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yiling-daddy · 4 years ago

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Yes, that was me! I can definitely expand on my thoughts re: how Madam Yu’s behaviour reads differently to me due to my traditional, Chinese upbringing.

There is a lot of subjectivity as to whether Madam Yu can be read as abusive, and this reading is often influenced by culture—hence you often see completely off-base takes floating around. However, to me, the way that cultural context influences the reading will actually change depending on the relationship, so I will discuss each one separately. Most of the culturally insensitive takes are about her being an abusive or uncaring mother (she’s not), or that she’s a spurned woman (it’s more complicated than that), so you can skip down to the JC, JYL, and CSSR sections for that.

Madam Yu and Wei Wuxian

As a trend, I think western fandom tends to simplify Wei Wuxian’s dynamic with the Jiang family into an entire adopted family. Consequently, Yu Ziyuan gets perceived as this two-dimensional, evil stepmom figure—but I think this doesn’t capture the truth.

There’s a bit more variability among Chinese audiences when they read the Jiang family dynamic, partly due to our deeper familiarity with wuxia tropes, but mostly because there's a mediocre Netflix translation colouring the western interpretation. Though many Chinese fans do view them all as a sort of family unit and read Madam Yu as a stepmother, I do not. To me, Jiang Fengmian and Jiang Yanli view Wei Wuxian as family—but Madam Yu does not. Madam Yu views him as a servant, a disciple of the sect, and an outsider at the dinner table—and it’s not wrong for her to do so. It’s not gracious, but it’s not unfounded. I don’t think Wei Ying ever gives any indication that he views her as a mother, either.

If you agree that they don’t have anything like a mother-son relationship, all these insults/complaints that Yu Ziyuan levels at him—that he’s the “son of a servant”, that Jiang Fengmian is weird for openly favouring Wei Wuxian over his own son, etc.—these start to make sense? Like, it’s shitty to listen to, but none of it is wrong. Suddenly it reads less like pointless insults and more like actual points.

Additionally, if we consider that Wei Wuxian is a disciple of the sect who goes around and raises the ire of the Wen clan, corporal punishment suddenly looks very normal (again, within the culture). Hence, when I watched the donghua and CQL, I hated seeing Wei Wuxian getting whipped, but I didn’t perceive this as abuse—especially because of the political nature of the decision.

But it is definitely still possible to mistreat a disciple.

In CQL, you see Madam Yu throwing an unnecessary amount of vitriol at Wei Ying. In the novel extras, it's revealed that she regularly whipped him but never whipped the other disciples, indicating that it wasn't normal corporal punishment. She also whipped him for absurdly stupid reasons. To me, this signals that she tended to abuse her authority over him. Even if you don’t view her as an abusive mother to Wei Ying, it's fair to read her as an abusive authority figure.

Importantly however, "abuse" is a loaded word suggesting a violation of social norms, and again, the situation is complicated because the social norms of the setting don't match those of the modern world. Madam Yu is not overstepping her bounds as master of Lotus Pier—hence, people do not think very much of this treatment in-universe, including Wei Ying himself.

Madam Yu, Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Yanli

Okay, when I first watched CQL, I cringed when Madam Yu started dragging her family because she sounded like My Actual Chinese Mother. I felt for a second like I had transmigrated into Jiang Cheng’s body and I was experiencing his agony firsthand!

Madam Yu reads very realistically, and I think this is why it gets personal for a lot of Chinese people when this fandom discusses her character. Yes, she belittles and hurts her children for their perceived failures, but many Chinese people can tell you that this is just a common parenting style. And while it might look like bullying to an outsider, this behaviour is usually motivated by love. It is often also motivated by fear that the child’s future will be substandard. This is textually obvious when you consider what exactly Madam Yu yells about:

She snaps at Yanli to stop peeling lotus pods, because she shouldn’t act like a servant. If Yanli keeps behaving so passively, what kind of role is she going to fall into in the future—especially given that she is not a cultivator?

She berates Jiang Cheng for always being inferior to Wei Wuxian no matter what he does. If Jiang Cheng is constantly overshadowed by Wei Wuxian, what will that mean for his future as sect leader? Or his future status and reputation among the sects?

I can do these Chinese Mom Translations because parents in real life will actually say things like this out of concern for their children (insults included), in an attempt to motivate them... and it really does light a fire under our asses. I attribute many of my personal successes to this parenting style. Thus, when I see posts like “Madam Yu didn’t show any sign of caring for others” or "Madam Yu was a purely selfish and arrogant person" or “Madam Yu is an abusive mother and nothing else"—well, I can tell most of these people are not Chinese, or if they are, then they likely did not have a traditional upbringing.

While I don't think these uninformed readings of Madam Yu are necessarily racist, I do think they they are unpleasant for Chinese fans to constantly see. For those of us in the west that had this type of upbringing, we often struggle with trying to frame and process our relationships with our parents. For me, this was partly due to the emotional baggage of my upbringing (Jiang Cheng winning!!!)... but it was also because white society kept telling me that my parents didn't give a shit about me when obviously they did. That’s fucked up to experience. It reeks of cultural imperialism. Thus, when I see Chinese people getting annoyed at these Madam Yu takes, I’m not surprised. This is unfortunately a fictional discussion that very much resembles a real one for us.

Yu Ziyuan, Jiang Fengmian, and Cangse Sanren

A lot of people view Madam Yu as a spurned woman and assume that is her motivation for constantly antagonizing Wei Wuxian and her husband. But because I assume that a lot of her chaotic yelling stems from her concerns as an Actual Chinese Mother, my take is different.

Remember the scene where Madam Yu catches Jiang Fengmian scolding Jiang Cheng just after praising Wei Wuxian? She drags Jiang Cheng up to his father and, in both CQL and the donghua, says something to this effect (paraphrased from memory):

This is your son, the future master of Lotus Pier! Even if you don’t like him because he was born to me, his surname is still Jiang!

And in CQL, she also says this right after berating Jiang Cheng for not measuring up to Wei Wuxian:

But it’s not your fault. Your mother is no match for his mother.

Yu Ziyuan isn’t angry about Cangse Sanren because she’s jealous; she is angry about Cangse Sanren because she thinks Jiang Fengmian’s feelings for her are jeopardizing his competence as a father to Jiang Cheng. Viewed in this light, it also makes sense why Yu Ziyuan is hostile to Wei Wuxian in a way that alienates him from the family—constantly calling him the son of a servant, pointing out the rumours about his parentage, etc. She’s not doing this because she hates Cangse Sanren or Wei Wuxian; she’s doing it because Wei Wuxian’s presence in the family is threatening Jiang Cheng’s future in her eyes.

Bonus: Did Yu Ziyuan love Jiang Fengmian?

Yes! In both the donghua and CQL (I ashamedly admit I don’t clearly remember the novel), I thought their final moments made it quite evident that they cared for each other. They fought together, died together to protect their home, and reached out to one another in their final moments.

But when I rewatched Madam Yu’s scenes in CQL and the donghua, I realized we got other hints that westerners probably missed. I'll focus on CQL:

Right before Jiang Fengmian sets off with Yanli for Lanling, Madam Yu sees them off. She gives Yanli some snacks and then—without making eye contact with Jiang Fengmian—says that she’s also giving them medicine in case someone gets a headache. Jiang Fengmian pauses, because it’s obviously for him.

This is recognizable behaviour for a lot of Chinese people. I can’t tell you how many times my mother got apoplectic at me, and then the only follow-up was her going out of her way to make me my favourite meal. The chaotic yelling you see between Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan is also pretty typical to many Chinese parents, and again, the follow-up in my household was often one of them going out of their way to do something for the other.

This is just how the culture is in a lot of families. “Sorry” isn’t expressed in words; it's expressed in actions. “I love you” isn’t expressed in words; it’s expressed in actions. In Chinese culture, the dominant love language is acts of service. It's fleeting, but we get glimpses of that kind of love between Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian.

#the untamed #cql #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #yu ziyuan #madam yu #jiang yanli #cangse sanren #jiang fengmian #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #damn i guess its madam yu loving hours here #my meta

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aschlindartroom · 2 years ago

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OC Superlatives Tag Game

Thanks to @aohendo for tagging me. This is gonna be fun! Now, a no-pressure tag to @jess-p-edits, @jezifsterswriting, and @athenixrose

Most arrogant: This award definitely goes to Egon Schmidt. Egon " regularly smashes his hands with hammers because he knows that his ability will heal him" Schmidt. This man is convinced that he is god's gift and the most powerful H.O.U.N.D. who has ever lived.

Most humble: Probably Ehren Schmidt, who happens to be Egon's brother. Ehren is also incredibly powerful, but because he can literally FEEL the emotions of everyone around him, he can regularly put his own troubles into perspective. He is a sweet bean and we love him.

Most charming: Gosh... depends on what is meant by charming. Different people are charmed by different personalities, yeah? I want to say this award goes to Rowan. Rowan can be abrasive at times, but she is also incredibly loyal and energetic and fun to be around. I dunno. I would personally become her friend in a second.

Most aggressive: This is probably Egon again, but because he's already won an award, I'd say Antoni is the winner here. Antoni grew up with radical and violent subversives, and then with trauma and an ability that deteriorates his mental faculties on top of his upbringing, well... Antoni can be... hostile. He'll smile while he tears off your wings.

Least talkative: Seung, most definitely. She's very thoughtful and in her head a lot. This is possibly due to the last four years of living alone, but honestly, she's always been like that. She only speaks when she has something important to say. This changes throughout the series, as she becomes more comfortable around other people.

Most relatable: I try to make all of my characters relatable in some way. But, I think the most HUMAN character is certainly Dimitri. Dimitri owns a bar in Lower London and gets roped into the events of the first book because he used to be friends with Rowan. If it were up to him, he'd just live a quiet, normal life but nooOOOooo. SOMEBODY had to make a mess out of his place of work.

Least relatable: Dick Soloman, probably. This man is an absolute nutbag. He's covered in scarifications of goetia and sigils of protection and regularly kidnaps and subjects street kids to absolutely horrific human experimentation, and all with the deadpan look of a man who has seen it all and said "welp, its tea time." Seriously. Looney toons.

Most ambitious: I'd say Martin. Martin Hightower is a man who spins a web wherever he goes. He is intense and is always thinking one step ahead, readying himself to adjust course toward his ultimate goal.

Most easy-going: This is a tough one. I don't know if this would describe any of my characters. Maybe Rhen? Maybe Rowan? Meh. Gonna leave this one blank.

Most high-strung: Eckehart. God, it's Eckehart. This man needs to get a meditation practice or something. His forehead wrinkles have forehead wrinkles.

Most pretentious: Franklin. Frickin. Belks. This man is rich and the biggest know-it-all (although, to be fair, he knows quite a bit). He sees most people as below him, and takes great care in perfecting his mask of affability and charm. Most people with a brain can see through it, but very few people are brave enough to call him out on it.

Most cheerful: Rhen, hands down. This girl is ALWAYS smiling, even when she damn well shouldn't be. She has a silver lining for everything, and though this is mostly a coping mechanism for her, she also just has a very sweet, optimistic temperament.

Most patient: Lavanya has been waiting literally two decades to put her plan into motion, and she'd wait two more if she had to. I'd say she gets this award by default.

Most diligent: Seung. Sweet, hard-working Seung. This lady has followed the same daily routine day in and day out for over a decade. Since her father died, she keeps up all of their rituals. This is partly by necessity and partly because she misses him deeply, but MOSTLY, I'm not sure she'd know what to do with herself otherwise.

#tag game #tag games #second serpent asks #fun fun fun #writers of tumblr #writeblr #second serpent #bird and fish #writing community #second serpent wip #novel #bird and fish wip

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starsandstormyseas · 3 years ago

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4. how do they view the world? do they see it in black and white or in gray? are they optimistic about the people, evolution/change or have they just given up altogether? did something make them view the world like this? how so?

Hmm I'll do this for Howie I think of all the OCs I have (for Marvel, and possibly all of them), he's the most optimistic of the bunch. Its partly due to his youth and generally healthy and untraumatized upbringing, but also just his own innate personality. Howie tends to see the world in black and white, good and evil. Mostly due to his youth, he's not quite able to see a lot of nuance in gray situations. He's extremely intelligent, and yet very naive when it comes to the intricacies of human nature. A lot of the grittier superheroes would scare the shit out of him. That being said, he does tend to see the best in people, and is likely to give them second chances if he thinks they genuinely want to be better people. Only in a few instances I think this mindset shifts. Specifically, his relationship with his father, Tony, is very strained at the beginning. Partly because Howie is unconvinced Tony actually wants to be a father (Tony himself likely doesn't know and can't fully commit to it until someone knocks some sense into him). It takes Howie time to warm up to Tony, to give him the chances Tony needs to prove himself a loving and (somewhat) capable father.

#thanks!#asks #oc bingo #i answer things #stanshollaand #my ocs #howie

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eujazmine · 4 years ago

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all gifs from christianscody !

JAZMINE HARPER - TV TROPES

manipulative bastard

The Manipulative Bastard is the master manipulator of people, in essence, a character who manipulates others through their emotions, perspectives, psychologies and any other way they can get them dancing to their tune. This is the guy or gal who gets off on playing head/mind games—clever and dangerous and lacking comedic overtones (usually). She always has a plan ready, but rather than do any work, the Manipulative Bastard prefers to play on other characters' emotions and mental states and then watch the victims destroy themselves as they waste their energy on fighting against fake dangers or their friends.

are we surprised? with a lack of loyalty to others, including her own family, jazmine will gladly step on others and use their weaknesses to her advantage to get what she wants. she’s been a manipulative bastard since she was a child, ever since she first discovered how much her mist control could control the perceptions of others. observant and resourceful, jazmine has no qualms using her talents to gain unauthorized information about others and using it for her personal gain. she views people as her pawns, and her selfish way of thinking gives her little guilt about physically or mentally forcing others into submission. this is a trait she’s picked up from her own father, which we will delve into in the next trope.

daddy’s little villain

mention of emotional abuse tw

She's the daughter of an Evil Overlord, who shares her parent's ambition, cunning, and cruelty. She could be anything from a simple Spoiled Brat to an Overlord in waiting. She's also likely to be a Princess (since even villainy is improved with that), although she will still prefer wearing black or dark colors over pink.

jazmine’s mortal father can largely be thanked for the way she is now. from as young as she can remember, he was training jazmine to be a powerful force in both the demigod and mortal world. while he raised her to think she could accomplish anything she worked toward, she was mostly a pawn to satisfy his thirst for power. he didn’t care much for her as a daughter; mostly for what she could do for him. she started to recognize this during her formative middle school years, consequently turning her childhood role model into her worst enemy. when she started rebelling against him and acting out, he sent her away full-time to a camp on the other side of the globe. since then, the issues only progressed, eventually leading to a falling out in which she hasn’t seen or spoken to her mortal family in many years.

this upbringing has fueled her desire to constantly be the best in her fields of expertise, which is partly why she quested for years in hopes of some type of recognition. with the heavily hidden hope that she could one day rub in his face that she had succeeded without him, all her life she has fought to try to ‘prove her worth’ to others despite being the daughter of a minor goddess (or titan). because her father only loved what she could do for him, she places everyone in two categories: the puppets, and the puppeteers.

and she will never be the puppet again.

broken ace

He's tall, charming, strikingly good-looking, well-spoken in five languages, and classically trained in even more instruments. But inside, he's an ugly, writhing mass of self-hatred and Parental Issues. Expect him to have at least one bizarre trait or ability that should not be overlooked, as well as an unhealthy attitude about love, life, and humanity in general. He most likely doesn't have anyone that loves or respects him for what he really is. This may be justified. This character is usually male, but not always. Also, he may just be a perfectionist crumbling under his own standards. The chief difference between the Broken Ace and the usually female Stepford Smiler is that the Stepford Smiler wants to appear normal at all costs, often to the point of hurting herself emotionally (or because she's sociopathic). This guy has the same setup, but is more talented and wants to be the best, loved by all, and accepted.

although the timeline wasn’t as accelerated as she had hoped when she was a child, jazmine was making waves in the world of deities before her last quest against zeus had occurred. now, as a semi-retired quester, she is captain of the football team and starting to make a name for herself in the mortal fields of business and sports. despite the air of nonchalant superiority that she constantly tries to present, she is in a constant state of despair. right when she starts to undergo some development in her relationships with others, they leave, and she is constantly failing her own impossibly high standards. she’s crumbling, and at any point she is ready to run away again.

ice queen

Much like a Tomboy, the Ice Queen is a major character archetype which is somewhat hard to define. Her signature characteristic is that she is cold; the ambiguity comes from what "cold" means. She has a cold heart, a frosty demeanor and very often a resting bitch face; she attracts but will never be wooed. The Ice Queen is considered dangerous to love because she will not (or cannot) love back. She's not much for friendship either, preferring to be alone. Situations where an Ice Queen "thaws" and learns to enjoy the company of others are so common that they have their own trope.

she’s cold and takes no shit. she holds people at a distance, even those that could potentially be considered friends. she doesn’t believe in unconditional love, and she believes that most affection direct toward her is generally a ruse to get her guard down. she’s unnecessarily rude to others, almost relishing in the negative reactions at times, but to her, she’s just keeping it real.

the trickster

A trickster is a character who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. The Trickster openly questions and mocks authority, encourages impulse and enthusiasm, seeks out new ideas and experiences, destroys convention and complacency, and promotes chaos and unrest. At the same time, the trickster brings new knowledge, wisdom and many An Aesop. Even when punished horribly for his effrontery, his indomitable spirit (or plain sheer foolishness) keeps him coming back for more. Tricksters can be anything from gods of chaos, bedeviling heroes for a few laughs, to master manipulators who use cruel ploys and sadistic choices. They can also be heroes (or more likely Anti-Heroes) who make up for a lack of strength or bravery with manipulation, planning, or just plain cheating. The trickster is often a Master of Disguise and may have magical or super-powers. They're often found Walking the Earth.

although this description was much more relevant when she was younger, jazmine has a penchant for drama and chaos. she genuinely has fun engaging in pranks and tricks, and she gladly lifts a symbolic middle finger to authority in any chance that she gets. in middle school, she was nearly expelled from a mortal school because of all her tricks, and she spent a sizable portion of her adult years before eonia traveling and engaging in casual mayhem. when she isn’t getting revenge or fulfilling a paid request, she generally has fun toying with others.

deadpan snarker

A character prone to gnomic, sarcastic, sometimes bitter, occasionally whimsical asides. The Deadpan Snarker exists to deflate pomposity, point out the unlikelihood of certain plans, and deliver funny lines. Typically the most cynical supporting character. In most cases, it is implied that the snarker would make a good leader, strategist, or consultant given their ability to instantly see the flaws in a constructed plan. More often than not, their innate snarkiness is the only thing preventing the other characters from comprehending this for themselves. In other cases, the Deadpan Snarker resorts to sarcasm because they're the Only Sane Man. Tends to be shot a Death Glare when they go too far (and probably isn't without one of their own, either). Note that due to the definition evolving, the "Deadpan" part of the title has gradually become The Artifact and a deadpan delivery is no longer a necessary part of the trope.

jazmine is no stranger to delivering biting remarks coupled with foul language. she’s quick to point out flaws, opting for the brutally honest approach more times than not. she’s aware that her language can hurt others, but she finds it easier to escape the frivolities and get to the point. depending on the person, she exaggerates this trope by trying to draw out a bad response from them, mostly for her own entertainment. people already view her as heinous, so why not embrace the reputation, right?

survivor guilt

death mention tw

You might be the Last Of Your Kind or someone else made a Heroic Sacrifice for you or you lived through a Restricted Rescue Operation, but whatever the reason, you're going to feel a massive sense of guilt.

although the quest with adelphie and celeste was technically a success, with the trident successfully being returned back to poseidon, the team had faced major losses. adelphie had lost her life, and celeste had suffered debilitating injuries. physically, jazmine suffered the least, and it’s a guilt that she continues to carry.

aloof big sister

to the majority of the hecate family, especially @rostameu

He's smarter, stronger, faster, more talented, and more refined than the hero, and — just to add insult to injury — he's probably sexier, too. His only problem seems to be moving his face out of that expression of bored, dignified disdain. And he just happens to be the elder brother of one of the main cast, which often gives them a raging inferiority complex. Will most likely double as the Ineffectual Loner and Noble Demon, thereby running the risk of becoming an Ensemble Darkhorse. May or may not be evil, strictly speaking, but is almost guaranteed to fight against the protagonists at one point, and spout off Cryptic Conversation to prove how much better informed he is. May or may not be a Stealth Mentor and/or consider his younger siblings annoying. Often an integral part of a mysterious organisation, and may be the Enigmatic Minion or even a Hero Antagonist in that case.

OKAY, so the running joke with jazmine is that she dislikes her siblings, which is very true tbh. i’m not going to speak for rostam and say most of that stuff actually applies, but jazmine is very cold toward her younger brother and views herself as much better in every way. with loner tendencies, disdain toward her brother, and shady side hustles, she matches this trope very well, and it was only fitting to add a trope about disliking siblings to jazmine’s task. and yes, she’s technically one of the youngest right now but hush.

#eutropes #( tasks. )#emotional abuse tw #death mention tw #whewww i didnt bother proofreading this but lmk if anything is just ... impossible to read LMAO

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stellahibernis · 4 years ago

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Lan Wangji: the Worst of Times

AKA Lan Wangji’s costumes in the Untamed, part 6/9

This is actually my favorite out of his outfits (by a very small margin, since I think they did an outstanding job throughout, but still), both aesthetically and thematically. It was also a horror to capture, because he’s either moving or we only see his face😤. Also, the filenames of four of my caps are some variation of oh no, since I was going through it while capping. (Did you know, the devastated expressions are so much worse at quarter speed?)

This costume is seen in the prologue of episode 1, in episodes 30-33, and in the flashback in episode 46. He’s having a horrible time throughout, but at least he looks good. As usual, I’ll talk first about the costume and then the context.

(Warning for some blood in one of the images, and there’s some discussion about the canonical character death.)

The Costume

On the scale between formal and informal, this costume falls right about in the middle. There are several layers with a robe over the sash which is more formal for him, but the sleeves are narrow which is on the informal side of things. There is a very obvious practical reason for the narrow sleeves, and that is the cliff scene. It really would have taken from the impact if Wei Wuxian had had his face full of white fabric half the time.

Despite the amount of layers, there is lightness in this outfit achieved with the fabric choices. The two top layers are very sheer, and it really adds character to this otherwise fairly simple outfit. Also the movement of it is absolutely gorgeous, which gives him a flair during the fight scenes. Another thing to note, due to the sheerness of the white layers the blue layer underneath can be seen through (the thematic significance of this is discussed in the second section).

One of the things I really like about his costumes is that there are repeated elements like his criss-crossed sash and the wrist wraps that we see with several of his outfits. I like that all of his outfits are distinctly his style, they’d feel wrong on Xichen for example, as would Xichen’s outfits on him. Both of their outfits are very much in the Lan Sect style, but also their own, which is really good design.

I think the robe on top has the same cut as the one in his Sunshot campaign outfit, especially the shoulder line is similar, but it has a different air since the fabric is lighter and it’s worn over the sash.

My favorite detail in this outfit is that the cloud embroidery is present but barely visible since it’s on the collar of the blue layer, partly (sometimes even mostly) covered with the white robe. There’s an interesting progression if you look at his three latest outfits; from the very prominent embroidery in the Sunshot outfit to the relatively understated one in the blue outfit before this, and now almost hidden.

In general, there are relatively few details in this outfit, and the fabrics are fairly simple. The only texture is the square pattern on the top layer, everything else is just even weave. Lan Xichen also has a robe made of the square patterned fabric, btw, it’s the one he wears in the last four episodes. I like the shared fabrics, because it's a plausible thing that would happen in-world.

The Context

Here he is judging all the Jins except maybe Zixuan really hard, as usual. Also the only good (although retroactively less so) moment for him in this outfit, since he got WWX invited to Jin Ling’s celebration.

Anyway, back to the white/blue color theory from previous installments, which in a way culminates here. This outfit is predominantly white, which signifies his dedication to his duty to his sect, but the blue layer underneath is very visible, the color a symbol of his dedication to WWX. This is a sign of conflict in him, which makes complete sense if we think back.

The last time we saw them together was at the Burial Mounds, and the whole sequence was about the push and pull between them and how they both wanted to make things work between the two of them but ultimately couldn’t due to circumstances and their personal issues (LWJ and his strict upbringing that he can’t get away from, and WWX with his fairly arrogant belief in his own skills and the “if you’re not with me you’re against me” attitude. They both do better in the present timeline). This outfit says LWJ went back to his duties and outwardly performed them, but his heart is still leaning toward WWX. And as we know, he ultimately chooses to discard what others consider his duty, and pays the price for it.

Same with the hidden embroidery, we could interpret it as a sign of his doubts about everything he’s been taught, because it’s no longer so obviously on display on him. It is still there, because there is no shedding his connection to his sect and his upbringing, but he is very conflicted.

Things are really not going well for him (or anyone else, for that matter).

Sometimes I wonder at which point did LWJ start to think there might be no way of actually getting WWX out of this pickle. It might be this one, where he’s momentarily so worried and distracted that he gets injured. I definitely think that when they stand at the cliff he already knows losing WWX is getting extremely probable explicitly because he can tell WWX himself is giving up.

We’re steering away from the costumes now, but since it’s my post, I’m just going to take a moment to gush about the acting in this scene, by both of them. They only have a few lines of dialogue (“Wei Ying, come back” / “Lan Zhan, let me go”), and yet we know exactly how they feel and think. LWJ has exactly the right kind of mix of fear and despair of losing WWX and the determination to try to hold on, and furthermore to try to get WWX to want to hold on in turn. And WWX is in peace with his choice to end his life, but in agony over the pain (both the heartache and the physical from the injury) LWJ is feeling. This is the first time he’s seeing how far LWJ would go for him, and there are a few more in the present time (I think it finally sinks in episode 47).

This drama is so pretty even when breaking everyone’s hearts.

Next, we get to the present time and the outfit he wears the most in this series (with a brief detour to the barely glimpsed costumes from the flashback in 43). One of the fun things to talk about is how they subtly use the silhouette to make him appear older.

You can find the other parts of this series on my blog’s “lwj costume series” tag or via the blog contents page. I’d link for convenience but *gestures at the whole site*.

#the untamed #the untamed meta #cql #cql meta #lan wangji #costume design #lwj costume series #cql rambles

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citrusorangeee · 4 years ago

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Kare Kano (Manga): How inclusion of family dynamics enhances characterization

Many series often have the “ambiguously absent parent trope”—in which moms, dads, or even both parents, are away for the series' entirety. While this is often done out of convenience, it can also lead to missed opportunities. Inclusion of family dynamics can greatly enhance characterization, because it allows viewers to see characters in different contexts, providing a better understanding of why they may act the way they do. This works especially well in Kare Kano, where Yukino and Soichiro have similar outward personas, but their true selves could not be any more different partly due to their respective upbringings.

Yukino’s and Soichiro’s Outward Personas

In the eyes of their peers, Yukino and Soichiro are model students that not only excel in academics but also in extracurriculars. Yet, despite their accomplishments and fame, both are incredibly modest. They are never condescending and constantly strive to extend a helping hand to those around them, causing them to be highly respected and admired from afar. However, unbeknownst to their classmates and teachers, both Yukino and Soichiro hide their true selves behind perfectly constructed masks.

Yukino Miyazawa’s True Self

The real Yukino is vain—she enjoys being under the spotlight and claims that praise is her life force. It’s the sole reason for why she’s maintained a perfect image over the course of her school years. Alongside that, she can also be highly competitive and petty—as she initially views Soichiro as a threat to her status and laughs in triumph when he confesses to her in chapter one. Readers witness this side of her in its entirely in a scene that takes place at her home, where she doesn’t need to worry about putting on a façade and can safely voice her true feelings and complaints.

Yukino’s family is introduced as early as the first chapter. Not only is the family dynamic hilarious, but the interactions also give context to other parts of her personality. Yukino’s father is the doting type and her mother is the care-free type. Neither parents are overbearing or overly strict towards their children. They find their daughter’s obsession with perfection amusing and ridiculous rather than praiseworthy. Yukino’s sisters also enjoy teasing her when the occasion arises, hilariously remarking that they can’t help but be in awe by how much of a fraud their sister is in public. This is likely part of the reason why Yukino doesn’t quite feel too arrogant—her family members call out her behavior without restraint, making her still self-aware and grounded. These family interactions play up the comedy, making Yukino’s more negative qualities also hilarious to watch. The Miyazawa family’s fun-loving attitude is also indicative of the ways in which they approach things in general. When they vocalize their disagreements or poke fun at each other, it comes from a place of love—never to harm or impose restrictions. Yukino can unabashedly be herself because her family ultimately loves and cares for her. Her reason for projecting a perfect image is also rather silly, which is in line with her family’s light-hearted attitude in ways. By growing up in a warm and supportive family, Yukino also has a lot of other positive qualities. She is self-assured, relatively optimistic, and unafraid of the challenges that eventually come her way when she decides to just be herself.

Souichiro Arima’s True Self

While Soichiro also makes the decision to discard his persona, his journey in doing so is more turbulent. Unlike Yukino, Soichiro tends to distance himself from those around him—mostly only really showing his true self to Yukino and eventually their mutual friend Asaba for the majority of the series. He treats others with mostly respect but doesn’t let them in. At times, Soichiro can also be rather cold and manipulative when he feels threatened. However, he doesn’t particularly like his possibly more warped side, showing signs of fear for what he may be capable of to those he loves. This can be explained by his complicated family history.

While Yukino feels comfortable to let loose at her own home, this isn’t quite the case for Soichiro. Soichiro maintains a respectable distance between him and his parents. He feels pressured to act the part of a good son, both at school and at home, due to the circumstances behind his adoption. His own birth parents are considered the “bad seeds” of the family, yet his uncle and aunt chose to raise him regardless. As a result, Soichiro believes he has an obligation to maintain their reputation and prevent disappointment, even if that is not something they have ever voiced to him personally. Alongside this, Soichiro fears that he will grow up to be like his birth parents, causing him to worry about the possibility of a more sinister side to him. With almost nowhere to express himself fully, Soichiro’s experiences in keeping up his image can be best described as suffocating. Unlike Yukino, who chooses to be put on an act out for her own gratification, Soichiro does so as a means of self-preservation. His complicated family history is vital in understanding him—his tendency to close himself off, suppress his more negative emotions, and inclination to self-destructive behavior. It explains his attraction to Yukino, whom he initially felt connected to because of their similarities, and his eventual fear of growing apart from her as her world expands and their fundamental differences become more obvious. Without providing too many spoilers, the manga delves into much more detail about his birth parents and his extended family, providing additional insight to his personality and struggles.

*It should be warned, to those who may be interested in reading more about this series, that the manga includes triggering content such as rape and child abuse. As much as I love this series for the overall message it attempts to convey (and how much it means to me personally), the darker content and occasional mishandling of its problematic elements may not make it suitable for everyone.*

Final Thoughts

By including their family interactions, it is easy piece together the source of Soichiro’s and Yukino’s personalities and values. This is especially important in understanding their changing dynamic over the course of the series. They initially bond with each other through their decision to be true to themselves but have moments that drift them apart due to some fundamental differences that arise. Family dynamics in Kare Kano very much enhances its characterizations and family members need not be onscreen for a large part of the story—as is the case of Yukino Miyazawa’s family. Just seeing a small glimpse of characters in another context can give readers an extra layer of understanding that they otherwise would not have access to. As a result, I find that having family members be present (or deliberately absent as a means to explain a character’s upbringing) can greatly enrich a story and is something I thoroughly enjoy seeing.

#kare kano #yukino miyazawa #soichiro arima #his and her circumstances #mywriting

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fate-accursed · 3 years ago

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🐢 & 💕 for the meme thing? any or all muses is fine <3

from here

🐢 for a mental health headcanon

Andrew has undiagnosed PTSD stemming from the events of that night in Little Hope. One of the most obvious ways this displays itself is in the frequent nightmares he starts to have upon returning home-- about the things he saw, about his friends dying, about the deaths they all experienced in past lives. He grows to hate sleeping because of them, and tries to avoid it as much as he possibly can. He also tries to avoid walking around at night, especially if it’s foggy out, and he hasn’t been able to step foot on a bus since the accident.

Anthony suffers from anxiety, but he doesn’t recognize it as that for a few reasons. Firstly (and most obviously), because of the time period he lived in; generalized anxiety disorder wasn’t even added to the DSM until 1980. Even if it were recognized at the time, though, he probably wouldn’t realize it’s actual issue he deals with because he’s just so used to it. He wouldn’t have the perspective to realize that his overthinking and nervousness goes beyond just being sensitive, or introspective. One of the main ways his anxiety manifests itself is in physical symptoms (stress headaches and an uneasy stomach), but he never connects the dots between those symptoms occurring and his anxiety spiking, either.

Abraham has always had very low self-esteem, in part due to his upbringing; puritan belief systems certainly don’t help, adding fuel to the fire of self-criticisms. Because of this, he doubts his own judgement no matter how founded in knowledge it may be, believing others’ opinions to hold more stock than his own. This, combined with his fear of conflict, means he hardly ever stands up for himself-- and if his thoughts dissent with the majority, it takes a lot of courage for him to voice them.

💕 for a love headcanon

Andrew was somewhat of a late bloomer in terms of having crushes & finding (or at least, thinking about finding) love. Having lived most of his life sheltered and isolated from others, he didn’t even realize he might not be straight until he was just about to leave for college. While realizing his sexuality helped (a lot), he still doesn’t really see love as something that might apply to him; he just doesn’t think anyone would like him. That doesn’t mean he isn’t interested, but he’s resigned himself to quietly pining forever.

Anthony is constantly seeking love and affection from other people-- perhaps because it’s been something of a rarity to him. His biological family didn’t want him (which isn’t his fault, but it stings all the same), and he struggled to make friends in school. The only real source of love he’s ever had is his adopted family; the Clarkes gave him a happy childhood, though not a perfect one. He earned the trust and affection of all his siblings, growing close to Tanya and Dennis in particular. He did his best to behave so that his parents would like him, too-- but nothing lasts forever. As the years go by, his family begins to fall apart; all that time spent bonding with them and earning their affection slipping from his grasp. His parents are fighting more, his siblings want to leave, and his mom is always angry with him for his morbid interests. More than once, he overhears his dad saying they aren’t his real kids because they’re all adopted. So Anthony does what he always does; he tries to make everyone happy, hoping that maybe if he succeeds, they’ll love him enough not to leave him behind.

Abraham’s love is unconditional, whether it be platonic, familial, or romantic. All of them hold the same importance to him; people, in general, are important to him. He might find it somewhat difficult to connect with people initially, but once he’s built a relationship with someone, he’s loathe to destroy it. Some part of him will always love that person no matter what-- even if they’ve wronged him, or done something otherwise terrible. (For example, if he suspects Mary to be at fault for her siblings’ deaths, he’ll still insist on her staying with him.) This is partly because he’s just a forgiving person, but it’s mostly because he doesn’t know how to un-love someone.

#((perhaps unsurprisingly i had a lot to say here lmfao))#((especially since you let me write for all my muses!!))#((so shes goin under a cut))#((as always i am extra as hell))#answered: Demon at the Door #lawrising #hc: darkest dreaming #hc: troubled history #hc: the crossing

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smarti-at-smogwarts · 4 years ago

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The Venturi Family

I wanted to make a post about my MC’s family, since their reactions to some parts of the gameplay have been noodling around in my brain. Only the immediate family though.

Jacob Derek Venturi

FC Michael Seater

Jacob was the first born son of Abigail Rowle and George Venturi, and the older brother of Edwin and Marti Venturi. He was the one out of his siblings to spend the most time with his parents together and while their separation was hard for him to deal with at first he started noticing his mother was in a better mood and overall better to be around after the separation. Jacob was four years old when his little brother Edwin was born and ten years old when Marti was born, as such his relationships with them were different. With Edwin they were more brothers than anything and often he teased him as much as played with him and bossed him around. Marti however due to him being younger and their parents separating when she was still in diapers he became much more a doting older brother. He did however care about and was protective of both his siblings.

He had a good relationship with his parents though he was a bit closer to his father because of him keeping custody of him and his siblings. Abby visited and kept him for weekends so overall he was fairly affectionate and close to both of them. He knew he could get away with more with his father since out of the two, he was a bit more lax in parenting and could often take advantage of that though since the separation was civil they tended to stick together when he was -inevitably- punished for something [ ‘’why can’t you not get along like most divorced parents..yeah i know grounded.’’]

Personality-wise Jacob was charismatic and outgoing, which gained him a lot of friends wherever he went. Having been an only child for four years and then still the eldest, and been born to fairly young parents who could be said to be a bit soft on him, he grew up with the mentality that he could get get away with things if he just figured out how to get what he wanted. He was sneaky and a bit snarky and was known for pulling pranks and getting in trouble but it was mostly kid stuff..until his alleged involvement with [Redacted] after his disappearance came through. He was known in his time at school as an affable and charismatic kid, if a bit known for getting Howlers and well acquainted with the detention process.

Due to how long he has been missing. ( he was sixteen when he went missing and would have been twenty one as of Marti’s first year.) The case of his disappearance has more or less gone cold.

George Antonio Venturi

FC: John Ralston

gif by yours truly

George works as an wizard attorney. He’s an alumni of Hufflepuff house and married one of his closest friends ( Abigail) straight out of Hogwarts. This was done partly so that Abigail could escape an incredibly toxic home. However, if you asked him he’d say at the time he did love her.

It became apparent however as time passed ( and three children were born) their marriage seemed to become strained. They separated with George keeping custody of the kids.

Due to his own strict upbringing, he has a very lax style of parenting, often trying to be their kids friend as well as parent: ( More so with Jacob than Ed and Marti since Jacob caught him younger) an approach he also takes with his step children. While this can often catch him criticism there’s no question his children adore him.

He was really close to his son Jacob and losing him was absolutely devastating to him. If it wasn’t for his other two kids he might as well not have been able to keep going.

His dating and marriage to Nora was something he was hesitant about ( not in the least because there were children involved on both sides but also because of how badly losing his son had hit him) but it has helped him move forward after all the grief he experienced.

Abigail Leticia Rowle

FC : Amy Adams

Abigail comes from a highly extremist and toxic family. The Rowles affiliated with Voldemort during the first wizarding war and had very high expectations of the children of their house. For Abigail, Hogwarts was an escape; one that she knew wouldn’t last long as she would have to leave upon graduation. This is something that she knows influenced her decision to marry one of her best friend from Hogwarts who ( as a pureblood wizard) was also acceptable for her family and so wouldn’t bring retribution for them.

There’s no doubt she loved George but as time passed she realized she was’t happy. She had spent all her life in survival mode due to her parents and now that she was out she was starting to realize how much it influenced her decision. She loved her children, but she slowly realized she could not be a good parent to them in the state she was in.

She separated from George ( after making sure her family could not contact her about it) and more or less gave him full custody of their 3 kids with her doing visits to spend time with them.

Her friendship with George survived this and they were still friends as exes and able to coparent ( though undoubtedly George did more as he had full custody, this was okay with both of them) However, Jacob’s disappearance put a strain in it neither one has been able to mend. Like George, Abby blames herself for how things with Jacob turned out and when things were at their worst they couldn’t help but project that blame to each other. She still visits Ed and Marti but her interactions with George are much more brief and cold.

Edwin Alphonse Venturi

FC : Chris Wood

Jacob and Marti’s middle sibling and George and Abby’s middle child. Edwin was born when Jacob was 4-5 and is also 4-5 years older than Marti ( so is in his 5th year as of her first year and graduates after her second year) He’s a Ravenclaw and a foil to his extroverted outgoing little sister. Edwin is much more likely to be found buried in books than around people. Due to Jacob’’s loss ( which happened in when he was 10-11) and how much it affected him he is fiercely protective of his family. ( which Marti sometimes finds annoying though she is just as protective of him even if it shows less/differently )

He and Marti have a very “dork” “brat” relationship though they also have each other’s back unconditionally as they share the title of “Jacob’s sibling”

Unlike Marti tough, the wants to move on from Jacob and all the pain it caused him and as the game progresses is likely to react Badly to her thinking she can find him. Their beliefs about Jacob and reactions to his disappearance and rumors thereafter are already a strain between them as of year one. (Considering Plot happens from then on it’s safe to say it’ll only grow. )

10 facts about Edwin

Elizabeth Blair -Lizzie- Mcdonald

FC: Jordan Todosey

Lizzie is a Hufflepuff and also Marti and Edwin’s step sister and George’s step daughter. She is Nora’s youngest daughter and how Nora met George. She’s the only witch in her family and became best friends with Edwin shortly after their families blended ( actually George and Nora met Because they were both school shopping and Nora looked understandably lost ) She also has a pretty good big sister/little sister relationship with Marti. She’s in Edwin’s year and like him will have graduated as of Marti’s second year.

Lizzie’s the embodiment of Hufflepuff’s traits of kindness and tolerance ( and patience, enough to befriend Edwin at his angriest) .She’s supportive of her family and friends and tends to be the voice of reason for whichever sibling she’s with. Her two main loves are animals and quiditch. She plays as a beater for the Hufflepuff team. She also has enough pets ( both magical and not) George jokingly got her zoo sign to put on her bedroom door. ( Marti liking snakes is absolutely her influence) She’s likely to wind up working in Magizoology.

Nora Jean Mcdonald.

FC: Emily Deschanel

The stepmother to Edwin and Marti Venturi and wife to George Venturi. Nora was introduced to the magical world when her youngest daughter turned 12 and received her Hogwarts letter. She started dating George when Edwin and Lizzie were 13 and Marti was 8. She adores her husband and his kids and from the get-go made a point to treat them as her own.

Cassandra Imogen Mcdonald

FC: Cassidy Freeman

Nora’s first daughter. Her mother married George Venturi when she was 17-18. Went to an all girls school while her sister went to Hogwarts. As such she doesn’t have much interaction with the magical world or her stepsiblings, though she was exposed to it before moving out of her parent’s house. She does keep in touch with them though even if she’s more distant. She lives with her girlfriend Emily Davis ( fc Madeleine Mantock) in muggle Brittain. She cares a lot about her mom and little sister, and is happy they have people to help them through everything that comes from navigating the magical world.

Pets

Ozzie the Owl

Ozzy belonged to Jacob and was named after a musician he liked. After Jacob’s disappearance he was almost given away by a grief stricken George but was saved by Edwin. He resides with Edwin in Ravenclaw tower and is for all intents and purposes his owl.

Mickey the Snake

Mickey is a grass snake ( a smooth snake specifically) that was found hurt by Marti on one of her visits to her mother. After he was nursed back to health Marti decided to keep him. He lives in Marti’s room. Marti’s very attached to him.

Ignoring Lizzie’s pets because as said before that would take a whole nother post.

#im not super happy with some of the actresses but overall i dig this #George also has a short eared owl he uses #but I havent figure out his name yet #Jacob's Sibling #Marti Beatrice Venturi #HPHM #this was my first time making a gif like ever

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alchemic-elric · 4 years ago

Text

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻.

repost, don’t reblog

basics !

FULL NAME. Edward Elric PRONUNCIATION. EH-d-w-er-d L-rick NICKNAME. Brother, “Bro”, Big Brother, Ed, Elric, Snowdrop, Winter, Moonlight, Fullmetal, lil’bro, Cupcake, Little Bird, Son, Chief, Boss || Brat, Pipsqueak, Short stack, Short stuff, Shortie, Little Red Runt GENDER. male HEIGHT. // Retracted AGE. 16 (main verse) ZODIAC. Aquarius SPOKEN LANGUAGES. Amestrian || Xerxian* ( he doesn’t’ know that’s what it is, think of it like Latin of our world because Alchemic Texts IRL are mostly Latin so Xerxian in their world.)

** Post Canon - Drachman, Cretan, Xingese (he’s working on Aerugian)

physical characteristics !

HAIR COLOR. Golden Blond EYE COLOR. Gold BODY TYPE. Small, fit and well built due to the weight of his automail limbs. ACCENT. Amestrian || Country (( Words run together, chopped off, all around talking too fast)) VOICE. depends on his mood. Most of the time even tone, but can become soft and meek or harsh and near spitting venom. DOMINANT HAND. Right handed || *Ambidextrous due to the loss of his right arm. Writes left handed everything else remains right handed. POSTURE. slumped shoulders, strained posture, body weight rides on his knees. Head held high, looks bored / unimpressed most of the time. TATTOOS. N/A

BIRTHMARKS. unknown MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S). Bright red trench coat, stature, two automail limbs - right arm and left leg, bright gold eyes and matching hair.

childhood !

PLACE OF BIRTH. Resembool HOMETOWN. Resembool. BIRTH WEIGHT. ? BIRTH HEIGHT. ? FIRST WORDS. “Ma.”

SIBLINGS. Alphonse Elric (Younger Brother) PARENTS. Trisha Elric ( deceased ), Van Hohenheim ( he fucked off some where? who knows ). PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT. Trisha raised the boys with everything she had until she passed from an epidemic that swept the country in 1904. Hohenheim ditched that same year a few months before her death. Hohenheim spent little time with the boys while they were awake. Edward spent 99% of his time with his mother and his brother.

Once Edward and Alphonse were orphaned, they were partly raised by Yuriy and Sarah Rockbell with help from Pinako Rockbell. As the boys grew older they were passed around the village of Resembool - the entire town largely taking responsibility for the boy’s upbringing. Edward and Alphonse are largely self taught in most of the things they know that involve basic survival, and social interaction.

adult life !

OCCUPATION. State Alchemist; Solider; Major CURRENT RESIDENCE. N/A; Vagabond CLOSE FRIENDS. Alphonse Elric; Winry Rockbell; Ling Yao; Roy Mustang; Riza Hawkeye RELATIONSHIP STATUS. Single (main verse) FINANCIAL STATUS. He’s paid upper class, but Automail repair costs and Travel costs are draining on his finances. DRIVER’S LICENSE. N/A CRIMINAL RECORD. destruction of military property(B.A), arson, an accessory to the attempted murder of a public official (PoD), Attempt to overthrow a military official (GWSG), alchemic production of gold, trespassing, breaking and entering a military facility, VICES. naps, pie, (he doesn’t do anything horrible; but he’s got some comfort food for sure)

sex and romance !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION. demisexual ROMANTIC ORIENTATION. panromantic PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE. submissive | dominant | switch | the person who needs to know, knows. PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE. submissive | dominant | switch | the person who needs to know, knows. LIBIDO. low TURN ONS. Compliments, Intense conversation, nicknames, honest interest in his well being, concern for both him and his family, acts of service, good moral stance, strong convictions; quirkiness; persistence TURN OFFS. poor follow through, LYING, other dishonest behavior; small talk, abrasive personalities, violent personalities, mocking him or his interests, LOVE LANGUAGE. Words of Affirmation / Acts of Service (to feel loved) || Acts of Service/ Gifts (To show love) RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES. Get ready for some nicknames. He’s odd and he’ll hardly ever use your name. He’ll call you every other thing under the sun before he uses it. He’ll shower you in whatever gifts he can and if he can’t shower you in presents, he’ll make you things left and right. You’re always on his mind and he wants you to know it. He adores you. You’ll be his best friend, and his partner. He’ll go to the ends of the Earth for you.

miscellaneous !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG. Nothing to Lose (But You) HOBBIES TO PASS TIME. Reading, sleeping, cooking, card games, practicing Martial Arts MENTAL ILLNESSES. undiagnosed, Bipolar 2 (rapid cycling); Panic disorder / Anxiety, Depression, PTSD PHYSICAL ILLNESSES. // double amputee, physical aliments due to above, Migraines LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED. Right Brain Dominant FEARS. failure, abandonment, the phrase “I don’t love you anymore”, being alone, being found out as a “fraud”. SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL. non-existent; It’s an act. He can wear that smile that shows his “confidence” but it’s all a lie. His bipolar divides him as a person with an ego but zero self-esteem. He’s the first to discount his talents, as “not a big deal” because he believes he can stop the pain of being mocked if he mocks himself first. It’s self depreciating at times. VULNERABILITIES. He can take a full body beat down all day, but words cut him to the bone. Quick to anger; Emotional Instability, ALPHONSE, he has an ego but zero self-esteem to back it up, Impostor Syndrome.

Tagged by : I stole it from @creepiitus Tagging : it’s long so i won’t make anybody take it but if you want it, snag it and tag me! =)

#about the muse #headcanon #dashboard games #there i am getting to 'criminal record' and cracking my knuckles #a lot of that is from the video games #they get arrested once a game i swear #he gets calls lil'bro by cromwellharvests

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thornfield13713 · 4 years ago

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for Etienne: How affectionate are they with their friends? Their family? Their romantic partner(s) (if they have any)? Are they more physical or emotional when it comes to displaying their affection? Why?

...not very, is the answer.

Etienne is not a demonstrative person. Part of this is due to a desperately isolated upbringing - he might’ve been the de Serault siblings’ father’s favourite child...but that was only because Azalaïs was so blatantly not his child, and in truth the Marquis cared almost as little for his children as the Marquise did. The two children were raised apart, and while each was granted a few playfellows and attendants, and they saw one another on occasion, they don’t really have any sort of shared childhood. And, for Etienne in particular, the legitimate eldest son and heir, he was always at something of a remove even from these ‘acceptable’ chosen playmates, partly because they weren’t companions he’d have chosen for himself, and partly because his position as heir to the marquisate always stood between them. He was very aware from an early age that a ruler’s friendships cannot be like ordinary men’s, and it’s affected his whole life.

With the few people he can call friends as an adult, however - the Well-Read Pig Farmer is the only one I can think of off the top of my head who can truly be called a friend, as opposed to an ally or employee - Etienne is profoundly awkward whenever he tries to express appreciation or affection. He loves his one actual friend very deeply, but is so ill-at-ease with his own emotions that he really, really can’t convey it that well, and thus tends to try and express affection through awkward, stilted gestures and admissions that sound a bit too rehearsed, but which are nonetheless sincere. Think very awkward pats on the shoulder and tongue-tied admissions that he really does appreciate everything the Pig Farmer does for him, but more than that tends to make his ears go red and have Etienne staring at his boots while he tries to find a way to say what he wants to without compromising his sense of his own dignity.

With family, relations are even chillier. Etienne and his sister Azalaïs learnt to hate each other before they learnt to speak. Azalaïs was their mother’s favourite, Etienne their father’s, and both parents used their favoured children as playing-pieces to stab at one another. Even now, as adults, the two of them are slow to mend their relationship and while they know that their lifelong rivalry was manufactured by their parents and they honestly don’t have much of a reason for hating each other...it’s hard to break the habit of a lifetime. As such, the two mostly snipe at each other, which can border on friendly or downright vicious depending on the state of relations at any given time. They don’t touch, if they can avoid it, and while they will generally have each other’s backs in the face of anything serious, neither of them really knows what to do with each other between-times. They are trying to mend things between them, but neither of them is comfortable being affectionate yet, either giving or receiving.

The major exception to all this is with the Wayward Bard, and even then, Etienne is more comfortable with physical than verbal affection. He’s terrible at verbalising his affection or his expectations, mostly because asking for affection is not something that has ever ended well for him. Either people feel obliged to give him what he asks for because of his position, or he was asking his parents, who regarded all such requests as an unpleasant obligation and waste of their valuable time. Asking for more than he is given is something that Etienne cannot dare when emotions are involved, despite how ambitious he is otherwise. As such, his relationship with the Bard takes quite a long time to deepen beyond the initial casual dalliance they first agreed on.

#Anonymous #ocs #etienne de serault #dragon age #dragon age: the last court #the last court

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karui-kyofu · 4 years ago

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Mobile Friendly BNHA Verse Muse Info

Under read more because it’s long.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Full Name: Kurai Amayo

Hero Name: Underworld

Age: 15-16

Gender: Male

Orientation: Pansexual

Species: Human

Occupation: Student

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Hair: Silvery almost white, worn kind of messy, and usually a bit unkept but somehow it still USUALLY looks good.

Eyes: Pure gold in color, sometimes seem to have catlike pupils but other times it seems to have been a trick of the light.

Complexion: Pale as hell. Constant dark circles under his eyes.

Height: 5’9

Weight: 130 lbs

Build: Slender, almost seeming overly skinny, but he’s healthy enough.

Scars: Several. Too many to really specify where.

Piercings: Double ear piercings (the lobe) (I ignore the one for his faceclaim that has his neck pierced too. Kurai just has his ears pierced.)

Face claim(s): Kadoc Lemlupus

BACKGROUND

Ethnicity: Japanese

Parents: Currently Unnamed parents, both villains (Open to fleshing out some info about them though if needed)

Siblings: Unnamed, two, a brother and sister (also both villains, or eventually will become them).

Pets: Fish

Education: UA Academy

Languages: Japanese, English

Abilities: Nightfall (vampiric + light manipulation) One from each parent; It’s not exactly a void, but he can essentially make an entire area around him within a certain range so completely dark that no light can pierce through it. It also somewhat muffles sound, since it’s one of those tangible yet intangible sorts of blackness. It’s heavy, and thick, but can’t be touched or cut, or dissipated (though if he is killed or knocked unconscious it vanishes).

The second half of his ability (or more accurately his second quirk, from the other parent) is more straightforward, giving him vampiric like physical boosts (some increased strength, speed). Permanently boosted because of his quirk (even when speed and strength are not): Sight and hearing (to a small degree).

Summarized Personality Traits: Shy and awkward but friendly, somewhat low self esteem, difficulty trusting others but wants to, constantly afraid people will shun him for his parentage. Seems antisocial, but really is just not the greatest with people. Likely keeps to himself mostly, or hangs around near people but never WITH them unless invited.

Other Important details to note: Most people have probably never seen his face properly because of his light sensitivity issues, and the fact he wears hoodies and sweatshirts with a special sheer face covering to minimize light. He does take it off sometimes though, and will reveal his face if asked to.

Also it's not due to his quirk, more his personality (he is often almost deathly quiet) and just kind of a natural thing from a number of factors, but he has kind of a diminished presence and tends to not be noticed unless he speaks. Some more observant people though will likely be more aware he is there. But it's part of the reason why he sometimes seems to suddenly appear out of thin air. He was probably already there, people just didn't realize it.

More detailed background information (and in depth personality and quirk info):

Kurai was born as the child of two villains (not giving them names currently, and they’re not meant to be any currently known villains). Neither were very important, but despite his parents alignment, Kurai never really took to the whole villain sort of lifestyle (he’s far too big of a softie), and eventually he ran away, and ended up applying to U.A., and managed to get in.

He does have difficulties still in this verse with being in bright places due to his upbringing (he was raised in mostly dark places), and almost always hides himself in a dark coat or hoodie, his favorite and most common ones having a sort of sheer black mesh covering the face to help with his light sensitivity, so most people have never seen his face properly without it being hidden in shadows. He’s not the greatest with people, tending to shy away from them. He’s also very skittish about being touched, and tends to keep to himself. He’s pretty convinced that if people find out his parents are both villains, that he will be shunned, and so he keeps it to himself. The school is aware though of his parentage and he had to go through extra steps to prove he wasn’t a villain himself before he was allowed to properly apply.

Appearance wise, he’s actually decently attractive, if a bit disheveled, apart from the constant dark circles under his eyes. Messy, rarely brushed silvery colored hair, and vividly golden eyes, his pupils sometimes seeming almost catlike, though it might be a trick of the light, or a manifestation of his quirk. He’s also got a little bit of an unusual slight point to his ears, and they sort of stick out weirdly, almost like a little elf.

His room is kept nice and dark, and all his lightbulbs have been replaced with blacklight bulbs, which are some of the only lights he can tolerate consistently, so his room has a rather eerie glow. Most of his belongings have some sort of glow factor to them (lighting under his bed, one of those blacklight glow fish tanks, lava lamps, etc), because he just really likes that sort of glowing, blacklit look. It’s also soft lighting so it’s something his eyes can tolerate.

Kurai has some unique quirks in the sense he got one quirk from one parent, but he also got a second one that sort of mutated from his other parent, so it’s not quite the same as theirs. Somewhat vampiric abilities associated with his tasting blood (rarely used because he hates it, but it boosts his strength and speed some), any kind of blood, and any amount, even a drop, for a short time. But more commonly, he has an ability having to do with light manipulation, causing the area around him to be engulfed in total darkness, as if his opponent has been transported into a void. Which is true in a sense, as some aspect of his ability seems to muffle sound as well, covering his movements when he’s in battle. If he uses both of his quirks, he can be a formidable opponent, but he’ll never be as powerful as some of the other heroes out there. His night vision is amazing, though his daytime vision a bit less so, unless he has one of his special hoodies on. His vision in general is a little sharper than most, and his hearing is also enhanced a little, courtesy of his quirk, but both are only slightly better than the average person, and not anything significant.

As for downsides to his quirks, his vampiric abilities tend to torture him more emotionally rather than having a physical downfall, though he can sometimes get tired and lethargic after his ability fades. His light manipulation ability has a currently limited range, as he’s still learning fully how to control and expand it, but currently he can basically black out an area around him within about 40 feet if he pushes himself. His void type ability also can be bested by someone who is able to sense body heat or movement by means other than sight or hearing.

As far as his actual personality, he’s actually really friendly if someone makes the effort to get past his fearful, antisocial seeming exterior. He actually really wants to be included in things, but he’s just really not sure how to go about it. He doesn’t see himself as someone that others would want to be friends with, because he grew up surrounded by villains who treated everyone like they were replaceable and everyone only cared about themselves. He’s almost far too nice for his own good, and he definitely has to work on his confidence in both himself and his abilities. He cares a great deal about those around him, but he won’t say anything most of the time unless presented with a situation he feels he has to. It most likely will take a little effort to get him to open up to others, and a little bit of persistence. If he does speak, he tends to speak softly, unless startled or frightened, and when afraid of something, his instinct is to hide in the closest dark little safe space he can find (such as under a table or beneath a bed). He absolutely hates bullying though, and when he feels confident enough, he will speak up, despite his fear of others, and stand up for people if he catches someone bullying another student.

He is slightly mentally unstable, hearing whispers sometimes in his ears, about how he isn’t good enough, how he should just give up, quit, how no one likes him, no one could ever like him, and other things like that. This is another side effect of his upbringing, his softhearted nature being a detriment to surviving such a childhood without some damage being left on him. He also rarely sleeps more than a few hours at a time, which is partly why he always looks so tired and why he’s always got those dark circles under his eyes.

He secretly would sneak out and do nice things for people when he was a child, even though he was punished and made fun of for it by those in his parents circle. The fact he couldn’t help himself from doing things like that, or from protecting animals or just doing little helpful things, was one of the signs he was not meant to be a villain.

He has two siblings, both older than him. After he ran away, his parents basically pretended like he didn’t exist anymore, because he disappointed them by being too soft and kind, and because he refused to use his abilities for villainous acts.

(I have finally figured out what his hero costume looks like. Feel free to ask me, and I’ll send some pictures.)

(This verse is still new and tentative so more info will be added as I interact with him with people.)

#BNHA Verse Info File: Kurai #Mobile Friendly

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jckelly · 4 years ago

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task 005 -> zodiacs

JACK’S SIGNS: sagittarius sun, sagittarius rising, aries moon

question 1

What is your character’s zodiac sign?

Jack is a Sagittarius, with his rising sign also being Sagittarius and his moon sign Aries.

question 2

List at least 3 negative traits that your character’s sign has. Does your character exhibit these traits? Give examples or explain a time when they have behaved in this way.

Harsh

Rebellious

Impatient

Jack’s tendency to be harsh is pretty well documented - in a fight, or argument, he doesn’t exactly shy away from saying things which others might think go too far. For example, when talking to Leo Jack frequently brings up Leo’s mother and family situation, despite being aware that it’s something which makes Leo uncomfortable. That being said, he does have the ability to turn it off - with people such as Balo and Caitriona, who Jack genuinely cares about, he’s notably less harsh and chooses to not say things which he believes may upset or bother them. So although he does exhibit this trait, it’s clear he does have some level of control over how harsh he is, meaning that it’s something he’s aware of doing. Similarly, he is able to exaggerate how harsh he’s being when it comes to people he dislikes, telling Zander he’s being self centred when he brought up that Jack wasn’t the only one with a bad family situation - again showing that Jack can control how harsh he is and that he can choose to be worse when it comes to those he wants to mess with.

It’s not just a trait which affects the people Jack interacts with - the harsh quality to his personality also comes in when discussing how Jack treats himself. Although he may not show it on the surface, Jack has a history of self hatred, with stems from his tendency to judge himself too harshly and to blame himself for things which couldn’t have been his fault. He is especially harsh to himself when it comes to blaming himself for his mother’s death - although it wasn’t his fault at all, he tends to assume that had he not allowed himself to be taken away, she might have had something to live for. Of course, this is an incorrect view to take, but it does demonstrate his tendency to be overly harsh towards himself. He tends to expect perfection when it comes to some tasks - obviously not all schoolwork, he couldn’t care less half the time, but when it comes to a few subjects Jack has a drive and a level of perfectionism that most people may not expect of him. He’s pretty determined that he’ll break the cycle of his upbringing, that he’ll end up in a better position than his mother did, and that translates into Jack being way too harsh with himself if he messes up, concerned it’s the first steps into him ending up in the same position.

As far as a rebellious nature goes, it’s not exactly something which goes unnoticed for Jack. He definitely has some obvious instances where it can’t be ignored, ranging from smoking weed with Eleanor to full on fighting Zander, to skipping class and other mainstays of teenage rebellion. These more obvious rebellious actions also extend to his home life, beyond school. Jack will pretty much rail against anything his adopted parents tell him to do or want for him. Things as dumb as his adopted father wanting him to have a neat haircut turn into Jack taking a pair of scissors to his head and giving himself one he knows he’ll disapprove of, or his adopted mother wanting Jack to speak in a more eloquent way as she thinks his accent will be judged at college interviews will turn into Jack deliberately speaking in the most thick Sheffield accent he can manage. Part of this is related to his strong sense of identity and his fear that his adopted parents will want to make him more into their image and take away the parts of him which link him to his own birth family, but mostly it’s because Jack cannot handle being told what to do.

Less obvious cases of Jack being rebellious are also apparent within his life and his interactions with other characters. He can often be seen rejecting worry and concern offered to him by Balo - it could be partly due to Jack’s emotional distancing, but it’s also him rejecting what most people would say he needs, railing against social norms that way. He’s unafraid to be different - he never feels held back by gender norms or by society’s expectations of him, in fact he happily goes against all of them as much as he can. This also links to him being underestimated in terms of intelligence or strength - once he hears someone has a prior expectation of him, Jack feels the need to rebel against it, in any way he possibly can. In this sense, it can be a positive thing - but considering that his rebellious nature feeds into his friendships, preventing friends from being able to rely on him or expect certain things from him, it can also be toxic for any relationship he ends up in. It’s also a negative thing for situations where certain rules have to be followed, especially at Luxor since Jack sees a rule and just instinctively needs to break it.

Impatience is a trait which fits Jack slightly less well. It’s true that he can be impatient in some situations, but overall he exhibits multiple cases of being able to play the waiting game. He’s happy to spend weeks, months even building up a friendship with someone only to destroy it in the end - if he were too impatient, this is something he’d definitely struggle to keep going with for so long. It’s true that he can be impatient in some settings, finding it hard to sit still through long boring classes and tending to skip ahead when he’s watching a movie - but the fact that he has shown a capability to be patient when he needs to shows that this trait is one of the few Sagittarius traits which do not fit Jack perfectly.

question 3

List at least 3 positive traits that your character’s sign has. Does your character exhibit these traits? Give examples or explain a time when they have behaved in this way.

Independent

Passionate

Loyal

Independence is a trait which could be ascribed to both Jack’s personality and the way he was raised, a case of nature and nurture together. It could be argued that his independence is less related to who he is and more related to the fact that from a young age, when he was living with his mother Jack had no choice but to do as much as he could for her. He was made to cook and clean and so on even as a very young child, as if he did not do the domestic tasks, they would not get done and he would not be able to eat etc. So from that perspective, the argument could be made that Jack’s independence is not due to his personality and more because he is so unused to accepting help that he does not know how. However, although his upbringing definitely had a hand in influencing how independent he is, it’s also just generally a part of Jack’s personality. He does not like to admit weakness, to the point where he cannot accept needing to let someone help him with anything.

Jack’s independence is demonstrated frequently during Luxor interactions. One key example would be when he gets beaten up, he never allows Balo or Caitriona to help patch him up, no matter how injured he gets. He always prefers to do it himself, and this is true of most situations. He didn’t tell anyone about his mother’s death, which could be seen as another demonstration of his independence - he preferred to work through his grief by himself rather than accepting someone’s sympathy or help. Overall, independence is a trait which both holds Jack back and is a positive. On the negative side, Jack is held back by his inability to accept any help. When he’s struggling with something, he could often take less time to complete it if he allowed somebody to aid him. On the other hand, however, it helps him be stronger as he’s never overly reliant on anyone. It fits him pretty well.

As far as being passionate goes, Jack’s not really someone who displays passion constantly. He can seem pretty unbothered by most subjects, to be honest - but I’d say this is less because he isn’t a passionate person and has more to do with his tendency to hide his emotions in general. He’s definitely someone who feels his emotions very strongly, it could be argued that all of his recent fights (Zander and Leo) have been related to him being overly passionate and emotional - he fought with both Leo and Zander over them mentioning his mother, with can be seen as Jack being passionate about defending his family. How passionate he seems can also depend on who he’s with - for example, he has no problem outwardly expressing his enthusiasm and excitement when it’s just him and Balo (mostly for Reese Withercoon) but when it comes to being around people he’s more uncomfortable with, he can seem much less interested, even when it comes to topics that he’s inwardly passionate about. Although that isn’t a reflection of whether Jack is a passionate person or not, more so a reason as to why even though he exhibits this trait, it’s not necessarily obvious in his Luxor interactions.

Loyalty is a trait which I would say is pretty obvious when it comes to Jack. His refusal to accept Claire and George, his adopted parents, as his family would be a key example. Jack is too loyal to his birth mother to even use the words mum and dad with his adopted parents - despite the fact that he’s lived with them for five years now. It’s also obvious in the way he continues to defend his mother and insist that he belonged with her and even the way that he can still love her wholeheartedly, despite the circumstances in which he was removed from her care. It’s clear from this example that Jack is incredibly loyal to his mother, and that this loyalty has carried over to his time at Luxor: he’s fought two people in less than a week because they insulted her, so he’s still pretty damn loyal.

Jack’s loyalty is also probably quite clear in the fact that he’s willing to defend his actual friends for anything. He’s not close to many people at Luxor, being able to count on one hand the number of people he actually gives a shit about, but when it comes to people like Caitriona or Balo, or even Eleanor, he’d do anything for them. It’s maybe not quite as obvious as his loyalty to his mother, but that’s more because he hasn’t had much time to demonstrate his loyalty to them as compared to his demonstrated loyalty to his mum, but it’s still pretty clear that he has a big capacity to be loyal to the people he genuinely cares about, even if there are very few of them. An example would be the way Jack is willing to defend Balo if anyone says anything even remotely derogatory, or the way he’s willing to do things such as give her his clothes when she gets cold, showing that there is at least a measure of trust and loyalty involved in his relationship with her.

question 4

If there are any specific opposing traits that your character has which isn’t typical for their sign, what traits are they? (i.e. Their sign says they’re stubborn but they’re actually a pushover) Give examples of this opposing behaviour.

Sagittarius are often depicted as being gullible, which is a trait I would say Jack does not exhibit. In fact, he’s pretty sceptical overall. You could argue that his scepticism is more so due to his upbringing and that if he had been raised in a more normal setting, he might have come out more gullible overall - but in general I would say Jack’s personality does not allow for gullibility. He’s the sort of person who’s more drawn to logic and numbers overall, so if you tell him something, he tends to need a quantifying reason evidencing your suggestion. He tends to be curious as well, questioning pretty much everything whether it’s something he was taught in class or something someone tells him about their personal life. This is clear in the ways he frequently questions Luxor students if they try to deny something he’s saying or in the way he will not accept a false answer if he believes it to be anything less than the whole truth - were he more gullible, Jack might just accept whatever they said, or at least part of it, as the truth. I would also say that most people, when interacting with Jack, wouldn’t necessarily pick gullible as a trait they’d ascribe to him - he just doesn’t come across in conversations or other interactions as the type to believe anything you tell him, to any degree. So overall I would say Jack doesn’t exhibit the gullibility often associated with Sagittarius.

A second Sagittarius trait which I don’t see Jack having is a tendency to be easily bribed. Although he wouldn’t say no to extra money or something, Jack is also incredibly stubborn and I can’t see him being swayed by the promise of a bribe. If he decides he wants to do something or find something out, you can’t force him to stop with any amount of money, and equally if you want him to do something he does not want to do, it’s almost impossible to convince him no matter the bribe. There are few good examples of Luxor interactions where Jack shows this, but there are definitely examples in his backstory of his adopted mother and father attempting to make him behave with promises of money or gifts which obviously did not work. It could be suggested that Jack’s stubbornness just holds back the part of him which is easily bribed, but I would say that he’s just in general not the kind of person who can be convinced to do something with presents. It could be linked to his backstory - Jack grew up with very little, so he’s not in general a material person so things such as material bribes just don’t appeal to him so much in comparison to what he has to gain from, for example, pushing his way into finding out about someone’s backstory. But overall he doesn’t really fit the Sagittarius trait of being easily bribed.

question 5

Which zodiac sign associated traits does your character exhibit that would be obvious to others? Which traits aren’t as obvious?

The more obvious traits which Jack exhibits are often the negative traits, which is most likely because he spends more of his time being negative to people at Luxor than utilising the more positive aspects of his personality. Perhaps the most obvious one would be the fact that he’s unreasonably harsh - Jack is, in general, pretty harsh to anyone who he doesn’t have an ulterior motive to justify being nice to. He willingly winds up people such as Leo and Zander, and he often resorts to childish insults such as insulting Christopher’s hair. He’s also pretty harsh to teachers, not seeing an issue with making fun of authoritative figures, and especially rude to those he’s been involved with in the past. In fact, I’d say that even without knowing his zodiac or being prompted, most people would easily describe Jack as being harsh. It’s something which is obvious even when it comes to people he’s not actively being rude to: an example of this would be when talking to Kenzie, Jack can completely dismiss her insecurities without making any attempt to deny them or improve her mood. Jack has no ill feelings toward Kenzie, but the harsher aspect of his personality means that he is unable to take a softer stance with her, thus causing him to be unnecessarily rude and dismissive.

Similarly, Jack’s tendency to be rebellious is also fairly obvious to most people. Whether it’s smaller misdemeanours such as drinking or smoking, or bigger issues such as the use and dealing of drugs, Jack pays little to no attention to the school rules. This isn’t a secret amongst his peers, either. In fact, he actively encourages them to go off of the rails with him. One of his trademarks is his tendency to court younger or more naive students, befriending them and then becoming a negative influence in their life, encouraging them to make poor decisions which they may later regret. Teachers would likely note his rebellious nature as a result - it doesn’t exactly go unnoticed, although any consequences they might bestow on Jack don’t exactly do anything to dissuade him from future rebellion. I would say that he fits the high school rebel stereotype to an extent so it would make sense for him to be obviously rebellious to others.

Of his positive traits, possibly the one most clear to others would be his independence. Jack is independent to the point where he cannot accept help in any situation, and this wouldn’t go unnoticed in situations such as group projects where despite being seemingly rebellious, he can’t help but do all the work because he hates having to rely on other people. In interactions with other Luxor students he has visibly demonstrated his independence in his refusal to allow people he trusts such as Balo to help him clean up after fights, making it fairly obvious that he does not have the capability to work with others or accept their aid when he needs it. It’s also noteworthy that although he has a reputation for generally causing chaos, Jack does not often work with other people in order to do that, preferring to work by himself even though he could likely cause even more trouble if he teamed up. This fairly obviously demonstrates the way that he prefers to work alone and independently even to the detriment of whatever he’s trying to do. So I would say that Jack’s independence is overall pretty obvious to other Luxor students. It’s also obvious to the people in his home life, considering Jack’s constant refusal to let his adopted parents give him help with anything, whether it’s help when he’s sick or help with college applications.

Jack’s loyalty is something which is obvious to those close to him but less obvious to those not, because it truly only applies to a very few people. An example would be his willingness to do anything for Balo and Eleanor - it’s probably obvious to them that Jack is loyal and would stick by them through almost anything, but someone like Zander who is looking from the outside in, it appears that Balo is just another conquest for Jack and that he’s not loyal to her and has ulterior motives. It’s not helped by the fact that Jack is quick to deny any loyalty - Jack’s afraid of seeming vulnerable, so he’s happy to let other people think he’s disloyal by nature. His misinformation, coupled with his track record of hurting people, can completely mask his loyalty for most people, making it much less obvious than it would be to those genuinely close to him. However, some of Jack’s loyalties become more obvious than others. For example, his repeated willingness to fight anyone who insults or makes a comment on his mother demonstrate undeniably that he’s loyal to her no matter the fact that he was taken away from her. But this makes up such a small proportion of Jack’s interactions that I would say in general his loyalty is not obvious to most of the people he interacts with.

Impatience is an interesting trait for Jack because it’s probably something people assume is more of a big deal for Jack than it really is. Because they likely see him in situations where he’s being impatient toward menial things - when he’s skipping ahead in a movie, fidgeting his way through class because he gets bored and can’t focus, giving up on studying after twenty minutes - it’s probable that most people would think Jack is just in general a very impatient person. But because his capability to be patient is pretty limited to things where he has something to gain from waiting it out, he limits it in general to the cases when he’s waiting to break a person. And obviously, most people don’t see that. So although his impatience is obvious to most people, it’s actually pretty misleading compared to how the trait plays into his actual personality.

question 6

Overall, do you find that your character’s sign suits their personality? Why or why not?

I would say that overall, Sagittarius fits Jack pretty well. The majority of Sagittarius traits have been accounted for somewhere in Jack’s personality or interactions with other students at Luxor, and although there are a few traits I would say fit him less well, those could be accounted for at least to some extent, it was just that they did not fit Jack quite as well as other traits. It’s definitely the sign which fits him best out of the whole zodiac.

question 7

Which aspect under the “In a Nutshell” header do you think describes your character the best? The least?

“They are detached from emotions” is the aspect of the In a Nutshell header which I would say fits Jack the best. Although it’s a recurring joke that he is heartless, there is definitely some truth in that Jack prefers to keep feelings away as much as he can, partly because he is frightened by the idea of allowing him to feel too deeply about someone and later be hurt. He would definitely agree with the sentiment described in the header that emotions hold a person back - Jack believes that having strong emotions about people and subjects will only lead to pain, thus holding him back and hurting him in the long run. He would also agree with the idea that Sagittarius “do not like to discuss their feelings” - he’s definitely very closed off when it comes to what he’s really thinking or feeling. This is evidenced in the fact that he did not tell even Balo when his mother died, working through the grief by himself without allowing anyone else to know about it or help him - this again links to the idea of Jack being scared of letting other people know what he’s really thinking. He’s not completely heartless, but he’s definitely detached and unwilling to let feelings get involved, making this the aspect of the header which best fits him.

“They are guided by luck” is the aspect of the header which I believe fits Jack the least. For one thing, judging by his backstory he hasn’t exactly had the best luck in life, so it’s not particularly accurate from a very literal point of view. From a more personality based perspective, as previously stated Jack is much more inclined toward a Type A personality when it comes to decision making - he prefers looking at things logically, weighing up the options and making a decision based solely on facts. So luck really isn’t something he believes in, nor would he allow impulsive decisions or good fortune to sway him from picking what he believes to be the most logical choice. In addition to this, Jack just completely lacks the "optimistic outlook and positive disposition which attracts good fortune” described in the header. He could honestly be described as a pessimist, someone who assumes the worst in any given situation and who always prepares himself for the worst case scenario. (He may seem cheerful, but this doesn’t mean he’s not assuming the worst.) He doesn’t really have a positive disposition either - he may seem optimistic but this is more a cover than anything else. Jack assumes that if he seems happy and unbothered, he’ll therefore avoid any questions about his actual emotions. In actuality, he’s much less happy than he lets on, and has much less of a positive disposition - meaning this aspect of being a Sagittarius does not fit him.

question 8

Which aspect under the “Deep Inside” header do you think describes your character the best? The least?

The aspect under the Deep Inside header which I think best fits Jack is “others may be hurt by their lack of commitment but they don't care.” This pretty much sums Jack’s attitudes up when talking about relationships. As someone who doesn’t really believe in love, or at least does not believe he is worthy of it, Jack refuses to let himself be fully tied down. He’s cheated on every person he’s ever really dated, and has absolutely no regrets. Commitment just isn’t something he allows into his life, and for obvious reasons this can upset those he chooses to date. Jack really doesn’t give a shit, though - he sees the whole idea as so stupid that if someone genuinely subscribes to the idea of love and a lasting relationship with him, they deserve to be hurt. He is self absorbed in that he feels the need to protect his own heart above all else - so the second he sees things going any deeper than just casual sex, he jumps ship, leaving the other person to pick up the pieces so that he escapes relatively unscathed. His commitment issues are so bad that Jack has only been in a relationship when he genuinely cared about the other person once, and he was still scared enough of the commitment that he ended it.

The aspect which I think least fits Jack is “they don't dwell on hurt because it is a waste of their energy.” This is completely different to Jack, who holds a grudge easily, for lengthy periods of time. He’s unable to let go of pain as quickly as the Sagittarius traits detailed in the Deep Inside section might suggest. For example, Jack holds multiple grudges against his adoptive parents for relatively little things which really weren’t their fault, most recently he’s been mad since December because his adopted mother wouldn’t let him fly back to England to see his mother because he was unwell. He’s not exactly the sort of person to forgive or forget, he definitely remembers and is still mad about things which happened a long time ago - and not always justifiably so. He honestly doesn’t even see it as a waste of energy, he’s not mature enough to think about it that way - Jack always has anger leftover to spare. So I would say the idea that Sagittarius don’t dwell on hurt or hold grudges is not particularly fitting for Jack.

question 9

Read the “How to Attract” header of your character’s sign. Do you find this accurately describes what would draw them to another person?

I mean, Jack will sleep with anything that moves. But the How to Attract section seems to agree: “These are the easiest people to get a date with but don’t think that this is written in stone, they are the biggest commitment phobe of all zodiac signs.” This pretty much sums up Jack’s dating style: he’ll happily sleep with or go on a date with anyone, but when it comes to commitment he has absolutely no concept of being exclusive or serious with someone. In fact, if you start talking about such things, he’ll probably run away. As far as initially attracting him to a person goes, it’s mainly suggested on the page that to attract Sagittarius, you should “not pry into intimate details about their life. Keep your emotional distance.” This pretty much sums up how to get Jack to stay with you long enough to fuck you or as close as he can get to a relationship. Asking him personal details and seeming like you’re outwardly deep into him already is an easy way to get Jack to either run away, or he might resolve to use your feelings against you instead. Either way, it’s an easy way to get him to put up walls and not get close to you, and become even more guarded than usual. So overall, I would say the section is pretty accurate for him.

question 10

Did you already have a birthday chosen for your character? Had you considered the sign associated with that date? If you don’t find that your character fits the descriptions of their sign, which of the other signs do you think they’re like?

I already had December picked out as Jack’s birth month - his middle name is Noel, referencing that he was born in the same month as Christmas. (And also Noel Gallagher.) I knew Jack would better fit Sagittarius than Capricorn, as Capricorns tend to be more responsible and patient, so I decided to make his birthday be in early December (December 4) in order to make him a Sagittarius. I chose his rising to be Sagittarius as well because it enhances the Sagittarius traits displayed - I felt like Jack’s Sagittarius traits were so strong that he shouldn’t have a conflicting rising sign or one with differing traits to the Sagittarius ones, so it made sense for him to be a double Sagittarius. If he were to be another sign, I would put him as Aries, as he does share some traits with Aries: independence, moodiness, a short temper. For that reason his moon sign is Aries, which contributes to him demonstrating a slightly moodier and more hot tempered nature than many Sagittarius men.

question 11

Are there any additional descriptions you found in your reading that stand out to you or also describe your character well? What were they?

From Astrosofa: “Sagittarius enjoy discussions, and for this purpose, they need people who interact with them. They do not like listeners around them. They need an opponent who argues with them, and they want to announce their message of salvation. They need the fight, and that's why they often provoke their audience until they cannot stand them anymore.”

This is noteworthy because it pretty much summarises why Jack’s friendship with Caitriona works so well, as opposed to his poor relationships with many Luxor students. Caitriona is never too submissive when she’s with Jack - she always provides a counterargument, and doesn’t just let him walk all over her. This means Jack is able to have a proper discussion with her, rather than walking all over her as he does with many. It also explains much of the reason why Jack constantly winds up other Luxor students, most notably Leo: the idea that he needs the fight, and that he provokes others until they cannot stand him, definitely makes sense when looking at how he will constantly bring up Leo’s mother to bother him.

From Explore Astrology: “Parts of the body ruled by Sagittarius are the liver, hips, and thighs - Sagittarians have a sensitive liver and may be susceptible to drug and alcohol abuse, hepatitis, and HIV.”

Coming from a junkie mother with a history of drug abuse, and being an occasional drug user himself, it’s interesting that this could be linked to the parts of the body ruled by Sagittarius.

From Liveabout: “Your moon sign relates to the kind of mothering you got, and those with an Aries Moon were encouraged to be emotionally independent.”

This is definitely accurate for Jack, considering the type of mothering he got forced him to be as independent as possible, so it’s interesting to see that his moon sign correlates with this.

bibliography

http://zodiac-signs-astrology.com/zodiac-signs/aries.htm

https://www.astrosofa.com/uk/astrology/zodiac/Sagittarius

http://www.exploreastrology.co.uk/personalitytraitssagittarius.html

https://www.liveabout.com/moon-in-aries-moon-signs-206981

https://www.horoscope.com/zodiac-signs/sagittarius

https://www.allure.com/story/sagittarius-zodiac-sign-personality-traits

https://www.astrology.com/astrology-101/zodiac-signs/sagittarius

#luxortask #drugs tw #death tw #I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LENGTH OF THIS

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