to say thanks and goes out on her own to do so.

This ends with a troll or giant kidnapping or coming after her.

The raven saves her just in time, but she is injured.

He doesn’t understand human wounds and she ends up getting a fever on top of things

He’s so worried and doesn’t know what to do

That’s when he goes to find a healer

Alpha?

Nissa?

Random healing spirit?

Who is Hilda’s father?

Crossovers

Rick Sanchez

Blue hair

Stanford Pines

In the first episode, she is basically sketching a mythical creature like Ford has done.

Perfect personality mashup between Ford and Mum

Flaw: doesn’t explain blue hair

Maybe it makes her a prophecy?

Died as a kid and bringing back from dead is blue hair side effect?

She was going to die, but by looking for a mythical creature they were able to save her.

But at what cost?

Cursed?

As a baby, played with one of Ford’s dimensional thingies and now has blue hair forever

Mum: “Ford clean up your inventions! I don’t want them lying around where the baby can get at them.”

Ford: “Don’t worry. There’s no possible way she’ll be able make them work with the safeties on.”

Baby Hilda:

1. –too smart for safety-

2. –puts science in mouth- -sparks-

Mum: “FORD! –panics-”

Ford:

1. –panics-

2. HOW!?!

OC’s

Random blue haired/bearded guy

Looks like a woodmen?

Business men?

Bad father faceless father montage

Refer to Treasure Planet

Spy? Adventurer?

Reason he’s no there

Lost at sea?

Turned to gold while exploring an old temple

Indian Jones type?

Random traits

Abusive

Mum escaped to the woods because of him?

Abandons Hilda and Mum

Dead

Ghost dad

Mum is a teenage pregnancy

Dad is magical creature

Centaur

A spirit of some kind

Water

Air

Rain

Ocean

Lake  

Forest

Humanoid of some kind or can transform from human to beast

Merman 

Kitsune

Blue dragon

Blue beast wolf thing

Typical beast

Male Snow White

Prince of the forest

King ruler person

Alien

Mum has memories erased of husband

Because he had to go away and it was easier cause he knew Mum was stubborn

Danger

Random

Does Woodmen see Hilda as a kind of daughter?

Did he lose his real daughter? Family?

Cursed into woodmen form?

Woodmen finds Hilda as a baby and raises her

rude Hilda?

Wild Child AU

Aka Wild Hilda AU

Hilda raised by the creatures of the wilderness

Like Tarzan, but every creature pitches in

Woodmen

father figure

Mum dead or worse

Mum ghost?

Hilda Has Powers AUs

Hilda has superpowers

Communicates with the animals

Empathic powers

Can shapeshift into mythical creatures

Like Ben 10 or something

Alien powers?

Blessed by mythical creature?

Fairy?

Godmother?  

Hilda has magic

Hilda the witch

Twig familiar

Elf summoning (Witch norm: Usually Elves are used as slaves)

The librarian is her teacher

Hilda with cape  

Twig AUs

Hilda’s cursed brother or half-sibling (because magical forest dad?)

Twig talks AU

Twig familiar AU

Has a secondary dangerous form

Protector AU

Hilda long lost princess idea?

Blue hair

Father comes to take her back home

Or like Princess Diaries were she is last of royal family

Royal drama!

Sabotage

Assassinations  

Ninjas

poison 

Villains

Princess of Earth’s creatures

Diplomat

She may be immortal now    

Alfur AUs

Hilda’s cursed brother

Elf Slave AU

Hilda to the rescue!

Plot: make elves free!  

Crossover Needs

KND Hilda (#89)

89 is number form translates to “Hi” :3

make her Earth in another galaxy 

space KND 

Danny Phantom Crossover 

Dimensional crossover

Hilda and Danny team up

Dimension Ghost villain 

Hilda solves everything

Danny gets board 

The Great Raven doesn’t like Danny very much

Danny can’t stop braking into accent 

Danny: “It just slips out!”

Hilda: “Rude”

Hilda Falls AU

Hilda literally falls through rift into Gravity Falls 

needs help coming home

When?

Young Ford?

need that father figure Ford fuel 

Hilda really misses her mom

Before Weirdmageddon

Mabel and Hilda hit it off right away

mostly because of Mabel being Mabel

Dipper shipping

Hilda working in the Shack and being a natural 

gives Stan ideas for exhibits 

Runs into Bill moment 

Maybe instead of Gravity Falls the rift just sends her to portal Ford and they go on adventures that way while still trying to get her home.

After Weirdmageddon

falls into icy sea

Stan twins rescue her 

amnesia Hilda again? 

Hilda Universe AU

Hilda and Steven universe fusion

Silda? Heven? Stelda? Hiven?

Hilda is a gem that Steven finds

Hilda is a gem/human hybrid

Her Mum is also a gem

Either Mum’s friend was a gem that turned into Hilda

Father left 

Or Mum is human

Father was a gem, but he was flawed (hence being masculine)

Must be blue gem list

Lapis Lazuli

Aquamarine

Badass much?

Zircon

Eh more like Alfur if I’m honest

Kyanite

Blue Topaz

Sapphire

Oooo

Blue diamond

JUST KIDDING!!!!

Blue Pearl

So cute!

Gem placement

Belly

Chest center

Over heart

Hand

Forehead

In place of one ear

Disability if half human?

Knee

Back

Nose

Gem shape

Heart

Marquise

Trillion

Star shape

Pear

Briolette

Father flawed gem

Thunderbird shape

Weird shape

Shipping Hilda

Crossovers

Dipper Pines

They would work off each other rather well I think

Dipper could be lost in the multiverse or Hilda’s world could be isolated like Atlantis?

Dipper and Mabel dimensional travelers and documenters?

Dipper totally freaks when Hilda starts talking to him

He word vomits, trying to be discreet

Hilda shows him around

They go on a life threatening adventure

They fall for each other

Oh can they totally geek out when it comes to all the creatures together

In Hilda’s world

David

Eh kind of think he works better with Frida, but whatever

Trevor

Ew, but cute if he matures I guess? Maybe he turns himself into a werewolf or something because he’s stupid and Hilda has to save him?

Nightingale syndrome?

Human transformed raven?

Beauty and the Beast much?

Alfur? (pronounced ‘Alpha’)

–squee- little elf Hilda AU! In a little elf school! With a little nervous elf crushing Alfur!

OC’s

Mythical boys

Witch/magic boy

Siren (honestly because Ford dated one once)

Centaur

Changeling

Alien star child

Forest spirit

Superhero kid

Like Danny Phantom or kid flash powers

transforms into human…

Dragon

Phoenix

Unicorn

Kitsune

cute little trickster that doesn’t really understand what feeling so he lashes out or makes fun

Humans

Detective kid

Rogue kid

[our-happygirl500-fan]

Missing. Shirogane tried shape shifting as them but Hoshiko knew instantly. So now both of them are after the Cosplayer (Hoshiko for Kokichi, Kaede for Justice)(and maybe Rantaro, does he play a role in this AU?)

Yeah no matter how good Tsumugi is at shapeshifting Hoshiko will always be able to tell it’s Kokichi.

Okay here are some ideas I’ve got for the superhero AU it’s just supposed to be a one shot though so I haven’t really fleshed out anything

Kaede: Super Hero, can control sound waves, when she first started out she worked with Shuichi who investigated crimes and told Kaede where to act. When things started getting too dangerous she tried to get Shuichi to be a regular civilian and broke things off with him, he immediately became Kaito’s sidekick which just frustrated Kaede.

Kaito: Super Hero, he can control energy 

Shuichi: Kaito’s sidekick and Kaede’s former partner his super power is vision based, x-ray, infa-red, heat vission ect it comes in useful for investigations

Maki: A former assassin that used to regularly go after Kaede she’s now Kaito’s sidekick. Has a rivalry with the Trickster (Kokichi) who seems to know a lot about her past for reasons unknown to anyone but him.

Tenko: Super hero and Kaede’s partner, she has powers similar to Iron Fist, truly cares about the lives of everyone even the villains they face.

Himiko: Villain, the Red Mage, a girl that doesn’t fully understand her powers and is being manipulated by darker forces

Angie: Cult leader who is one of the people manipulating Himiko, Gonta is also part of her cult as her muscle and body guard Gonta can communicate with insects.

Kiibo: A robot made to protect the city, more open with the public as a result he’s a government controlled hero

Tojo: Works in city hall and deals with hero public relations and property damage sector. She might be working for evil behind the scenes trying to work her way up the political ladder

Miu: An inventor who provides heroes with equipment you’ll end up at her door sooner or later if you’re a hero. Surprisingly though it’s said that she also supplies equipment to the Trickster 

Korekiyo: A serial killer 

Rantaro: Wealthy rich boy from billionaire family, when missing for a time and was found stranded on an island though his sister is still missing, openly supports heroes and his family is the one responsible for paying for all the property damage. He’s secretly a green arrow type hero who’s looking into a conspiracy that made him loose his sister.

Ryoma: An ex con that acts as a mentor figure to Kaede and Tenko, he’s the one doing research and investigations now that Kaede’s no longer working with Shuichi. Ryoma’s their guy in the chair and also gives them general life advice.

Tsumugi: The cosplay cat who originally stole things by shapeshifting into people and framing them but later her crimes became more dangerous and she’s becoming a serious threat.

Komaru: Like Kaede she controls sound waves by being able to produce a canary like screech however she has trouble controlling and directing it so she uses a megaphone to help her, her partner is the former serial killer Genocider works as a vigilante and does more investigations and is less flashy that the other super heroes

Kokichi: The allusive trickster no one really knows what his deal is, bad guys think he’s a good guy and good guys think he’s a bad guy. The only one who knows what’s really going on in the world of crime and is working hard behind the scenes to stop the world ending

Hoshiko: An artificial human experiment that Kokichi found and saved, she was created to be a weapon so she has vast knowledge of all weaponry and martial arts. She has fire super powers as well as super strength and an advanced healing ability. She’s still learning how to be a regular human person but loves Kokichi more than anything.

[15hont1c]

Cast Character Sheet

After countless designs for the character cast sheet, I finally managed to design the cast to my satisfaction. In this lineup, I included the character archetypes of  protagonist (hero), mentor, trickster/ally, shadow (villain) and shapeshifter. 

For the villain/shapeshifter’s design, I was inspired by the colourful costumes and heavy make-up of Chinese Opera. In ancient times, warriors heavily painted their faces with colours to scare their enemies. This has been adapted into Chinese opera, where each colour represents something different for each performers’ role in the opera. While they don’t always use masks, the heavy make-up are similar and are used quite frequently. They are used to symbolise the character’s role, fate and personality. 

Each dominant colour represents the character’s personality and role in the opera.

Red

Positive; Prosperity, Loyalty, Courage, Intelligence

Yellow

Negative; Sly, Cruel, Deceit, Ambitious, Corrupt

Green

Negative; Violent, Impulsive, No self-control/restraint

Blue

Positive/Neutral; Steadfast, Astuteness, Stubbornness

Pink

Positive; Sophistication, Level-headed

White

Negative; Evil, Crafty, Treacherous, Suspicious

The larger the white painted area, the crueler.

Black

Neutral; Impartiality, Integrity, Rough, Fierce

Silver/Gold

Neutral; Mysteriousness, Aloofness.

Usually a demon or a spirit. 

Ruby has a mix of white, red and black on her mask. I wanted her character to be some sort of silent assassin-like type that tries to take something valuable from the two protagonists, often resorting to deadly violence. The red and black highlights on her masks show how loyal she is to her mission and the intelligence displayed in evading notice. Her mask isn’t entirely white, meaning she is sort of neutrally evil with a slight chance at redemption. The hint of the colour gold in her eyes shows her mysteriousness and her more ‘supernatural’ nature.

The other creature is Nian (年獸), a beast that supposedly lives under the sea or mountains. The name is literally translated as “Year Monster.” A key character in Chinese mythology and during the Lunar New Year, the Nian comes out of hibernation every year on the eve of the first day of the lunar year to feast on the villagers, children and their animals. The legend and tradition of the story has been retold many times over the years. It sort of led to the many traditions and customs of Lunar New Year that is still relevant in the 21st century. 

In one story, a mysterious old man in beggar clothes went to the village as the villagers were preparing to evacuate before the beast arrives. People paid him no mind as they were trying to frantically leave, except an old woman. The woman let him into her house, feeding and caring for him. She urges the old man to leave with the others as well, warning him of the dangers. He refuses, but promises that he can drive Nian away. 

The next day when the villagers arrive back, they realised in shock that their village seems intact and not destroyed by the Nian at all. Houses were plastered with red papers, bamboo cannons and lights. They realised that the monster is afraid of the colour red and loud noises. To thwart the monster, the villagers started to put up red lanterns and scrolls over their homes and doors. Thus, the tradition of red paper scrolls, firecrackers, and nightlong festivities began to signal the beginning of the festival Guo Nian (過年), meaning pass over Nian or overcome Nian.  

The backstory of this other shapeshifter/villain is quite similar. His physical appearance with the Qilin is no coincidence, and has some significance with the protagonist. I thought the Nian was a good choice as a villain but also provides comedic relief as his plan to eat the humans is constantly thwarted by the protagonists. 

Reference:

http://www.nouahsark.com/en/infocenter/culture/art/opera_masks/meaning.php

https://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/the-meaning-of-chinese-opera-masks/

https://steemkr.com/chinesnewyear/@ladydiana/make-some-noise-the-story-behind-chinese-new-year-traditions

[authorquillan]

Veka and the Kallyn

For those of you that don't know, I like to talk about Fantasy on Fridays. As I'm world-building and creating my own universe, I get excited and want to share it with you all!

This is Veka, my mastermind villain. I finalized his color scheme last night. Veka is a Kallyn, which are a physical race similar to what we know as demons. There are several different kinds. I have shapeshifters (or tricksters), shadow, ice, and of course, the regular Kallyn.

What's unique about Veka, which shows in his skin, is that he is from a unique bloodline that possesses traits of all the different types. His people fear this, and have made him a hunted outcast in his own society. With trying to escape after his parents' slaughter, Veka finds himself on Earth, many centuries before the events of Fray: The Legion of Heroes.

One thing that is unique about the Kallyn, and similar to a lot of the ideas of demons, is their world Rek isn't physically accessible, for It's in another dimension.