#mostly short and blunt sentences

[rambyol]

Analysis - The Joker’s cards for Bruce and what they suggest:

We shouldn’t take Handwriting psychology literally as it’s very subjective but it’s definitely fascinating what we can learn or pull from a characters penmanship.

1. The Card from the Church

Between the two cards, this one is my favourite because it has the most personality in it.

This card shows up after the events at Wayne Tower where Joker and Harley unleash the Virus (Gas Bomb) and during Batman, Iman, and Tiffany’s search for the next Bomb.

Right off the bat, the penmanship on this card is messy. The letters are jagged, some misaligned, and some have varying degrees of pressure to them.

Writing with a lot of pressure can be a sign of attention seeking behaviour and Joker is trying to get Batman’s attention, obviously, but more notably the pressure on the letters mimic Johns/Jokers speech. John has a habit of subverting and exaggerating certain words in his speech. For instance when talking about Harley potentially setting off the bombs on the bridge (if you choose to trust John), John describes that hypothetical as ‘exciting’. It’s no surprise that writing can reflect our speech but as I mention below it’s a sign of being unfiltered.

It’s evident that Joker isn’t dwelling on presentation here, much like his fashion sense, there’s a disheveled appearance to his writing.

The scribble in the bottom left corner where you can see Joker was checking to see if the pen was still working is kind of endearing since this letter was intended for Batman and the scribble indicated a lack of filter, as is observed through Villain Jokers personality. V Joker is arguably the least filtered out of all 3 in my opinion and naturally that would reflect in every facet of him down to his writing. I mean even his attempt to scribble out the joke at the end seems half hearted, because we can still see it clearly.

In addition we’ve got the doodles of a heart and a mystery doodle which Batman has his thumb covering (I wonder what it is 0_o). Doodles display playfulness and of course that childish is pretty consistent to Johns character regardless if he goes down the Vigilante or Villain route.

Jokers handwriting here is relatively ‘bad’ but without going into detail (I want to wrap this one up) we can see that theres a struggle for consistency in his lettering and strokes, which mirrors his personality in way. John was/and Joker is very muddled at times because his motives are all over place and it’s hard to determine what he wants. Now sometimes I think people see inconsistency in characters as ‘bad writing’ but I see it as making them more believable/complex. So yes, ‘unstable’ writing comes as no surprise.

2. The Card from Joker’s Funhouse

Now this one’s shorter but it’s much more presentable. The lettering is mostly level and although there’s the mix between capital and lower case letters within the same word it’s overall more thought out. Even the doodles of the diamonds (?) on top of the ‘i’ are consistent. There’s a bluntness to this that otherwise isn’t seen in the first letter, the sentence are short and concise almost as if Joker has more control here. And he does, Bruce sees this letter after being shocked unconscious by Joker. He’s not in his Batsuit and he’s being led towards the games that Joker is going to force him to play before ‘dinner’.

I know this is written with a different pen, clearly a marker and that can effect penmanship, I know I write better with a certain type of pen (thicker ball points) but I like to think there’s more certainty in Joker at this point in the story about what he’s doing, since before this, John was a part of other peoples plans.

Also this one reads more intimately than the other for obvious reasons like with the use of the term ‘our secret’ and the domestic connotations of ‘dinner’ but that of course goes into the bigger scheme of this being presented as a dinner party. What I think is most important in this letter is how the heart ❤️ has no arrow in it. Unlike the first card which did;

According to Google:

A heart symbol pierced with an arrow, symbolizing romantic love (being lovestruck, or the pain of lovesickness) A typical depiction of the Sacred Heart (often shown with other attributes, e.g. surmounted by a cross, pierced by nails or swords, etc.)

Okay maybe the first one was more intimate?

But from what I could find about a plain heart and what it could potentially mean, the closest I could really find was ‘unromantic but sincere love’. And with what we know about Joker’s determination and certainty that he is the ‘villain’ of Batmans/Bruces dreams (a term could definitely be a stand in for other things) I think that certainty comes off here too. Bruce never questions or entertains the thought that Joker would have taken his suit off in front of others or had his henchmen do it, it’s clearly implied with how committed Joker is to not exposing Batmans identity that it was HIM who removed the batsuit off Bruce’s unconscious body. Point is, there’s this mutual/unspoken assuredness between them that this is in fact THEIR secret.

End!

Phew! Idk if this made sense or even coherent but I just found the letters really cool and wanted to talk about them. Let me know if I should go into more detail or pls add to this in the notes I’d love to hear your ideas!

[literary-illuminati]

2025 Book Review #8 – Pushkin Hills by Sergei Dovlatov (trans. Katherine Dovlatov)

As part of my dizzying array of goals for 2025, I am trying to read more books in translation (or at least books from outside the Anglophone West). This was my start on that, a book grabbed basically at random out of the pile I have been dutifully dragged from apartment to apartment every since buying them to ostensibly read for a class a decade ago. It was not the worst thing I’ve ever read – and was interesting as a cultural artifact – but honestly the reading experience was exactly you’d expect from that rigorous selection process.

Set in the Soviet Union well into the malaise of the 1980s, the story follows Boris Alikhanov – an alcoholic, failed novelist, and recent divorcee – as a desire to get away and an urgent need for cash leads to him taking a summer job in the titular Pushkin Hills, historical rural estates converted into a museum for the famed poet. He finds the place absurd and full of artifice, and meets a cast of colorful and equally dysfunctional characters, but for a time he abstains from liquor and his life seems to be going quite well. Then his ex-wife reaches out to inform him that she is emigrating, and taking their daughter with her – from which news he never recovers, and rapidly falls into a severe and wine-slicked downward spiral.

Given the apparently quite good reputation this has as a piece of literature, I have to think that it’s been barely poorly served by the translation. Jokes being awkwardly phrased and failing to really land is a commonplace with translated works, but when as much of the book is jokes as this one, it starts to be quite actively detrimental to the reading experience. The prose was also overall blunt and awkwardly phrased in a way that I associate with bad translations. There were basically no passages where the sentence-to sentence prose stood out as beautiful, and several that were painful or confusing to read.

Which is a shame, because this is just very much a work of literary fiction in the most derogatory war – the entire book is about a failed novelist failing to get over his wife leaving him, after all. There is barely a plot and – despite what the marketing copy on the book says – every character but the protagonist is not compelling or memorable but just a caricature there to do a bit or give a speech. Some of them are interesting bits! But on balance the book lived or died on Boris’ musing and ruminating and the arc of his life. For me, it was very much ‘or died’ here.

But while this was a tedious and unemployable book qua literature, it was a pretty great primary source to transport you into the early ‘80s USSR. There is actually some fairly subtle thematic work here that I’m fairly sure mostly flew entirely over my head, but the use of the museum – full of unrelated or fraudulent artifacts on display because they’re ‘close enough’ or the tourists like them, staffed by guides who will gush endlessly about how much they adore Pushkin while giving no sign of every actually reading or knowing much at all about him beyond what’s on the tour scripts – as a synecdoche for the USSR as a whole was obvious enough for me to get it and pretty clever. The picture of a fairly foreign culture from the inside, especially when it’s of a very specific point in time, is just always fascinating as well. Though the amount of casual antisemitism – and the way the narrative treated it as a minor flaw worthy of an eyeroll more than anything else – was a bit of an unpleasant surprise. Still an educational one, I suppose.

Anyway yeah, as it turns out choosing a book for no reason but it being close at hand is not a great way to find quality stuff. But hey, at least it was short.

[sunshineandstrife]

for the ship thing, how about cynonari with 💗

Hello, Anon!

This one got a little longer than 5 sentences..by about 500 words.

But I was really liking this scenario and I am a fan of writing serious Cyno, so you get your soft/gentle/inevitable kiss with a hint of hot and heavy.

WC: 595 💗: slow kiss/gentle kiss/inevitable/soft

.

Of all the instances that Tighnari had envisioned kissing Cyno, this was not one that he had expected, nor could he have predicted it. Well, he probably could have. After all, this thing between them might have been new, but they were no strangers to one another’s bodies. He’d seen Cyno in various states of undress, and he’d always been nice to look at.

But it was different when that body had been intimately pressed to his inside their tent only hours ago. It was different when that body was covered in his scent now, skin decorated with blunt nail crescents and teeth alike.

This was ridiculous. Cyno wasn’t even naked, but Tighnari still found his tail swishing side to side in obvious interest as he stood in the waterfall, waiting for the right moment to strike his prey with his polearm. Pink heat rose in Tighnari’s cheeks as he watched Cyno’s brows furrow in concentration, body completely still and poised, and he wanted so desperately to be the object in which Cyno was so focused on.

Clad in only his shorts, Tighnari stood and licked his lips. If Cyno wanted to hunt, then so could he. With a practiced stealth, Tighnari crept closer, eyes lidded as he homed in on his target. He tracked several droplets of water rushing over Cyno’s bare chest and dancing over rippling muscles, and he audibly gasped when he watched drip from the pout of his lip.

“Hm?” Cyno barely moved, gaze flickering quickly to Tighnari and back to his mark. “What’s wrong?”

Cyno’s voice, still rough from their earlier sex, sent a thrill down Tighnari’s spine, and he bit his lip to keep from moaning, but it was a fruitless attempt to try and conceal it. The sound was hushed, but more than loud enough for Cyno’s ears to pick up on it.

“You’ll scare away our dinner,” Cyno warned, but he made no other objection as he held his spear to the side and let his eyes wander over Tighnari’s body.

“The way I want you, I could care less about fish,” Tighnari purred.

They moved like magnets then, Tighnari stepping onto the water-slick stone where Cyno stood, and Cyno wrapping a single arm tightly around his middle, pulling their naked torsos flush. The falls bathed them as they hovered, hanging onto the moment before their lips connected, slow and soft, but with no small amount of heat. Tighnari’s lips were still kiss swollen and sensitive, but he still trilled when Cyno ran his tongue along them, tasting him with so much thoroughness that Tighnari felt his knees wobble. There was no fear of falling, though, not when his fingers were tangled in long white hair and Cyno was keeping him so tight to his body.

“Nari,” Cyno sighed and brushed a thumb along the small of his back, just above the base of tail, “you are insatiable.”

Tighnari smirked and chased his lips. “You stand mostly naked under a waterfall after incredible sex and expect me to keep my hands to myself?”

“I expect you to do whatever your heart desires always,” Cyno replied breathlessly, “but I suppose I can see how this outcome would be inevitable.”

“Then you know what it is I desire without my having to say so.” Tighnari drew a sharp gasp from his lips as he accentuated his point with something much gentler than what he was asking for.

Cyno matched his smirk and began to walk him back to the tent. “Fine, but you get to figure out dinner later.”

[weidli]

Is it ok to ask what your Bond story is going to be about? 0-0

YES OF COURSE I AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO ELABORATE ON WIPS. it's (a) fun and (b) helps me figure out what the fuck i'm actually trying to do with a certain story

ao3 draft version of The Creature currently looks like this:

(dw i have everything in a word document also. i put active wips in ao3 drafts to 1. give myself a pretend deadline and 2. so i can figure out title / tags / summary / formatting in advance)

the idea for this fic crystallized when i saw this quote:

but the main concepts i'm trying to get at in it have been drifting around my head since i first watched casino royale / quantum of solace / skyfall (only thing in spectre i found vaguely compelling were the bond/moneypenny/q interactions and i still haven't subjected myself to no time to die (even though the fact that we were doing billie eilish's no time to die is the only reason i decided to watch a james bond movie at all lmao), the dc!james bond oeuvre is an open-ended trilogy 2 Me). basically the thing is that although james bond is commonly known as Theee womanizer (this is probably completely true when referring to the earlier bonds and also the books, nothing i have heard about those makes me doubt it) ummmmm. the way the trilogy and quantum of solace ESPECIALLY handles james and sex certainly. Leaves room open for alternate interpretation.

let me elaborate.

(disclaimer: i'm a law major, probably some degree of asexual, and my favorite bond movie is quantum of solace, and all three of these things certainly show)

FIRST casino royale babyyyyy. as noted above not my favorite of the three (least favorite actually lmao) but there's various things it gets points for on my list. but what we're mainly here for is (watch out this is a sentence i will never type again) THE SEX SCENES.

(please put you know my name on now. For Atmosphere)

first interaction we see bond have with a woman in casino royale beyond like. random people who are technically also in the street he's having a standard batshit james bond chase scene in is with m and OKAY YEAH I'LL ADMIT IT i'm not entirely opposed to a romantic reading of that relationship (they're fucked up and it fascinates me. i'm predictable. whatever). but thing is what bond mostly does in this scene is sit there and look at m with big woeful eyes while she tells him to fuck off and die somewhere (three times) calls him a blunt instrument (to be fair he did just blow up an embassy) and also get out of her house and HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE ANYWAY, 007. iconic

it's a HUGELY important scene for establishing how this version of james bond works (i think about "well i understand double-os have a very short life expectancy. so your mistake will be short-lived" often) and james is vaguely flirtatious in the way he always is (i.e. in a way that mostly consists of saying things softly while looking at people the right way) and nothing comes of it all. he doesn't make any real overtures, she doesn't even take off her coat, he leaves when she tells him to.

first SEXUAL bit is solange. he DOES give her bedroom eyes as soon as they spot each other on the beach, but 1. she does it first and 2. this is already The Mission. please consider once again the luca guadagnino quote. why flirt with her? why smile? because he's attracted to her? because it's useful to have the mark's wife want him? who knows! not us! and he's definitely not going to TELL us-

Ah! Well okay then!

and as soon as she tells him the guy he's after is going to be on the last plane to miami he's like Okay i'm outta here (almost visibly turns the switch marked flirtatious and available to the off position). i mean i don't have very much experience in this whole having sexual intercourse lark but that's not really Guy Who's Really Into This Sex Thing behavior to me! he does sex the same way he does killing which is to say. efficiently and with a vague sort of disinterest the second he's not actively performing it for someone.

compare this to, for example, the Whole Relationship bond and camille have in quantum of solace. the whole thing is (as far as i can tell, deliberately) CHOCK full of parallels between the two of them, and the fact, stated in text, that camille has unenjoyable sex with people she despises for the sake of the mission, isn't exactly excluded. consider (among other moments) this:

(James voice Lol same haha)

which is almost IMMEDIATELY followed by

HAHAHA CRAZY. this motherfucker out loud calls camille basically a prostitute and then says james kills everything he touches and then says this. and then we find out that camille is also a spy and is also here to kill a man and james and camille themselves are like yeah we ARE mirrors of each other actually

PARALLELS ARE TWO LINES IT'S NOT A STRETCH TO DRAW THE SECOND ONE IS ALL I'M SAYING. there are two people in this cave and they're bonding over losing someone in a violently traumatic way and then turning themselves into a weapon as a reaction but NOT about also using sex they don't really particularly want to have as a weapon in service of the mission in much the same way as a knife or a gun? don't make me laugh . it's RIGHT THERE. it is literally RIGHT THERE. and they do all this together and nearly die together and he gives her new purpose after she does the killing she meant to do and then all they do is kiss once

that's not SEXUAL!! LOOK AT IT. that's what two people who haven't quite realized that you can touch someone without it being the prelude to fucking or killing do instead of a normal goddamn GOODBYE HUG. that's what you do when you're a damaged creature and someone who's exactly the same as you except she's gotten what she thought she wanted looks into your eyes and sees you and the only thing you can think of to do to stop her looking at you is kiss her. NONSEXUAL INTIMACY between two people who use THEIR BODIES AS A WEAPON IN ANY WAY THEY CAN BABYYYYYY.

god i love quantum of solace. anyway.

my point? i think the fact that james bond has sex on missions often and skillfully doesn't mean he enjoys it. the whole point of these movies is that he does a lot of things for the mission that he doesn't enjoy. i think a more compelling interpretation of this version of james bond is actually somewhere on the asexual spectrum.

But Elke, you say. What about Vesper? the whole POINT of Vesper's role in the story, after all, is that what he does with her ISN'T the mission, and in fact ends up running contrary to mission goals. and yet he has sex with her, long after he's left the mission behind. to quote quantum of solace:

(this is also a point in favor of my SECOND hill to die on when it comes to "things that are probably true of most james bonds but i don't think are actually true of this one", i.e. i don't actually think he gives a flying fuck about england. most of the things he does are either fueled by personal loyalty to a specific person (most of the time, m; briefly, vesper) or personal conviction that it's the right thing to do (see for example him getting mad at m in quantum of solace because he thinks she's putting england's interests over the lives of people in bolivia) i personally don't see much patriotism in it at all)

the thing about vesper is that the initial flirting definitely IS an Standard Mission Behavior thing. their first conversation is a verbal sparring match that only occasionally dips to the physical (his "every penny of it", her "your perfectly formed arse") and i'm pretty sure the sparring match aspect of it is what he finds more interesting ("skewered. one sympathizes."). yes he flirts and yes he kisses her and i think part of that really is about wanting le chiffre to think he's distracted by the pretty woman and part of that is trying to get on her good side because it's useful for the mission. and then part of it is that she's unpredictable and thus fascinating (not least because she DIDN'T immediately step into the honeytrap) and the subsequent way he acts around her is . Hm in a certain way it's playing. this middle section of the movie is about two games james is playing and one of them is the poker game with le chiffre as a worthy opponent and the other one is with her. the sniping at each other is fun! it's different! she understands him in a way other people don't! and she DOESN'T WANT TO SLEEP WITH HIM. people wanting to sleep with him is the predictable standard outcome and she doesn't.

these movies work a lot with bond being a guy who kills people to get done what needs to be done and with how you can't really do that for very long without starting to think of yourself as a weapon rather than a person. even if it wasn't the original intention, i think a reading of the text that does the same thing with sex is DEEPLY compelling enhances the whole thing. the first scene with bond and vesper that really isn't about the mission even a little bit, the first scene where he steps out of his role as 007 for her, is this one:

(FINGERS IN HIS MOUTH FRIDAY)

which is notable 2 me for being wonderfully quietly intimate and not at all sexual about it (despite the fact that they are WET in a SHOWER and also he SUCKS ON HER FINGERS. what was that, james) and also what it's ABOUT. she's messed up over being responsible for a human being's death and he, killer of killers, doesn't ridicule it, but sits down in the shower next to her.

(they do this in a bathroom. i wonder where this james bond's first official kill canonically took place--

ah. oops. well never mind that i'm sure it's not important)

sure, they have sex later. but the first moment of actual, real intimacy is pointedly nonsexual. and listen. listen. i like to interpret bond as on the asexual spectrum, yes. but i think he really fucking likes touch, actually. i think that's what the whole thing with miss fields in quantum of solace is about, besides seducing her into letting him have a bit of leeway. the part he actually wants out of that, if he wants anything, is the one we see on screen-

sure it COULD be sexual. could also just be an excuse to touch someone he won't have to try and destroy with it afterward (and then it destroys her anyway, but that's a different essay). like god. think about it. you are a little boy in a big stone house in scotland and you love your parents and then they're gone and you go into the tunnel under the moor and you stay there for two days and then you come back out because you know you'll have to, someday, but you left your childhood buried in that dirt. and who is there after that? the gamekeeper, kincade, who you were probably close with, but when you meet him again years later you only shake hands. boarding school. the boys talk about girls, about wanting. you try it and it doesn't feel right to you, but then again nothing has, not for years. and you learn to do it, and do it well, like you do everything, because if you don't they'll remember you don't belong here. ("-and they never let you forget it. hence the chip on your shoulder.") the navy. they teach you to kill. in a grimy bathroom you hold a man down into the water of the sink, his body against yours, until he stops moving. ("not well.") you stand there. take a breath. ("made you feel it, did he?") this is what you are now. kill him a second time. kill another man without ever coming close, and starting then the only thing your body is good for-- ("as mi6 says, he's difficult to control. nice way of saying that everything he touches seems to wither and die.") -- is being a weapon, one way or another. you fall in love with her because she takes you apart and doesn't want to sleep with you, and you send in your resignation and sleep with her after all because you love her, you do, and you want to touch her forever, and you don't really mind it, if it's her. (her dead mouth under your mouth and she won't breathe--) you start killing again. you're as good at it as you ever were. one wink, and she's following you to bed. the only person you had left to trust asks you to hold him as he dies, and you do. ("that's better. that doesn't hurt.") drop the necklace in the snow. it nearly does kill you this time ("take the bloody shot.") and you sleep with anyone warm enough and let the scorpion crawl onto your hand and go back anyway, and when he ties you to a chair and puts his hand high on your thigh you say ("what makes you think this is my first time?") --

Which is to say, I have a lot of opinions about James Bond's relationship with his body and relationship with sex and relationship with autonomy, and I'm writing a substantial amount of words of fic about it. PLOTWISE the basic scenario of the fic is that on some mission somewhere, part of the plan is for James to get someone specific into bed, and then before this actually happens, she roofies him, and the subsequent sex happens while Q has some camera somewhere on them. the following god only knows how many words are about Q (who i'm writing as aromantic but not asexual in this, because i can) slowly realizing that something really fucked up is going on here, actually, and trying to fix it, and instead fucking things up harder because he underestimated the level of fucked up inside James Bond is baseline operating at, and then eventually they do figure it out and now maybe MI6 sends someone else out when they can tell from the beginning that a certain mission is going to require sex, and maybe sometimes James and Q sleep in the same bed and don't ever ever ever fuck about it. James makes scrambled eggs in the morning. The cats steal some. It works out okay, maybe.

[apothe-cary]

Characterization Cheat Sheet: Lucas Laidir-Hawke

General

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Race: Elf

Faction: Lords Of Fortune

Skill: Sass, Fighting, Bickering, Dual Daggers Rouge Skill class

Language: Elvan, Trade, Some Qunlat

Personality: Sassy, Sarcastic, Pessimistic, Grumpy and Probably tired.

Body Language/Physicality

General Behavior:  Stand off ish, Crossed arms, leaning on the left side of his body, Always on guard, tense, Always frowning even when he’s happy however his brows usually give away how he’s actually feeling.

With Friends: Softer resting bitch face, his brows slightly lift, still stand off ish and tense, not as on guard

Flirting: light touches, close proximity at all times, soft gazes, playfully annoyed looks, fidgeting with his fingers

With an Established Romantic Partner: Lucas is extremely touch starved. He craves it once he’s in a relationship because he’s never really had affection in his life. Mom’s gone and dad can’t really be affectionate. So- Hand around waist, arms, hands intertwined together, laying on his partner big or small, back rubs & touches, better at showing physical affection then speaking it

In Combat: on guard, paranoid, checking for escape routes, observing his team, counting the enemies, counting his kills, hands on his blades at all times, mostly offensive attacks rarely ever defends. Would rather take a hit then stop his attacks

Dialogue/Speaking

Voice: Deep, Low, fluctuating with sass, blunt and Mean. Can hear the judgment in his tone

General: Generally has attitude, Sarcastic and Sassy, he may not out right be offending you but if you feel like he is, he probably is. Snarky and Prickly. Short curt sentences if he doesn’t want to talk. He says what he needs to say and that’s it

With Friends: A tad softer, A bit more chatty, Still Sarcastic and somehow more judgmental however he’s not trying to actively hurt anyone’s feelings he’s just stating what he sees, a lot of teasing even though it can be hard to distinguish if he’s teasing or insulting, only he can tease his friends anyone else gets a beating

Romance: Deep and Soft, quieter tones, comfort in the silence, still teasing but more praise, using his sleepy voice, Actions speak louder than words here, and it’s easier for him because he’s not good with words

Humor: insulting or dark humored No in between

Anger: His voice dropped another octave, Low and slow, threatening before he gets loud

Cursing: Like A Sailor, Huge Potty mouth, Fuck shit bitch all of it

Combat: Probably not providing good call outs and more so telling you to do better, don’t get hit and to stay out his way

[simbleleven]

Three Of Swords: Speech Mannerisms and Voice

ALEX: Big vocabulary; he's a bookworm and has picked up lots of different words. He sounds both very verbose and casual simultaneously. Honestly, he sounds like a bit of a novel at times, tends to use outdated terms/wordier versions of what could be a simple word. Has a light selvadoradan lilt, like his mother and sister. Of all the boys in the crew, he's got the highest and clearest voice. Can shriek like a banshee. His tone tends to be light, cheerful, and friendly. Does actually start his counterpoints with "Well, actually-" and the others rib him on it. His voice can go surprisingly deep when he's mad, and he also sounds a lot harsher too. Keeps most qualities when talking in his mother tongue, but sounds noticeably more melodic. Has no issue getting loud. Used to have an issue of biting his tongue from talking too much, too fast as a child. Examples: "I wouldn‘t dare! Shay can be most incensed if provoked properly." "To be quite frank, you're always mad." "I‘m unsure, but he is aware that this doesn't paint him in a very favorable light, right?"

MAX: Gruff, both in voice and manner of speaking. Had a rough voice change at 14, that caused him to refuse to speak for nearly a month out of sheer embarrassment (Hugo jokes that's the most peace he's ever felt). His voice cracks still, but not as severely, and mostly when he gets loud. The smoking doesn't help. Swears the most out of the group. Despite his exterior and rough manner of speaking, he's rather articulate. Can imitate Alex's vast vocabulary, but chooses not to sound like "a damn dictionary". Doesn't laugh much, and it usually sounds more like a short, harsh bark. Contrary to popular belief, his voice gets calm when he's furious, which is what makes most people uneasy. He's quite sarcastic, and is typically the guy with all the quips and witty one-liners. His tone of voice is often brash and unfriendly, which can appear rude and defiant. Somehow sounds less intimidating when speaking another language, especially french. Drops the most f-bombs, mostly as a brief instant reaction to things, that startle him. Examples: "What the fuck is that?" "Hey, question; do you ever shut up?" "Hell no, we're not doing that."

NYON: Tends to speak in negatives, due to his lack of self-confidence. Drawls and mumbles a lot, generally quiet and won't speak until directly spoken to. Usually tries to keep his sentences as short as possible. Has the deepest voice out of the group, and while it's pleasant, it sometimes gets a strange quality to it when he gets emotional. It's very subtle, but sometimes his voice seems to reverberate, typically when he's angry. It can also sound weirdly hollow at times, and tends to be quite monotone. Frequent G-Dropper, very casual in his speech – again, he tries to be as short as possible. Sometimes ends with questions like "right?" or "don‘t you think so?". His monosyllabic tendencies out of anxiety often make conversations with him awkward. Is so accustomed to being the quiet one, that his voice cracks whenever he has to go a few octaves higher. Has difficulty being loud and sounding enthusiastic. His laugh is a quiet thing, that sound endearingly gentle. Surpisingly great singing voice. Frequent swearer, just after Max. Examples: "Nuh-uh, no way, I ain't doin' that." "How are any of you still alive." "This shit's crazy, I wanna go home."

SHAY: Always to the point, very blunt, really. Calmest voice out of everyone, she seems almost monotone. Not very loud either, with a slightly lower pitch. Very soothing actually. Smiles a lot, but hearing her laugh is a rarity, so it's almost precious in a way. Doesn't embellish much, very casual, swears the least also, mostly out of habit, since she spends time with her younger foster siblings. Because of that, she also tends to use mildly childish language, like "tummy" instead of "stomach". Babytalks animals and plushies alike, but she never changes her pitch. Despite the mostly unchanging pitch, her tone is always warm. Soft-spoken, very rarely raises her voice. Hardly ever screams, the only instance she did was as a child, and only to yell at Max that he was a "stupid butthead". Since she participates in the church choir, she can hold a tune, but doesn't sing much outside of it. Instead, she hums a lot. Quite polite when speaking. Can sound stern, the combination of it with her usually soft voice makes it weirdly intimidating. While she's very direct, she also sometimes mutters insults under her breath in tagalog. Examples: "Dunno, I think it's kinda cute." "Stop it, you'll make him cry." "Look at you, aren't you just the silliest little guy."

[linguisticparadox]

Dr. Kemp's introduction is really fascinating to me, because it sets up not only his personality but also his function in the novel.

A couple of weeks ago, we had his thoughts at seeing Marvel running through the village: '“Another of those fools,” said Dr. Kemp. “Like that ass who ran into me this morning round a corner, with the ‘’Visible Man a-coming, sir!’ I can’t imagine what possesses people. One might think we were in the thirteenth century.”' These are his first words in the book, and they serve as an excellent sum-up of who he is and how he sees the world.

And so far, we might almost agree with him: although we know the Invisible Man is real, the whole story so far has read like a madcap slapstick comedy. Even Marvel, the Invisible Man's special victim, has been portrayed as a silly and rather stupid man in a silly and rather stupid situation, the stuff of modern-day sitcoms.

But then we get a sudden glimpse of the horror of Marvel's situation, and simultaneously we see that Kemp is judging at a distance, and so misjudging: "But those who saw the fugitive nearer, and perceived the abject terror on his perspiring face, being themselves in the open roadway, did not share in the doctor’s contempt." The more perceptive among us might cringe to think of our own reactions to everything that has happened to Marvel so far (and not to spoil anything, but later we will come to feel similarly about the Invisible Man, who so far has mostly just come off as kind of an asshole).

The narrative continues to paint Kemp as a rational man of science, who considers himself superior to the common rabble, with little tidbits thrown in here and there.

This week, he hears shots go off, and seems (or at least pretends) to dismiss them as nonsense, saying, “Who’s letting off revolvers in Burdock? What are the asses at now?” After that, he looks out the window and sees a crowd, which he watches for a few minutes, "during which his mind had travelled into a remote speculation of social conditions of the future." Based on his characterization up to now, we can assume he views this future with rather haughty scorn--"this country is going down the toilet, look at all these idiots," and so on.

Of course, he's more rattled than he seems, especially after the doorbell rings for seemingly no reason. But he manages to lose himself in his work again until the small hours of the morning.

Now, it only comes through in some parts, but the whole narrative is subtly framed as being told by a limited pov third person, who has evidently gathered together news articles and interviews with the various witnesses. We get only a peek at it here, with the line: "Dr. Kemp’s scientific pursuits have made him a very observant man, and as he recrossed the hall, he noticed a dark spot on the linoleum near the mat at the foot of the stairs." The tense at the start of the sentence suggests the image of Dr. Kemp sitting and telling his story, throwing in a moment of preening over his education and scientific prowess. These traits continue to receive attention with lines like "Dr. Kemp was no believer in voices"; and when we are told, "All men, however highly educated, retain some superstitious inklings," we can easily imagine Dr. Kemp rushing to defend his seemingly irrational thoughts to his interviewer.

In short, H.G. Wells tells us, plainly and repeatedly (though with a deft subtlety beneath his compact and engaging prose which characterizes his writing generally), that Dr. Kemp is highly educated, rational and scientific, and that he feels these characteristics place him above the common people.

And this, I think, is a gorgeous setup of Kemp's role in the narrative: to establish that education and rationality do not shield one from falling in with mob mentality and being complicit in the persecution of The Other.* Up to this point, we have had only comic scenes of the Invisible Man causing mayhem and blunt confusion among the simple-minded, straightforward but unimaginative denizens of small towns, the sort of people who needle a man for explanations, not to satisfy any real curiosity, but to gather fodder for gossip and win esteem in their social circles, and who consider it a grave insult when that man, a newcomer wrapped in bandages who just wants to be left alone, denies it to them.

But now, as if to head off any potential feelings of class-based superiority in the (necessarily literate, if not highly educated) audience, we have a well-educated, rational man, who considers himself Above All of That, and who views the situation exactly as we have been led to view it ourselves.

And this man, a stand-in for the rational, high-class, superior-feeling people in the audience, is immediately proven to be wrong. He misjudged the situation because he has only seen it from a distance: and the parallel with the readers, who are learning the story from a fairly removed narrative distance, ought to give us all pause.

*For the record, I think Marvel fits the bill as The Other, or ought to, as he is a homeless drifter. Certainly the Invisible Man expects to have sympathy from him on this basis! Unfortunately for him, Marvel in fact turns out to be much more comfortable among the "locals" than one might assume; and yet, in demanding his aid, the Invisible Man actually isolates and others him from his fellows, so that it becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. But that's a topic for another paper essay rant entirely.

[sky-fire-forever]

“The truth is stranger than my own worst dreams.” For Hawke and anyone else you’d like?

Thank you for the prompt for @dadrunkwriting ! I used Anders for this one because of course I did XD

My Hawke in this one is Mal Hawke, who uses he/him pronouns.

Hawke is silent. He’s been silent all day and has been mostly silent for the past week, ever since he and Anders separated from the rest of their friends. Isabela sailed them to Maker knows where and then she’d left, waving goodbye and grinning like her life hadn’t been turned upside down because of Anders. 

At least Isabela would talk to him. Merrill too. They didn’t have much to say, but they didn’t treat him like a cannon about to go off at any moment or like he was a dark cloud simply hovering over them about to strike down lightning that would ruin their lives any more than they’ve already been destroyed. 

He misses them more than he thought he would. Misses Fenris too and Varric and even Sebastian, a little. Even though Sebastian had vowed only to rest when Anders lies dead at his feet. Maybe that’s what Anders deserves. 

Anders misses Hawke too. Hawke is still physically beside him, but he’s barely even addressed him since the battle with Meredith ended. When he does speak, it’s in short sentences that are usually orders or clipped questions, straight-forward and to the point. 

Of course, that’s always been how Hawke is. He’s never bothered with dancing around an issue and would rather say what he means, no matter who he upsets by saying it. Bluntness is as much a part of Mal Hawke as his sword is — which is to say, he’s never seen without it. 

Which just makes Hawke’s refusal to discuss what happened even more isolating to Anders. He doesn’t know what to make of it and doesn’t know if he should try approaching the subject first or if that’ll only earn him Hawke’s scorn. He feels like he’s trapped in limbo, desperately watching the man he loves from a cloud of fog that he can barely traverse. 

They’re camped for the night. Hawke and Anders had silently set up their bedrolls — two of them, they no longer share — and Hawke is attempting to light a fire with his tools. He’s barely managing to create a spark that won’t catch and Anders feels pity just watching him. 

“Here.” Anders moves closer and snaps his fingers, drawing on his mana to create the warmth of a flame. The fire sparks to life at his fingertips and he holds it to the kindling, watching as it catches and spreads until it illuminates Hawke’s face. 

He wears an unreadable expression, the reflection of the fire dancing in his blue eyes. “You’re back to using magic again, then?” 

That takes Anders aback. “What do you mean?” 

“You haven’t used magic since after the battle.” Hawke averts his gaze. “When you healed everyone. I haven’t seen you use magic since then.” 

Anders hadn’t even noticed that he hadn’t. It just hasn’t occurred to him that he might have need of magic for anything since then. “I… guess I haven’t.” While Hawke’s face stays turned towards the fire, Anders can’t stop looking at Hawke, searching for a sign of something. 

They lapse into silence that feels suffocating. Anders can’t take the quiet, the avoidance, the any of it. 

“Does my magic bother you now?” Anders can’t think of any other reason Hawke would have brought it up. 

Could he even blame him if magic did frighten him now? After what Anders did? After what Anders’ magic did? 

The silence stretches out between them until Anders thinks Hawke won’t answer. Then,

“I grew up surrounded by magic,” Hawke says as he continues watching the flickering flames. “My father never hid it from me and when Bethany showed signs of magic, I vowed to protect her.” Anders watches his throat bob as he swallows. “I was never afraid of magic. Even in my worst nightmares could I imagine being afraid of magic.” 

Anders fights the urge to fidget with his robes. “And now?” 

Hawke looks up and catches Anders’ gaze. “The truth is stranger than my worst dreams,” he says. “I’m not afraid. Not of magic.” 

“Of me?” The realization hits Anders like a punch in the gut. 

“Of what you’ve become.” Hawke doesn’t look away this time, but Anders almost wishes he would. His gaze holds him in place and Anders feels smaller than he ever has before under those blue eyes. 

Anders feels pinned like a butterfly in a display. “I’m still me.” 

“Are you?” Hawke shifts closer. “Or are you Vengeance?” 

Anders flinches at the harshness in his tone. “Mal…” 

“Don’t.” Hawke finally looks away so he can stoke the fire. “Just don’t. I don’t want to discuss this right now.” 

Anders still has more questions. He wants to know why Hawke didn’t just kill him if he no longer trusts who Anders is, but he’s terrified of the answer. So he just nods and sits in silence by the firelight.

[cookierun-bah]

can ii have a cake tier with almost all toppings ( exclude muds, paras, and transids ) of one of the numbers from mercenary enrollment? whichever one is up to you, but please not ijin since we have him. thank you! ^_^

⠀⠀ ⠀VELVET MESSENGER !

🫀 . . names ;; 008, eight, bruce, duke

🫀 . . pronouns ;; he/him, they/them, it/its, mutt/mutts, fang/fangs, bullet/bullets, meat/meats, bark/barks, cae/canine, loyal/loyals, band/bands, heal/heals, chain/chains, snarl/snarls, bone/bones, devou/devour, rib/ribs, gut/guts, raw/raws, foul/fouls, 🥩/🥩’s, 🍖/🍖’s, 🩸/🩸’s, 🫁/🫁’s

🫀 . . age ;; mid-30s, regresses to 14

🫀 . . gender ;; mascandrogyne, boyhound, sorrowning dog, razorblaeic, forgorticpup, nursegender, protecticxeno, defendgender

🫀 . . orientation ;; lithoromantic

🫀 . . species ;; human

🫀 . . appearance ;; a burly man adorned with scar tissue—most noticeable being the third-degree burn scars covering the right, upper-half of his body—down to vaguely reach mutts torso. multiple other types of scarring reside on his body, from gashes and bullet-wounds alike. gut has black hair, worn like a mohawk, and a dutch-shaped beard. his eyes are dark brown; small, slanted and curved downwards, with very thin pupils and seemingly permanent eyebags. snarls face is lined with permanent creases, due to how often he can be found scowling; consider it canines resting face. its also wide, giving 🥩 a plump nose & long mouth.

🫀 . . source ;; 008 - teenage mercenary / mercenary enrollment

🫀 . . face claims ;;

🫀 . . likes ;; bullets loved ones, sourcemates & sourcetalk, fried chicken, bodybuilding, b/w sketching, sunny days, bunnies, comedy movies, volunteering in its community, simplicity

🫀 . . dislikes ;; 003, loud noise, fireworks, crowds, seafood, making sugar-rocks, escape rooms ( foul gets frustrated ), delicate activities ( scrapbooking, making flower crowns, etc ), grape juice, bullies

🫀 . . roles ;; chainbreaker, intimidator

🫀 . . behavior¹ ;; [ towards others ] 008 is closed-off towards the people around them due to a deep-seated distrust for others; possibly because of the bodies memories or because of bands own source memories. this isn't to say that canine is unkind, he actually cares heavily for those around gut. 🫁 just heavily struggles to show that through means considered normal.

🫀 . . behavior² ;; [ towards 🍖self ] bone keeps a checklist of hard, strict rules for himself to keep devourself in check. they aren't unkind to chainself though, just holds barkself to a high standard. they take his roles very seriously.

🫀 . . personality ;; extreme bark, less bite. he isn't cruel, but not exactly someone easy to get along with due to mutts behaviors. they can be described as rough around the edges, and cautious or wary.

🫀 . . titles ;; the eighth, the numbers pitbull, [prn]’s love which triumphs, the shield, boy who wields a match & a dream, [prns] fanged heart, the knight that’s caught you in [prns] maw, the loyal muse, [prn] who growls and bites, the eighth collar soaked with blood, [prn] who holds the abandoned

🫀 . . mood boards ;;

🫀 . . typing & writing quirks ;; Short, blunt sentences formated like this. He prefers to use more proper grammar. 🩸 hates using run-on sentences, compound sentences, and filler words. Fang thinks they’re unnecessary and take up room. Chain prefers to just get to the point.

🫀 . . speech patterns ;; devour speaks mostly in monotone, direct words. sometimes he drops basic words and they’ll come out as broken english. similar to how heal types, Bruce usually just gets to the point and avoids filler words, sounds, and rambling.

🫀 . . verbal ;; semi - verbal. heal only speaks when it deems such necessary.

🫀 . . fashion ;;

🫀 . . sign - offs ;; -🥟, -🍘, -🍱, -🔪, -🛡️

🫀 . . good traits ;; adaptable, athletic, artistic, clear-headed, detail-oriented, disciplined, organized, patient, persistent, resourceful

🫀 . . bad traits ;; antisocial, critical, defensive, grim, humorless, intimidating, obsessive, sarcastic, sketchy, tense

🫀 . . fav things ;; yellow, bunnies, fried chicken, comedy genre, vanilla ice cream

🫀 . . hobbies ;; sketching, martial arts, bodybuilding, weapons - collecting

🫀 . . extra terms ;; masc - aligned terms, canine - aligned terms, knight - aligned terms.

🫀 . . fears ;; closed spaces, being restrained, feeling trapped.

🫀 . . kin types ;; otherkin, conceptkin

🫀 . . music taste ;; no exactly genre, meat is picky about music and only likes a select few, but can tolerate songs that it doesn't like. very lyrically focused.

🫀 . . hex code ;; #c2c0bd, #7c818d, #2b343a, #94545c, #4b545b

🫀 . . aesthetic ;; dark grunge

🫀 . . opinion on source ;; rib enjoys reading its source and seeing updates on fouls blood-brothers life. although bone does get upset when raw comes across flashbacks of their past or sees one of the people they remember get hurt.

🫀 . . small playlist ;; thirty songs. playlist will be deleted after 30 days to avoid clutter on mods account, copy it into another one!

[iwantyouplease]

Friends can make out right?

(Butch4Butch friends to lovers scenario)

My butch best friend and I like to hang out weekly. We like to play Call of Duty on the couch at my place usually smoking a blunt or the bong. We don’t really talk about our dating lives very often because we mostly just play video games and smoke weed together. I mean of course he’s drop dead gorgeous, but what am I supposed to say? ‘Hey, Bro, your arms look delicious when you wear that shirt’????? I’d make a fool out of myself in front of him!

On this particular occasion, he had on a tight fitted black v neck shirt and dark denim jeans. We were about halfway through the campaign we’d been playing when he mentioned something genuinely sickening.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I matched on tinder with this masc and we’ve been thinking we might go on a date soon.” His voice sounded unsure and dripping with repentance.

I leaned my head back against the back of the couch, pausing the screen. “Hey! Why’d you do that?” He said, his eyes searching my face for any indication or answer.

I finally glanced over at him before dropping my head into my hands. My ears were red and my face was flushed.

“You mean to tell me… you’ve liked masculine people this whole time?” The sentence came out almost like a prayer. As if I was begging for it to be true. His eyebrows furrowed, placing his and my controller on the coffee table.

“Why is this such a remarkable thing? Do you think there’s something wrong with that?” The concern in his words were obvious. I snapped my head up and bit my lip.

“No, obviously I don’t think there’s something wrong with it… how could I think there’s something wrong with it when… I like them too?” It must have been glaringly obvious how nervous I felt, their arm snaking around my waist effortlessly.

“Oh! Don’t worry, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, handsome.” Their eyes creeped down my face to my lips. My blush turned into burning cheeks.

“Handsome?” I groaned and looked down at the floor. Glancing at his freshly shined boots, I suddenly felt my heartbeat between my legs. My hands went to my crotch, worried how visible my neediness was becoming. “You’re just fucking with me. I can tell! There’s no way you actually think I’m handsome.” I stated, desperately grasping for any excuse for his hand to be around my waist instead of my shoulders. We’re just best friends… right?

“What? You have to be joking, right?” He paused, studying my face. Reaching out, his fingers delicately lifted my chin to meet his gaze. “You’re actually handsome. So much so that my friends think you’ve been my boyfriend since we met. I mean, why do you think I let you win all the time when we’re wrestling?” He laughed and smiled at me.

“Woah woah woah, what do you mean you let me win?” I questioned, glaring daggers into his eyes. Rolling his eyes at me, he noticed my hands on my crotch. Reaching out, he placed his palm over top of my hands and pressed my hands down. He pretended not to notice me squirming under his touch and leaned over to my ear.

“You thought that you could actually pin me down? No way! You’re just a little baby boy…” His words trailed off as I scrambled upright and dragged him to my room. Grumbling to myself with you in tow, I swiftly walked through the doorway and stopped just short of the bed.

“You think you can beat me? I fucking doubt it.” I pushed him onto the bed and crawled on top. “You don’t have the guts to actually pin me down.” I teased, my ass on his chest. His hands sneaking themselves into the back pockets of my denim shorts. His eyes, low and steady, with a devilish smile planting itself on his lips.

As suddenly as the words came out of my mouth, his leg wrapped around me and his arms were up around my body, flipping me in an instant. Grabbing my hands and restraining them above my head, his body pressed against me.

“Friends can make out while they’re wrestling… right?” He begged, almost at a whisper. I nodded furiously, giving him permission to lower his face slightly to meet my lips. Fireworks were going off in my stomach, almost in disbelief of how good it felt. Licking his bottom lip and sucking it between my teeth, I nibbled at it. In our frenzy, he started to grind himself on me. WAIT. Holy shit… is he packing?

“Oh.” I pulled away, slightly. My heart was pounding in my chest. “Is that… are you…” My brain was foggy with lust, genuinely searching for any words that form a meaning.

“Spit it out, Puppy. Am I what?” His tone turned to teasing desire. Grinding down onto me, I can feel every inch of him.

“Oh, God how…” my eyes rolled back in pleasure. “How the fuck did you know I like that?” I whimper, trying to push against his hands to no avail. “Please, are you packing?” I plead with desperation. “Do you… do you do this with all the other friends you hang out with?” I taunt him, watching a thunderstorm brewing behind his eyes. He takes a moment to think about his answer.

“Yes, I am packing. I only do it when I have a good feeling I’ll be able to use it how I want to. I haven’t even gotten the chance to use it yet.” He reflected on my playful outburst. “You were being such a good boy, why are you being such a little brat now, hmm? Is there something you want, Puppy?” Holding my hands above my head with one hand, his other hand gracefully trails to my neck. Using his fingertips he gently squeezes while he presses weight onto me, grinding on top of me. I can’t hide behind my hands, so my moan escapes my lips. “Ohhh, look at you, baby. You’re just desperate for it… you really thought I wouldn’t notice all those slutty thin tank tops that you specifically wear to show off your muscles? That chain dog collar you wear every day without fail? I mean come on, you have a leash coiled up on your bedside table and you don’t own a dog!” Squeezing a little harder and grinding harder as you pause for emphasis. “Your sweet little puppy dog eyes when you’re begging for what you really want? That’s what I want. Now, I want you to tell me exactly what you want, Puppy.” Loosening his grip on my neck, I jerked at his hands trying to break free. Moving his hand from my neck to my jaw, he forces me to look him in the eyes. “Daddy just gave you an order, are you going to listen?” I whimpered under my breath, gathering the courage to respond.

“Yes, sir. I… Fuck. I want you. I need you. I’m so wet, Daddy, I can’t stand it.” Whining and wrapping my legs around him and grinding up onto his bulge. “Please, please, can you use your cock on me… like how you said you really want to?”

Part 2 coming soon :)

[dmagedgoods]

OC Mannerism - Salvadore

picrew I was tagged by @cassynite. 💕 Thank you so much! You find the amazing template by @the-raging-tempest here. This time I'm tagging @steampunkserpent and @spyridonya and @arrow90-art and @dantent and @molochka-koshka and @starlightcleric and @iwoszareba

- NO. OF SPOKEN LANGUAGES >> 4 in the pathfinder universe (fluent in Taldane (Common) and Kelish and speaks some Osiriani but not well enough to have a debate using it. He also started learning Celestial after he decided to keep his angel powers.) - TONE OF VOICE >> high / average / deep (a low tenor) - ACCENT >> none in pathfinder universe, at least not in Taldane, he speaks very clearly and without dialect too - DEMEANOR >> highly confident / shy / approachable / hostile / sometimes frigid and sometimes charming / prideful / intimidating / commanding - POSTURE >> slumped / straight / stiff / relaxed but graceful HABITS head tilting / swaying / fidgeting / stuttering / gesturing / arm crossing / strokes chin / er, um, or other interjections / plays with hair or clothing / hands at hips / inconsistent eye contact / maintains eye contact / frequent pausing / stands close / stands at a distance / raises one brow COMPLEXITY (Fill in the circle’s as you wish) - VOCABULARY >> ⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚫️ Salvadore is very eloquent with strong rhetoric skills, educated, trained in diplomacy, and even studied speech patterns since he has a natural interest in and talent for words. He loves to talk to people, to convince them of his views, or to hold impactful speeches in front of an audience. - EMOTION >> ⚪️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️ While strongly passionate about his goals and for those he cares for, Salvadore rarely gives away many emotions in front of people. It needs a deep bond with someone for him to show his warmer and even surprisingly playful side or his possessive tendencies. (All of this even publicly to a degree with someone he loves romantically.) - SENTENCE STRUCTURE >> ⚪️⚪️⚫️⚪️⚪ It varies. He makes his sentence structure as complex as needed to convey an idea. After all, he wants to reach people with his words not to confuse them. His choice of words is sophisticated but he speaks clearly and not in obscuring, long-winded, or highly scientific terms. Sometimes he utters very short and strict orders or shuts something down with a well-aimed remark. PROFANITY - FREQUENCY >> ⚪️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️ Rarely. There may be audiences where stronger words are needed and he doesn’t mind going there, but in his usual speech patterns, he mostly refrains from it. If he uses profanity, then the rough, harsh sort. In sexual contexts and roleplays, he enjoys profanity here and there – though it depends on the words in question. - CREATIVITY (in regards to profanity insults) >> ⚪️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️ He goes for the classics. If he means to insult, he will hit the mark in different and deeper ways (humiliating his target in eloquent manners) than by making up creative swear words. BOLD THAT APPLY

arse / ass / asshole / bastard / bitch / bloody / bugger / bollocks / chicken shit / crap / cunt / dick / frick / fuck / horseshit / motherfucker / piss / prick / pussy / screw / shit / shitass / son of a bitch / twat / wanker / damn / hell THIS OR THAT

straightforward or cryptic / finding the right word or using the first word that comes to mind / masculinity, neutrality, or femininity / formalities or with abrasiveness / praise or and equivocation / frankness or and flattery / excessive or and minimal hand gestures depending on situation / name-calling or magnanimity / friendly or blunt condescending IMPORTANT QUESTIONS - DO PEOPLE HAVE A HARD TIME HEARING OR UNDERSTANDING YOUR CHARACTER? almost always / frequently / rarely / never - DOES YOUR CHARACTER’S POINT COME ACROSS EASILY WHEN THEY SPEAK?  almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never - WOULD YOUR CHARACTER INITIATE CONVERSATIONS? almost always / frequently / sometimes/ rarely / never - WOULD YOUR CHARACTER BE THE ONE TO END CONVERSATIONS? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never - WOULD YOUR CHARACTER USE ‘WHOM’ IN A SENTENCE? yes / no / only ironically - YOUR CHARACTER WANTS TO MAKE A COUNTERPOINT. WHAT WORD DO THEY USE? but / though / although / however / perhaps / maybe - HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER END CONVERSATIONS?  With a clear but polite explanation if the person is of importance or if he doesn’t actively dislike them, with a short and incisive remark if he is annoyed or they are stealing his time. - WHAT SOCIAL CLASS WOULD OTHERS ASSUME YOUR CHARACTER BELONGS TO, HEARING THEM SPEAK? upper / middle / lower - IN WHAT WAYS DOES THE WAY YOUR CHARACTER SPEAK STAND OUT TO OTHERS? accent  / vocabulary / tone / level / politeness / brusqueness / it doesn’t Anything that wasn’t touched on? Salvadore’s voice gets husky when he is very emotional.

[little-red-fool]

Reasons why I think Geralt is autistic (as an autistic person)

(Disclaimer, I know every autistic person experiences things differently but I’ll be mainly using specific examples for Geralt)(Also this might not be very well put together since I’m not used to making things like this so hopefully it’s at least semi-coherent)

Differences in communication and expression

Although he does talk sometimes, throughout the series Geralt’a verbal communication is generally limited and he keeps his sentences short and to the point.

Also since he often goes straight to the point he can come across as “blunt” or “rude” to other people, which is hinted at sometimes throughout the series.

He’s generally quite honest which is a trait found in a lot of autistic people.

He makes minimal facial expressions/his facial expressions are mostly very subtle (there are some exceptions such as when he seems angry).

Monotonous voice.

^^^ This paired with his minimal facial expressions makes him seem to have a flat effect which is common in people with autism.

The myth that Witchers supposedly don’t feel any emotions is similar to the myth that autistic people also supposedly don’t feel emotions.

Sensory differences

Geralt has a heightened sense of smell and hearing.

Social aspects

He prefers the company of animals to people, which is especially noticeable with his attachment to Roach and his reluctance to let anyone else touch her.

He struggles to make friends and become attached to people.

Geralt is often ostracised by others, partly due to their lack of understanding about Witchers which in turn makes them frightened of them or verbally/physically attack and shun them (a lot of autistic people are ostracised by neurotypicals, partly due to them having a misunderstanding of autism which can lead to a fear of autistic people, bullying, and ableism).

He finds it easier to connect with others who are “outcast” by wider society, such as Renfri and Yennefer.

Other notes

In the first episode of Season 1 several people comment that Geralt should buy new clothes since his seem somewhat worn-out—this could be because they’re his comfort clothes which would wear-out if he wears them a lot (although I may be looking too deep into it).

He hesitates to do things that he’s been told if he hasn’t been given a good reason as to why he should do it, and he’s reluctant to do things that he sees as unjust.

When it comes to morality he’s generally shown to think in black and white—a lot of people make reference to the “lesser” and “greater” evil and encourage Geralt to pick what they think is the “lesser” evil, however he sees them all as just evil and refuses to pick something he deems immoral.

This list isn’t finished but I couldn’t focus on rewatching the show because my attention span is too short to complete it but I might add some stuff in the future.

[ramix-the-red]

A Rambling Character Study on Norland von Luneberg

Yea I’m sure this one’s gonna go over well. This isn’t really structured or anything I just have a head full of thoughts and wanted to vomit them out onto the internet. When discussing Norland as a character, we have to start at his main defining characteristic: which is that he does not like to talk. Norland is a very taciturn man, he says very, very little, and only when necessary. But it goes beyond just him being introverted or quiet, he takes it to an extreme, seeming almost robotic. He speaks very formally, reflecting his cover as an aristocrat, and usually in very short sentences, with very blunt delivery, and usually little to no emotion on his face, either permanently scowling, or occasionally giving a tiny little smirk. When he talks, it is almost entirely functional, he delivers the information that he needs to deliver, be that an order or a formality or a threat, and says nothing else. Now, the important thing here isn’t that he doesn’t talk much, it’s the times when he does talk that stand out. But I’ll get to that in a bit.

First, I want to cover why Norland is the way he is. No, it isn’t because he’s a clone, that is only incidental. The reason Norland is the way he is is because of his upbringing. In the final act, the OP changes in a couple ways to reflect Norland. The first change is that we see a young Norland with his hands pressing against a screen (maybe whatever test tube he was made in?), contrasted with the image of the Phoenix brothers, Ash and Nichol, walking hand in hand. While the Phoenix brothers are together, and smiling, baby Norland is alone, and looking sad. Then, we cut to an older Norland, taking off his mask and scowling, while Ash is training in the background. 

Norland was raised to view himself as a vessel for Charles, he was taught that he was not human, that he did not have a purpose beyond being a spare body for the Emperor. Even when he was made a Knight of the Rounds, he reported directly to Charles and mostly stayed in the background, and judging by the type of jobs he sent Ash on, he was presumably used as a weapon for Charles’s plans before his true purpose could be fulfilled. Norland was never given a life of his own or even allowed to have his own feelings or desires, stripped of his humanity, he viewed himself as separate from other human beings, and began to hate them. Then Charles died, Ragnarok failed, and Lelouch upended the entire Empire. Just like that, Norland’s only purpose was gone, and all he had left was his hatred, so like the killing machine he was raised to be, he devoted himself to it in full-force.

The importance of relationships between parents and their children is not a new theme in Code Geass, Lelouch’s daddy issues are somewhere between a quarter and half of his motivations depending on what point in the show he’s in. But in a show with plenty of bad parents, Norland sets a whole new standard for bad fathers. Being a clone of Charles, he’s obviously the first comparison, and it’s a very stark contrast. At first it’s easy to just look at them both and go “Well they’re both shitty dads whatever”, but it goes beyond that. One of the big twists to Charles’s character near the end is that he actually does love his children, in fact, his love for his family is basically his one redeeming trait. Yes, he treated Lelouch and Nunnally like trash, but in his mind, this was his way of protecting them, he believed that he was doing what was best for them. I’ve already gone on about this before so I’m not gonna repeat myself on Charles’s parenting stuff, the important part is that despite everything, Charles does love his children. This makes the way Norland treats Ash (and Nichol) stand out even more. He barely even acknowledges Nichol, and treats Ash as nothing more than a tool. It doesn’t even seem like he lets them live in the same house as him, leaving them in a run-down shack on the manor grounds. Then the instant Nichol causes trouble, he kills him without a second thought, and ships Ash off to prison (he doesn’t even bother to do this himself, he just pawns the job off on Nara). 

Charles was a man defined by his connections to his family. His dead mother, his beloved big brother, his kids, and his wife Marianne. But Norland had none of that growing up, the shot of the OP makes this contrast very stark, many have even theorized that part of the reason for Norland’s awful treatment of the Phoenix brothers is jealousy. He resents humans for not being one of them, and he resents the brothers for having the type of connection that he never had, so he takes it out on them. When Ash pleaded for Nichol’s life and offered to be useful enough for the both of them, Norland could very well have just turned him down and had Nichol thrown out, or just killed them both and picked up another orphan to use as his tool. Did he accept because he believed that Ash’s love for his brother would make him motivated enough to be an effective tool (inspired by the bond that Charles and V.V. shared), or was it out of spite?

It’s notable that Norland is actually a very hands-off abuser. He gives orders to Ash, but he doesn’t really bother with doling out punishment, or even training him. He pawns that job off to Scissorman (who actually seems to be the closest thing Norland has to a friend, but I don’t really have much to say on that front, I just think it’s neat). The one time we see Norland actually interacting with Ash on anything beyond a functional level, it’s when he gives him the fateful “kill your own heart” mantra. This is the first and only time that Norland gives anything resembling fatherly advice to his son. Even the way he says it is odd. For a man who’s speech patterns are incredibly stiff and blunt, he sounds almost poetic the way he describes it, it almost sounds like he thinks it's for Ash’s own good. “If you find the killing becomes too hard for you, then kill your heart. Do that, and you’ll no longer feel anything.” This is probably the same advice Norland was given, or that he gave to himself.

Norland is what Ash would have become if he never had anyone to love, or who loved him. The cycle of abuse goes on and on and on and on.

As I’ve ranted about before, Charles is a very, very similar person to Lelouch in many ways. They both wanted to tear down the corrupt system that took away their mothers, used lies and a grandiose persona to raise an army that would do their bidding, and when they found that the problems with Britannia were too entrenched to be solved even by an Emperor, they instead decided to tear it all down (albeit in radically different ways). Whether this was intentionally done to emulate Charles, or whether it was a subconscious similarity, or just poetic fate, Norland did the exact same thing that Charles did, and raised a son who was his own mirror image, through abuse.

When Norland fights with Ash atop the palace, it’s one of the few times he breaks his trend of purely functional speaking. He actually trades banter (sort-of) and taunts Ash while they fight. Like I said before, the fact that Norland doesn’t like to talk isn’t the important part, it’s the fact that when he does speak up becomes more noticeable. As awful of a father as he is, his interactions with his adopted son are some of the few times he seems to show something resembling emotion. We even get a direct and obvious contrast here, to really drive it in that this was intentional. When he fights against Catherine he is quiet for almost the entire fight, even while Catherine is ranting and pouring her heart out, he doesn’t say a word until the very end, and he has the same bored scowl on his face the whole time. 

His fight with Ash is entirely different. He elaborates his plans and talks about the Foulbout, he gloats about his victory. He even explicitly tells Ash that he has no reason to stick around and fight him (indeed, he could just activate his flight mode and get out of Ash’s reach and he wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it), before deciding to fight him anyway. It’s reminiscent of Lelouch’s confrontation with Charles, where he tricks his son into thinking that his Geass had worked, before revealing that he had a Code all along. It’s almost like he’s humoring his kid, a dark parody of playing pretend with his son. While fighting against Ash, Norland has a smile on his face the whole time. For all his disregard for human life, Norland is not a sadistic man, he sees people as cockroaches (in the words of the staff) and disposes of them in the same bored, passionless way that one would get rid of some bugs in their house. Even in private he only seems to feel satisfaction and relief at the end when he believes his plan to wipe out all human life is about to be finished, the way one would take pride in completing a job. But he smiles the whole time when he fights against Ash. 

Then there’s the ending of said fight. Again, the contrast with Catherine is stark, and obviously deliberate. Rather than just casually throwing him off the side of the building, the Foulbout grabs a hold of the Apollo by the face, and gently cups its head. It’s almost like he’s cradling his child, before he lets go and lets him fall. It’s the closest Norland ever comes to showing anything resembling affection for another person. Then there’s his words at the end (this is the first time in the entire fight that Norland isn’t shown smiling, by the way): “Your presence is no longer required.”

Why was Ash’s presence required in the first place? What purpose did he serve? Obviously he stopped being an assassin a long time ago, there wasn’t any role for him in Norland’s plans. I’ve seen JP fans theorizing that Norland raised Ash so that he would be the one to kill him. If true, then that only makes the ending even more heartwrenching.

Like I mentioned before, Charles was a man who was defined by his strong relationships with his family, something which Norland never had. And yet a trace of the true self exists in the false self. For just a few seconds, that affection Charles had for his children, something Norland never showed, shines through in his vessel, if only the tiniest glimpse. 

The premise of him being Charles’s clone obviously invited comparison between the two. And in many, many ways, Norland is actually very different from Charles, even aside from their feelings on family. Charles was bombastic and charismatic, a schemer who relied on others to do the physical work for him (much like Lelouch), who rallied his followers with nationalistic jingo to inspire loyalty. Norland is a taciturn and blunt fighter, even named as a Knight of the Rounds, and he personally fights the protagonists in the final battle. But for all their differences, the way they actually operate to fulfill their goals is actually very similar.

Charles never actually believed a word of the imperialist, nationalist, darwinist propaganda he spouted. In fact, he actively hated all of those things and wanted to create a world without them, but he used them to stir up a nationalist fervor and fuel the imperial war machine so that he could achieve his goals and gain access to all the gates. Similarly, Norland doesn’t actually believe in or care about the Neo-Britannian cause, he only uses this as a masquerade to gather disenfranchised remnants of the empire under his control. The conquest of the world was only ever an after-thought to Charles, a means to an end that would make it easier for him to complete the Ragnarok Connection. Norland doesn’t actually care about any of the battles against the resistance, every step of his plan, up to the very end, serves only to buy time and keep people from interfering with him until the Loki’s are ready to go, and when the fighting starts to become impractical he instead uses diplomacy as a smoke-screen. They do diverge in their end-goals, however. Charles viewed all of the death and destruction caused by his war as a necessary sacrifice. Once the Ragnarok Connection was achieved all the minds of the dead would return from C’s World and rejoin the living, so what did it matter how many people had to die when he could just bring them back into a perfect paradise? Norland doesn’t care how many of his subordinates die in the process of his war because, like Charles, the actual war is only a smoke-screen, though in this case, the mass death is the point. Charles sought to create a world without death, Norland wanted to create a world of only death.

Ash isn’t the only one who seems to draw out some emotion from Norland. The other one is Sakuya, who is herself also family to him, in a way.

The first example of this is when he speaks to Sakuya while she’s tied up in Scissorman’s lab, and the first thing he does is comment on her “uncanny resemblance” (presumably to Lelouch, but maybe he’s talking about Sherry here or something?). Again, this is one of the few instances where Norland’s dialogue is not purely functional. He gains nothing from pointing this out, he has no reason to say this to her, he doesn’t bring it up again in the conversation, it doesn’t even make much sense for him in the context of his cover story. So Sakuya looks like her uncle, so what? No one else ever brings this up in-universe, it’s not really important. But it’s important to Norland.

Then there’s his desire for Geass. Why did he want it? Did he just think that Geass would be a useful tool in his plans? No, if that were the case he could’ve just left it to Scissorman, had him ask about that during his experiments, he was already interrogating her anyway, but Norland finds this important enough to personally intervene and ask her about it himself. Even the way Scissorman frames this is odd: “But I have a promise to keep before that.” A promise? Norland is his boss, he could’ve just said this was an order, but he specifically calls it a promise. Why was this so important to Norland? Simple, it’s because he wants to be like Charles. Charles had a Geass, so Norland wishes to have one as well. Even when his original purpose of serving as a vessel for Charles is completely impossible, Norland still wants to be as close to Charles as he possibly can. He doesn’t see himself as his own person, he sees himself as a tool (again with the parallels to Ash) with the purpose of being Charles’s body, and wants to fulfill that purpose, or failing that, kill everyone. Perhaps this even influenced his decision to adopt Ash and Nichol. Charles was a father, so Norland wishes to be one as well.

The next time they speak is when he’s about to enter the Foulbout, when the big reveal is dropped. Once again, Norland breaks his taciturn streak. In fact, this is the most we ever see him talk to anyone. When he remembers that Sakuya is part of Charles’s family, he even takes off his mask to show her his face, and explains his background to her. Even with the oh-so-often mocked scene of Sakuya guessing his motivations and him telling her she’s wrong. He didn’t have to correct her, he could have just stayed quiet while she guessed at his motivations and not said anything, but he actually answers her questions, and even turns around to smile at her when she guesses the right answer. What purpose did this serve? He had nothing to gain from it, it contributed nothing to his plan.

Norland wanted to be acknowledged by a member of Charles’s family, a member of his family. In many ways, you could say that Norland is more like Sakuya’s uncle than he is her grandfather. He wanted someone to see that he was similar to Charles and recognize him, validating him in his desire to be Charles’s vessel. For all his disdain towards humans, he wants someone to know why he’s doing all this, in what he probably believes will be the last time he ever speaks to another person, he feels the need to explain himself. And he chooses to reveal this to Sakuya, Charles’s granddaughter.

He talks about how he’s not human, but this has nothing to do with the circumstances of his birth, it’s just his way of rationalizing what was done to him, and he lashes out at the rest of the world in anger, even if he tries to dress it up in a grandiose philosophical way. He believes he’s a tool with only two purposes: to serve as Charles’s spare body, and to kill. The first purpose is now impossible, so he’s decided to dedicate himself fully to the second.

[tubbypeddle]

It's me! Thanks again for accepting my request, this is really nice.

Personality traits: people told me I’m creative, curious, argumentative because I can be persuasive and always want to have reason. I also tend to do the opposite of what I’m told, speak my mind whoever is facing me (can be a friend, family member, authority person, etc.). I can be blunt with absolutely no filter, which means I can be very familiar with people I’ve just met. I’m very good at understanding the big picture or a concept and explaining it with better words than a professional. I’m this person who finishes the sentence before the speaker. I love joking around, laughing out loud and having fun everywhere with friends, even in the most inappropriate moments. I can't help but talk loudly or laugh in church, for example. I’m independent and don’t like clingy people. One of my favorite things on earth is to tease people and make them completely mad just for fun and test their limits. I ask questions I know are tricky just to see how the person reacts. The pleasure of throwing a stone into the pond. Finally, some loved-ones said I struggle to empathize with others, or even act like a regular human.

Likes: the sun, spring and summer. Gardening. Cooking. Cats. I love dogs, mostly the big ones. I like learning new things, having a lot of knowledge. I enjoy eating, it is my reason to live. Traveling as well! Having fun, reliable and imaginative people. I love absurd humor. Old cars, old rock and old movies. To meet new, smart and interesting people who know things I don’t and can teach me.

Dislikes: slow people and those who arrive late. The rain. Too loud noises. When things don’t work as they should. Disorganisation and inefficient people. My anger issues. Dirty or messy places. People who don’t know what they are talking about but talk anyway. Vulgar and uneducated people. Coward, too naive, timid and weak people. Being interrupted.

Hobbies: writing, cinema, gardening, hiking, traveling, eating, laughing, discovering.

Miscellaneous: excellent memory (names, dates, details, sensations). Good intuition that allows me to understand things and keep the conversation going whatever the subject. Practical over the aesthetic. French grammar and spelling mistakes trigger me. 

Appearance: east asian, short black hair with a two block haircut. I wear shorts or cargo pants with t-shirts (often black, gray or white) and white sneakers. The simpler the better.

Hi hi!! sorry for the wait, things are a little busy here.

(author's notes: credits to gif owners, of course <33 this was so fun! my first genshin matchup!! )

I've thought long and hard over who would be perfect for you! And miss matchmaker is here!

Fontaine is a beautiful place in the summer. Perfectly breezy, and perfectly sunny. Everyone's a busybody, so social and they love to meet new people! Perfect for your pretty extroverted interests!

And, why, who else do you run into here, none other than

Ajax "Tartaglia" "Childe" himself!

You know what draws him in about you first?

Your argumentative personality. He loves a good fight, and that includes witty arguments. Ajax also appreciates, and even adores, your unashamed loudness.

He loves a partner who is unafraid to be anything but themselves. If there is anything he hates, it is people who are weak. And to so openly be yourself, without fear of judgement, it's such a turn on for him.

AND!! being by his side requires a lot of traveling! Which is a plus for you! His job requires him to be able to travel to any nation, but while he's working, he encourages you to go out and explore! Go shopping if you want! He'll pay, of course. He wants you to have fun, not to worry. He doesn't need you worrying about your bank account when he has more than enough money to spend on both you and himself.

Besides, his love language is gift giving.

He absolutely adores your teasing. He meets your teasing easily with some of his own. It's fun, and it makes him laugh. The banter flows easily between you two, honestly. It's almost sickening how easy you two argue with each other.

Like an old married couple, Zhongli says.

Out of everyone who'd understand your problem of empathizing with other people, it'd be Ajax.

After falling into the Abyss as a child, he's had issues with feeling anything. It was the whole reason he'd been forced to join the Fatui in the first place, to have a place to take out his unusual aggression. Honestly, it was a miracle that he ended up falling for you in the first place.

He doesn't...remember quite how to properly love someone. He knows the concepts, and he knows how to go through the motions. But you're the first person outside of his family that he's had any feelings for.

He doesn't want to...mess it up. And lose you.

That being said, there's never a dull moment with him. He loves making you laugh. He thinks you sound beautiful when you do.

His favorite activity to do with you is tease other people. He's pretty much immune to your teasing, because he meets you head to head with his own little jabs. So teasing other people is the way to go with you two.

You two little pranksters, you.

Your great memory also might be very useful. It's not that Ajax is forgetful, but he's usually in a rush. So he may accidentally forget to grab some things on his way out the door. It helps if you're there to toss it to him as he's getting ready to leave.

He's a big, big family guy, too, so if you don't want kids, it might not work out for you two. Despite how Ajax seems, he only dates to marry and settle down in the future. He loves his family, and he wants to make one of his own like that someday. When it's safer.

At the minimum, he wants five kids. Five!

He wants to be a father, and he wants to be your husband. He knew this on your first date with him. It's only a matter of if you'll let him.

And he'll introduce you to his own family eventually, when you're comfortable with it. His younger siblings would absolutely adore you, because you remind them so much of Ajax. His older siblings would find it so amusing how alike the two of you are.

His parents absolutely love you, too. His mother absolutely tries fattening you up, trying to put you in warm clothes, because Snezhnaya is cold, don't you know? His father sees a strength in you that he sees in his son. A quiet kind of strength, hidden under layers of bluntness and jokes.

And! You and mama Ajax love cooking! Mamushka Ajax teaches you Snezhnayan dishes, and she loves to learn about your favorite dishes to make! You two trade recipes often, and sometimes Ajax whines that you like his mother more than you like him.

Like I said before, there's really never a dull moment between you two. Ajax leads a busy life, and it seems like you like to, as well. Quiet is few and rare between you two.

But when there is, it's usually because both of you are sleepy or exhausted.

Honorary mentions! Cyno He loves telling jokes, since everyone seems to be so afraid of him. And he loves that you love to laugh. He's also very neat, if he does say so himself. But his schedule...he feels he may neglect you with how often he has to work. He does not want you to go through with a neglectful partner.

WAAAA this was so fun!! again, sorry for the wait ☹ fourth of July preps and all that y'know? and I have....a huge family.

i hope you enjoyed!

[cryptidcalling]

AU Vesper and the Prisma Force 5 (Just a short post explaining a brief synopsis and the rest of the crew)

This AU takes place like, 50+ years in the past. Vesper's backstory is mostly the same, but unlike canon, he's not a general. He's a high-ranking officer stuck in a rut but still dedicated to his job. One particular group of criminals, Prisma Force 4, has been a thorn in Vesper's side for years. They're Robinhood types, or so they claim. Vesper thinks that they pocket most of the goods for themselves. He and their captain are stuck in a long-running game of cat and mouse. Eventually Vesper "wins" and the captain is arrested, only for his punishment to be a life sentence in one of the most brutal intergalactic prisons ever created. His crimes shouldn't qualify him for such a cruel punishment, but through a technicality/loophole the courts are exploiting it ends up going through. Vesper realizes that he can't let that happen, and he feels betrayed by the Empire. He breaks the captain out of jail, drama ensues, and eventually Vesper is convinced to join the Prisma Force 4 (5). The rest of the AU is just Vesper settling into the crew and learning how to be loved, and how to atone for the wrong he's done. Very nice stuff. The crew is the Prisma Force bc they all have a signature color! With Vesper joining with purple/violet. Here's the rest: Captain Enzo Ithas (Red): Crew captain! He's a high-energy cocky kind of guy, and the most willing to get himself into trouble just for the fun of getting out of it. Despite that, he won't do anything that puts the whole crew in danger. He's pretty charismatic, though also the kind of guy a lot of people wanna punch in the face. Always tries to keep things lighthearted with jokes and teasing, and sometimes will accidentally hurt other people's feelings because he didn't read the room. He always makes the effort to apologize and patch things up though! Dr. Thaddius Wynter (Yellow): The ship's medical doctor! They're rather large at 6 ft 6, but they're incredibly gentle! Despite Enzo being the captain, they're the one who actually keeps things in order most of the time. They're calm, level-headed, patient, and very emotionally intelligent. They're not naturally playful, but will happily humor the other crewmates just to see them smile. They're basically the team parent. Despite their gentle nature, they can also lay down the law when needed, keeping things organized and orderly and ensuring that everyone is safe. Mimzy Puckett (Green): She's the team's botanist and chef! She's a super bubbly lady, very high energy and always excited to meet new people and try new things. Some of her dishes can be a little... unique, and even she admits that sometimes she goes off the rails because she just gets too excited. She's the one always getting everyone to do game nights or stop at nearby planets just to talk to the people and see the sights. It takes her the longest to warm up to Vesper. She's very suspicious of Vesper's "sudden change of heart," and for a while thinks that he's only joining their crew so that he can sell them all out as a group. Eventually though she comes to understand how much Vesper cares about being a part of the team, and she's determined for them to be best friends after that. LI-10 (Blue): LI-10, pronounced "Lilo" or "Li-Ten," is the crew's android and communications officer! He too is calm and level-headed, though in a more logical and straightforward way than Dr Wynter. He actually does feel emotions, though because they're programmed scripts that require definitions he feels them differently from organic lifeforms. This allows him to communicate very clearly without it seeming like he's dismissing someone's feelings. He's blunt without being cold. He also is a bit of a photographer! Organic beings aren't able to catalog data the way he is, so he likes being able to capture moments that he can always share with them. It also makes him the resident bookkeeper and storyteller. The crew likes to gather around his photo albums and hear him recall their adventures.

[grammartipshub]

Unlocking the Opposite of “Gruff”: A Complete Guide to the Word’s Antonym

Introduction

Have you ever met someone with a rough voice or a blunt way of speaking? You might call them gruff. But what if you meet someone gentle, kind, or warm in tone? That’s the opposite of gruff—and understanding both helps you speak and write more clearly.

In this guide, you’ll learn what gruff means, explore its true opposites, and see how to use these words in real conversations or writing. Whether you’re learning English or just love words, this post will help you better understand tone, manners, and emotions.

What Does “Gruff” Mean?

Gruff describes someone who speaks or behaves in a rough, unfriendly, or blunt way. It often refers to a deep, harsh voice or a no-nonsense attitude.

Examples:

“His gruff reply ended the conversation.”

“She had a gruff voice but a kind heart.”

“The teacher's gruff tone scared the students at first.”

Gruff doesn’t always mean mean—sometimes, it’s just about sounding tough.

The Opposite of “Gruff”

To find the opposite of gruff, think of words that describe someone who is gentle, kind, warm, soft-spoken, or polite.

Common Antonyms:

Gentle – soft and kind in behavior or tone

Warm – friendly and caring

Kind – thoughtful and nice to others

Soft-spoken – speaking quietly and calmly

Polite – respectful and nice in words and actions

Courteous – well-mannered and considerate

These words reflect a softer and friendlier way of communicating, the opposite of gruff's roughness.

Gruff vs. Its Opposites: Quick Comparison

GruffOppositeRough toneGentle toneHarsh or bluntKind and respectfulMay seem rude or coldWarm and welcomingOften loud or sharpSoft-spoken and calmGives short answersSpeaks with care and kindness

How to Use These Words in Sentences

Gruff

“He gave a gruff ‘no’ and walked away.”

“Don’t be fooled by her gruff manner—she’s very loving.”

Gentle

“Her gentle voice soothed the crying baby.”

“He gave a gentle smile that made everyone feel safe.”

Warm

“She welcomed us with a warm hello.”

“His warm attitude made the room feel friendly.”

Polite

“Always be polite to people, even if you disagree.”

“The child gave a polite thank you.”

Real-Life Use Cases

1. Everyday Conversation

You might say someone is gruff if they speak without smiling or sound unfriendly.

You’d use warm or gentle to describe someone comforting or easy to talk to.

2. In Writing

Writers use “gruff” to show character toughness.

The opposites help create balance—especially in contrast scenes.

3. In Job Settings

A customer service rep should sound polite, not gruff.

Doctors or teachers often need to be warm and kind, even under pressure.

4. In Storytelling

Characters with a gruff exterior but a soft heart are common in movies and books!

Tips for Choosing the Right Word

Think about tone and intent: is the speaker rude, or just honest?

Match the word with the situation: “polite” works better in formal settings, “gentle” in emotional ones.

Don’t confuse gruff with mean—some people sound gruff but are very kind underneath.

FAQs

Q1: Is gruff always a bad thing? Not always. A gruff person might just sound rough but have good intentions.

Q2: Can gruff be used for a voice only? No, it can describe a person’s tone, manner, or behavior, not just their voice.

Q3: What’s the nicest opposite of gruff? Probably gentle or warm, depending on the situation.

Q4: Is soft-spoken the same as polite? Not exactly. Someone can be soft-spoken but not polite—and vice versa.

Q5: Can animals be gruff? Not usually. “Gruff” is mostly used for people, especially their speech or manner.

Who Should Read This?

📘 English learners – to understand tone words and their opposites

✍️ Writers – to describe characters more clearly

🧠 Students – improving vocabulary and reading comprehension

💬 Speakers or presenters – to adjust tone and delivery

🤝 Anyone working with others – to be more mindful of communication

Extra Resources

Merriam-Webster – Gruff Definition

Cambridge Dictionary – Gruff

Vocabulary.com – Opposites of Gruff

Grammarly – Tone and Language Tips

Grammar Tips Hub - Simplified English

Conclusion

The word gruff can help describe someone who’s short, harsh, or tough-sounding. But on the other side, words like gentle, warm, soft-spoken, and kind show softness and care.

Knowing both sides of this word helps you talk about people more clearly—and kindly. So next time someone sounds gruff, you’ll know exactly how to describe it—or how to be their gentle opposite. 😊