#i know the deaths of the others are also important etc but like. keel was vimes father figure. his hero

[sphyrne]

thinking about night watch again and about how john keel is a ghost for the entirety of the novel. his name is the only name visible on the graves in the present. six illegible graver markers and one which reads john keel. we know he died in the past before we know anything else about him. and we know he was important - not just to vimes but to the mixed group of people who gather at the grave to remember him.

and by the time we (vimes) realise we are there in the past, keel is already gone. hes dead, and now vimes is wearing his name as he navigates through what should have been keel's final days. and john keel haunts the narrative continuously, from before we even see his gravestone to the very end, and not just bc vimes is now keel. almost every decision vimes makes has keel's spectre hanging over it - what did keel do? how did keel think in this moment? keels influence on vimes was so huge and the impact of his death so great that u cannot separate keel from the story.

even if hes never actually in it

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Do you have any advice on how to write a therapy scene? I’m struggling to figure out how the therapist would talk, like how to make them sound professional and like they actually know what they’re talking about.

I write Dr. Berger and Dr. Rosa Martinez as essentially amalgamations of therapists I've had who I really clicked with, and who click with my OCs in a variety of ways. One thing that I do is hit on a couple of points:

1. Empathy. A good therapist understands that a client who doesn't feel listened to and who thinks their feelings are being dismissed or ignored is not someone who is going to be able to do the work or move forward, because why keep working with someone who doesn't listen to or believe you? So empathetic statements are good. For instance:

Character: I just feel like it's pointless to keep trying.

Therapist: So, it sounds like you really feel like your efforts to reconnect with your mother are hitting dead ends and you're the only one putting in the effort here.

Note that the therapist doesn't outright say "Oh, your mom sucks". Instead, the therapist is validating the emotions and feelings and exploring the root of them, giving the patient something to bounce off of without outright telling them what they are feeling. The client might reply with, "Yeah, exactly!" or "Well, not really, my mom is trying, I just feel like it's not doing any good" and both give the therapist a path to move to.

Dr. Berger opens by immediately asking Danny what he would like to be called, goes with Red when he asks and doesn't push him on it, and gradually shifts over the time they see each other to asking him if "it's a Danny day or a Red day". This gives Danny control over what she calls him and puts him in a position of feeling safe in therapy because he knows that his needs and wishes are taking priority even as they work through some immensely painful stuff.

She also validates his need to start off sitting on the floor, and works with him over time to sit up on the couch - but she doesn't force it, and accepts those days that he needs to be back on the floor again. She gets that his progress isn't perfect or linear, and doesn't shame him for it.

2. Professional distance and boundaries - your therapist is not your best friend, and shouldn't be too personally involved in your life. Ethical codes heavily discourage any kind of relationship outside of the therapeutic one. So there will be a professional distance alongside the overall friendliness and willingness to listen. This is part of trust-building, with the client knowing the therapist is really there just to help them.

Antoni benefits from Dr. Berger sharing her own spouse's death and what it was like for her as a widow. She shares that bit of information, but it isn't used to undermine her professional distance from him or boundaries, simply gives him a bit of knowledge about her, when he is uneasy with how much she knows about him.

Otherwise, she doesn't really share about herself, because the focus is on Antoni.

3. The work is gradual.

A 'big breakthrough' in a single session isn't super common. What usually happens is slow progress, and it won't necessarily be linear, over a period of time. And it won't necessarily be a therapist pushing and pushing and pushing to "force" the client to face something.

Some clients want that push, but others don't benefit from it and instead are far more in need of a safe space to talk things through, someone to bounce thoughts of or to help them reframe or look at something from a different angle they might not come to on their own.

Think about your OC and whether they would invite a lot of advice/reframing from a therapist, or if they would benefit more from simply working through the thought on their own.

4. The most important point is to do your research.

Look up what an initial therapy appointment looks like, what the therapist is likely to ask and talk about, and find people talking about their own therapy experiences. Read! Read up on it!

You can also find youtube videos designed to help people with different issues on how to prep for therapy, such as anxiety, depression, etc.

Look for those and see how there might be a difference in the therapy journey depending on what you are seeing a therapist for, and take that into account.

I went to therapy at one point for a while with the specific task of working on my fear of flying. My partner has gone for his ADHD. The two of us had very different therapy experiences because we had pretty different issues that needed addressed at the time.

5. Don't be afraid of medication.

This is going to be short and sweet, but suffice to say - medication is often used alongside therapy, and it's a tool. It takes a while to get dosages right in most cases, so nothing will be immediate, but don't be afraid to write a recovering whumpee taking medication to help them with, say, the physical symptoms of their PTSD alongside going to therapy for it.

Nate ends up on antidepressants alongside going to therapy. Danny has anti-anxiety meds he takes as-needed. Chris is medicated for his ADHD and also attends sessions with Dr. Berger. While we haven't really gotten to that yet, Jameson is going to end up on medication as well, on a temporary basis officially, to help him get back on an even keel as he moves forward after hurting Jake.

Medication can be misused, but it's like a hammer - in the hands of a craftsman, a hammer can be used to build. In my hands, it will probably only end up breaking my own thumb.

So don't be afraid to have your fictional therapist keep medication in mind as a potential tool to help their patient. But read up on the specifics of the medications that might be used, and their effects, side effects, etc.

[princess-mei]

Mei 美美 Qin – Character Sheet

it’s like everything you say is a sweet revelation / all i wanna do is get into your head / yeah we could stay alone, you and me and this temptation / sipping on your lips, hanging on by a thread, baby

late night watching television / but how’d we get in this position / it’s way too soon, i know this isn’t love (no) / but i need to tell you something

i really really really really really really like you / and i want you, do you want me, do you want me too?

Archetype — The Explorer Birthday — July 9th, 2002 Zodiac Sign — Year of the Horse, Rising Leo, Sun in Cancer, Moon in Cancer MBTI — ENFP Enneagram — 2, the Helper Temperament — Sanguine Hogwarts House — Gryffindor Moral Alignment — Chaotic Good Primary Vice — Lust Primary Virtue — Charity Element — Water/Fire (she’s a Water Horse, so she definitely identifies with that but in Western tradition she is Fire.)

Overview:

Mother — Tanya Qin Father — Peng Qin Mother’s Occupation — Editor-in-Chief of the San Francisco Chronicle Father’s Occupation — financial diviner Family Finances — wealthy Birth Order — middle Brothers —  none Sisters — Ting-Ting (Gemma Chan, May 13, 1993), Su (January 22, 2003) Other Close Family — close to their mother’s side, father’s side lives in China, but they’ve taken trips to see them once or twice. do not have any cousins/aunts/uncles, but close to their grandparents. Best Friend — Daisy Zanetti, they grew up together. Met in school and were thick as thieves right away. Daisy is a half-fairy, so they both understood the whole “half” background thing. Other Friends — Lots and lots of friends~ Enemies — There was probably like one Mean Girl that Mei was always antagonizing and who was always antagonizing her. Pets — None. Home Life During Childhood — Relatively happy. Has nice, loving parents. Did a lot of Family Activities, since that was important. Mother was busy a lot with work, but her father was around a lot and Ting-Ting was always around (until she went to school.) Town or City Name(s) — San Francisco, CA What Did His or Her Bedroom Look Like — Posters everywhere! Very personalized and customized. Lots of reds and golds. Probably had like one of those net things around her bed. Always very messy, because Mei starts a project and then just jumps to the next. Lots of natural light too probably. Any Sports or Clubs — Dance and Gymnastics. Mei has kept up with both of these throughout the year. Does both ballet and hip hop. Her favorite gymnastics is rhythmics. Favorite Toy or Game — She wouldn’t consider it a toy or game, of course, but loves doing tarot and tea readings. Also enjoys a good board game, is very competitive though. Schooling — Public school. Favorite Subject — Physical Education ?? Maybe literature. Art classes… Popular or Loner — Decently popular. She wasn’t one of the people that everyone knew but she had a wide circle of friends. Important Experiences or Events — Discovering she had divination skills. Deciding her specialization. Moving to Swynlake! Nationality — American Culture — Chinese-American Religion and beliefs — Spiritual, borrowing from a spread of Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese folklore, and Confucianism.

Physical Appearance:

Face Claim — Cheng Xiao Complexion — Fair-skinned Hair Colour — Naturally a dark brown, but she dyes it a lot! Eye Colour — Dark brown. Height — 5’6 Build — Athletic, but slim. Tattoos — None. Piercings — Ears. Common Hairstyle — Likes to braid it or put it in two buns. Does a lot of half-up/half-down hairstyles. Clothing Style — Chic and trendy, lots of colors and patterns. Mannerisms — Very bouncy, doesn’t sit still much. Twirls her hair around her finger a lot. Usual Expression —

Health:

Overall (do they get sick easily)? — Pretty healthy! I’m sure this is due to Ting-Ting constantly balancing her Yin-Yang Physical Ailments — None. Neurological Conditions — None. Allergies — None! Grooming Habits — Rather good. Takes a lot of care with her appearance. Always makes sure to moisturize and exfoliate and change out of sweaty clothes. Sleeping Habits — Average. Eating Habits — Eats a lot because Su is constantly making things, but can forget meals if she is distracted or concentrating. Exercise Habits — ��Exercises a lot! Does all sorts of things like pilates and swimming and jogging. Emotional Stability — I give her a 7/10, she loses points for being a stubborn, unreasonable teenager and for her temper, but otherwise is pretty even-keeled. Body Temperature — Average. Sociability — Very social! Loves surrounding herself with people. Addictions — Love? Drug Use — None, we will see. Alcohol Use — Has gone to parties where she’s drank before, but not often.

Your Character’s Character:

Bad Habits — Interrupting people, bouncing from topic to topic, meddling in things that she shouldn’t, talking back, being a general nuisance. Good Habits — Very kind, very caring. Wants to take care of all her people. Strong moral compass. Best Characteristic — Her certainty. Worst Characteristic — Her stubbornness. Worst Memory — Being told she would have to move to Swynlake. Best Memory — When her father told her that he was proud of her for completing her studies for being a sorcerer and accepting an apprenticeship. Proud of — Her magic, her family history, her looks, her sporting ability. Embarrassed by — Not much, probably the fact she isn’t very good at school. Driving Style — Probably was just learning how to drive. A speed demon, but surprisingly a good driver. Strong Points — Her moral center and her big heart. Temperament — Can be explosive, but general soft and sweet. Attitude — Generally positive. Weakness — Not knowing what she wants. Fears — Not knowing what she’s going to do with her life. Phobias — Anything unlucky, though I wouldn’t call it a phobia, more of a cautious regard. Secrets — None really? She doesn’t keep much from people. She’s very “This Is Who I am. Fight Me.” Regrets — Having to leave Swynlake. Feels Vulnerable When — People are angry or upset with her, she’s not following her heart. Pet Peeves — Being told she’s wrong, lol. Conflicts — Duty to Family v Duty to Heart Motivation — Following her heart. Short Term Goals and Hopes — Make friends and something out of her life in Swynlake. Long Term Goals and Hopes — Figure out what she wants to do with her life. Sexuality — As-is she is straight, but this can change. Day or Night Person — Day Introvert or Extrovert — Extrovert. Optimist or Pessimist — Optimist except she can be really sour when things don’t go her way.

Likes and Styles:

Music — Oh, gosh–where to start? Mei loves love songs, of course. Big fan of Elton John, Elvis Presley, Celine Dion, etc etc. She also loves modern stuff, of course. Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen, Ed Sheeran…if she’s really feeling it some Florence and the Machine. Loves KPop too. I’ll let Lauryl tell me who she stans. (Is that the phrase I feel like there is a phrase.) Anyway, anything that is love related, she’ll give it a listen. Books — Doesn’t actually like reading that much, tbh. Doesn’t hold her interest. Magazines — Do people read magazines anymore? Does Buzzfeed count as a magazine? Probably giggles over Cosmopolitan. Foods — Sweets! Chocolate is her favorite, but she likes licorice a lot too. Is one of those weird people that likes black licorice. Also, loves a good rice pudding. That’s probably her favorite dessert. She also loves chicken, any kind of chicken–she doesn’t care what you put it in or what you put on it. Isn’t much of a picky eater. Actually really enjoys being adventurous with her food. Drinks — Green tea, green tea, green tea! Mei loves tea, especially iced. She also surprisingly likes salt soda water–she goes back and forth on sweet and savory. Sometimes, she just really wants salt soda water because it is just crisp and refreshing and wakes her back-up and reorients her yin-yang when she needs it. Animals — Elephants! Mei loves elephants. She’s that girl that has like elephant shirts and an elephant backpack and an elephant stuffed animal probably. They have such a high emotional capacity and Mei really respects them for this. They are also just so cute with their floppy ears and their soft, sweet eyes! Loves birds too as most of them are symbols of good luck and good tidings–besides owls, which are harbingers of death. Sports — Gymnastics and dance. Social Issues — Magick Rights is the biggest one. Also feminism. Also all the “main” issues. Favorite Saying — “Better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness” - Chinese Proverb Color — Golds, yellows, reds, blues are her favourites. She loves gold because it is a Classy color. Most of her jewelry is gold. She loves yellow because it is bright and happy! Red is lucky in Chinese culture and it always reminds her of times like New Year’s! Also, it is the color of passion and love. Blues she likes because they are calming and gentle.  These are her lucky colors. She also loves pink, even though it is technically a color that she should avoid. Really hates white, because she doesn’t like what a blank slate it is. Also, hates brown because it is an icky boring color. As you can see, she has a lot of Opinions on colors. Clothing —Chic and trendy, lots of colors and patterns. Jewelry — Loves it! Wears mostly gold. Probably has a few staple pieces but then exchanges things depending on her mood. Websites — Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter etc etc TV Shows — CW shows and K/Cdramas Movies — All the great love classics: Gone with the Wind, the Titanic, When Harry Met Sally, Roman Holiday, all of Audrey Hepburn probably, the Notebook, Singing in the Rain…I could go on and on. She loves movies that tug at the heart strings and are full of that wild, amazing, passionate kind of love. They always make her swoon and if she is choosing a movie for movie night, you know it’s gonna be a romantic tearjerker. Though, she also likes romcoms. Doesn’t like action movies or horror movies or anything too intense, they freak her out Greatest Want — To figure out what to do with her life. Greatest Need — To grow up and learn things aren’t all about her, lmao.

Where and How Does Your Character Live Now:

Home — A three bedroom apartment with Ting-Ting and Su. Household furnishings — Rather plain at the moment, but will probably grow cozy as they settle in. Favorite Possession — Her pseudogrimoire where she writes down all the signs and stuff that she sees and puzzles out the meaning to. Most Cherished Possession — Her wand, which is a fan that was her mother’s, her mother gave it to her and her father and Ting-Ting help her imbibe it with magic. Neighborhood — Tortuga Place Married Before — No Significant Other Before — Non-serious boyfriends and Serious crushes Children — She iS a child Relationship with Family — Very close with her dad, even though he’s always yelling at her and being disappointed in her. They have a lot in common and she loves him. Her and her mother also get along more or less, she’s less stringent than her dad. Ting-Ting and her probably have the most contentious relationship, but even that hasn’t been that bad really. Mostly Mei being a nosy, annoying little sister. It will get more intense now that Ting-Ting is the authority figure and Mei is pissed about their situation. Su and Mei get along more or less well, they annoy each other, as sisters are wont to do, but Mei would def consider Su one of her best friends. Car — None. Career — Student Dream Career — She doesn’t know !! Dream Life — Married, with children, though she doesn’t know what she wants out of a career. Love Life — Nonexistant, which pisses her off. Talents or Skills — Excellent gymnast and very good with her magic. Intelligence Level — Decently intelligent, has street smarts, tbh. Very sharp in conversation. Finances — Wealthy

[admutual]

What do you think Roger’s childhood was like up in space?

oh god , i sdknsdkj have Some hcs for his childhood ,, but my hcs are kinda messy, so i’ll try to word this the best i can.

i’ll start with his relationship with his parents since i got a Lot to say here.

for starters,, his childhood was mostly ,, hh Not Great.

his mother was controlling, emotionally abusive, neglectful, and highly manipulative. she also kept roger a shut-in most of his childhood, so roger never really gained proper social skills and had to rely on her as his only source of interpersonal contact. she had this habit of bullying him and putting him down and just destroying his self-esteem, before softening up and drawing him back in with a faux sense of compassion and gentleness (she def tried to convince him that she was the only one who could possibly love him). she was sorta a ‘zira meets mother gothel meets rainflower from warrior cats, with a little frollo mixed in’ type. she was a mess.

his dad on the other hand was emotionally distant and absent and just utterly disinterested in roger, and the few times he was around he was loud, aggressive, and prone to fits of anger. he was also highly religious and it Showed. i don’t have the actual complete details for the religion he followed, all i really have is most of my inspiration for it stems from a lot of xenofiction i read (lapine mythology from watership down, starclan from warrior cats, the spirituality from tailchaser’s song ,, i’m like physically unable to make non-human creatures without drawing inspiration from xenofiction) and that roger definitely experiences some religious trauma from him.

his parents fought a Lot. and it did a number on roger,, kinda why i like to believe he’s so desperate for drama, it’s all he’s known and the peace of quiet living is unnerving to him.

roger was desperate to be on his parents’ good sides. his mother was unpredictable in this regard in that she bounced back and forth between being gentle and kind before switching to verbal abuse and aggression. his dad though never expressed any positive feelings for roger. rog tried really hard to earn his dad’s affection, but after he got older and started to realize that that just wasn’t gonna happen, his tone toward him shifted to disdain. it definitely helped that his mother was loud in her distaste for his father too and through her aforementioned behavior managed to keep roger on her side through it all. if his mom hated someone, roger did too.

that whole thing about roger eating his dad,, ye . gonna make that Edgier let’s go. i like to imagine it was long after roger had accepted that his dad sucked, he was alone with him, he got pushed a little too far, and he just snapped, killing him. as for the cannibalism thing, that religion i mentioned earlier? i still don’t have much details, but one thing i Do know is that one important belief in this religion is how their bodies are handled after death and it’s very important that funeral services are handled accordingly,, shit like don’t touch the body with bare skin after the passing, their grave must be lined with bark and leaves from a specific type of tree, no visiting the burial site for a set period of time after burial, etc. so roger, being the dramatic extreme petty bitch he is, decided to give one last ‘fuck you’ to his dad by eating him instead to fuck up the burial process. we love taking a generic primetime sitcom and making it edgier than it needs to be.

i kinda like to imagine roger’s relationships with his parents heavily influenced his relationship with stan and francine too:

for stan’s side, roger felt that stan reminded him a lot of his own father. like i said, roger felt a heavy resentment towards his father, and after coming to earth and finding he was going to be living with someone who all too closely resembled him, he put his foot down and refused to allow himself to keel over to what felt like mistreatment from him.

when roger first started to get to know stan, all he saw in him initially was the same anger and neglect he got from his own father, and in turn went out of his way to lash out and harass him as sort of a cathartic defense. but then time went on, the two started to see each other on their own level, and roger realized how stan below the surface was far from how his dad was, and he warmed up enough to view him as a close friend. i kinda like to think roger softened up to stan after finding out about jack too, as you know he could relate to him having a shitty neglectful dad himself.

as for francine, roger was drawn to her for the opposite reason in that she was nothing like his mom. roger was a total mama’s boy back home, like i said she kept him shut-in during his childhood to where she was the only one he could rely on. even after coming to earth, roger was still under the impression that she truly loved him and he had a habit of getting overly defensive of her (klaus makes a ‘your mom’ joke and roger’s in tears screaming at him to take it back). he started to question some of her treatment towards him the longer he stayed, especially with the more families he got close to where he got to observe other people’s parental relationships, but never enough to have an epiphany that she sucked. it wasn’t until after the events of ‘weiner of our discontent’ that he finally started to actively reflect on his past life on his home planet, now that he knew he was stuck on earth to stay, and he finally accepted that his mom wasn’t good to him.

as for how this influenced his relationship with francine, like i said francine was way different from roger’s mom. initially roger was super uncomfortable every time she treated him kindly and gently. he sorta held back from getting too close for a good month or two because he didn’t know which of her behavior was genuine and what was just a facade. but time went on, he decided to trust her by letting down his guard and allowing her to get close, and now the two are as tight-knit as can be. and roger’s still a total mama’s boy with her sometimes. also the aforementioned religious trauma roger experienced,, i like to believe that also drew him closer to francine after hearing her experiences growing up. roger’s just Shared Trauma Buddies with everyone.

anyways after years of constant abuse and neglect, he eventually finds a family that loves him unconditionally and he’s finally allowed to rest. i’m a slut for the ‘earn your happy ending’ trope and i’m pushing that onto roger.

(actually one last thing ,, this isn’t a set-in-stone hc, i’m not sure if i’m gonna keep it, but i like to bounce around the idea that maybe the reason his parents were so awful to him is because they believed he was responsible for a sibling’s death. like roger when he really little was out playing on the ice, things Went Wrong and it shattered, his older sib leaped in to rescue him, but things Went Even More Wrong, and his sibling managed to save him but not themself. and his parent’s (or at least his mom since i like to imagine his dad just from the start was pretty distant) immediately placed the blame on roger and never forgave. like i said idk if i’m gonna keep it as a hc, but whatevs thought i’d mention it anyway since the topic of roger’s childhood’s brought up)

and now that that’s done, the other stuff.

i like to believe because of roger’s kind’s practice of abduction, they have a decent enough study on various other planet’s species. and roger, from a young age, immediately built up a fascination with humans. he spent hours reading and rereading every study and book he could find on them. when he was given the choice to be The Decider, it was a complete dream come true for him, not only because he found what he felt was his life’s purpose, but also because he could finally study up close a species he’s admired all his life. (also once roger landed on earth his interest in humans quickly shifted from an ‘idk i just think they’re cute and fun and interesting creatures!!’ to an ‘oh fuck . o h god … humans are Hot what the hell ….’ like i make jokes about how ‘oh haha steve’s an alien fucker lol’ but tbh ……. roger’s the alien fucker in the relationship.)

bouncing off that, they definitely don’t have english as their main language. that’s always been a trope that’s annoyed me, the whole ‘every alien just inexplicably speaks english by default and can communicate with humans fluently’ trope. because of that, i like to believe roger self-taught himself multiple languages through earthling test subjects, listening to audio recordings and such. he wasn’t completely fluent, but it was enough that he could at least communicate enough once he landed on earth. and as for the mothership featured in ‘lost in space’,, hc that it’s installed with a universal translator. still kinda a lazy cop-out i guess, but whatever.

roger’s always been ,, idk,, softer than his species. not in an ‘uwu he’s actually a total sweetheart’ kinda way, but just in that unlike most of his kind, he can experience compassion (it’s rare and his conscience is still really weak, and empathy is still completely foreign to him, but he does experience compassion for those he allows to get close to him like the smiths), he’s always been too sensitive compared to most of his kind, he’s too emotionally-driven, he latches onto others and cares to much what others think of him, just a bunch of things that to most of his peers made him come across as ‘weaker’.

roger picked his own name!! i don’t really care for the trope of aliens having generic western names, so my hc is that when roger’s kind are born they’re given a placeholder name (or a title or something) and then they’re allowed to pick whatever name they want as they get older, which often times is influenced by other species. like i said earlier, roger’s always had a fascination with humans, and i like to think he decided to name himself after an abduction victim he read up on.

once roger was able to distance himself from his mom and was allowed on his own, he was a constant traveller, both in the sense of journeying across his home planet, and in finding any way possible to travel to other planets. sitting still for too long bored him and he needed to explore every possible place he could.

liste n ,,,,, roger loved building snowmen growing up. the few times he got the chance to get out was always spent building them and creating personalities for them. and he still finds himself building them on earth sometimes.

roger’s always loved reading. he can’t count how many times he flew through all the books they had around the house. and even now he just . really loves to read and can power through massive books in a matter of hours.

he loves watching the snow fall and blizzards always brought him a lot of comfort.

that whole thing about roger’s kind being 60% electricity? roger had a lot of trouble controlling excess electricity as a kid. his parents weren’t good teachers, so he just had a habit of accidentally jolting others on accident, sometimes while reading he’d get too excited and accidentally singe the papers a little, he was always pretty shaky as a kid just from how much electricity he had coursing through his body that he had zero clue how to process safely.

roger’s tendency towards playing characters came at a young age. he was always running around the house playing pretend as multiple characters and that habit just never went away.

i like to imagine roger enjoyed building little dens in the snow to chill in. for his kind, children tend to build snow dens to function in the same way human kids build treehouses,, just to vibe with their friends. and on earth sometimes during the winter roger will decide to build a den in the backyard and spend some of his nights down there.

roger’s kind love swimming. probably one of their more popular sports, hell some of them even choose to fish for their own food in the same way seals do. roger though? terrified of the water. nowadays he’s okay with it (still prefers to avoid it for the most part though), but as a kid it was one of his worst fears.

i feel like there’s something i’m missing? idk, this is long enough though so i’ll stop jsdgndks.

[namorian]

Medea Shepard Colonist | Sole Survivor | Vanguard ME1: 80% Renegade 20% Paragon  Romanced no one | Saved Ferros | Freed Rachni Queen | Wrex Lives  Ashley Sacrificed | Convinced Saren to shoot himself | Council Saved

ME2: TBA

ME3: TBA

shitty phone pics bc i’m on console and the ps3 is not kind fgsfdgfd top 2 from ME2 import screen, bottom from ME1

After the brutal murder of her parents, siblings and friends she enlisted both in a hunt for a renewed purpose after the destruction of her former life/goals and to try to make the galaxy a little safer. While always more on the laconic side those who trained or served with her saw her as cool, removed and professional but not unpleasant to be around until Akuze. The horrific deaths of her squad were the final nail in the coffin and she closed off completely, becoming almost completely emotionally absent outside of feelings like rage. Those who served with her now found themselves dealing with someone harsh unyielding who had no interest in anything outside the mission. 

Chosen as a spectre candidate more for her record than her personality, she took to the job like a fish to water and went after Saren like a hound from Hell. Despite that vicious determination to find and end him along with the Reaper threat he served she never actually disliked him and at times felt an understanding or connection with him though she never voiced that to anyone for many years. Medea chose to save the Council as part of her belief that if humanity wants to establish itself as a respectable part of the galaxy they have to prove they can see past themselves. 

While Medea is cold, harsh, unsympathetic and intensely aloof during the events of ME1 she also defies many of the assumptions that creates about her. There is a large section of people who think that given her attitude and history she is or likely to be intensely human first, uninterested in learning about other species/cultures and some level of xenophobic-- a likely reason why people like Udina nominated her-- but all of which is wildly untrue. She does care about humanity and their rights/position/etc in the galaxy but she views the galaxy as a whole and all species/cultures as parts of that which need to work together in harmony if anything worthwhile is meant to happen. She cares and is considerate about the needs/beliefs/cultural practices of other species and does not tolerate any bullshit about any of it from anyone towards anyone else (unless Batarians are involved then... well...) . She’s also not a monster and rarely goes out of her way to be needlessly cruel and finds things like the killing of the Rachni queen and the final permanent extinction of their race something she cannot stomach having on her conscience. 

She is inquisitive, forward-thinking, and generally very even keeled and dependable even when violently angry she is largely contained. She might say terrible things while furious but will rarely physically lash out, her aggression is largely saved for combat. She enjoys listening to experts in their fields, differing opinions and expanding her knowledge base to try and be the best she can be at her job.

Fun facts:

had a girlfriend as a teenager, hasn’t dated since her death

gave up on flings/one night stand type things years ago bc of how it interacted with her mental/emotional state

used to be big into dance but stopped with the attack

dressed very techno/vogue goth as a teen (or like u know... the future space version)

likes chill electronica / techno

only wears dark colors

i say she used to dress goth but like... tbh she’s till goth just like... lowkey business/military adult goth...

big fan of colors with names like “deep burgundy” and “bruised plum”

if holt and rosa from brooklyn 99 fused together with the vine of the little girl going apeshit on her elmo and the one of the other little girl sobbing hysterically while combing her hair that’s basically the Vibe here  

[rhonabeaumont]

What are we doing, as souls here in Earthly form?

Let me start by stating that there are no “negative” or positive” spiritual planes, homes, as such. Just as there is no concept of right or wrong, but just experiences which are undertaken on Earth to gain a better understanding of the concept of unconditional love, before we transition back to our home. If you think of every experience you have in your life as one which is teaching you about love for self, those closest to you, love for community and love for those souls you don’t know. Is the experience one which attracts or detracts from love? Is the experience one which pushes us to greater love when it is a negative experience? Teaches us the power of love without conditions? Does it show us the emotional connection deep within us that strives to seek love? If you think of every loss, rejection, abandonment and trauma you have experienced as an example of how much we seek to feel love, to be loved, to know how much love is as important as oxygen we can value love just as highly in its absence as in its presence. All experiences we undergo whilst on Earth, show us an aspect of love, even in its absence, trauma, abuse, violence, we understand the depth and importance of love.

Before we come down to Earth, we work with our team of guides, our soul group members, to create a series of experiences to serve our highest good. In some Earthly lives, we are here purely to support another soul group member through an experience, or we might teach a community a lesson in love, or even the World. Depending on the depth of our soul wisdom, the number of Earthly journeys, or even our own higher self’s desire to experience a certain set of conditions, all will impact the life path.

We sign up for these experiences, as sacred contracts- just as Carolyn Myss discusses in her book of the same name.

You may already get a sense of your contracts, agreements. You often know when you are in the midst of the contract which feels so deep, memorable and vivid moments in your life.

We choose these contracts often passed on previous life encounters which we choose to revisit, or it might be to support a fellow soul group member in an experience which they wish to encounter. These experiences or encounters become the key to our lives, they are often inflection points. Inflection points challenge us, force directional changes in our lives, open us up to deep emotions that can often rip us apart inside. Think for a moment back over your lives and see how certain experiences fundamentally changed you and your path. Trauma, loss of a loved one, divorce, violent, any form of abuse. All are powerful forces that will have impacted your life, and will have caused you to recalibrate.

Any action or response is ok, there again, there is no right or wrong response to these experiences, or inflection points. When we transition home, we examine these inflection points , as a soul, with our guides to determine whether we Wish to experience these again or wish to experience something different , it is a matter of choice.

Often those we refer to as “wise souls “ choose more “challenging” contracts, those that require courage,risk, and stepping outside the defined norm. Maybe even to teach mankind a lesson. All souls are the same beneath their Earthly physical being, it’s just a case of what that souls, higher self, guides and teachers choose to experience that alters the path.

But why? Well, Source, Divine, is not able to experience emotions of any kind in Earthly from. As Neal Donald Walsh’s books tell us. It is only through the particles of Source, which are our spiritual bodies, that Source can “feel”. Our experiences, our choices, our love return to Source, so Source can expand and experience greater love.

Are there different levels or planes ? Yes there are planes. But not in the definition of lower or less important planes to higher planes. Each soul lives in a plane which matches their experiences , their soul path , which fits with where they are in terms of their connection and undertaking of love. As the planes vibrational shift to higher levels of understanding and experience, the energetic vibration is lighter. For instance when I am talking to a loved one in Spirit their energy feels very similar to ours, the same personality, the same mix of emotions, anger, upset, love, joy, etc. When I speak to a spirit guide , their energetic fingerprint is more even-keeled, steady without the highs and lows of emotion. Contacting an ascended master. , the vibration is strong, steady yet full of light. All the way up to the Archangel realm, where there is one overriding feeling of unconditional love.

In Earthly terms, imagine the difference in the type of conversation you may have with your grandmother compared to talking to the Dalai Lama or any other modern day prophet.

We transition back to our spiritual home when we choose, and based on the experiences and contracts we have signed. Yet, it is not so simple, because our contracts and experiences are tied to others, other souls. So, it’s like a series of dominoes, where we stand up some of the pieces, but other members of our soul group stand up the others . Often we have lives which are purely about being their for another soul group member, some souls will transition home early, so the soul members left behind can experience the emotion of loss. Our they transition to leave behind a legacy, creating a powerful force behind them to transform Earthly life at a community or world level ( think of the impact of Princess Diana and her death, which created such a sense of love and community ) . There are souls that come down to incarnate into physical and emotional beings who we would define as pure evil, in their Earthly lives, to highlight and shine a huge light on the opposite of evil, so we may listen and pay attention. Allowing us to see the very best of humanity in the darkest of the worlds history. Without these moments of awakening, when the soul speaks through its Earthly self, life here would be very dark.

So, we transition back to Source, into the light. We fit into a plane which resonates at the same vibration as us, there we will find our soul group. We reflect on our Earthly life, and make a choice to either reincarnate, or rest, or choose another path. If we choose to reincarnate, to experience other sacred contracts on Earth(or other planets) , we grow, we shift our vibration and then transition back to spirit sometimes onto a different higher vibrational platform. On that new platform, we may become spirit guides, and support our soul group members from the other side.

Many of us , here on Earth have incarnated over 100 times, each life being a single blip, we come for our own learning, to support other soul members, to give birth to souls who will surpass us on their journey here , all choices are valid.

If we choose to become a spirit guide for a soul, we will often take a short life before the soul we will be guiding incarnates. Think of a child lost at birth or at a young age, who has incarnated to experience the mother’s energy, so that when they go on to guide the future soul, can understand the family dynamics. I often chat to brothers, sisters on the other side who left Earth early to start their training as a guide for a nephew, niece, grandchild, waiting to be born.

I also encounter agreements where a wise soul, who is a mother or father, takes on the ultimate contract by agreeing to transition so their child might stay on Earth. The bargaining contract, which changes a sacred contract can also happen, but it is rare. Loss teaches us about life, it’s meaning and the deepest level. There is no greater depth of emotion than unconditional love, and to truly know love, we value the experiences of trauma, loss, rejection, abandonment, and other painful emotions. It is a balance that predicates our lives. We see how grief transforms people, grief is from love,and it’s absence in our lives.

So, how does this knowledge help us?

Well, if the comments above resonate with you, then firstly think of your contracts. Maybe you wish to ask your guides to create new contracts? Do you feel you are experiencing what resonates with you ? Are you fulfilling your contracts with others to support their journeys? Meditate and connect in to see what resonates with your Soul.

Secondly, let go of the fear and anxiety. We direct our lives, our higher sleeves are following a path of purpose. We may not know the timeline, yet we can listen, learn and step into our path with love. Acknowledge what you wish to learn on this journey and then follow it ! Be guided, be brave, be bold and know everything in your path is happening for a reason. Flood your life with moments of love, inspire others to connect and seek love as it will fill your soul.

🙏🏻

[zdravstvuysclntse]

Have you ever felt emotionally, mentally and physically drained? Ever had one of those days or experiences after which you know that you just can’t take anymore?

That’s how a handful of humans will end up feeling - for, apparently, no good reason - after a chance encounter with that funny looking stranger on the street, on the tube, in a corner shop.. They’ll walk away, feeling as if their brain has been fried, made all the more worse by the sheer confusion pulsing through them; what the Hell just happened? Did that shifty guy in the corner, that weird girl on the bench, that tall man at the bus stop, just put a curse on me or something?

What the Hell has made me feel like this?

Luckily, these particularly unpleasant encounters between humans and Representatives are rare. Many Reps - almost always Nation Reps - have theorised amongst themselves that perhaps, weak-minded humans just don’t have the mental strength to fully register what it is they’re seeing, but in reality, the criteria isn’t all that straightforward. These ‘brain-freeze’ moments can happen to most any human, it all depends on their mental state, for example, if they’re already feeling stressed and on-edge, coming into contact with a literal demi-god with no warning whatsoever definitely won’t end up doing them any favours.

But why does this happen, exactly?

If you think about it long and hard, Nation Representatives, and those above them (Empires, Conurbations, etc) are formidable beings. Within that humanoid body lies centuries upon centuries of history, countless lives, countless deaths, their land, people, culture, wildlife, government, anything else relating to a Nation you can think of. The sheer size of what these beings represent is enormous when thought about properly, and sometimes - upon looking at them - the human brain just outright rejects what it’s seeing.

This can be for a number of reasons; the most common being that the very nature of this ancient being is too much for the brain to register properly. As it struggles to fully grasp what it is it’s seeing - while also being quite unsure of what exactly it is seeing - a human being can suddenly find themselves feeling utterly washed out for no apparent reason. Do they need a drink? Have they eaten enough today? Maybe they’re coming down with a cold? Or maybe it’s down to the fact that they’re unknowingly sharing this crummy Piccadilly line tube with the entirety of the Russian Federation.

The other reasons all boil down to what I mentioned a little while ago, it can be because of a human’s mental state. If they aren’t having a particularly good day, and their mental state may already be a little shaky, the last thing it needs is to suddenly come face to face with a demi-God (sometimes thinly) disguised as a human. In those cases, the already-stressed brain could completely reject what it is that it’s seeing in order to spare itself the strain of processing it all. In those situations, it can be even more draining a human, as their brain struggles to block out the reality of the situation, the unbearably heavy weight of an ancient being who has lived and died far too many times over, and carries so much life, as well as so much death with them all at once. This too can leave a human with a washed-out feeling, and an overwhelming desire to just keel over sideways into a gutter, and more often than not, they have no idea why. 

As well as these ‘knock-out’ encounters, there have no doubt been a few more serious cases wherein a run-in with a large Representative has left a human flat out for a good few days. I wouldn’t go as far as Himaruya’s theory and say that humans go mad after too much contact with Nations, but I don’t imagine all of them would get away scot-free, either. Migraines, man, migraines for days... This ties in with what @that-attiq​ mentioned to me about humans that spend a lot of time around Reps - such as government officials, royalty, and the odd human that happens to come across and befriend them. Most of the time, I can’t see there being any real problems - yes - they may become a little overwhelmed by their immortal friends sometimes, but for the most part, humans are tougher than they look when it comes to engaging with a Representative. Nevertheless, working in such close contact with them all the time probably isn’t a good idea for every human. The ‘aura’ if you like, surrounding a Rep may eventually begin to seep its way into a human’s psyche, and the full realisation of what their trusted immortal colleague truly is may start to way heavily on them. I can’t see this being a common thing, but I can picture a pale-faced, sweaty politician needing to leave the conference room for a few minutes to hastily gulp down a glass of water.. People watch and shake their heads.

Poor guy, it must be a pretty important meeting in there, maybe the pressure is getting to him... Yeah, that’s probably it.

[dissociaticn]

seineijashu asked:

hmm... your choice from 16, 23, 27, 28, 33, 34, 36, 39, 40, 41, 46!

character solidifying // @seineijashu // closed

16. What does your character do for a living? How do they see their profession? What do they like about it? Dislike? 

Formerly a spy, Kabuto has since expanded his expertise. He is now Orochimaru’s right-hand man and has his fingers in practically everything. Need to locate an elusive Legendary Sannin? Kabuto. Got blood everywhere after killing an unfortunate subordinate? Make room for Kabuto, cleaning team of one. Is your newblood vessel arrive too late? Don’t worry, Kabuto will make sure to manipulate the defective one into locating him and then whip you up a new temporary vessel, no problem. 

In that same light, Kabuto sees himself as Orochimaru’s co-conspirator, a collaborator. If Orochimaru were the CEO Kabuto would be his VP. Even though Orochimaru may have the final say, Kabuto holds a tremendous amount of influence within his position as his right-hand. And Kabuto loves this. He’s not someone who enjoys being in the spotlight. Kabuto prefers to work behind the scenes, using his power to pull strings and act of his own volition while still having the stabilizing force of Orochimaru’s personality. 

The one true downside to all this is the amount of pressure which can come from having so much relying on your competency. Don’t get it twisted, Kabuto loves a challenge. But asking a single person who reign in the egomania of their boss while also running experiments, and collecting data on opponents. It can be stressful to say the least. 

23. What do they want from a partner? What do they think and feel of sex?

To be needed. He’s a strange fellow, who will make you question his intention but at his core he’s loyal. Kabuto likes to serve, whether it’s a person or entity. Having those he cares about rely on him for responsibilities makes him feel empowered. He’s no a follower, but he’s not a leader either. Kabuto usually needs a more dominate personality which he can rely for some level of direction. He also desires someone who will keep him on his toes and challenge him intellectually. 

Despite coming off like a snarky robot, he has an average sex drive. Given all his duties it’s not necessarily something constantly on his mind though. In his younger years Kabuto held the belief that sex was meant to be an intimate act only done after marriage. But life has made him cynical. While he doesn’t generally find enjoyment from it unless it’s with someone he cares about, Kabuto isn’t about using it as means of getting what he wants.

27. How do they relate to their appearance? How do they wear their clothing? Style? Quality? 

Kabuto is aware of the role personal appearance can play into impressions. While he’s not a particularly vain person he does do his best to keep himself tidy. In canon he wears simple, inconspicuous clothes that allow him maneuverability and comfort. However, his wardrobe is a bit more expansive in modern. He owns several expensive suits which he regularly wears when intermingling with the criminal underbelly. While at home he prefers more comfortable attire, often dressing down in jeans and a polo shirts.

28. Who is your character’s mate? How do they relate to him or her? How did they make their choice? 

The closest thing Kabuto has to a “mate” is Orochimaru. They strangely functional in their dysfunction, and codependent to an extreme. It’s hard to really pinpoint what makes them click. Their chemistry is undeniable and they seem to be the only two people who can tolerate each other for extensive periods of time. They were both screwed by the shinobi system (specifically Danzo) and are highly intelligent, somewhat disgruntled people whose strengths/weakness really balance the others out.

That said, Kabuto didn’t really have a choice on joining Orochimaru. It was either him or get killed eventually by Danzo. He chose the weirdo snake-man who appeared out of the water like some kind of serpentine mermaid.

33. Do they drink? Take drugs? What about their health? 

Kabuto will drink socially when the need arises but he rarely overindulges. It’s important to keep a clear mind. The only drugs he takes are ones of necessity (also Orochimaru’s cells, if that counts). That said, he’s fairly health conscientious. He’s not usually one who completely disregards their own physical health because he understands the importance of his role within the Oto organization. He’d rather deal with the situation when it arises rather than have it potentially impact him later.

34. Does your character feel self-righteous? Revengeful? Contemptuous?

Self-righteous? No. Kinda hard to hold the righteous high ground when your job involves kidnapping children and grave robbing. If nothing else, Kabuto, at least on the surface, is very even-keeled. Underneath it though he’s petty, vindictive, and holds a great deal of contempt for his enemies. What’s more, he is patient. Not afraid to play the long game, Kabuto will wait for the opportune moment to strike. It may be tomorrow or a year from now, but one day you’ll get smited. Worse of all, you might not even know what you did to cross him. Maybe you didn’t. Maybe you were just in his way.

36. Do they like to suffer? Like to see other people suffering?

He’s definitely a sadist. Something that was even pointed out by Orochimaru. Kabuto is incredibly manipulative. He enjoys getting in the heads of enemies and allies. He’ll identify their weaknesses and insecurities then use it to break them down. Although, sometimes he doesn’t even both with getting inside your head. As shown when he resorted to beating Naruto nearly to death in the Legendary Sannin arc, sometimes simply breaking someone's body is more than satisfying.

39. What do they like to ridicule? What do they find stupid? 

Kabuto has a very cynical view of the world. His hatred of children like Naruto, who hold idyllic dreams (regardless of whether they work hard to achieve them) irks Kabuto to no end. He’s someone who believes in putting calculation before heart. Anyone who recklessly puts themselves in harms way simply to prove a point is an idiot and deserves what they get. 

But, also, he’s a salty bitch and will probably ridicule you for the smallest things if he doesn’t like you. Seriously, he’s as salty as the ocean and just as mean.

40. How is their sense of humor? Do they have one? 

I mean, sure. He has a dry sarcasm. His wit is definitely not for everyone, but there are those who appreciate it. He’s definitely not the guy who lays up the perfect knock-knock joke. But he’ll roast you. Point out the absurdity of situations/arguments/events/etc. It’s dry. Deadpan. Borderline mean. To be honest, most people probably don’t notice he’s joking. 

41. Is your character aware of who they are? Strengths? Weaknesses? Idiosyncrasies? Capable of self-irony? 

Kabuto has such a shaky sense of self that it’s hard to say. They are aware of who they are at certain moments, but without a larger entity/personality to offer him direction or purpose he struggles to know who he is and what he wants.

Strengths: Intelligent, calculating, patient, jack-of-all-trades, care-taker, intuitive, decisive, loyal, organized

Weaknesses: patronizing, cruel, manipulative, self-serving, cynical, dishonest, pedantic 

He’s really an oddball of a man who finds comfort in having everything in order. To many it comes off as a tad neurotic. Maybe it is. But for Kabuto, having things in order provides him a sense of control. He’s someone who makes his bed every morning, sleeps on the same side every night. He cleans his scalpels religiously and can’t stand if his tools are out of place. His corpses are organized by gender and age. His workspace is minimalist. He has an air about him that lets you know he thinks he’s better than you. Most people find this off-putting, which Kabuto relishes in. 

While he avoids too much introspection he would probably find some appreciation for the irony that his life seemed to follow.

46. Is your character tall? Short? What about size? Weight? Posture? How do they feel about their physical body?

He’s average. Taller than Orochimaru (which isn’t hard) and not particularly athletic compared to other high ranking shinobi. He’s lean, but not particularly muscular. 

[phoebus-de-chateaupers-blog]

Phoebus de Chateaupers – Character Sheet

oh, some evil spirit, oh, some evil this way comes / they told me how they fear it / now they're placing it on their tongues / for to see it with my own eyes / for to see it with my own eyes / no food or water for the better part of ten months

quietly he sat between the folds of a tree trunk / for to see it with my own eyes  / for to see it with my own eyes / all the men of faith and men of science had their questions / could it ever be on earth as it is in heaven? / for to see it with my own eyes / for to see it with my own eyes

Archetype — The Ruler Birthday — November 14, 1982 Zodiac Sign — Scorpio MBTI — ENTJ Enneagram — 6, the Loyalist Temperament —  Phlegmatic Hogwarts House — Gryffslyth with a claw model Moral Alignment — Lawful Neutral Primary Vice — Envy Primary Virtue — Diligence Element — Earth

Overview:

Mother — Sorcha de Chateaupers (nee DunBroch) (FC: Lindsay Duncan) Father — Silas de Chateaupers (FC: Pierce Brosnan) Mother’s Occupation — homemaker Father’s Occupation — Prince of the Order; owner of de Chateaupers industries (they make metal work for construction sites) Family Finances — wealthy; got dat old money Birth Order — oldest Brothers — none Sisters — Astrid, little sister Other Close Family — family tree here Best Friend — Celmens de Chateaupers (deceased) Other Friends — the Order Enemies — vicious creatures, demons, ghosts, mediums, sinners Pets — Achilles; twelve year old grey dappled Hanoverian Home Life During Childhood — because Phoebus had been born prematurely, for the first few years of his life, he was rather frail. His mother became over-protective of him and doted on him. He spent a lot of time indoors, reading and studying. His cousin Clemens came over to play with him, but he didn’t socialize much outside of school. His father was constantly criticizing him and attempting to “toughen him up.” Town or City Name(s) — Skagen, Denmark (has also bopped around Europe, he’s been pretty much everywhere.) What Did His or Her Bedroom Look Like — pretty plain, didn’t have a lot of toys. Lots of books though. Painted like a blue probably. Faced towards the sea. Any Sports or Clubs — Once he got older, he got into rugby and football, that kind of thing. Was never amazing at it, but not horrible either. Also did sword fighting, sparring, wrestling, etc. He’s a GREAT jouster. Favorite Toy or Game — jousting Schooling — homeschooled Favorite Subject — history and tactic Popular or Loner — loner for sure Important Experiences or Events — becoming a squire, studying with the DunBrochs, when he fucked up his first hunt, when he finally killed a demon, when his father named Clemens his successor. Nationality — Danish Culture — Danish; Order of the Prince Religion and beliefs — Christian, specifically Lutheran-Protestant

Physical Appearance:

Face Claim —  Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Complexion — fair, but tannish from the sun Hair Colour — golden Eye Colour — blue and twinkley Height — 6’2 Build — stocky but not overly broad, definitely fit and toned and intimidating Tattoos — one on his right shoulder of his family coat of arms Piercings — none Common Hairstyle — mid-length, straight, tucks it behind his ears or slicks it back, sometimes it is shorter, just depending. It’s been longer for a while now bc he can’t be fucked. Clothing Style — casual. Wears a lot of jeans and boots. Good things for hiking or moving freely. Mannerisms — not a fidgeter. He stays still. Very stoic. Usual Expression —

Health:

Overall (do they get sick easily)? — yeah, he lowkey gets colds all the time, especially travelling, but he fights through it Physical Ailments — none Neurological Conditions — depression, alcoholic probably Allergies —  general allergies Grooming Habits — depends on his mood, definitely likes to get cleaned up and look nice all clean shaven or beard trimmed and wearing a nice suit, but on the day to day he’s a little more rugged Sleeping Habits — doesn’t sleep well these days because he’s haunted, so always looks kind of tired Eating Habits — also not great, drinks more than he eats probably, but he does his best to keep in shape too so eats lots of meats and salads, not a big sweets person. Exercise Habits —  every day, runs in the night and does gym shit in the morning i don’t know what gym shit i don’t do gym shit but he’s physically fit okay Emotional Stability — lol not great Body Temperature — average Sociability — he’s an introverted extrovert, he’s good with people, very slyth-secondary Addictions — alcohol, women--probably Drug Use — none Alcohol Use — all the time

Your Character’s Character:

Bad Habits — drinking, getting into fights, being a general dick Good Habits — uh, he reads a lot, intelligent, thinks before he speaks...usually Best Characteristic — hard-worker Worst Characteristic — jealousy Worst Memory — learning of Clemens’ death Best Memory — becoming a Prince Proud of — his hunting accomplishments Embarrassed by — himself? lmao Driving Style — a good driver. follows rules Strong Points — intelligence, strategy, eager to please Temperament — pretty even keeled, but he’s got a bit of a temper and is impatient Attitude — callous and uncaring Weakness — his ego? uhhhh Fears — being useless, being shamed Phobias — none Secrets — that he is p sure he killed his cousin Regrets — spreading that rumor about Clemens Feels Vulnerable When — people talk about him behind his back Pet Peeves — cowardice (when it comes to hunts/battles) Conflicts — what happened to his cousin, his religion v what he’s done Motivation — to be the very best, like no one ever was Short Term Goals and Hopes — fight some monsters Long Term Goals and Hopes — get rid of his fucKINg cousin’s ghost Sexuality — hetero af aggressively hetero Day or Night Person — daytime Introvert or Extrovert — introverted extrovert Optimist or Pessimist — pessimist

Likes and Styles:

Music — likes a little bit of everything but is more into acoustic-type stuff. Probably also like a few danish rock bands from the 80s/90s most likely, when he went through like his #angsty punk phase. Books — loves history books and mythology; anything that can help him gain more information and strategy for fighting. Magazines — none Foods — loves fish and meats. Not a big sweets fan, honestly. Drinks — whiskey, who doesn’t love a good glass of whiskey? He also is a fan of a good beer. Drinks protein shakes, but he doesn’t like them. Also an avid coffee drinker. Animals — horses and dogs, as they are the most useful during a hunt and also loyal. Finds cats frivolous and only good for rat-catching. Indifferent towards most other animals, except for dangerous magical ones, of course. Social Issues — the protection of mundus Favorite Saying — “strength gives glory” his family words Color — gold and red, the colors of his family coat of arms. He takes great pride in this. He also likes blue, because it looks good on him. Jewelry — probably has like a family ring heirloom type thing. also has a virgin Mary miraculous medallion that he wears Games — jousting, melees, that kind of thing Websites — none really TV Shows — cops shows/true detective crime shows/the history channel Movies — okay there is this danish movie i found called “Ordet” and the plot is #wild, but also sounds like something Phoebus would be into. He’s into like gritty noir films or avant garde indie films. Stuff that has to do with like crises of faith and that sort of thing. Probably into period pieces too or medieval. Also, big into mythology, so any adaptation of the Odyssey or the Iliad or stuff like that. He watched a lot of movies as a kid. (Side note: there is another movie called “Breaking the Waves” and wow,,) Greatest Want — to take over as the head of his family and be a successful Prince, maybe even King one day, in the future Greatest Need — to be admired

Where and How Does Your Character Live Now:

Home — an apartment in Castle Suites Household furnishings — plain Favorite Possession — his saddle, it was given to him by his father when he became a Prince -- it was custom made Most Cherished Possession — he’s not really a material person tbh or well, he is ? but he doesn’t really consider anything “cherished” Married Before — no Significant Other Before — he’s had a few girlfriends over the years, but they’ve all fallen through, was in love with his cousin’s wife just for extra salt in THAT wound. her name is Olivia. Children — none Relationship with Family — strained with his father, closer to his mother Car — none atm but he can drive Career — a Prince -- but his cover is police officer Dream Career — running his family company and being a successful Prince Dream Life — married, with kids, running his family company and being a well-renowned Prince Love Life — a mess.

Your Character’s Life Before Your Story:

Past Careers — he’s been an officer in many places over the past twenty-ish years Past Lovers — lots and lots of women Biggest Mistakes — lmao where do i start Biggest Achievements — becoming a Prince

[moravectransfer]

Kara no Kyōkai Movie 1 reaction

Thoughts as I watched Movie 1: You know if someone doesn't like icecream there are other cold foods you can buy them rather than just assuming they'll like ice cream when it's really cold. Goddammit man, pick a flavor you think she likes rather than being cute and trying to colour code it. Independent girl don't need no flattery ice cream. I'm with her - it's annoying when people try to get you to eat stuff without knowing your tastes. And here we have the scene I was shown in advance I think I lack the context I require to actually enjoy this insect motif abstract opening thing. It'll probably make sense once I watch more. Girl's apparent is bare to an unsettling degree. Like if you had a laptop or something it'd look a lot more natural. Just water in the fringe? I guess she *could* eat out but they're probably implying she's kind of boring in this regard (though the reason for this remains to be seen). Wait, or are they implying that the water around here is impure or seems impure to her. Otherwise why not just get 2 or three glass bottles and refill them for cold water - it's what I do. Girl seems to notice something and leaves without checking messages. Is this setting up that missed message as important, something that could have saved her life or something. Or is she the victim of harrassment or something and already knows what the message probably is? A spate of suicides? Sounds like a Witch! I like this girl in a white coat with glasses sipping coffee. Sounds like something like a witch is in play if none of these girls wanted to die. Mind control? Why is it targetting school girls? Is this Mikiya person, how to put it politely, neurotypical? Is there a reason white coat lady is speaking for him while he just stares forward blankly? Is that why, after making the insight he's makes the rather silly followup statement which doesn't seem like a joke. Or is that a joke? I sometimes have trouble reading emotions when consuming subtitled media. I end up just reading the words and ignoring the tone. When is he coming back to us? Sounds like there is something off with him. Is he like spirit walking and literally not in his body? Or is it some kind of neurological condition? The police car has its lights on. Another suicide? Dog trailing blood. Yep, another suicide. (Or one of the existing ones. I've been informed this thing isn't necesssarily chronological). What on earth are those things in front of the moon. Wraiths? Presumably whatever they are they're the cause of the suicides or maybe that's just what it wants me to think (eg they're attracted to death but don't cause it) Aww, white coat lady is a smoker. That's unfortunate. Unless you have robo-lungs like Adam Jensen you should try and quit. So 8 wraiths = 8 dead girls? That seems oddly specific. Why would each of them only cause 1 death. Unlesssss this is the non-chronological thing and the girl sees the future. Those are ghosts and they didn't cause the suicides. She's seeing there will eventually be 8 victims in ghost form. Ok we've gotten some exposition about time being weird at the tower. Records being formed at a slower rate or something? How does that work? Exposition on what people feel as they look out before they jump. I'm not entirely sure I understand it. Is this show seriously claiming that these girls are just being overwelmed by the immensity of the world they live in and collapsing over the edge? A view might be impressive but it's not the total perspective vortex. Anyone who has seen an optical illusion knows that perception does not equal reality but I can't help but worry they're going somewhere silly with this. People can't survive outside of their own little boxes? I think that's a very pessimistic view of the human psyche. Humans *don't* view the world accurately. We have a ton of cognitive biases. But, in general, I don't think we're going to keel over after percieving things slightly more accurately. So the girls might be related to Mikiya's condition or whatever? Wait, is Mikiya the guy who brought her icecream in the beginning? Hard to say. Also what's with all the TVs? I had assumed they were trying to set up some sort of science vibe but they haven't really done anything with it since then. Seeing the girl fall behind her was disturbing. I think we saw two different time periods here. Her approaching the building in the past with the suicide and then investigating in the present. Now she's walking the halls to a background of child laughter. Is this what they meant by records being slow? That the children have left but somehow a record of their presense will take longer to leave. Yep, definite confirmation of some kind of spirit manipulating people She's not going to do an Ash Williams and cut off the hand is she? Wait so she's got a puppet hand? Magical prosthesis? Or maybe it's just a puppet hand - have I seen that hand move before possession? And now we're talking about souls. This will probably be cringeworthy. Talking about soulless shells... is that Mikiya's problem, is his soul on walkabout? Looks like it's something like that So the message on her answering machine was the last one he left and she keeps it for the memory? That's what I think I'm gathering here. She's eating the icecream so the opening scene couldn't have occurred *that* long ago Ok so she can control the artificial arms. "Aren't you going to bring him back?" And what is this implying? She can bring back souls? She can bring back the dead? Why isn't she? Is there a cost? Or is she just a jerk who thinks he deserves it? More child laughter. She must be hunting one of those things. Will killing it give him his soul back? They're demons? Is she duty bound to kill demons for some reason or is it just because it's the right thing to do? For a second we see the demons with lines through them. Does she possess some ability to see where she needs to cut to kill them? She can fly now? Or at least glide? For a moment I was expecting a hard cut to her falling off the building and the reveal that this is actually what all of the victims see before killing themselves. So this is the one that controlled your hand earlier? So, what, she can't be mind controlled because she's a sociopath or something? It was a woman in a coma all along? Who's that at the door? Don't tell me it's the girl come to kill her real body too or something? Wait, is she conscious of what she was doing? I assumed not. Why would you do that? Is she a psychic or something? Ok it sounds more like a disease or something that occurs when she's asleep. This bit of music here reminds me a lot of Inevitabilis from Madoka So gaining that kind of psychic from makes you lose your vision for some reason? Two containers? The ghost body or whatever counts as a second container? Or is it something else? So what, she was trying to make the metaphorically fly like she was but they misunderstood and tried to actually fly? I think a lot of this movie's problems would have been solved by giving this girl a laptop rather than giving her nothing to do but stare blankly at the window. Please don't tell me that's actually realistic for Japan. So she's a full on death seeker now? I find her apprasal of different ways of dying to be rather creepy. The qualities you should be considering are 'is it quick' and 'is it painless'. So she committed suicide, that's how they resolved this? That's ... less than ideal. Did she *need* to die for him to wake up or was there some other way for her to release him? Was Touko trying to goad her into suicide? I hope not. Now they're talking about how flying and falling is inextricably linked how you can't fly under your own power, etc. I'm not sure but I think they might be trying to advance some philosophy of not reaching too far or something. I strongly disagree with this philosophy. Now we're talking about the ethics of suicide. I guess for my part I believe that everyone owns their own life and has the right to throw that away but in physically healthy individuals outside of horrifying circumstances (eg being trapped in a collapsed mine with no food or about to be captured by people who will torture you horribly) a desire for suicide rarely comes from a healthy place, mentally, and so should be considered with caution. Sounds like he's talking more about Martyrdom than suicide. Killing yourself to save all of Tokyo is an indulgence? That is beyond silly. Now he's talking about his dream which sounds like the intro. Erg, gender roles. Talk like you want girl. Credits, checking for after credit scene I see an energetic girl trying to peak over the crowd. That's the most personality I've seen from a character so far. There's no reason for suicide she says as she slowly kills herself.

So that was a thing. It honestly hasn't captured my attention so far. I'd probably stop watching here if I was just watching this alone on a whim. Not sure when I'll get to the next movie.

[cometkins]

i will never stop filling out character questions

1. Which should be saved – a bus full of innocent lives or a loved one?

Loved one first. Theo doesn’t have many of those left, and he wants to protect innocent lives, but the people closest to him will always be his priority.

2. You meet a man who has killed someone and done time for it before. Does this factor into how you treat him? Will he ever truly escape that sin?

Context is important here. If it’s an accident or it was to protect somebody else, I think Theo could eventually look past it. If it was on purpose, to shut somebody up, etc etc literal murder, Theo would never be able to get past that.

3. If you could jump back through time to save a loved one’s life, would you? Despite what it might to do the timeline? To everyone else? Do you believe it is their fate to die regardless?

Theo would save any of his loved ones if given the chance. The fact that he couldn’t save them all fast enough, and didn’t have the strength to do it until very late in their enslavement is something he still feels guilty about.

4. You have a secret you swore not to reveal. But this secret is the only thing that would prove your innocence in a separate matter. Is it worth risking your own well-being for the secret? Or would you betray the trust given to you?

I think it 100% depends on whose secret. If Theo is only cordial with somebody, or just barely knows them in general, I think he’d be willing to trade the secret for his life. If it’s somebody he deeply cares about or is close to, he’d be more tight-lipped.

5. Is it better to hurt others before they hurt you or let yourself be walked all over and hurt by others?

I think Theo is definitely in the camp of the former lately, he’s very distrusting and he’d sooner lash out than let himself be betrayed.

6. If you tell the truth, an evil person gets to walk away free. If you lie, you may be able to send them away like they deserve. Is honesty worth more than justice?

Lmao no Theo’s got a particular moral compass but he’s not letting people who do bad shit get away with dick.

7. You have the key to immortality in your hands. But not for free. If you want it, as a price, your worst enemy also gains immortality. Is it worth it?

Theo hates being alive too much to take that, not if he can’t make a few people he cares about immortal on top of that. His worst enemy is already an immortal lich so it’s no skin off his nose really, but he’d hate being alive and alone.

8. If you could gain as much money as you want for losing a sense, would you do it?

Money isn’t something super important to Theo, I don’t think he’d give it up. His body is already very physically weak and atrophied from his time with Jericho, he can’t afford to give anything else up.

9. Can people be held accountable for things people close or related to them did or are they innocent?

Depends. Were they aware of it and allowed it to happen? Were they coerced into keeping out of it? Did they genuinely just not know? Context is very important for Theo to pass judgement. If somebody was aware and jsut stayed out, he’d call them accountable. If they were forced or genuinely didn’t know, he couldn’t fault them necessarily.

10. If a lot of people, possibly innocent people, have to die in order to make a real change, is it worth it? Can you live with their deaths even if it helps people in the present?

I think Theo would have a hard time with that. If a lot of people have to die to overthrow an oppressive regime, that’s the sacrifice you have to make, but he’d feel a lot of guilt.

11. Imagine there is a beast that craves attention. If you ignore it, despite being deadly, it will leave you alone. Could you live like that? Even if it possibly attacked others? Would you try and challenge something that unknown?

I mean. The beast is his personality disorder like this describes bpd a lot so. Theo would just internalize it and take it on himself.

12. If someone else stole something and you stole it back is that a good deed, a bad deed or one of equal worth? Are you better than the original thief?

Theo would call it a good deed. You’re righting a wrong that’s been done.

13. Could you sacrifice yourself for the good of everyone else?

Theo has an awful martyr complex so yeah

14. What of love? Say you discover your lifelong crush on another has finally been reciprocated… but they are currently dating a family member or a dear friend the crush feels responsible to honor. Do you force the break up? Date on the side? Bottle it up forever?

Theo would tell the person if they do care for him, they’d make a decision and not string him along. Him or them. If it’s them, he’d bottle it up and try to get rid of it quickly.

15. Is lying to others to gain their approval more important than being genuine and hated?

Nah.

16. Have you ever contemplated killing someone? Who and why? Would you ever act on it? Are you frightened you might?

Theo spent a lot of time thinking about killing Jericho, for obvious reasons. He did act on it, and eventually it paid off.

17. Have you ever gotten sheer joy out of hurting someone else, either physically or mentally? To whom and why? Did it scare you?

I don’t know if Theo’s been given the opportunity to be this nasty yet? He definitely doesn’t enjoy hurting people. He did set the party paladin’s dress on fire for a moment, and he did it because she was attacking his fiancee, and it def didn’t scare him, but it wasn’t like. He wanted her to suffer and keel over or something. In general he definitely doesn’t take joy in hurting others, and he tends to punish himself if it happens on accident.

18. Have you ever done something morally wrong? If it’s morally wrong do you regret it?

Theo’s a morally grey character to begin with, so. Probably numerous things.

19. What is more likely a thought to you – that this world is wrong or that you are wrong?

The world is wrong.

20. Are there people in this world who, no matter how much time and penitence is given, should never be forgiven?

Absolutely.

21. Are there people in this world you simply think the world would be better without? If you could erase them out of existence without physically murdering them, would you?

Absolutely.

22. How do you feel about having an intimate relationship with someone you don’t love? What if they love you in return? Does that make you feel guilty?

Theo’s already had to do this, and he feels no amount of guilt. He got what he deserved.

23. Could you ever become your own hero? Is that a role you can fulfil or is it something you look to others for?

lmao no Theo hates himself too much

24. How do you feel about tears? Are they cowardly and weak? Do you cry? Would you consider that shameful?

Theo cries pretty openly? He hates doing it but it’s almost physically impossible for him to hold them in now.

25. What is more important to you? An idea of yours being used and appreciated or the credit for that idea beings yours and yours alone?

I think an idea being used

26. Is your personal happiness more important than anything else in the world? Than fame? Than the happiness of others?

Yes and no. Theo values the happiness of people close to him, but he also knows he has to protect his own happiness, because he doesn’t get to feel happy very often. He hasn’t been able to in a long time, so he’ll do anything to preserve what little he gets.

27. How far would you go to achieve a dream or ideal? Does it matter who suffers? Does it matter if you suffer?

Theo would go very far, and he’d definitely step over other people to do it; he feels no guilt there. He’ll suffer, others will suffer, as long as he get what he wants.

28. How long would you wait for the one you love? A year? Fifteen years? Forever? Could you honestly be loyal to an unfulfilled love?

Theo waited 110.

29. Is genius equal to hard work? Does a genius deserve praise for doing well without effort? Are they above us?

Natural brilliance is commendable, but Theo very much admires people who work themselves up from nothing.

30. Do we live in a world of parallels? Can there be no hope without grief? No happiness without suffering? Or is a utopia possible?

No. Theo believes that people are too cruel overall. He can try to make his own piece of utopia, but he always knows something will take that away eventually.

31. What is more important to you? Being respected and praised by your elders or being looked up to and championed by those younger or of the same age?

Theo doesn’t give a fuck about elders anymore. If younger people look up to him though, that’s something that makes him feel good.

32. If you could choose to remove certain feelings such as anger, confusion, sadness, would you remove them?

Theo would remove these feelings from himself in a heartbeat. He has a lot of that built up in his body and he just wants to be a functional person again.

33. If you could wipe certain memories from your head, would you? Why would you? What memories?

Theo would wipe all of the traumas of Jericho from his mind. He feels that he’s a completely changed person because of it, and that he’s a worse person because of it. If he believed he could be more pleasant and happy, he’d do it.

34. What path appeals to you more? An exciting dream that leaves you possibly penniless and alone or a drab existence where you have steady success.

A drab but steady existence is all Theo craves.

35. Is every person in this world wholly unique or can they be categorized? Can they be grouped and mentally dissected? Are you just another sheep in another flock or are you the sole unique soul?

People can definitely be categorized. Everybody is different, but they all fall into their own groups and labels that will determine a lot of their thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors.

[seracrrow]

I still owe a proper intro to Mercutio, but here’s a bit about Sera Carrow! If you’d like to plot with any of my characters, please shoot me a message because I’d love to get some things going!

EIZA GONZALEZ? No, that’s actually SERAFINA CARROW. Only a SIXTH YEAR, this GRYFFINDOR student is sided with THE DEATH EATERS. SHE identifies as CIS-GENDER FEMALE and is a DEMANDING who is notorious for being DEMANDING and RETICENT but also revered for being REFINED and COMPOSED. 

Okay so this is Serafina Carrow and she’s the adopted sister of Valeria, Jacqueline, and Tisiphone Carrow and I’m going to try to keep this relatively short and sweet!

The Carrow parents are actually kind of really yikes, but Sera doesn’t feel particularly close to them, however the same can’t be said about her sisters.

She loves them a whole lot, but she has a mangled sense of loyalty and they are really the only things keeping her connected. Sera is very loyal, but she can also be a bit of a flight risk.

Her sisters are probably the only ones that she is truly and wholly deeply loyal to, because, at her core, she is self-preserving and also ready to pull a Gone Girl at almost any point in time???

Sera respects alliances, connections, and mutually beneficial relationships. She is loyal, but it only goes so deep – but a severed relationship is more likely to come than a betrayal.

She’s most likely to act in extremes if roped into it by other people. She’s pretty even keeled but can get worked up/pushed into one direction or another.

Her self-preservation shows itself in less brutal ways mostly, especially with her fierce independence (but she’s actually not quite as independent as she thinks??) and she tries to take care of her own shit together so no one else has to - and she’d probably rebuff them if they tried. She’d prefer to take care of others than vice versa, but she actually has a pretty low bullshit tolerance tbh

She tries to keep out of trouble – or rather, she operates in a way that you can’t pin or trace anything back to her if the situation calls for it. She tries to cover for those she cares about/keep them out of trouble/sera is pretty damn good at cleaning up messes/etc, as well.

Sera always, always, always has an exit plan? Or tries to have a fail safe? She likes to be able to get herself into an out of things unnoticed/unscathed.

^^^ basically she wants the ability to take care of the people she loves and wants to protect, but she doesn’t really intervene too much?

These are all things she wants to be capable of – and she is, to some extent, but not quite as much as she’d like/actually thinks she is???

I know that’s pretty contradictory, and she’s aware that it’s one of her flaws, and sometimes she tries to counterbalance herself and it doesn’t quite work out in her favor. Sera can actually get kind of panicky at the worst times – this’ll be important later.

UM UM UM this is getting kind of long, but she’s listed as a DE (largely because of the fam and not her own beliefs?) even though she’s horridly apathetic about a lot of this, and doesn’t really support a war, and she doesn’t want to get too involved. It spooks her more than it interests her, but she’s never going to admit that

She likes birds

Sera is really quite skilled at potions, and in post-hogwarts verses she runs an upscale apothecary/parfumerie -- like a potions shop that also specializes in cosmetics, beauty potions, etc. 

Once upon a time she fell in love with either a muggleborn or a halfblood, panicked, and either killed them (like in most verses yikes) or just obliviated the shit out of them?? I haven’t decided yet, but it could be used as a plot point/connection? Someone could black mail her into doing something for one side or the other, idk idk

I’m going to end this here because it’s getting less and less coherent, but I’d love to get some plots going for this grump. <3

[legalroll]

Animal Cruelty - seeking justice from the law for all sentient beings

It has been over a month since it was reported that the Winnipeg Police in conjunction with Winnipeg Animal Services seized 15 malnourished and unkempt dogs from Winnipeg’s West End. As a staunch animal lover who is proud to have her own dog-ter (dog daughter), this case hit close to home and incited me to look at the Criminal Code provisions governing animal cruelty which is governed under s 445 of the Criminal Code.

445.1

(1) Every one commits an offence who(a) wilfully causes or, being the owner, wilfully permits to be caused unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal or a bird and are kept for a lawful purpose

Although s 445.1(1) is leaps and bounds from the ruling of Ebers v MacEachern where Justice Arsenault held that “If an animal belongs to the class of tame animals, ... he is then clearly a subject of absolute property”, I still believe that Canada has been slow to adapt to changing social views that animals are more than property… they are family, the means of emotional support and for some people, their livelihood.

“Wilfully Causes”: Subjective or Objective?

Under s 429 of the Criminal Code, the term “wilfully causes” found in s 445.1(1)(a) is defined as

429 (1) Every one who causes the occurrence of an event by doing an act or by omitting to do an act that it is his duty to do, knowing that the act or omission will probably cause the occurrence of the event and being reckless whether the event occurs or not, shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Part, wilfully to have caused the occurrence of the event.

Historically, animals have not been afforded proper protection under s 429 because the phrase wilfully causes has been easy to manoeuvre around. This was the case in R v Heynan where the accused escaped criminal charges on the grounds that he didn’t wilfully starve three horses to death (another 21 horses were severely emaciated) because he was unaware that he couldn’t leave his horses without food over the winter and therefore lacked the requisite mens rea for a conviction under s 445.1(1)(a). In the ruling, Justice Preston considered subjective mens rea to be of great importance. Where most reasonable people would know that leaving their horses without food for the winter months would result in their starvation and subsequent deaths, Justice Preston failed to consider this; instead preferring the subjective test which I believe set the mens rea standard for the offence under s. 445.1(1)(a) too high.

“Wilfully Causes”: An Objective Test

Fortunately, the precedent set by R v Heynan in regard to the interpretation of “wilfully causes” has not gained much traction in the Courts (to my knowledge it hasn’t been followed in any other case). Recently, justices across Canada have indicated a preference of applying a more objective test in determining whether the accused has the requisite mens rea for an offence under s 445.1(1)(a). In R v Gerling, the accused was convicted for the mistreatment of 14 dogs under s 445.1(1). In the ruling, Justice Chiasson held that the determination of wilful blindness is an objective test and not a subjective test (at para 21). This rule was also applied in R v Adams where Justice Shriar found the accused guilty because of the objective condition of the animals (overlong toenails, dirty kennels, lack of nourishment, etc.) which the accused wilfully permitted or recklessly failed to see.

The Implications of “Kept For a Lawful Purpose”

While the term “wilfully causes” has been given a slightly fairer interpretation by the Court, I think the real issue with s 445.1(1)(a) is the stipulation that the animal must be kept for a lawful purpose in order for a person to be convicted. In R v Robinson, Justice Donegan restricted what constitutes keeping an animal for a lawful purpose under the Code. In his interpretation of s 445.1(1), Justice Donegan held that only people who wilfully cause pain, suffering or injury to animals that are essentially domesticated can be charged. This is truly concerning because there are a whole class of animals that are effectively not considered- homeless and wild animals.

This is especially pertinent in Winnipeg where we have a high feral cat population and northern Manitoba where the wild/stray dog populations are out of control. In 2016, CBC released an article stating that thousands of dogs were found slaughtered in Northern Manitoba where hundreds upon thousands of dogs run wild. In the article, CBC shed light on the cruel culling of dogs in some northern communities. In some communities, a $25 per tail reward is offered for any dog culled. While I understand that from an ecological perspective, the population needs to be controlled, I believe the mandate that animals “must be kept for a lawful purpose” has resulted in the undervaluing of dogs that are stray or wild. Take for example the case of Polo, an eight month old stray pup who was thrown into a fire pit and suffered burns all over his body.

While I fully understand that dogs like Polo aren’t domesticated or “lawfully kept”, I find it alarming that under s 445.1 this brazen culling which may incite cruelty is allowed without criminal sanctions.

Proceeding Summarily- Not Enough Punishment for Perpetrators of Animal Cruelty!

In my view, criminal proceedings against perpetrators of animal cruelty should be as (or nearly as) severe as against those who act violently towards other humans. Unfortunately, the Courts are wont to proceed summarily (rather than by indictment) against most people convicted under s 445.1(1)(a). Case in point in R v Randell, the accused who shot and killed his dog got off with a mere $1,000 fine. Similarly, in R v Fowlie, the accused was also fined $1,000 in addition to 90 days imprisonment for tying their horse to their truck, accelerating and dragging the poor creature until it could no longer keep up and keeled over.

The issue of lenient punishments handed out to perpetrators of animal cruelty is not only a legal issue, but an issue that transcends all boundaries and affects everyone. In my view, animals are the epitome of innocent. You just have to look into the depths of their eyes to know that they are thinking and feeling sentient beings. Just like some humans, many animals face harsh and deplorable conditions and act violently in stress-inducing situations; yet to rob these creatures of the necessities of life for extended periods of time, to maim them and beat them is no better than to do so to a fellow human being- and that’s a criminal offence. While I understand that my opinion is extreme, we cohabit this land with animals, many of which we derive benefits from, and I honestly believe that for all of these reasons we owe animals some degree of protection from violence and unnecessary cruelty.

Sources

Legislation:

Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46.

Jurisprudence:

Ebers v MacEachern, 1932 3 DLR 415, 4 MPR 333.

R v Fowlie, NBJ No 539, 41 WCB (2d) 257.

R v Gerling, 2016 BCCA 72.

R v Heynan, 1992 AJ No 1181, 18 WCB (2d) 521.

R v Payne, 2018 CarswellNfld 292, 149 WCB (2d) 549.

R v Randell, 1989 AJ No 260, 7 WCB (2d) 163.

R v Robinson, 2014 BCSC 1463.

Secondary Sources:

Erin Brohman “Thousands of dogs frozen, slaughtered on Manitoba First Nations, rescuer says”, CBC (18 January 2016), online: <cbc.ca> [perma.cc/CB4U-MLQX].

Arin Greenwood, “Dog, cruelly thrown into fire pit still wags his tail: ‘He’s a happy guy’”, Today, (18 May 2017), online: <today.com> [perma.cc/KTE3-GX6G].

Animal Cruelty - seeking justice from the law for all sentient beings published first on https://medium.com/@SanAntonioAttorney