#rarely invoked trope

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

It’s quite rare that the Inspector actually acknowledges

that he/she has issues with relationships, despite how active he/she has been with his/her Associates in the past.

[asteroidtroglodyte]

Absolutely fascinated by the Fairy Walrus Discourse. Naturally, I have a take:

This actually is also a fantastic illustration of a truism about Telling Stories that we all implicitly know but rarely acknowledge aloud: the improbable is far less believable than the impossible.

When you invoke the impossible, you silence the critically thinking, reality checking, lie detecting circuitry. Simpler rules reign supreme.

The Walrus, however implausible, is a thing which is real, and so whatever narrative you imagine either precedes or follows the reveal will be constrained by the envelope of the possible.

This is a webbed site all about Narrative.

The person answering the door to a Fairy is in a fairy tale, and frankly most of us would be overjoyed to find ourselves in a fairy tale. Fairy tales have sensible rules, structures we understand, tropes we love and hate.

A Walrus on your doorstep is just one more giant reminder that the world is a maelstrom of chaos, incomprehensible in its complexity, full of moving parts which obey no narrative. It’s another dose of “what fresh hell is this?”

A Walrus on your doorstep is a burden. A Fairy on your doorstep is an escape.

[ravenkings]

Debate rages over the extent to which the protests on the political left constitute coded or even direct attacks on Jews. But far less attention has been paid to a trend on the right: For all of their rhetoric of the moment, increasingly through the Trump era many Republicans have helped inject into the mainstream thinly veiled anti-Jewish messages with deep historical roots. The conspiracy theory taking on fresh currency is one that dates back hundreds of years and has perennially bubbled into view: that a shady cabal of wealthy Jews secretly controls events and institutions contrary to the national interest of whatever country it is operating in. The current formulation of the trope taps into the populist loathing of an elite “ruling class.” “Globalists” or “globalist elites” are blamed for everything from Black Lives Matter to the influx of migrants across the southern border, often described as a plot to replace native-born Americans with foreigners who will vote for Democrats. The favored personification of the globalist enemy is George Soros, the 93-year-old Hungarian American Jewish financier and Holocaust survivor who has spent billions in support of liberal causes and democratic institutions. This language is hardly new — Mr. Soros became a boogeyman of the American far right long before the ascendancy of Mr. Trump. And the elected officials now invoking him or the globalists rarely, if ever, directly mention Jews or blame them outright. Some of them may not immediately understand the antisemitic resonance of the meme, and in some cases its use may simply be reflexive political rhetoric. But its rising ubiquity reflects the breaking down of old guardrails on all types of degrading speech, and the cross-pollination with the raw, sometimes hate-filled speech of the extreme right, in a party under the sway of the norm-defying former, and perhaps future, president.

– Karen Yourish, Danielle Ivory, Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, and Alex Lemonides, "How Republicans Echo Antisemitic Tropes Despite Declaring Support for Israel," The New York Times, May 9, 2024

[allbluedepths]

I'm a fan of truth serum trope fics, but for something slightly adjacent to that: something (magic/actual serum/Devil Fruit) that makes the recipient "truthful" in that they lower their emotional walls. Nothing extreme or unrealistic, but enough to make typically reserved individuals much more open and vibrant with their expressions.

Aka, the perfect target for this is Mihawk. Doubly so if Mishanks is involved.

Mihawk gets hit by Devil Fruit powers that inflict this during a Warlord mission. Already not great. Also not great: in a rare occasion of pre-planning visits, he's already made plans with Shanks to drop by an island they're docked at nearby. He could just not go — Shanks would understand, albeit be disappointed — but Mihawk uncomfortably realizes he doesn't want that. (Worse, he knows that disappointment is showing on his face, far more obvious than it’d ever be otherwise.)

He arrives at the Red Force, attempting to get himself out of the crew’s view as soon as possible to avoid any mishaps… but seeing Shanks himself gives it away, if the warm smile that instantly blooms across his face says anything. Despite the distinct embarrassment he’s feeling as he registers the crew’s reactions, he expects Shanks to be ecstatic, to finally have the chance to see Mihawk just as free with his emotions as Shanks is.

But Shanks hates it. That’s obvious to everyone, in both his sudden clenched jaw and a brief flash of haywire haki. He shooes everyone away and swiftly takes Mihawk to his cabin with orders for Beckmann to keep everyone well and truly away.

They get to Shanks’ cabin. Mihawk is confused, and a bit hurt, and he knows it's showing because Shanks looks both guilty and upset as he explains: Shanks doesn't hate the idea of seeing Mihawk being expressive, but he hates the fact that it's not Mihawk's choice. He respects and loves Mihawk as he is, he always has, and he doesn't take pleasure in seeing his rival-lover-everything beheld to someone else's will.

(He also admits, more embarrassed than his usual lack of shame allows, that if Mihawk was going to be stuck like this for a bit, he selfishly wants to keep him all to himself despite what he just said. Because he’s spent so long coaxing out every little reaction and savoring them, and now Mihawk shows up on his deck smiling widely at him in front of everyone, and he knows that’s not right but—)

Mihawk cuts him off with a kiss and a smile that’s brighter than normal but just as warm as his usual, private ones for Shanks. Of course he would react nobly like that. (And if his possessive streak does something for Mihawk… well, that’s his business.) He manages to save some of his dignity and express it more in his usual manner, but he wouldn’t have still come if he didn’t trust Shanks with this new development. (His expression definitely gives him away this time, though.)

Point being, they end up spending the day or so while it wears off holed up together, without Mihawk feeling the need to fight it off as he would outside the cabin or answer anyone’s prying questions. Shanks keeps his word and doesn’t invoke any strong reactions — but he does mentally preserve the image of a truly relaxed Mihawk, content to bide his time reading and napping in his bed.

(And if Mihawk eventually suggests some other activities in bed to take advantage of this short-lived change… well, they’ve got a whole day to burn.)

[mdhwrites]

Yk, I agree about the problem isnt the tropes but how is used.

But im a bit scared. That im not being original enough, that im not copying. I wanna give it my own style, idk how to explain it.

What would your advice be, as a profesional writter?

I would look at a trope you're using and honestly ask yourself if you are doing it because something else did it, because it just must happen because it's a part of the genre... Or if you are doing it because it feels right.

Tropes should happen naturally. They should come from the characters, the plot, the small minutia that require little things to be done or broad strokes that come with the territory. When a romance story does their big confession, it is still personal to that story so long as it is genuinely inspired and influenced by the characters and what came before. It is only when this isn't true that a story genuinely feels paint by numbers because what you lose by just following tropes instead of the writing is the soul of the work.

So long as you are earnest and honest in the creation of your work, rather than just trying to regurgitate what you think is good, your own style will shine through. Your own quirks will shine through. Even if someone can say, "Oh, you clearly watched X and took inspiration from it," they will say inspiration, not a rip off so long as you make it yours.

As for the fears, you need to remember that people very rarely actually come to art for something entirely new. The purpose of art is to invoke an emotion. They want to see someone tackle someone with all their passion. There's a reason people will be more lenient to something that clearly stuck to being itself as hard as it could rather than compromising that might have been generically better because we want to see someone put that much of themselves out there.

So long as you put yourself in, and not another work, you'll be just fine. I promise.

[umbracirrus]

For the ask interview for Elyse, 3, 15, and 19 <3

Oooh! I love these questions, they've definitely made me have to think! Also answering 15 last because part of the answer is a particularly big spoiler for The Perfect Storm so I'm going to put it under a read more :)

3. Which Aedra or Daedra do they worship/champion?

So, Elyse doesn't champion any Aedra or Daedra - for that matter, she has turned her back on at least two daedra who have attempted to make her their champion (Hermaeus Mora and Mephala). However, she does technically worship the Eight, but her worship isn't overt in any way. She will occasionally mutter one of "Divines" or "by the Eight", or in very specific situations invoke a name of one of the Divines, such as Arkay when she believed she was about to die in Helgen.

19. Do they have any quirks or hidden talents?

Is being wholly and utterly incompetent at cooking in any way shape or form a fun little quirk/hidden talent? 😂

But to answer this question seriously, one of Elyse's little quirks is that she hums to herself a lot, especially when she is deep in thought. Just any little tune which comes to mind, usually unconsciously, and only realises she is doing it when she stops or if somebody mentions it to her.

One of her hidden talents is that she likes to do sewing and stitching, which in part stemmed from watching her mother often needing to repair her clothing or armour when she returned from her work as a sword for hire, and her asking if she could help. She kept it up as she grew older, even when her mother stopped doing such jobs, but it is often something she will do in privacy so not many people know that she does it!

Also following on from the helping her mother thing, she does know her way about a forge too, though is something which she does a lot less rarely. The only weapon which she ever made in Skyrim using those skills was an axe out of materials from the first dragon she defeated at the Western Watchtower, that she gifts to Balgruuf. She also helped with (but didn't fully make) her armour.

15. Tropes, tropes, tropes! Do any come into mind for this character? Or do they subvert any?

As a non-spoliery answer to this, she does somewhat fall into the 'reluctant hero' trope when she first learns that she is Dragonborn. However, it is something which she breaks out of once she starts progressing in her journey as the Dragonborn after months in denial at the College thinking it could answer everything for her. It is something which she grows to cherish and accept as being who she is and her abilities being another tool in her arsenal by the time in which she defeats Alduin, and within the following months, goes to Solstheim to defeat Miraak.

She also, to an extent, falls into the 'refuses to accept help until it's too late or almost too late' sort of character trope... only a select few people have been able to/will be able to break through that. And it all stems down to a very stupid decision made by her father.

Now, on a very very spoilery note...

And I'm serious about this being a spoiler for The Perfect Storm...

Elyse, along with Balgruuf, fulfil one of my absolute favourite tropes in fanfiction - pretend lovers who fall in love. As for how this comes about? Well, I'm not spoiling that - got to keep a few cards up my sleeve, don't I?! But let's just say that they think that they're pretending, but they absolutely are not.

[dailycharacteroption]

Mutual Destruction Vanguard (Vanguard Alternate Class Feature)

(art by s2ka on DeviantArt, character belongs to rodcom1000)

With their power to manipulate entropy, the vanguard class has a nice mix of offense and defense, which is appropriate for a tanky melee-focused class.

However, what if you’re not that interested in defense? What if your strategy is to tear into your foes with abandon and simply outlast them as you both careen down the wild road to destruction together?

Enter the mutual destruction vanguard, who forgo many of the internal safeties present in other vanguards to overwhelm foes at the cost of their own health, as well as turn around and punish foes for attacking them in kind.

Some of these warriors may suffer a defect in the nature of their power, while others willingly choose to fight this way out of a nihilistic worldview, the sense of thrill, or perhaps a sense of shame and guilt that they feel makes them deserve destruction. Either way, this option perfectly encapsulates the vibe of the trope of self-destructive and costly power, risking their own destruction to take advantage of the power it offers, despite the risk.

As long as they have entropic power, these combatants can manipulate their entropy to improve the output of their entropic strikes greatly. This is especially potent if their own injuries start to mount.

Additionally, when they spend entropy to boost the power of such strikes, they prove even more potent at the cost of some feedback damage.

These vanguards cannot mitigate incoming damage the way others can. Instead, they can set up devastating feedback in foes to punish them for injuring the vanguard. Meanwhile, they can gain entropy by choosing to mitigate their own healing.

At the zenith of their ability, they can project a field that negates not only their own defenses, but that of their enemies, opening up for truly devastating carnage. In this state, they gain much more entropic power, and their baseline improvement to entropic strikes becomes truly devastating, and their reactions heighten, punishing every little gap in their opponents’ defenses as long as the field lasts.

A simple ability, but one that changes some base assumptions about the vanguard class. This alternate option can be used to dish out some devastating extra damage, which only grows more potent as you take damage. As such, I recommend taking at least a few defensive disciplines, for while you still can’t mitigate, there are other ways to reduce damage so that you don’t burn out quite so fast.

While nihilism and thrill-seeking are perfectly viable characteristics to see in characters such as these, I’d like to remark on the recent surge in popularity in recent years of characters that possess techiques that are actively risky and self-destructive, and why they would choose to use such things. Perhaps they are obsessed with victory at any cost, or perhaps they feel what they fight for is worth more than their own life.

Though it seems like a relatively primitive practice, the scepter that serves as the symbol of the office of planetary emperor of Bektuan is no mere bauble, but a technomagical artifact of great power… and it has been stolen! Currently, it is in the hands of the nihilisitic anarchist Tarrux, so the royal family is ready to pay handsomely for its return, preferably without engaging him in a fight, for his entropic powers cause a lot of collateral damage, and they don’t want to risk the artifact.

Once a plucky and eager explorer, the scuriday Pi**aka (read the double asterisk as a chirping consonant) was kidnapped early in his career and press-ganged into service aboard their crew, training him to use his burgeoning entropic powers for their purposes. He has long since left that life, but not unchanged. He is more willing to utterly destroy his foes without regard to his own safety, especially those that would enslave him again.

A rare few vanguard learn to invoke their entropic abilities to evoke different elements, including sonic vibrations. Those that focus on such seismic attacks sometimes seek to study creatures that naturally possess such adaptations. In one such case, the ruthless big game hunter Kovuks seeks to capture an intelligent starfaring predator called a valnarum and defeat it in single combat. The fact it is a sapient being is of no concern to him.

[adarkrainbow]

Fairytale fantasy: The Wine of the Gods

... This is not actually this book's title. This is the title of the novel in French, "Le vin des dieux" - and thus the title under which I read it.

Its actual English title is "One for the Morning Glory", written by John Barnes and published in 1996:

This novel is... it is quite an unusual fantasy novel. I probably would have been better warned if I had known before that in French, before being released by Pocket Fantasy (above), it was published in a large format by "Rivages/Fantasy" (below), and the Rivages fantasy collection is known to publish these unusual, weird, bizarre or overlooked fantasy novels that form the "cult classics" of the genre:

If I am talking about this novel today, it is because it is sold as a "fairytale fantasy" - more precisely, this novel takes place in a fantasy world where fairytales are regular occurences, and the main characters themselves either try to live a fairytale, either end up in a fairytale by accident. With the main problem being that, while they are aware of fairytale tropes and cliches and structures and try to invoke and use them, they are actually not certain of which type of fairytale they are in, or what role they are supposed to play...

A very promising basis isn't it? Except that, if you are a fairytale fan, you will be... a tad bit disappointed. Because John Barnes' definition of a fairytale isn't the same as everybody. Despite the word "fairytale" being used again and again, there are actually none of the classics fairytales involve - no Grimm, no Perrault, no Andersen, none of the sort. You have some elements and vague reminiscence of some British and Russian fairytales, but no explicit references, and they do not form the bulk of the book, merely background details. What John Barnes actually means by "fairytale" in this book is a mix of European folklore and legends ; archetypal and cliche fantasy stories ; and "typical" mythology (Greek, Norse, etc...).

Mind you, the beginning and the ending of the book (the book is organized in four parts, I am speaking of the first and fourth ones) DO work as a "fairytale fantasy" by using structures, elements and a tone fitting the genre. But the second and third parts of the story do NOT read at all like fairytales, as they mix various inspirations from medieval legends to swashbuckling stories passing by Gothic novels. As a result, if you ask me, I would NOT call this "fairytale fantasy" - but given this book was sold as and apparently intended to be a "fairytale fantasy" I'll include it in this series of reviews.

The main plot: In this fantasy world, there is an exceptional and very rare wine that is only kept for the most important occasions, and that can only be found in the castles of kings and queens - the "wine of the god". This wine is typically forbidden when it comes to children, and an old saying goes that a child who drinks this wine will only be "half of their self". Nobody takes this warning in a literal way... until young prince Amatus drinks the wine of the gods and half of his body disappears, leaving him cut-in-half but still very alive and functionning. The king quickly punishes with death the four person deemed responsible for this accident: the king's alchemist, the witch of the court, the head of the army and the prince's nurse. But one year and one day later, four mysterious strangers arrive at the court to replace the four deceased. Four strange companions (whose actual past will never be explained throughout the novel) that shape and model the prince and help him through his various adventures as he fights goblins, mysterious diseases, shadow-soldiers and wicked usurpers, while making alliances with bandits, disguised princesses and riddling-beasts...

Is it a good fantasy novel? If you ask me... it is decent and enjoyable, but it is not my favorite and I would never call it "great" or "excellent". Is it a bad novel, though? No. It is unbalanced, a bit dragging, a bit rough, but not "bad". It is more of a middle-ground. It is original and has enough effort to stand out on its own and deserve a mention... but it doesn't shine at all and kind of falls short. "Unbalanced" truly is the word because the tone is all over the place, as we keep switching between humor and tragedy, parody and seriousness, the same way we switch between the tones (fairytale, fantasy story, gothic horror, dreary political intrigue...).

Which is sad because it has a very promising basis, interesting characters, an efficient plot... But most of your expectations are not met, sometimes for good (efficient subversion) sometimes for bad (it feels like the author forgot to finish a plot, or was in a rush to complete the novel). You are presented a world running on the logic of folktales and fairytales... and the author doesn't do anything with it beyond vague plot-excuses. Some key characters are introduced in the breath of one or two lines in the middle of the plot ; the mysterious part of the four companions who are an integral part of the story is ever explained ; in fact the great mystery hinted at throughout the entire story is never revealed... Some of the anti-climactic nature of the book is perfect, such as the demise/last battle against the big bad in the end, which serves as a great subversion to fantasy villains AND an homage to traditional fairytales... But the rest feels not so much anti-climactic as just "The author was lazy and so stopped there".

So overall: promising, imaginative, with some very memorable and fascinating moments ; but clearly needed more work, feels unfinished, and isn't very "fairytale" like despite its premise - but that could be the summary of this book "Makes a lot of promises it ultimately doesn't hold up to the end".

EDIT: After some thinking, I believe there was an attempt in this book at emulating the style of for example Lord Dunsany's more "fairytale like" fantasies, such as "The King of Elfland's Daughter"... But I still think there is something missing or unbalanced within this book.

[elfyourmother]

Do you consider yourself a lore breaking, lore bending or lore adhering roleplayer? Does this adherence to lore depend on the kind of lore you're exploring with your characters; i.e. you play fast and loose with ideas xiv has yet to develop, but you tend to pay close attention to the fleshed out ideals? Is there lore you have modified that you're proud of and would share here?

I view lore as a starting point for me to jump off from and make my own. Always have.

I find strict adherence to game canon for its own sake creatively suffocating and always have, in every setting I've ever written in. It’s pretty much entirely because I grew up on DMing and writing in Forgotten Realms, which took a very DIY approach back in the day that was heavily encouraged by its creator. Everyone's Realms were equally valid, according to Word of God, and there were often intentional "blanks" left in sourcebooks for the DM to fill. These books emphasized over and over again that the DM was the ultimate authority on canon, not TPTB or the novels or anything else. That philosophy has informed my approach to worldbuilding in the transformative fandom sense for the last 30 years. That and being a queer Black femme of color who is very rarely satisfied by canon narratives rife w racially problematic tropes. I change things to make a space for myself and my characters and the stories I want to tell, by necessity. FFXIV is no different in that respect.

That said, I don't smash SE canon just to smash it either. Despite how bonkershits a lot of Gisèle's canon appears on the surface (eg. post-war Ishgard's constitutional monarchy with King Aymeric), everything I change has been carefully considered and engineered for as much internal consistency as possible. As much as I operate on Rule of Cool, I need things to make sense for me to have fun.

But I am distinctly not a roleplayer, for this and many other reasons. I'm strictly a fic writer, and I don't ever collab with people. The world Gisèle operates in is constructed entirely for her, and my own enjoyment, by design. So no one is forced to deal with my stuff if they don't like it.

That said, King Aymeric is probably the lore I’m most proud of. I wrote a ficlet for ffxivwrite last year on it here, but the cliffs notes: Aymeric invoked the ancient covenant between man and dragon when begging Hraesvelgr’s aid against Nidhogg and vowed he would restore it, but Hraes said that because that covenant was broken by an Elezen king, only an Elezen king could restore it. Hraes was wily though, it wasn’t just upholding weird draconic custom in saying that. His ulterior motive was to make Aymeric guarantee his people would be united enough not to turn on the Dravanians once Nid was handled. the end result is that Aymeric restored the Ishgardian throne (“The Azure Throne”, as a nod to Haldrath), but as a largely unifying figurehead/ceremonial position with Parliament strictly defining the role of the king. Artoirel is Lord Speaker of the House of Lords. Aymeric’s still LC of the temple knights in addition to his royal duties. He wasn’t giving that up lol.

making a constitutional monarchy plausible in the context of the story was challenging and I think I’ve done a solid job of it tbh. I wanted to lean into the Arthurian romance vibes of HW but also solve the fundamental problem I had w how it ended, which is that I don’t think it’s a terribly realistic scenario for ppl who were under a theocracy for 1000 years. Aymeric essentially having his hand forced by Hraesvelgr solves the issue of why he would restore the throne and tbh I don’t flinch from the complications of squaring that with the revelations about Ishgard’s founding, I think it only plays more into Aymeric’s ambivalence about the role he’s been thrust into.

[veerojaskhanna]

Review: Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

It’s been a while since I saw a solid, sumptuous ‘hindi picture’ — the kind that makes you whistle in the seats, out-sing the sound system, and dance in the aisles. I walked into Rocky Aur Rani kii Prem Kahaani expecting anything but that, since the promos had convinced me that Karan Johar had taken a sharp left into the David Dhawan school of filmmaking. Much to my surprise, the film delivered on all those characteristics, and delivered something even those ‘hindi pictures’ rarely do - it was up to date. It’s always interesting to see a filmmaker take a look back his(or her) own filmography, and see what they felt they need to change; Sooraj Barjatya had done it with Uunchai just last year, and failed miserably. Unfortunately, more often than not, this relook starts off with great gumption and falls prey to habit somewhere along the way. We are all victims of habit, hoping to transform into better, more mature, more self aware people. Johar uses this transformation as a narrative trope in this film, and maneuvers it with a lightness of touch that hints at his own self awareness. He challenges a lot of the problems his earlier films had(fatphobia, misogyny, homophobia). A replay of the “keh diya na, bas keh diya” quip from K3G had me and several others in my audi wolf-whistling. Through the film, we see transformations — characters explaining their mistakes, promising to reform, and changing into better people. In his older films, this transformation was spurred on by astronomical difficulty - in K3G, Shah Rukh Khan had go into a ten-year-log exile before Amitabh Bachchan would ask a for forgiveness with fairly gaslight-ey undercurrents; in My Name is Khan, it took a hurricane for Kajol to realise her love for Shah Rukh Khan and apologise. But though delayed, those transformations were always instant. Here, it’s simple - a monologue may unveil hidden reservoirs of confidence in characters, but they undergo full arcs before they can express themselves freely, making transformations seem neither arbitrary or abrupt. Beware though, because by the time Rani delivers speech number eight(I counted) to a character about how they must break free of the patriarchy, I was ready to throw hands. The self-referencing is also turned into a narrative trope (you can spot a reference a minute). There are countless callbacks to old films and old songs - my favourites being a callback to Abhi Na Jao Chhodkar from Hum Dono, which left me as full of awe as when Pankaj Kapur had used it in Mausam; and a character announcing her freedom by singing Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai from Guide. It made me so happy that after years of self-referencing himself in films like I Hate Luv Storys, Shaandaar and Dostana, Karan Johar has learnt the difference between winking and wanking at us. The references serve a purpose beyond pure nostalgia. The older ones invoke a softer, more romantic time, without dating the film. Even the newer, more light-hearted references serve a purpose - the use of Aaja Meri Gaadi Mein Baith Ja adds to Rocky’s West Delhi/Greater Gurgaon persona. I found myself chuckling at the use of Meri Pyaari Bindu from Padosan in the Namit Das track. The only reference they could have done without was the use of Suno Suno Miss Chatterjee in a romantic moment which needed more softness, and less foot-tapping. This invoking of the past is reflected in the writing as well - the characters don’t converse with each other. they speak in dialogue. Characters say things like “Nazar kharab aapki aur pardah kare hum?” and “Aapne mujhe sanskaar nahin diye, ahankar diya hai”. They have so much swagger, you can taste them. The showdowns in the film are satisfyingly melodramatic, and one would expect no less - characters are engaged in such over-the-top conflict that the skies thunder in disapproval. Unfortunately though, the same drama was missing in the songs. Tum Kya Mile and Ve Kamleya are beautiful melodies(even if terrifyingly banal in their arrangement), but Dhindora Baaje Re, which plays out as a pivot for the story just pre-climax was upsettingly underwhelming and insipid. It may not have worked in Pritam’s favour that we hear his music in the same sitting as some of the most memorable tunes from Hindi films. As for the performances, they were just outstanding - Ranveer and Alia both pull off two very difficult things - Ranveer plays an outlandish, uncouth, near repulsive character while endearing us to him, and Alia shows us both her condescention/amusement at Rocky and her endearment to him. I think Ranveer will get more praise for his character - it’s the kind of character that shouts out at you to tell you how well the actor is acting, but Alia does a better job — Rani is put in situations which call for ‘dialoguebaazi’ but nothing seems contrived or put-on. I was particularly impressed by a scene where she comes up with a solution for a problem in Rocky’s family business, but does so without the magic-wand waving of a Hrishikesh Mukherjee character. Instead, she plays the line with an undercurrent of surprise - as though she came upon the answer by accident. As for the million dollar question - do the leads share chemistry? The answer is a resounding YES. They share chemistry, and more importantly, comfort. It’s not the electric kind(like SRK-Kajol in all those other KJo films or Ranbir-Anuska in Ae Dil). Alia and Ranveer just fit. They share an easy comfort with each other, and we understand that they are meant to be with each other, because they make each other happy, and sometimes, it’s just that simple. The supporting cast is also stellar - Shabana Azmi, Tota Roy Chaudhury, Churni Ganguly, Aamir Bashir, Kshitee Jog and Anjali Anand are such fun. I did, however want to check on Dharmendra, who seemed like the light was going to go out of his eyes any minute. Jaya Bachchan seemed to be borrowing her mannerisms from Chacha Choudhary comics and Amrish Puri, trembling in anger and staring into the distance while delivering heavy duty dialogues. The film does justify this bigness and melodrama to a great extent though. There are no normal locations, normal clothes and normal people in this world, only magic. Johar’s idea of a chandni chowk akhara is laughable, but the colours are so vibrant and the lights so bright that you go along for the ride. Why complain about the lack of realism when you are being treated to some of the most beautiful people and places on film? There are enough things to complain about - the bengali family was annoyingly free of fault(something I’m sure all the Bhadralok had no problem with); I found the Shabana-Dharmendra track unconvincing and problematic, even though it was charming; and the Dhindora Baaje Re sequence was a bit too flashy for my liking - but all in all, Rocky Aur Rani is the best thing I did with three hours in my day, and I left the cinema hall with my heartbeat thudding in my ears, my soul nourished and my love for hindi cinema replenished.

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

A sci-fi staple of sort that the programme rarely depicts

is when one of the characters stumbles into a force field.

[shini--chan]

Hello! I’ve read your Alfred x ColdWarSpy one shot and the oneshot of Alfred x Spy who’s target is England/England x Spay who’s target is America.

I love the way you portray Alfred! Someone on here once described him as: brilliant, ambitious, and ruthless. A combination of the superhero myths: Clark Kent & Lex Luthor, Captain America & Winter Soldier.

I love how you can portray him as still the sunny persona, and some of that may be part of his real self, but also the ruthless superpower that people forget about.

What more thoughts do you have on him?

Quick note: answering asks in a non-chronological order at the moment so that I can get around to emptying the ask box

Ooooo... another person who digs stirringwinds’s stuff. We stan. Also, thank you for the kind words.

In total, I have plenty of headcanons for almost all the Hetalia character’s, partially due to me being quiet the history buff. Warning for plenty of TV Tropes references, because I’m that sort of person that also uses TV Tropes as a Getaway Drug, so links!

Aside from the aforementioned characters that America shares parallels with, I see him having a lot in common with Indiana Jones. They are both the sort of figures that hold strong to a certain code, although with Alfred it often goes into the territory of American Execptionalism – a lot of the Utopia Justify the Means making him in the eyes of plenty of the other nations and even people a Well-Intentioned Extremist. This would also have some truth to it, given that his Puritan background would have left marks. Also has a habit of using Indy Ploys in which he has no concrete plan and just improvises as he goes. Has some negative side effects in larger operations, where he would need a more detailed plan aside from vague goals of establishing freedom and democracy or something of the sort. In simple terms, his thought process would sometimes be like this:

Situation A happens

Stuff happens

Situation B comes into effect.

Big on the Obfuscating Stupidity. On some part he is also very silly, and would just want to have some fun. On the other he would just want people to underestimate him. Think of Zaphod Beeblebrox from Hitchhikker’s Guide to the Galaxy. At times can also be as vain and narcissistic.

On both of the upper points – he has a tendency to over think matters at times, leading to the Centipede’s Dilemma. But because that’s one of the things he is generous enough to share, he loves invoking it in others. May or may not have killed Arthur in the past by yelling “Which foot goes next?” when the latter was running down the stairs, causing his father to stumble and break his neck. Yes, Alfred suffers from Comedic Sociopathy, especially when it comes to people he doesn’t really like.

Apropos people he doesn’t like – while Alfred is at times inclusive and loves experiencing other cultures, that wouldn’t apply to morality. Nations have difference moral nuances, things they consider right and wrong that can differ from their neighbour. America is of the opinion that his way is the right way – other modes of thinking would either be tolerated or outright condemned.

Torn between wanting to have adventure and a desire for a simple life. In that sense, he always functions best while living on a frontier, where he would have a mix of both. Always has new ideas, many seeming hare-brained to outsiders, and even to himself in retrospect. But he loves to be a Pioneer, so he won’t let anybody stop him, until it is too late, that is.

Is a surprisingly good cook, although it often involves things that other people wouldn’t eat. Literally can’t stick to the recipe because he would always want to try out something new. As such, he would seldom make the same thing twice. Except steak – the steak must be rare and the tea of the southern sweet variety or else.

Ranges from being a Southern Gentlemen to a loud and rude New Yorker with all of that Brooklyn Rage and everything in between. Though, aside from that, he would often put on the guise of that All-American Boy and turn up that Hollywood Charm.

I shall finish here before it gets out of hand, though you peeps are free to request more in the future.

[wonder-worker]

torn between an unstoppable force (my desire to write a post detailing how historians have a tendency to "defend" Elizabeth Woodville by depowering her and minimizing her influence and (in some cases genuinely exceptional and comparatively unconventional, though rarely unacknowledged) activities; diminishing the irregularity of her marriage and ascension to queenship by ahistorically rewriting it as more "acceptable" and even more "politically motivated" than it actually was; softening/dismissing/stating-rather-than-examining the propaganda against her; absorbing her into broader discussions of her family rather than examining her in her own right; involving and giving Margaret of Anjou far too much importance when discussing Elizabeth (even her marriage ffs) despite their completely different circumstances which in turn ends up disregarding the fact that Elizabeth's own unique situation was fundamentally different from ANY queen before her and needs to emphasized a lot more than it is when talking about literally any aspect of her queenship - all of which goes to show that Elizabeth has simply not been evaluated or studied very well at all, linked to the contrary "tropes" that are often invoked when discussing her, and, on a broader level, the "either/or" mentality that muddles discussions of historical women and is particularly prevalent with her) and an immovebable object (I AM TIRED)

[sulemania]

I have now read almost every issue of Daredevil published since 1981, and I have thoughts.

1. Frank Miller is important and set the tone for everything going forward but perhaps a bit too reliant on noir tropes. Also, well, he later went full fash, which affects my reading of even his earlier works.

2. Ann Nocenti is underrated and a very refreshing. Several misses, but the stuff that works is super good and adds dimension to these noirish characters. Kind of artsy and expressionistic at times, which feels unique in mainstream superhero comics.

3. Guardian Devil is a total mess and Kevin Smith is a hack.

4. Bendis is really wordy but has a great feel for Matt Murdock, Ben Urich and Kingpin. The art is extremely hit and miss in this era. It works for the noir bits, but the action scenes fall flat because Maleev’s tracing doesn’t work for that.

5. Brubaker is competent but forgettable, and I don’t like his takes on some of the characters. He likes kicking Murdock when he’s down, and fridged a certain character in a way I didn’t appreciate. Too many ninjas.

6. Waid breaks my heart a few times, but has moments of genuine positivity, rare for Daredevil. Extremely solid stuff, emotional roller coaster. Refreshing, colorful, brought life back to the franchise.

7. Soule set up a lot of stuff but ultimately didn’t deliver. Using the Beast, the demon god worshipped by the Hand cult, as a physical being rather than a more abstract deity was a huge mistake. Not a huge fan of this run. Too many ninjas.

8. Chip Zdarsky is very good at what he does and invokes a sense of wonder that a good superhero story can use. A humanizing touch, adding depth to every character. I’m a little bit worried about the direction the run is taking, but it’s still very good. There might be too many ninjas.

[malrie]

Villains are destined to die is my current favorite right now, but i should catch up on to stepmother's marchen 🙏 if you liked the Cinderella one, there's also a snow white mother type one that I'll try to remember the impossibly long name for! Another couple I've been into is The Villainess Flips the Script, and Second Life of a Trash Princess. It's nice to just turn my brain off and relax into some romance and drama

I’m pretty sure I might’ve read the Snow White mother one too 😭 there was also a Cinderella one??? One thing I will say abt it is this genre has a relatively nice range of platonic relationships it can possibly explore aside from the romantic and the stepmother/familiar/child-parent ones are definitely interesting, if sometimes a hit or miss lol. I think one of my favorites ever is an example of this and that’s Who Made Me a Princess, though the plot definitely gets convoluted by the end (I don’t mind that personally, I luv mess….) I haven’t read the script & trash one so I’m def putting it on my list!!!!

not to make this a whole analysis about why I tend to love villainess isekais so much, but I’ve discussed this with someone before and I think the main draw with them is completely different to the male mc typical dungeon/game isekais that have been pretty prevalent way before the villainess ones; the very swordartonline-esque ones (ew sorry to invoke that name) are highly a male fantasy of power where they have felt powerlessness before in the previous life but then come into the next with an unfair advantage in the world they now can manage on their own now. it’s a switch in dominance fantasy.

in comparison it feels common for the women/girls to have also a shitty/neutral experience in their “past lives” but they rarely start with an advantage in their next, sometimes even in an especially precarious situation (i.e. “the red flag of death”). I find these narratives to be so much more compelling solely because these themes follow loneliness and perseverance in a way that their male counterparts never seem to grasp tbh. and I can say this bc I have read so much of isekais that the tropes come so easily to me now 😭

[fairymint]

Pick 5 Tropes!

Older than they Look:

Sometimes characters don't look their age. Whether it was a deliberate artistic choice on the behalf of the creator, or something much deeper and linked to their characterization and the plot, this character will be older than they look. Although still within the normal range of the human lifespan (for that setting, anyway), this character will look noticeably younger than their age. Sometimes even improbably younger; it's not unheard of for a seeming teenager to be over the hill chronologically. (Invoked IRL; short height and asian/middle eastern ethnicity. Felix is 32 but looks around 15, 17, or 22, depending on who you ask.)

Green Thumb

The power of supernatural control of plants (and usually fungi, too) via Super Powers, Applied Phlebotinum or magic. People with this can essentially make plants grow, make them move around like animals, create vines from the earth, summon poison ivy, sic trees on you, and so on. (More prevalent in Smash 4, but he can plant trees in the arena that fight back. This was removed in smash ultimate)

Speaks Fluent Animal

A character can talk to animals, and they (mostly) answer as if they, too, were human. (Invoked regardless of verse for plot and character reasons; he learns Pokemon and Animalese at young ages.)

Mind over Matter

Telekinesis/Psychokinesis: the ability to move stuff and/or people just by thinking. Although it fundamentally only requires a thought to work, hand gestures can also help, especially if they make the user look focused. How does the glass lift up but not everything else nearby? Because the glass is what the hero wanted to lift up. As superpowers go, it's one of the most useful and straightforward, and in its more refined form, it allows the user to manipulate any object in a wide number of ways, not only the more intuitive lifting and moving around. Nevertheless, it is very rarely used up to its full potential, as almost every fight would become trivial if it ended with a telekinetic Neck Snap. This is usually justified by stating or implying the user is not dexterous and/or precise enough to give his foe anything more than a good rough push or pull, although sheer psychic strength is often enough to crush or squash an enemy in a less subtle way. (Animal Crossing and Cult of the lamb verses)

Fluffy Tamer

When your setting features snarling, ferocious beasts with names like Fluffy the Terrible, call in Alice the Fluffy Tamer. She'll turn that man-eating, three-headed dog into a precious puppy by sundown, and the hardest part of the job will be finding a large enough rawhide bone... But Alice isn't merely good with savage animals, she's the one who names them "Fluffy" in the first place. To her, such creatures are as adorable as any kitten or similar house pet.