#i love making intricate and unique backstories and lives and families for characters that will never show up in the main story

[battry-acid]

vertigo/virgil and his siblings >:] i have come up with a stupid amount of lore for the gargoyle species because i'm crazy about vertigo. expect more of these folks

[thechekhov]

Alright, alright, I caved.

After a slot opened up in me to be able to take on another show emotionally, I decided to invest in OwlHouse. I thought I would probably like it, but it won me over faster than I thought it would.

I’ve already watched a few episodes, but I realized that it might be more fun to do liveblogs, so here I am - with a liveblog...

I will be doing this episode by episode, and probably releasing them every once in a while. Everything will be under a cut, however, to save you all dash space.

If you’d like to follow, please track the #chekhov watches owlhouse tag!

(I’d also like to dedicate this post to the Tumblr Staff Rob, who did his best to restore this post for me when tumblr queue ate it.)

Without further ado...

Episode 1!!

Fair warning - this is technically not a ‘live’ blog, because I have already watched some of the show before deciding to do this, but I’ll still react to them to round things out.

Immediately, this reminds me of Little Witch Academia... Anyone? No? Only me? I feel like maybe I’m getting my wires crossed, but there HAD to have been some inspiration taken from there?

“No-- my only weakness! Dying!!“

Same, big snake monster. Same.

Oh, backup snakes? This girl is READY.

Please don’t mistreat the snakes.

Spider breath... This kid is on my wavelength. That griffin seems to be waiting to be put out of its misery though, and I don’t blame it.

My child... where did you get that pigeon head though.....

Nurse mother, do you REALLY think signing up your spider-summoning daughter for summer camp will actively make her antics slow down instead of ramp up to 60?

Awww, baby makes AMVs... But also, NO ONE TOLD YOU TO THROW AWAY THE BOOK??? I know it’s symbolic, but goodness, isn’t that a bit much???

wait a sec, is that Eda????

Love the realistic bilingual kid experience of replying in English when your mom talks to you in your native language. Universal.

Love this introduction of Eda’s character. She’s got that little green scarf on and everything. Like a tiny trash grandma.

Oooh, okay, let’s extrapolate...

Lots of bones everywhere. I kinda love the aesthetic here - it’s gross and visceral, kind of like what Luz was making with her school projects. Yet in the middle of it all we have a rather clear gothic looking structure. Is this a power imbalance in the supposed kingdom?

The five circles of stained glass seem to perhaps indicate something like Hogwarts houses? Several different types of magic?

But Luz has no reason to freak out as much as she is - she LOVES weird stuff! Haha... No, I kid, I kid. I get it.

“Am I in the bad place?“

Eyyyyy, gotta love shows referencing other shows. :)

“Oh dear child... I’m not like you.”

Wow, what a DRAMATIC reveal for some pointy ears. :) I love her.

We should all aspire to have such cool and stylistically well put together wanted posters. You can tell the commissioned artist really respects her craft.

Steven Universe fans watching this:

I’m looking too.

Okay, okay, enough shenanigans, let’s have some LORE.

I love this landscape. Teeth or bones, or whatever they are, this is one of the more unique settings we’ve gotten, though maybe I’m prejudiced because I love body horror and bones. The darker orange and red themes fit really well here.

Things I’m desperate for: Giraffe Lore 

Things I’m more desperate for: Eda lore. Why do her limbs fall off? Is she a zombie?

Things I’m not quite as desperate for: Hooty lore. He can keep that to himself.

well hello there mysterious chekhov’s glyph which will DEFINITELY not be relevant in the second chapter (or end of season? Maybe? Idk it just seems important).

Ah, yes. That would have been my reaction as well, to be fair. Somehow I didn’t expect to see this guy so early on. I figured he would be a low stress early villain that got assimilated into the Found Family. Kinda psyched that he’s just there from the start.

....I’m just gonna presume this is all true and accept it at face value.

Old Escape The Cops Lady and Tiny Little Demon King, I need your backstory. How did you meet.

I love looking at background details, because like... you can tell the BG artists had fun. I particularly love how the 3 eyed toad doesn’t actually have any reward attached to her. Though the Knife Baby does intrigue me!

“I write fanfics of food falling in love.”

Why am I being called out...

“Noo! My weak nerd arms!”

Finally, a realistic portrayal of a protagonist thrust into a fantasy setting!

.....................

Okay but. If only humans could pass through the barrier... wouldn’t that mean a human had to have deposited those things in there? Do they have a human on staff in this weird pseudo-prison??? Suspicious....

Confession - when I initially saw ads for this show, I expected Eda to be a villain, not a loveable middle aged witch aunt figure. I am shockingly even MORE drawn to her this way. I expected betrayal. I expected her to be a lowkey threat?? But no. She’s just wholesome in the way a solid raccoon is.

“Eda, are you okay?!”

“Yeah, this just happens when you get older...”

“........does it..?”

If I had to pinpoint the exact moment this show won me over...... it would probably be this one.

I know it’s probably the wrong thing to focus on, but what is that insignia? Wings??? Like.... the kind OWLS HAVE?????

COINCIDENCE??? I THINK NOT!!!

I’m really loving the landscape here. And those fireworks are... hmm... intricate?

Gotta love the old tried and true Witch Apprentice Actually A Live In Intern trope. :)

Hold up...

Is that

Is that Hooty? I thought he was just a door....

Eda: This is my room for human stuff. I will also put my human in there.

. . .

Overall rating: I think this is a cute overall beginning. The prison break went hard! I enjoyed the characters and it kind of surprised me in a lot of ways. It definitely does a great job setting up a world with a lot more to explore while giving us a small taste of cool magic stuff and witchy battles. :)

Now on to Episode 2!!

Read the liveblogs in order by clicking here!

[maschotch]

Your tags are always great, but the one where you mentioned Hotch cheating on Haley being a thing you just can't see - I love you for that. I get that people are entitled to their own interpretations but that's one I've always struggled to see - how do you see a guy who admits to planning to 'confront' his father (who he clearly dislikes) for cheating on his mother (and see how, while their marriage definitely had Problems, he did clearly still love Haley even after the divorce) and go, yeah that seems like a guy who'd totally cheat on his wife.

EXACTLY

like its one thing for reader inserts or whatever bc they'll write for the situation first for the character second so live ur life write ur smut im happy 4 u enjoy ur kinks have fun

but for people's actual headcanons about the character?? again--people are entitled to their own opinions--but im also allowed to call you wrong aksjdhfglksh like i just completely disagree. its just something that really says a lot about what kind of character he is, and if you think he'd do something like that, we're not even looking at the same character anymore. for him to do something like that is so fundamentally contradictory to who i see him as. thats the kind of stuff that will make me look away and just not engage bc its just someone completely different from the character i care about so much. its easier for all of us if we just dont interact bc our perspectives are like oil and water--we'll just never agree bc we view the core of his character in ways that are worlds apart

there are a lot of different interpretations i do like! of course i have my own preferences. and its easier for me personally to focus on one linear (or two similar) story for him just for consistency's sake. i think he's not telling the whole truth in that ashes and dust scene you mentioned, i have my whole intricate backstory created for him, i think hotch and haley loved each other but i think they did the right thing getting a divorce and that both of them deserve to move on and find their own happiness.

that being said, i love seeing people explore different possibilities. we've gotten so much and so little about hotch's childhood that there are a million ways we can put the pieces together, and it's fascinating to see what others come up with. some people like the idea of hotch and haley as this tragic romance: soulmates who never got to see the end of their journey. there are endless possibilities on what hotch's family was like growing up and what those early relationships were like for him, and each one inspires me to look at things a different way and tweak my own perspective. there are some really creative and beautiful takes people have on who hotch is and it's so so interesting to hear about unique interpretations

i dont want to come across as someone who only cares about their own ideas. i mean i think im right aksjdhglas not gonna deny that but i never want to minimize the value of different viewpoints or discredit someone's opinion. there are just levels to the way i may disagree: i can appreciate a headcanon that differs from my own, i can enjoy someone else's story and try to incorporate my favorite aspects into my own, and i can ignore ones i flat out disagree with. its okay to have different opinions, but its just as acceptable to disengage from interpretations that you don't like. especially for something as insignificant as headcanons for a character on a serial cop show that ended X years ago

[jolyneswife-anime-reviews]

Food wars anime review

Spoilers for food wars and mentions of nudity

Disclaimer : I've only watched the first 2 seasons of food wars, because the rest aren't available on Netflix.

“Repeating trial and error and failing many times... it’s that process which makes dishes shine,” - Soma Yukihira

Genre: Slice of life, cooking, high school, comedy

Where I watched it: Netflix

Characterisation: 8/10 (The characters come form very different backgrounds and have distinct personalities, which all translate in their cooking. They are developed throughout the series, becoming more individual and gaining confidence in themselves, like Megumi, or understanding themselves better, like Hisako or Mito. Their backstories, where revealed, are intricate and original, fitting for them as individuals.)

Setting: 7.5/10 (I really liked the shift from Soma’s humble family diner to the grand cooking school- it really shows he’s entering a different world. The school caters to everything as it should, with cosy dorms where Soma and his friends hang out after class and grand stages for cooking competitions like the fall selection. One thing I particularly liked was the training camp- the fast paced plots and the changes in setting to match the activities made it really fun to watch. Apart from that, nothing stands out in particular.)

Art style: 9/10 (I absolutely love the way the characters are drawn ! Although it is nothing too unique, the style is really pleasing, and each character’s appearance is thoughtful and reflective of them. Settings are also drawn carefully and with attention to detail; this makes the anime all the more complete and enjoyable. Something that is definitely worth mentioning in this section is the food- I adore the way food is drawn in anime, and with this anime, you get to see many creative dishes presented in artistic ways.)

Plot: 8.5/10 (The plot is well executed and fast paced, with just the right level of build up before important cooking events. There’s a lot of anticipation too, as well as a few plot twists which keep the anime engaging. Despite the fact that the central focus of the series is cooking, there are many other elements and sub plots (romance, rivalries etc) which just add to the richness of the plot. However, it definitely falls short in one aspect- when the judges (or anyone, for that matter) eat good food, all their clothes come off (especially if they are women) and we find ourselves viewing strange scenarios in their heads which are somewhat linked to what they feel about the food. While I understand it’s meant to illustrate the impact the food has on the judges, I think there are better ways to go about it, because some of those scenes feel awkward and downright bizarre.) 

Comfort: 8/10 (Food wars is a pretty light hearted and relaxing anime to watch- it’s humorous and feel good, with the characters growing close and becoming more skilled and confident with each other’s help. There are plenty of wholesome scenes with the cast, and Soma’s carefree, happy vibes are definitely contagious for viewers.)

Addictiveness: 9/10 (The bright, bold characters and the interesting dynamics between them, as well as the fast paced plot, the thrill of the cooking battles, and the dangerously competitive feel of some episodes make this anime very addictive, even for those who aren’t too interested in cooking.)

Philosophy: 6.5/10 (As a more light hearted anime, it doesn’t have many deep messages, but it does showcase the value of friendship in our lives, particularly with Megumi and Soma- their relationship, as well as finally having someone to believe in her and support her, leads Megumi to develop self-confidence and become a very skilled chef. The series also illustrates the benefits gained from having to fight through difficult situations, with the most skilled chefs coming from the most humble or demanding backgrounds, and how much losses can help you improve, if you learn from them and don’t get discouraged. This is the secret to Soma’s cooking.)

Consistency: 8/10 (The show’s quality is consistent throughout- it stays engaging and gripping as the series continues, with some arcs being slightly less exciting but still pleasant to watch.)

Originality: 9/10 (I have never seen a show combine slice of life elements, regular high school life and high stakes cooking battles in such a harmonious way. The school itself, as well as all the opportunities and contests offered, are unique to the anime, as is the way the food battles are executed.)

The plot

Soma Yukihira works in his father’s eatery, fighting every day to improve his cooking and please customers. He takes great pride in the restaurant, and hopes to one day take over from his dad. One day, his father leaves due to business and tells him he is to sign up to Totsuki academy, the most prestigious cooking school in Japan. Initially, Soma is skeptical, but he attends the entrance exam regardless. However, when the candidates see who is judging their dishes for the exam, they all flee in a panic apart from Soma, who is up to the challenge. The judge is Erina Nakiri, a celebrity in the food industry and the director’s granddaughter. She is known for having a very fine palette and being almost impossible to please. Not knowing any of this, Soma begins working on his dish, which needs to incorporate eggs. When Erina tries it, it’s clear she likes it, but she refuses to bow to Soma, as she views his more humble background in cooking as “common,”. Because of this, she tells him he has failed the exam. However, the school director was watching in secret, and contacts Soma to let him know he passed. At the entrance ceremony, Soma makes a speech as the transfer student, saying he fully intends to take the top spot at the academy, as it would be embarrassing for him to lose to a group of people who have never actually worked in a kitchen. His bold declaration of battle offends most of the students, but Soma is blissfully ignorant to that. This marks the start of Soma’s stay at Totsuki- he will meet many different chefs from all over the world, and complete a vast range of challenges, all the while making good friends and meeting strong rivals. 

Masterlist

[boiledeggacademia]

A Writer of Two Worlds

Kazuo Ishiguro is one of my MOST favorite all-time authors, I've read most of his works and I'm so excited to share you some of his biography, his books, some trivia, and a personal reflection in this post! Enjoy!

Who is Kazuo Ishiguro?

A British novelist who was born in Japan and moved to London when he was 5

Born November 8, 1954 and is alive presently

He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2017

His contemporary fiction novels are themed around preoccupation by memories, their potential to digress and distort, to forget and to silence, and to haunt

His Early Life and Education

At the age of 5, Ishiguro and his family moved from Japan to Britain at Guildford, Surrey until he would leave for university

His family expected to stay temporarily, but they ended staying for a long time as his father’s research continued to be supported by the British government

In the autumn of 1974, he attended the University of Kent at Canturbury to study for a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and Philosophy; he was very influenced by the works of Kafka and Proust; giving him his writing style of unreliable narrators

In 1976, he began to work on his first (unpublished) novel

He graduated in 1976, and by then had been exposed to various authors like Bronte, Austen, Doestoyvesky, Tolstoy, and the Socratic dialogues of Plato

He continued to write his own fiction, starting his second novel in 1977 (unpublished again)

In 1979, he applied for a place in the then small course of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, which was run by the renowned professor and novelist Malcom Bradbury

At UEA, he began to publish short stories in small literary magazines which garnered his contract by the London publishing house Faber and Faber who offered him a contract; from here, his writings began attraction immense attention and popularity

Selected Best Works

“I am a writer who wishes to write international novels. What is an 'international' novel? I believe it to be one, quite simply, that contains a vision of life that is of importance to people of varied backgrounds around the world. It may concern characters who jet across continents, but may just as easily be set firmly in one small locality.”

The Remains of the Day (1989)

post-war fiction

Synopsis: Protagonist Stevens is a butler who has a longtime history working at the Darlington Hall located in Oxford, England. In 1956, while taking a trip to see a colleague, he reminiscences about the events that happened at Hall in the 1920s and 1930s

received the Man Book Prize for Fiction in 1989

Aa1993 film adaption was nominated for 8 Academy Awards

An Artist of the Floating World (1986)

historical and global literature

Synopsis: Set in post war WWII Japan, narrator Masuji Ono, an aging painting, looks back at his fallen reputation, how his own attitude and perspective have changed towards the world, the Japanese society, and his art

won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award

explored his reconnection and personal feelings of his Japanese heritage

Never Let me Go (2005)

dystopian science fiction

Synopsis: Takes place in an alternate reality of England in the 1990s where human cloning was authorized. Kathy, a carer, reminisces about her time at the boarding school, Hailsham, where she and her friends had been apart of the boarding school's strict and rather strange lifestyle.

receiving many positive reviews, the novel ranked 4th on The Guardian's list of the 100 best books of the 21st century

Klara and the Sun (2021)

dystopian science fiction story

Synopsis: The story is set in a society in which some children are genetically engineered for enhanced academic ability. Androids can be bought as companions and Klara, an AF (Artificial Friend) learns about the society outside the glass of the display window.

Garnering positive reviews, the novel ranked 6th on the New York Times Bestseller for the week ending March 6th

a

Trivia

His first job was a grouse beater for the Queen Mother at Balmoral Castle (the British royal family’s summer retreat) in 1793

He worked as a social worker for six months in 1976 in a “multiple-deprived” area and he became sensitive to political issues

He wrote two screenplays for TV in 1984 and won the Golden Plague Best Short Film at the Chicago Film Festival

He worked as a lyricist for the jazz singer Stacy Kent, collaborating with the composer and saxophonist Jim Tomlinson

He presently lives in London with his wife and daughter

Reflection

This is a personal opinion but Ishiguro's works reminds me much of Haruki Murakami's writing. Especially when I was reading "An Artist of the Floating World" and "Klara and the Sun". They're both introspective fiction, the kind that talks about the mundanity of life, and bringing it to light, to something complex yet tangible that makes people hang onto every word. Ishiguro's style is by means not straightforward; it's intricate, with thoughtful word choices and phrases, and some of his works aren't exactly engaging right off the bat. But there is something that the two of them--Ishiguro and Murakami-- have in common; a haunting tale. Not in a scary way; in a way that makes you think about the ending, makes you want to go back and re-read some scenes and chapters. However, while Murakami evokes a sense of realism and sad nostalgia with his unique characters, Ishiguro explores reconstruction and interpretation through history through his unreliable characters that tend to deceive than reveal.

Ishiguro's settings are mainly British characters, set in England. However, his works, "An Artist of the Floating World" and another work, "A Pale View of the Hills" (1982) is a self-discovery journey of Ishiguro's Japanese heritage. As said before, he had been born in Nagasaki, Japan, attending kindergarten there and learning the basics of the Japanese alphabet. He moved to London when he was 5 and has stayed there since. The works mentioned above explores the culture and attitudes of the Japanese people; their trait for being introspective as they reflected on their lives. In the making of "An Artist of the Floating World", Ishiguro was praised to be a writer of both worlds. He was influenced by his traditional Japanese mother and he continued to stay connected to his heritage through Japanese literature and novels, noting the differences between Western and Eastern societies, and developing a sense of Japanese ideals. In a way, he was going back to the fading memories he remembered when he was younger, and evoking a sense of nostalgic youth and passing time.

It's one of these backstory context that I learned while I was researching that made me love his works even more. Thank you reading through all the way and I hope you guys give his works a read!

References:

“Kazuo Ishiguro | Biography, Books and Facts.” Famous Authors, FamousAuthors.org, www.famousauthors.org/kazuo-ishiguro.

“Kazuo Ishiguro - Literature.” British Council Literature, British Council, literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/kazuo-ishiguro.

“Kazuo Ishiguro Biographical.” NobelPrize.Org, Nobel Prize Organization, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2017/ishiguro/biographical.

[tomonari-nue]

tell us anout your ocs pls!!

JDJKB– okay so I have two JJK OCs and they both are as self-indulgent as the other; Kibana "Kiba" Mitsuru and Shimizu Airi!! Kiba is by far the most fleshed out one in canon, Airi is more of a self-indulgent character used for AU ficlets and such.

Beware some Manga Spoilers!!

Kiba was developed fairly early because each time I genuinely get into a new piece of media, I HAVE to make an OC for it lmao, so I created Kiba to give the students some extra stability in the form of a mildly unhinged college student. She'd often be grouped with Ino, mostly because they are the same age and vibe as would-be-college-kids out to cause a ruckus.

Her backstory is a little intricate, mostly because she came to JJTech at a really young age as a special case, since her Cursed Technique is unique and a little unstable as she is a completely untrained kid who had no idea what was happening to her and was suffering under the drawbacks of her technique. In short; she was sort of taken in by Yaga, as her biological family kind of abandoned her for being "not normal" and "a monster". So from the age of 8, she pretty much spend the rest of childhood at JJTech before she formally enrolled at the age of 15, as Yaga insisted on her attending a public school beforehand to spend time amongst her peers. Because of that, Kiba basically grew up alongside Gojo, Geto and Shoko and everyone else, which explains her close in-canon relationship with Gojo; they are shithead siblings, and nobody can take that away from me.

Currently, she's a 1st Grade Sorcerer, but the Higher Ups still argue they should put her in the Special Grade category due to the erratic nature of her technique, but Yaga already thinks she has too much of a big target on her back already due to her close relationship with Geto prior to when he defected. Like Gojo, Kiba doesn't believe in the Higher Ups and has a special kind of disdain for them as they were directly-indirectly responsible for her Suguru-nii's downfall.

Since Gojo kind of took care of her too after Geto defected, she also grew up alongside Megumi and Tsumiki, which very telling in the way she interacts with Megumi on the regular, even going so far as to call him "Megumin" because she is a Big Sister and she will be an asshole about it lmao. Generally, she's picked up Gojo's bad habit of calling everyone by their first name, which paints her as rude, but with the kids she just like to give them childish nicknames because she finds it cute. As she's 5 years older than the kids, she's understandably protective of them and very proactive in their lives by acting as an older sibling – she often trains with them, treats them to meals (with Satoru's credit card ofc) and participates in the teenage shenanigans they get up to.

I have some future plans for her as the manage continues and already wrote down some key-points and her possible endings (one of them Kiyoko absolutely HATES me for akjdjk) but so far, I absolutely adore Kiba. She's fun, rowdy and loves with her entire heart – she's incredibly caring towards those she cherishes and carries a lot of hurt around from her childhood.

[just-a-gay-toku-girl]

This chapter comes to a close

As you’ve seen by my posts I’ve recently been watching through Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, and just last night at the time of writing this I watched the final episode. This is significant to me because it was the first sentai I watched all the way through that was from before I became a sentai fan (Which was around the halfway point of Zyuohger). Why did I pick Shinkenger as my first? Partially because I like the suits, partially because the opening theme is a bop, and partially because I had seen parts of power rangers Samurai and I was just curious. So having finished the series (still having some movies to watch) I thought it would be fun to give my thoughts on the show and its characters, no note just talking about my thoughts on the show as a whole(Beware as I won’t shy away from spoilers). Starting with...

The Villains 

Arguably the villains can be just as important to the success of a show or movie as the main characters are. They need to be intimidating and powerful to make them seem like a real threat to the team, and I think the Gedoushu manage to accomplish that well enough. The suit designs for the main generals are ok, very intricate but not overly so (The exception to that being Dokoku who just has a bit to much going in his design IMO). One of my favorite things about this group is their main goal: raising the level of the Sanzu river so it’ll flood into the human world, To do this they have to create negative emotions in humans. It’s not often that bad guys in these shows actually have a goal besides just world domination. This actually gives the individual monsters more purpose than just attempting to destroy the rangers, plus it means that whenever they attack their scoring at least a small victory as the river will raise ever so slightly. Another small thing to mention before I get into the main villains as individuals is that despite being evil there seemed to be a bit of comradery between at least the main 3. It wasn’t brought up too often but a scene that stuck out to me was at the end when Dokoku and Shitari seem to be just the least bit saddened by Dayu’s death. Granted that could just be them being thankful that her death made Dokoku stronger but I digress. Onto the individual villains from least to most favorite

Shitari

There’s not much to say about Shitari since I can’t actually remember him doing much throughout the show. He may have helped with the plots of a few filler episodes and commanded a few monsters but that’s about it. Really the most notable thing about him is that his actor also plays Brook in One Piece so part of me was always expecting him to ask to see Dayu’s panties.

Dokoku

Surprisingly the big bad of this season just barely escapes being the worst villain. Much like Shitari he doesn’t actually do much throughout the season, what places him higher than Shitari is two things: 1. he has a reason for being idle throughout the show being that unlike other Gedoushu he can’t stay in the human world for more than 3 minutes without drying up severely and being out of commission for the next week, though we never are really told why that is. 2. When he eventually DID actually do something he was damn powerful. Easily walking through the shinkengers in their first battle. Not to mention it was clear even with monsters that seemed more intimidating than him they still were afraid of him and his power.

Dayuu

Honestly I don’t have much to say about her either. Most of the villains were decent at being villains but for the most part kinda unremarkable. What puts Dayuu and Juzo is just the fact that they had backstories and pretty interesting ones at that. Dayuu after finding out the man she loved had married another woman was consumed with jealousy and burned him and his wife to death. That is friggin metal as hell and I love it. In a series like this where full scale invasions from aliens are common place in rare to see something so small scale like this to be treated as serious as it is. It really makes her feel more human as a villain, which I dig.

Juzo

Juzo was easily my favorite villain in Shinkenger. And no not just because he was played by my favorite character from 555. Like Dayu he had a really interesting backstory that made him feel a lot more human (Despite the whole point of his arc being that he wasn’t human.) Basically he found out he was dying and decided to take a couple people down with him which led to him becoming a Gedou. In the earlier episodes he seemed to be sort of an anti hero, not necessarily working for the Gedou and even saving Shinken red’s life on a couple of occasions just because he wanted so desperately to fight red himself. That is until close to the end of the show when he basically said “I don’t care if my family’s souls are suffering because of me, let them suffer.” to show there really wasn’t a shred of humanity left within him. Not to mention he had an amazing death scene that I won’t say anything because it’s best seen for yourself. 

Now with the bag guys done I’m gonna move onto the actual shinkengers. like before it’ll be least to most favorite

Shinken Green - Tani Chiaki

In this case saying Chiaki is my least favorite really just means I didn’t like him as much as the others but I still did like him. Admittedly there wasn’t much to Chiaki in terms of an arc, just that in the beginning he had an inferiority complex that made him not want to follow orders but that kinda went away after one episode. What I liked more about him was his personality, very happy-go-lucky while still taking his role as a shinkenger seriously. He’s also very friendly, being the first to make friend’s with Genta when he joined the team as well as having a good relationship with every other ranger and even Jii. He really is fun to watch but not much else.

Shinken Pink - Shiraishi Mako

Mako is a very kind person and wants to help those in need, however she only helps those in need and as soon as they don’t need her she leaves them. She’s one of the older Shinkengers thus earning her the affectionate nickname of “Big sis” from the rest of the team. However that’s basically all there is to her. She doesn’t change that much and overall has the lowest amount of character focus episodes. But she’s cute so that puts her above Chiaki.

Shinken Blue - Ikenami Ryunosuke

Ryunosuke is easily the most dedicated to his role as a samurai,he’s kind, hardworking and he’s loyal to a fault which ends up creating an internal debate for him when he discovers the person he’s pledged his life to isn’t the actual Shiba head. Being that he was a kabuki actor his movements and mannerisms are very lively and wild, it’s really just a joy to watch how his actor portrayed him. He definitely carried the show’s energy for the most part. I also loved watching his interactions with the others and when he’s forced to work with them. Some highlights of his include the episode where him and Chiaki get glued together and the episode where Genta tries to follow him around to learn to be a samurai.

Shinken Red - Shiba Takeru/Shiba Kaoru

I lump both of them together mainly because we didn’t see enough of Kaoru for me to really make a judgement of her yet I still wanted to mention her. I’ll say this, I did like her. She was definitely worthy of being the first female red ranger. I appreciate that despite her recognizing herself as the strongest she never tried to put the others down for being weaker than her, even berating her retainer for doing just that. I’ll admit the thing at the end with her “Adopting” Takeru was kinda weird but it showed she recognized the team was stronger with Takeru.

As for Takeru himself I really enjoyed him. Stoic, intimidating, and cold at the beginning but as time went on and he developed relationships with the rest of the team he slowly began opening up to them more and more. So much so that by the end he was joking around just as much as they were. And the twist of him not actually being of the Shiba household I thought was executed pretty well, I would’ve been genuinely surprised by it had power rangers not done the same thing. He was a really solid character and easily one of my favorite red rangers.

Shinken Gold - Umemori Genta

Genta was a unique 6th ranger in that he was mostly comedic relief, but a damn good one. He had me genuinely laughing out loud a few times. despite being a comedic character they managed to have a few serious plots with him that turned out alright. Not much more to say about him, he’s funny and (as the show called him) an extraordinary good boy

Shinken Yellow - Hanaori Kotoha 

Easily my favorite of the shinkengers, Kotoha is the youngest and therefore least experienced of the team. Originally her older sister was meant to take the role of yellow but fell ill before the events of the show leaving Kotoha to take her place. This of course makes her feel inferior to the others and ike she isn’t a real samurai, just a substitute for her sister. Eventually though after Jii learns of her insecurities he helps reassure her that everyone thinks of her as a real samurai. Although this part of her character isn’t really seen until close to the end, it was that which made me love her character, hell I even shed a tear or two during her last character focus episode. Plus she is downright adorable so there’s nothing not to love about her.

Final thoughts

Overall I think Shinkenger was a really good show, easily in my top 5 sentai (although that’s not saying much since most of the sentai I’ve seen have been pretty Meh). As I mentioned the suits are really well designed, and the opening song as well as the fight songs are just badass. The characters are all really good with the weakest of them just being the ones that were under developed. The story while not necessarily ground breaking it was still enjoyable to watch and I wouldn’t mind coming back to it pretty soon, but for now I need to move on to a different sentai.

I contemplated for  a while what sentai to watch next, between Goseiger, Goonger, Dekaranger, Magiranger, Bioman and a few others. Ultimately tho I decided that since one of my favorite things about sentai is the crossovers I should go back and watch all the crossovers, so I’ll start with the season that made these team ups an annual thing. So if I ever make another Long ass post like this, then you’ll be hearing of the fight to protect earth against the evile Baranoia army in Chouriki Sentai Ohranger

[ama-darav]

I came back to this hellshite to get back into writing. I haven’t really focused on doing pieces and drabbles since my car accident almost 2 years ago. My brain was hella injured and I stopped processing words and writing like I used to; things are different. I was browsing through my old writing and some of my old posts on this blog and it felt like an entirely different person wrote them? I’m definitely not. THAT PERSON anymore lolol.

Anywhozles, the first piece that I’ve done in years is this backstory piece for a DND-based text campaign. I have a pretty unique character for the setting that merges the two ideas that the DM had (a harsh environment with tribal-minimalistic survivors) and the dwarven community that lives below it. That inspired this little know-it-all sass monster named Taerel, who is a mixture of both cultures.

This piece is a backstory piece for Taerel, exploring the world where he’s from along with adding mystery and a possible exploration quest in the area. It’s a first hand witness account for a hunt. like “we know about the legend, we witnessed it. It’s there and we can do something about it or do more research into the subject” kinda deal.

Expect to see more pieces in the next couple of days because I am really gonna kick my own ass into writing. I miss my muse and I want them back.

Length: 2,750+

"You know I can't leave this hunt much longer, my love." Taerel could remember his mother speaking directly to his father. He was a child then, no older than eight or nine, and like most children he had been preoccupied. His father had carved him a wooden figurine of a Dwarven soldier, and it had been his favorite toy. However, the last time they had come to their summer cabin in the Nevinai valley, he had left the toy and had not realized it until they were many, many miles away to the south, bed up in their winter dens. Now he was reuinited with his forgotten friend, and there was many a distraction to be had. Through the haze of his blissfulness, he hadn't remembered the sharp worry in his father's voice.

"Yes. but it's too early, a'ne." Ihmer said, clearly keeping his voice even and hushed for the sake of Taerel. He rarely used his wife's language, and Taerel noted that the elven words sounded so strange out of a man with such a thick accent. Tae wouldn't learn until much later in his life that Ihmer Valtor only used his mother’s words when he was playing his final hand. In an argument, The Glacial Elf language was a pleading gesture, to really emphasize that Valtor shouldn't be waved off. And Taerel could only recall instances such as this that his father had resorted to begging.

"Nonsense, Valtor. You and the boy will be fine while I hunt. The herd only uses this pass to the north of here once. At the start of the season. If you want to eat for the rest of the said season, I need to do this. If I put it off they will all be gone, and I will have to track further out and be gone longer. Look. If you're concerned that something might happen, I'll take Kovai and leave Korai here. She'll protect you." The Elven woman said firmly.

The memory of Fel'assari brought Taerel physical pain. His mother was strikingly beautiful at nearly 7 feet in height. She was as lean as a weeping tree, her skin as pale as a freshly fallen snow. Her hair had just started to turn an ashen grey, the ends already burned black by the changing of the seasons. It was nearly spring, and Assari bore the signs in her long mane of hair.

It was one of the rare times his mother wasn't already in her gear for the day. She was in a slim pair of doeskin slacks, and a haltered cut of skin to cover her chest. Although, admittedly, there was nothing to cover as there was no meat on Fel'assari's bones at all.  He remembered the way her Tornaavas, or her story, stretched across her skin in white spidery lines. Each one of Fel'assari's people when they reached the age of ten were sat down; then the clan's story were marked across their face. It started with just the clan's history. but. Eventually as the young elf grew the clan would add the young elf’s personal stories to their body. And soon enough the elf would be able to recount their life's tales by looking at how their body had changed over the years. Taerel remembered that his mother's story was intricate, scrawled down the lengths of her arms and her back. Her stories held the detailing all of the heroic things she had done, and there was a child-like desire burning within as Taerel wanted his own stories to reflect hers.

The memory of Ihmer's sigh broke Taerel's mesmerized trance on the memory his mother. He remembered looking upon from the toy in his hands to the concerned look on his father's face. Ihmer Valtor was a stern man, with a thick red beard and a round nose like a cherry. He had grey eyes like clouds, and a bald, shiny head like a coin. Ordinarily Ihmer's face was plastered with laughs and smiles. This was usually because Taerel had said something funny [often in mimcry of said man] or being alive just brought joy to him. There was fear there, and even as young as he was, Taerel could sense it. Reluctantly, Ihmer agreed for his wife to leave them.

The rest of the day played on without event. Both Taerel and Ihmer had chores to do. The two spent the day gathering herbs and other useful materials from the surrounding hills, and scavenging enough wood to stock the smoke house rack. There was nothing out of the ordinary about that day. Just one of the many lessons that there was always something to be done during the day. And, of course, Tae had happily followed his father along to help.

It wasn't until the night had come that things became unsettling. The first event occured after the meal was over, when the night settled in and a blizzard with it. It wasn't uncommon for snow to fall in the beginnings of the growing season. Plants in Nevinter were made hardy for a reason.

The snow whipped and the winds howled in the cold and the darkness, and Taerel had finally settled against Korai for the night. Korai was always the same in Taerel's memories. His mother's two large direwolf companions never seemed to change. Out of the two sisters, Korai was more mature and experienced. She slowly took in the world and was hard to startle... while her sister Kovai was the opposite. She was a reckless one and didn't have a thought in her head. His mother had a story of how she had rescued the two young dire wolves in her youth, and now the two wolves stayed at her side like family. However, this wasn't the time to recant that tale.

The young Taerel had just nestled into a comfortable spot on Korai, a caribou skin blanket wrapped around him. He still had his soldier in his hands and he was singing to it quietly as the fire flickered in the distance. His father was sitting in a makeshift chair by the fire with a book in his hands. The fire was nearly out, and the whole room was cast into darkness. Taerel did not struggle to see in the darkness. He could see the objects in the room clearly. Although they were now devoid of color and shadows, everything was still easy to see.

Everything in the house was quiet and peaceful, save for a few crackling embers. Sleep claimed the young Taerel, and he fell asleep against Korai.

Taerel wasn't sure how long he was asleep against Korai, but he awoke to the sensation of her growling. He could feel the sound reverberating through her skin, humming through his. "Papa." Taerel cried out, clearly alarmed that Korai was growling. The dwarf in the chair stirred. He had fallen asleep where he had been sitting, his book plastered across his face. The fire had since gone out, and there was a definitive chill in the room. Taerel pulled his blankets closer to him, pulling closer to Korai. Korai adjusted the two of them, not pushing the young child off of her back just yet but getting ready to stand up and lunge if necessary.

Then the two of them heard what Korai was hearing. Someone was screaming for help. It was a dull shriek at first, a woman's voice carrying on the wind. However, with each passing moment the voice carried on closer to the cabin. The winds outside had begun to pick up, and there was a harsh groan of air  and snow against the logs of the cabin. It felt like the storm outside was challenging the cabin, daring it to fall down.

Korai's growls grew more intense as the voice got closer the cabin. The two of them could now make out what the woman was saying.

"Help me, please. You have to let me in. I'm going to freeze to death. Please. I'm dying. My hands... My hands are... " The woman was begging, hysterical with tears and pain. You could hear the sobs grow closer and closer to the door.

Ihmer did not rise from his chair, he stood watching the door with a bewildered look upon his face. Then the banging started. It was the sound of a woman, desperately clawing at the door. It groaned and shuddered in it's frame, violently shaking as the banging continued.

"Please. Let me inside. Please." The voice pleaded again, shrill and full of agony. The sobbing continued, full of tears and terror. The sound of the woman made Tae's blood run cold.

Ihmer finally rose from the chair, however. He dared not near approach the door. Instinctively, he walked over to his son and hoisted him up off of Korai. Taerel was nearly taller than his father now, but despite his height he was still very skinny. Years of being toted around by either of his parents meant he instinctively wrapped around his father, dragging the blanket around both of them to keep them from the cold.

Ihmer rose a finger to his lips, a clear indication that he wanted Taerel to remain very quiet. The two of them then sat in the middle of the cabin on the floor. Korai wrapped herself around them, resting on her haunches ready for the moment hell was going to break loose.

After almost an hour of weeping and calling out, the woman outside had stopped her efforts. There was nothing now, even though the wind ripping outside had not subsided. Ihmer dared not to move, his eyes locked on the door. Taerel could feel his father's heart racing in his chest, and the young man felt uneasy. He had never seen his father so afraid before. He for one was just grateful that the woman had finally stopped. Maybe she had died?

No sooner than Taerel had felt the relief of the quiet wash over him that something else happened. His blood turned to icewater, and he felt his heart seize in his chest. It was like a bottom falling out of a barrel as a wicked laughter filled the air outside of the cabin and seeping in. It was a shrill, inhuman sound, like metal on ice. Taerel's hair stood on end and he whimpered reflexively. It finally clicked in his mind what was going on and the worst fear he had ever felt in his life had set in. They were being visited by an Ice hag.

Taerel closed his eyes as he could feel the tears welling up at his cheeks. He leaned into his father, who reflexively pulled the small boy closer. He didn't want to remember the words, but they came piercing into his mind as sure as the screeching outside.

'Mama, why must we leave here in the winter? Why do we move around so much?'

'Because my sweet son, The Frosthell changes as the seasons do. The Valley isn't safe when the snow comes.'

'Why?'

'Well. When I was just a girl, your age. My father told me a story of a group of humans who had come to settle in this land. They stayed in our little valley. The summer was good and plentiful, but they did not know how to prepare for the winter. Before long the early snows came, and the humans were unprepared.

Many froze to death in their little huts, and many starved to death. All that was said to have survived the coming of the cold was a single woman, and she did so by eating the others. By eating the flesh of her friends, her lover, and her children she transformed into a creature of darkness and cold. The hag she had become survived the winter, but her soul was lost forever in the process.

Now It is safe to live here in the valley during the months that it doesn't snow, but if you see the signs of winter coming you best move on. During the first snows of the year, she comes out from her hiding in the valley and she checks all the settlements to see if any remain. If she were to ever suspect that someone was inside, she'll pound at the door trying to get you to let her in. If that ever happens, Taerel, put the fire out and stay very quiet like nobody is home. It is said that if she catches you inside she'll tear the house down around you and eat you. Never let her in, Taerel.'

His mother's words echoed in his heart like a dagger. He wrapped himself around his father tightly, and sat stewing in his own fear. He dared not make another sound.

The laughing outside increased as the house shook violently in the wind. The bones of the house shook around them as the ice hag continued her onslaught. They could hear scratching and tearing, the house around them taking a beating. Both father and son stayed motionless for hours on the floor, each locked in a palpable fear for their lives.

It wasn't until the first light of dawn broke through the trees that the sounds of the hag had finally subsided. The laughter faded first, receding into the deep woods not far away from their house. Then the wind let up and everything faded into an uncomfortable silence.

Ihmer moved from his spot on the ground when Korai sprung from her hiding spot and bolted to the door, pressing a paw against it. Ihmer hesitantly opened the door, letting the dire wolf out into the snow. Taerel rose from his spot on the floor, instinctively moving to his father's side. He could see hesitation in his father's movements, but he mirrored. and slowly the two of them were standing outside, staring at the cabin.

The hag had done some hefty damage. Long clawmarks had been cut through the heavy logs, oozing with red with blood and ice. The markings had continued along the exterior of the hut as the witch had tried to find a way to bust through to the inside.

The worst part of all this carnage was the front door. It was plastered with blood and ice. Clearly and distinctly, one could make out  the shape of a person hunched down against it as the snow piled around. There were clear signs of human nails scratching at the door near the bottom, but as they rose higher up you could see them progressively start to shift into something inhuman.

The defining feature was three distinct claw marks  embedded into the door, with fresh blood dripping out of them.

With a sinking feeling, Taerel guessed what they were for. Three was the number of living occupants in the house. Three was the number of people she was going to eat. His heart was broken. He didn't want to get eaten by an ice hag.

It didn't take Ihmer long to act. The two of them had spent the day gathering what they could of their things and repacking them into the sleds they used to move around. They took anything that was useful: tools, clothing, oils and things that were tradeable... but they had to leave much behind, like the furniture that Ihmer had built.

When the Sun reached it's highest point in the sky, Taerel watched his father light a final fire in their home in the Nevinai. It didn't take long for the house to catch completely ablaze.

The sight of his favorite place burning brought physical pain to Taerel. Without realizing it, the young man began to cry. Sobbing at the sight of his happiest memories going up in flames, he shook uncontrollably. It was like watching someone he loved die. All the times he spent fishing in the rivers, playing with Kovai in the trees. The meals. The stories. The games. All of it was going up in flames.

....The worst part was? Without needing to explain it, Taerel already knew why. The claw marks in the door were a curse. Every single snow the hag would return to that house, without fail. If someone else were to try and use it for shelter, they would be put at risk by his families' errors. It was the unspoken law of the Frosthell that something had to be done about it, and the simplest way to rid the world of the hag's mark was to destroy what she had marked. He hated this place now. He hated the woman that had become the hag. He hated that this was just another part of his life here in the cold.

Soon. He and his father moved on, making clear tracks to an old cabin they knew of that existed some distance outside of the valley. They would move on from this spot, never to return.

Every now and again though, the memory returns to the deepest parts of Taerel's mind on a cold night. A black reminder that the world he knew the best was ceaselessly cruel.

[unigotchi]

DES 102 Week 5

When I was creating these characters, I spent the two hours in lesson time just writing up ideas for them, as I do not think I am very good at art and rendering my ideas to paper (or screen). I didn’t really intend to use 2 hours on this but that’s what I did. I will include all my writing in the Read More section, but here is the information requested.

I chose a post-apocalyptic setting, mostly based on the book series Mortal Engines, a series set after a nuclear apocalypse destroyed the world. The series starts off with a group of people living in the wreckage of London, which is almost exactly the basis of my character design location as well, with the minor difference that in Mortal Engines, cities are mechanical, and move around like giant animals, eating each other for resources.

I’m really ashamed of the quality of my images, and designs, and ideas. So, sorry.

I started with creating the vague body shapes of the two characters. At this point I realized just how similar my concepts were to Roadhog and Junkrat, two apocalypse survivors who live in a destroyed city and travel around together, from the game Overwatch. My main excuse for this is that their archetypes are so, so common that it would take a long development process to make pair of characters where the main contrasts are weight and height. 

These characters are yet unnamed, and little detail can be made from these images. The left character is designed to be more square in visual design, to represent how set in her ways she is, and how she doesn’t want change. She is sturdy, and capable of taking hits, and her two main weapons are a pair of industrial strength scissors and a crowbar. She does not use these much for melee, instead they are used in dismantling nearby rubble to use as makeshift bludgeoning weapons. 

The character on the right is designed to look a lot more unbalanced, and top heavy, to represent how she wants to change the world and does not mind if that changes her too. Her tools are her backpack, which she uses to store materials she has scavenged, and her spanner, which is used to create small simple robots that become brief allies in fights. 

I haven’t learnt much about Illustrator since last week, just that layers are much harder to manipulate. In all honestly, I just wanted to get the visual designs over with as soon as I could because I hate drawing, but I don’t think even with more work the characters would be much improved.

Below are all my notes that I wrote down when designing these characters. It’s in Read More cause there’s a hecky dang lot of it and you might not want to waste your time.

Post Apocalyptic

 Potential for conflict between the characters

One is quite satisfied with the way the world is now, and one is trying to go back to how it was before the apocalypse. Their two ways of fighting might get in the way of each other at the beginning, with the large bulky weapons potentially breaking or undoing the work of the intricate mechanisms, and the large fighter would have to avoid hurting the small techie. Obviously these difficulties would be overcome further into the game as they learn to synergise with eachother, and also the player would get tired of having to control to opposing forces which are constantly putting each other at risk.

 Opportunities for both characters to demonstrate unique strengths and weaknesses

Obvious size and body type differences are an easy place to start, with one being able to perform tasks (break walls, slip through cracks) that the other cannot. But it can go deeper, with the technician (they need names) being so obsessed with returning to the past that they cannot see the positives of life here and now, the scrapper struggling to cope with seeing remnants of the past as they explore over because of the guilt and resentment these images bring up.

Who

I mean they’re both clearly gay and I’m having that right here in this document so on the off chance these ever become real characters I can shove it in the face of people who try to deny it. Additionally, there are plenty of ways to explore transgender stuff in a setting where societal norms have just absolutely collapsed, and I cannot name a single trans protagonist, so I think if scrapper was trans it could present some things to explore in her backstory, but would not need to affect the present day in any way.

I’m struggling to come up with names because while I want to be racially inclusive, I don’t know HECK about different names culturally and I would like their names to have some kind of meaning. And right now I have up the ‘top 60 popular indian girl names of 2014’ and I don’t think that’s the best way of deciding names, so I’m going to leave them blank for now.

They would have an age difference, not too extreme but enough to justify the different ways they reacted to the apocalypse. I think the scrapper lady would be older, perhaps about 20-21 at the time the apocalypse took place, leaving her at around 30 now. The technician girl would have been about 14-16, leaving her in her mid-20s by the time the game takes place. This age difference creates a dynamic of having one person knowing what the real world was like, and was still coming to terms with losing the rose tinted lense of being a child, so she was living in the harshest time of her life. This contrasts with the other person having experienced a mostly positive and supporting world, and being angry that it was taken away from her before she could complete her life goals.

Their key relationship, as I said earlier, is definitely going to be each other, but maybe at the start they don’t have much more than a friendly acquaintances partnership, or perhaps even just ‘together by necessity’ (I still don’t know what that necessity is). In terms of family, I think having a very sparse group of people they are related to by blood, perhaps just the scrapper lady’s father and a sibling for the technician. I think outright stating that the rest of their families were killed would have a small effect on the player, but at this point ‘dead family’ is a little cliché and I’m not interested in a ridiculously tragic story, despite the setting. I think a general idea would be that, as society fell apart, so did social norms of relationships and family, with plenty of families completely splitting apart and losing contact. Despite what I just said about tragedy, this could lead to another contrast between the two main characters again, with the technician only realizing 16 years into their life that their parents were only together for the sake of their children, and that the family was highly strung up on high achievement and was not particularly close otherwise. Her only remaining brother could be disabled in some way, perhaps having ADHD, which in the old world would have been a burden in schools and maybe could be explored as a way of showing just how abusive techie’s parents actually were. I don’t want disability to be seen as a burden though, I want him to be succeeding in this new world, however the ways he thinks affects him. On the opposite end of the parent-child relationship spectrum, but still exploring abusive relationships, I think if the scrapper lady’s parents were some kind of British equivalent of an American republican, I can’t think of a name for that type of person in England, but when I reread this I’ll know what I mean. Maybe they were a very loving family, but were also a very hateful group of people, and scrapper didn’t feel like she fitted in. I think her father wouldn’t realize who she was in the new world, as she came out only after the family had collapsed, and he would be a low tier society member because of his beliefs that he still holds onto.

Their upbringings could dictate their motivations, with techie believing her perfect family can still be resurrected by returning to how the past was, and that everything can be fixed by innovation, contrasting with scrapper recognizing a lot of the rotten parts of the past for both herself and other people, knowing that her life is better here and now, and that a society that no longer struggles with racism is the way forward.

This returns to the idea of an anti-utopia, a world that is, in all simple definitions, perfect, with plenty of love, and teamwork, and innovation, but anyone looking at it sees a very clearly destroyed world.

This makes the problem of conflict and motivation for a game INCREDIBLY HARD. We have a ‘perfect’ world that is perfect BECAUSE of its destruction. What can jeopardise this life? I’ve created a world where I can’t see any conflict this is so dumb.

I think the original motivation for the game could be that, due to a shift in something space related, a lot of space debris is raining down. It poses little threat to people, as luckily it is falling outside of inhabited areas, but provides a lot of interest, as plenty of satellites are returning to earth (and suspension of disbelief is keeping them from burning up).

What

Scrap Harvester

Vehicle Technician

 Where

A post-apocalyptic city, probably British? (because I know the UK better than America). A city based off of a real life one, but with some clearly derelict and some clearly ‘renovated’ areas. People living in these towns eke out a life scavenging for building materials that can be used to create housing and farms. This city in particular is almost an anti-utopia, being incredibly well developed but having an aesthetic of run-down, bombed-to-death suburbs.

 When

Sometimes in the near future, or present day in an alternate world where society collapsed very quickly and briefly because of some unknown event (unknown because I don’t know what to make it).

 Why

The scrapper lady is happy with the life she has now, as it is (somehow) an improvement on her previous life. She helps people to build their houses, and has some architectural knowledge, so leads teams to salvage any building parts they can.

The technician is trying to replicate the vehicles from before the end, in the hopes that improved transport can help recreate the old life everyone had. One day maybe she can move on from vehicles to other mechanical engineering works, and rebuild the old cities.

 How

I think a simple crowbar would suffice for the scrapper lady, along with perhaps some large wire cutter-type scissors. She’s very strong, so focuses on melee, and can perhaps utilise nearby rubble and structures as weaponry as well. In terms of game mechanics, this would result in having two reliable, unbreakable weapons, the crowbar and the scissors, and then some low durability weapons that can be acquired from the countless piles of refuse all over the world map.

For the engineer, she would be the post-apocalyptic equivalent of a hacker finding use out of anything mechanical and controlling it, or building very simple robots to work alongside her. These means, in combat sense, she would be a flimsy character on her own and has to create small mechanisms that perhaps inflict status conditions on opponents.

 Archetypes

It’s very difficult put these characters into one archetype, or at least it is for me, as I’ve already put so much thought into them that I see them as more than one dimensional. For the scrapper, I think that The Caregiver is very fitting, as she is satisfied in her life as long as she’s able to be helping someone. I think that The Explorer fits techie the best out of the options, and she wants to go and discover what is inside the satellites, but a lot of the points of the explorer is that they are in an enclosed society, which could not be further from the truth in this case. Anyone is allowed to do whatever they want. I think she doesn’t fit in very well, as her knowledge of life no longer has too many practical applications, with mathematics, science and mechanical knowledge being of a little use to a society where farming and building are the main jobs. Despite being loved and accepted by the community, she feels a personal burden because of how she doesn’t think she is needed, so is afraid of being abandoned.

  Character Diamonds

Protective, Intelligent, Just,

Nervous, Strategic, Careless, Inquisitive