#rather than...yknow...her own choices

[offsidekineticist]

💎💎💎for agria if you're still taking these and it strikes your fancy lol!

I am still taking them! Sorry it took so long, took some time to decide who would be most interesting to answer this one. So here's Giliys's thoughts on Agria (whom he has nicknamed 'Threads' because Giliys can't just call people by their names like a normal person, I'm so sorry).

"Threads? Well. I think I'd have liked her better if we met before the fifth crusade. I know she's got rich family, but she doesn't really count as nobility. I mean, she coulda stayed in Brevoy and tried to blend in with with the fancy Lebedas, sucked up to them, tried to marry up, but she didn't. She went and said she was part of a people with no home scattered all over Avistan, and when she realized their culture had been stolen from them, she went and said she'd steal it back. That takes guts.

"But then Areelu fucking Vorlesh got ahold of her, and - " Giliys stops himself, face taut with rage. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Look. I know most people think I don't have a conscience cuz it's calibrated different than most. But I do know this: the worst, most unforgivale things you can do to someone are the things that hurt the soul. And I know, I know, I done plenty of that in my time, but I also know it's fucked up. What Areelu Vorlesh did was un-fucking-forgivable. And Threads did her best to pick up the pieces and stitch herself back together, but...she decided not to fix what she did to her, didn't she? I don't know if she didn't think it was possible or if she actually thought she was better off for it, but either way - I mean - that's not something you choose if your soul is whole.

"So yeah. It's funny, I don't have a problem with her having magic powers from the Abyss. But the power she has as knight-commander...yeah, that's the kind of thing that twists you up inside, makes you into something else. Something that can't be fixed. And I hope Galfrey rots for pushing her into that when she was already torn up inside by Vorlesh."

[dykedvonte]

I think the most baffling thing about the Tulpar as a vessel to me is the fact that the ship really did only have a one way communication system.

I know it was cheap but even the most basic of vessels regarding major transport would have some way, shape or form for outside communication. Not only that but there was absolutely no form of innate emergency signal to show they may have been offline or in trouble despite clearly having a system to dock credits if they went off course. It's another factor that really shows that bad situations are made to get worse by design. One person who is required to relay all information to the crew and make all the choices without feedback. No way to update or call for help in case of a dire situation. No way to inform of inner personal conflicts and acquire procedures accordingly.

It really is like they are all in some sort of fucked up solitary confinement. They have their own world with strict roles that are meaningless in the end, as long as the cargo makes it, it doesn't matter what happens on that ship to the company. They don't want to hear anything and will come to conclusions on what happened based on how much pay they can withhold from the workers. Even what they do send is short, sterile and corporate to the extent it was likely written and sent out with a command by some random unmanned computer in an office.

There's something to be said about how unfair it is to force absolute power and control onto one person when you as an entity could do so much more to offload it but I've said it many times before so I won't again.

[luniise-kel]

thinking about how cool and awesome moon stone cassandra couldve been if she wasnt given the world’s worst villain motivation

dropping my whole au / rewrote of season 3 below

uh preface is im sleepy and its almost midnight, so like sorry if some parts dont make sense or whatever

uhh basically, instead of cass trying to like reach her destiny or whatever as like her Main motivation and the only reason to why she Evil and Malicious ive changed it so its more mixed in with her desire to protect rapunzel. i think moonstone cass is cool and i like the idea of her but i really just think her execution was poor mostly because it wasn’t built up as much as it shouldve been.

rewrote cass’s character slightly just so there more empathize on her idolization of her mother, and so when she learns the truth of why mother gothel left her, the knee jerk reaction to blame raps makes a little more sense.

Anyways, Season 3 cass deals with a lot of her issues, i think on the journey to get the moonstone something something happens and cassandra is told that if rapunzel comes in contact with the moonstone she will Implode. Like die. Return to being the sundrop. and cass is like oh fuck, shit, balls, I need to Protect her from Dying. So out of her intense Need to protect Rapunzel she yoinks the moonstone, and (still slightly pissed at raps for stealing her mom but not really she’s just trying to figure out her emotions + rapunzel needs to get away away from this rock) she goes into Evil mode.

Her villain arc is partly fueled by her anger at her own situation, always in second place. her desire to feel love and cherished and important rather than being the 2nd option. However, it is also fueled by her need to provide safety to her friends ,, even if it’s not the smartest choice. Moonstone Cass devotes her entire identify to being the cliche villain, so no one feels bad if like the solution to destroying the moonstone is killing her. she knows that logically the Zhan Tiri is manipulating her but 1. she idgaf and 2. she needs to learn how to control the moonstone’s power so she doesnt hurt her friends.

Tbh boiled now, it’s just cass isnt obsessive with mother gothel and mother gothel leaving her to kidnap a baby because it made like no sense for her character. like instead, moonstone cass grabbles with her identify and place in the world, who she is outside of rapunzel. Also she wants to learn more about her past, yknow, who mother gothel was and is she Worth getting upset over. spoiler she figures out that no, her bio mom sucks booty

Anyways, throughout my version of season 3, cass is trying to figure out a way to destroy the moonstone. She visits Rapunzel often too and pretends to be evil just so she can check in. She angry at her mom but not so much on rapunzel, maybe a little bit but probably more to with simply trying to crave out her identify outside of rapunzel. Same general plot beats happen in s3, but shes more grief driven than anger driven i suppose.

Theres probably a lot i forgot to like, reformulate in this especially w s3 bc i havent had the time to rewatch it and collect my thoughts that well. But, uh, hope u enjoyed. might yap more about my personal gripes with the show and how i think it shouldve been written.

also to add on i suppose, at the end of the series she gets exiled from corona officially, but lowkey comes back to hang out and after like a year every1 is like yeah okay i guess.

[lovezbrownies]

Nia with a reader who has an overprotective child, like whenever Nia tries to court reader or something the kid is like.. "dont touch my parent >:[" yknow what i mean?

Your choice whether or not child is from a previous marriage!!

Those meddling kids! (Yandere Queen x GN!Reader)

Nia's masterlist - General masterlist

Synopsis: Nia's love journey with a darling with kids! Warnings: Death of a loved one, societal pressure, Nia being a little evil, kinda cute :3 also reader referred to as Papa (short for parent)

Nia Bloodwen x GN!Reader

From the moment you were born, you were shaped by a world of duty and honor. As the heir to the revered L/N family in Xelera, your life was a tapestry woven with the threads of tradition and responsibility. From your earliest years, you were taught the importance of your family's legacy, and instilled with a sense of purpose that guided every step you took.

When your mother introduced you to Melanie Strater, it was not just a union of families but the beginning of a deep and heartfelt connection. Melanie’s warmth and kindness drew you in, and over time, your feelings for her grew into a love that felt like a beacon in the complex world of nobility. Your marriage was a joyous occasion, and the arrival of your two sons brought a new level of happiness to your life. The mansion, once cold and silent, was filled with the laughter and love of a growing family.

Tragically, the joy you found with Melanie was short-lived. A sudden and mysterious illness took her away from you far too soon. The silence that followed her departure was overwhelming. Your home, once alive with her presence, now felt hollow. Your sons, though young, sensed the depth of your grief and did their best to offer comfort. Their efforts, small but heartfelt, were a testament to their love for you and their mother.

Years passed, and you slowly began to find solace in the daily routines of life. Despite your best efforts, the absence of Melanie remained a poignant ache in your heart. Your sons, now grown up, became your closest allies in facing the outside world. They were determined to protect you from the advances of ambitious nobles who sought to court you, driven by their own desires rather than genuine affection.

Theodore, your eldest, used his natural charm and extensive network of friends among the noble children to keep potential suitors at bay. His ability to weave tales and spread rumors about these suitors kept them away, sparing you from the discomfort of their attention. Theodore’s actions were a silent but powerful declaration of his loyalty and love for you, ensuring that your focus remained where it was needed most.

Henry, your younger son, had his own way of protecting you. At social gatherings, he would craft elaborate schemes to capture your attention, from feigning injuries to claiming he felt unwell. His antics, though often playful, were a means to keep you close and shield you from unwelcome advances. As he grew older, his methods evolved, but his intention remained the same, to keep you by his side and away from the clutches of those who sought to intrude on your life.

But it was Queen Nia’s presence in your life that grew ever more unsettling. Initially distant and even antagonistic, she had come to respect and admire you. Or perhaps it was something more. Nia’s feelings had twisted into an obsession that she carefully concealed beneath a veneer of professionalism and support. She couldn’t stand the thought of you being with anyone else, especially after Melanie. Her jealousy was a consuming fire, her thoughts constantly drifting to ways she could bind you to her forever.

Your children, however, posed a significant challenge. They seemed to have an uncanny sense of Nia’s intentions, and they did everything in their power to keep her away. Whenever Nia invited you to her palace, your sons followed closely behind, never giving her a moment alone with you. And when she visited your mansion, they were always present, like little sentinels guarding their most precious treasure.

Once, when Nia playfully presented you with a box of cupcakes she had made herself, she tried to create a lighthearted moment between the two of you. "Hello there, my dear, yes it is I, your Queen! Kneel before me~! Haha~ I’m just kidding, look what I made for you, however! Cupcakes~ Open the box! There’s a secret message for you!”

“Oh, how sweet! Thank you, Nia, I—”

Before you could finish, your children came charging down the hall, laughing. For some reason, they couldn't go any other way but directly between the two of you. One of them bumped into Nia, causing the box of cupcakes to fall onto the floor. A gasp escaped both of you as Nia glared at the children. You pulled them aside, sighing at yet another disaster caused by those little pests. In her mind, Nia seethed. If only she could eliminate them too… No. She could never hurt you like that. Or could she? The thought lingered, dark and dangerous.

Nia tried to maintain her patience, but her frustration grew. She needed you to see her, to need her as much as she needed you. Once, she sent flowers to you every day for a month while away on diplomatic business. When she noticed the lack of grateful letters from you, she knew your sons had interfered. “So, did you receive anything while I was gone? Like… flowers?”

You looked at her, eyes bright and wide. “No, should I have?”

Her nails dug into her palms, her patience fraying. She had poured her heart into every flower, every petal, every handwritten note. "…No."

Even her attempts at verbal confessions were thwarted.

“Y/N… I am deeply—”

“CONSTIPATED!!!” Henry’s voice suddenly rang out, and he appeared, waving his arms frantically. “PAPA, I NEED TO POOOO!! IT HURTSSS, PAPA, IT HURTS! I NEED A DOCTOR, PAPAAA!!!” You hurriedly caught him, giving Nia an apologetic look as she sighed, begrudgingly letting you go.

But recently, Nia had learned of their schedules. There was a half-hour sweet spot when both children were occupied with their tutors. It was her golden opportunity, a precious thirty minutes for her to finally confess—and perhaps more.

“Bye bye, Theodore, dear! Have fun with your tutor! Oh wait! Where is Henry? Ah, right, he’s also being tutored! Isn’t that fun, my dear? Just you and me, all alone for half an hour!” Theodore seethed as he was led away by his tutor, watching Nia’s wicked smile as she locked the doors to the living room.

She turned back to you, her gaze intense. “Well, we don’t have much time, so let’s get this out of the way, hmm?” You looked at her, confused, your usual soft smile still on your face.

“I am madly in love with you. I have been since you married Melanie. May she rest in peace,” she said, though her eyes betrayed her true feelings—may she not rest ever.

“Oh, Nia, I don’t—” You tried to gently reject her, but she interrupted.

“Dare you reject me, I will bring down your entire family, kidnap you, and leave your sons to rot in this soon-to-be-forgotten mansion. Pick your poison, dear.” Her voice was almost feverish, eyes wide with a manic intensity. You felt a chill run down your spine. You agreed, there was no other choice. It couldn’t be that bad, right? At least your family would be stable and successful, and your sons happier and healthier in the palace… right?

Meanwhile, Henry, having been alerted by his brother about Nia being alone with you, frantically tried to open the living room doors. Despite finishing his lesson as quickly as possible, he found the door locked. Knocking and pounding, he yelled as loud as he could, knowing they could easily pull at your heartstrings. “PAPA!! PAPA!! I CUT MY HAND ON ACCIDENT, PAPA, HELP!!!”

The door burst open, and your worried face came into view. “Where?!” You looked disheveled, dark red lipstick smeared around your lips, and your coat discarded. Henry glanced past you at Nia, who was lounging against the couch with a cocky smirk.

Nia’s heart raced with a twisted sense of triumph. She watched your son scramble around you, desperate for your attention. They were losing this battle, and she was so close to finally having you all to herself.

The Queen always wins.

[theplatypusblue]

I’ve been thinking about the similarities and differences between Skybound and Seabound lately, especially in their endings. The strengths/drawbacks of each, plus what each ending says about Nya and Jay’s characters.

In both seasons, Nya and Jay are forced to make really shitty decisions. In Skybound, Jay has to choose between making a wish to save Nya, or making a wish to stop Nadakhan and save Ninjago. However, rather than choosing either of those options, Jay (albeit accidentally) opts for the Secret Third Thing™ — wishing to go back in time so that none of this ever happened lol.

And while you could read this as an instance of Jays character shining through (he cares so much about Nya, he refuses to accept a future without her), I think it’s fair to say that this ending fell flat for a lot of people. It made the entire rest of the season pointless, it felt like a total cop out, you get the idea. These weakness only get more clear when you look at it in comparison with Seabound’s ending.

In Seabound, Nya has to choose between sacrificing herself to save Ninjago, or, I guess, not doing that and watching Ninjago fall. The key difference here is that there’s no Secret Third Thing™ for Nya to fall back on. This idea is made very explicit throughout the season: sometimes there are no good choices, “that’s the way the cookie crumbles” and all that. She resists this notion at first, but ultimately, she makes that hard decision. She makes the choice to sacrifice herself.

Contrast this with Jay, who basically… doesn’t make a choice at all? He just ~follows his heart~ and then… gets to have his cake and eat it too????

And it’s frustrating because there’s something interesting here, right? We get to see the differences between Jay and Nya when it comes to making those kinds of tough choices, and what that says about them as people. Push comes to shove, Nya will do what it takes to protect the world at large. She matures and grows from where she was at the beginning of the season, and the finale reflects that. On the other hand, Jay is the type for guy who will fight tooth and nail until he gets a happy ending. It’s pretty simple-minded, and it’s not something he really gets challenged on in a meaningful way, but it’s an appealing character trait in its own right.

The contrast between these two traits is pretty cool and interesting in my opinion!! Especially when you take into account that it’s Nya’s life on the line in both instances!!!! But then you gotta contend with the fact that Skybound’s ending is kinda…. mid as fuck? And it’s just like??? We were so close yknow soooooo close like this close, but no it’s all weird and stupid now I guess.

So it’s like TLDR: Jay and Nya are super interesting together, but Skybound is so damn weird that it makes the whole thing difficult.

[lliraels]

so I’m thinking about the trials.

they seem to be doing that classic quest narrative trope of “giving the character not what they think they want, but what they need”. or otherwise giving the character what they want, but in an unexpected way.

additionally, the characters seem to be learning their lessons (gaining their prizes) during the course of the trials themselves. it’s the journey, not what’s at the end of it. this makes me think there will be no further prize at the end of the road (except maybe a coven-wide prize?)

or maybe it’s more than the journey - it’s the coven (the friends we made along the way) who actually support each other to overcome the trials and claim their prize

the other theme is - X thinks they want power, but what they actually need is knowledge

but how do the trials look through this lens? and what does this suggest for the upcoming trial(s) - billy’s and/or rio’s?

my ranting under the cut. could be completely obvious and not insightful at all but hey i have to organise my thoughts

jen:

- appeared to overcome a mental/traumatic (rather than actually magickal) block to regain her powers

- her problem wasn’t being bound magickally - it was her lack of confidence

- she wanted power, but what she actually needed was self-knowledge

- the trial (and the coven - particuarly agatha’s pep talk) pushed jen to apply her knowledge and regain faith in her abilities

- i think we will come back to jen once more, to see her fully embrace her potential

alice:

- she thought she wanted to find her mother (or, the audience and other characters did)

- but what she actually needed was to break the curse and overcome her grief and confusion associated with her mother’s death (generational trauma yknow the deal)

- the coven (band) but particularly agatha helped alice to break the curse (it was agatha who pushed alice to confront her memories of and love from her mother, sing like a witch)

- i’m still not convinced that alice is perma-dead, but if she is - breaking the curse and making peace with her mother’s death was the point, and she achieved that

- alice’s trial doesn’t fit as well within the power/knowledge dichotomy. you could argue that alice thought she wanted to bring her mother back (power) but what she actually needed was to accept her mother’s sacrifice and come to terms with her own loss (knowledge?) idk

agatha:

- i still find this trial strange, too short and oddly edited. even with extra scenes, though, i think the core of this trial would remain the same - it is an interesting one that almost seems to break the pattern

- agatha thinks she wants her power back

- but what she actually needs is… to confront the effect of her power on herself and others? to confront her early trauma from the discovery of those powers, her mother and her original coven?

- i suspect that what agatha really needs is a coven itself - and to find her place/value within a coven

- in this trial, she hurt and alienated her coven, by killing one member of it. she chose her own survival over alice

- killing alice was questionably intentional, but i think agatha has at least the capacity to learn how to control her power.

- agatha doesn’t need power. she needs knowledge (about how to control her power).

- OR she needs another form of knowledge - to reach a state of acceptance re her powers, to fully come to terms with her destructive abilities

- agatha helped jen and alice to overcome their trials. nobody helped agatha to overcome hers. alice protected agatha, but this just gave her power - when what she actually needs is knowledge

- this same dilemma will return at the end to test her again, in a similar way (weighing her own survival against someone else she cares about) and perhaps this time her coven will help her and she will make a different choice

- the entire road is agatha’s trial, so i’m not too mad about this one weird ep. her trial is only half-done so far

lillia:

- lillia thought she wanted a return to the glory days, to be a real witch again (power)

- what lillia actually needed was to confront the power she already had, to embrace her sight, to be grateful and proud of the life she’s lived. another form of self-knowledge

- the coven didn’t directly help lillia to overcome her trial (no pep talks from agatha, who was just being kind of annoying godblessher)

- but the coven existing, and needing lillia… the empathy and understanding that lillia received from jen… the familiarity and solidarity between them… pushed lillia to understand that the trial was all about her, her own life and her own abilities

- an aside to say god im obsessed with this episode, i was smiling ear to ear after finishing it. i love lillia!!!!

SO, as of ep 7, im pretty confident that the trials:

- give the witch their prize (the journey, not the destination)

- give the witch what they need, not what they think they want

- are about granting knowledge, particularly self-knowledge (NOT power) (…although there is a question mark over alice, perhaps)

what does this mean for the upcoming trial(s)? billy’s and rio’s, depending on whether either or both of them are considered part of the coven. personally i think they both are. they’re all on lillia’s coven tarot card

billy:

- we thought he wanted power (as he told agatha in ep 2)

- billy thought he wanted to find his brother (power? not really, this is knowledge. but is it the knowledge that billy really needs?)

- i think billy voiced his quest in ep 7: am i billy or am i william? (self-knowledge)

- billy - the youngest, ostensibly the most naive - is actually the only member of the coven to correctly identify his own quest. good for him

rio:

- what does death want? what does death need? arguably, nothing. arguably, everything.

- does she want agatha (because she’s a survivor, because she hid from her, because rio loves her, because rio hates her, because rio wants her little serial killer back)?

- does she want billy (for cheating death, breaking the rules?)

- does she want all of them, one by one, body by body?

- if she wants her bodies, that’s power. but what does she need? is death all-knowing? does death know herself?

- maybe she needs to confront her own nature, and how this has impacted her relationship with agatha

- i literally don’t know but i want to see this play out so badly, i really hope rio gets her own trial.

anyway if anyone else has any thoughts to add to this, or if ive missed anything, pls let me know!

[jennycalendar]

yeah yknow what i wrote this today. i will put it here only :) i don't know WHO the target audience is (3 ppl?) but. sometimes a girl wants to put her girl places

Buffy noticed the girl first. Her hair was red and frizzy in a way that was basically asking for a Cordelia Chase dressing-down, and she wasn’t exactly thin, but she was surprisingly pretty even with all that happening. She was dressed like a grown-up, which…honestly, probably wouldn’t stop Cordy from saying something anyway, though it minimized the possibility that the blow would be cutting enough to take the girl out at the knees. Lady. She held herself like a girl, though, and she was about as tall as Buffy and Willow, which was probably what had thrown Buffy off in the first place. That, and the fact that she was sitting like Willow while Giles yelled at someone on the phone.

“—no, Thea, I am not being unreasonable, you’re being unreasonable!” Giles was saying. “To me? To a Hellmouth? Do you not have any other friends you can call upon?” A brief silence, presumably while the other person answered, and then Giles said, “Oh, I’m sorry, yes, of course your other friends are conveniently either indisposed or in England. Really, Thea, how terrible is—well, that’s hardly—she’s twenty-three, that is certainly old enough to make her own choices!” Another pause, during which Giles’s face reddened, and he said, “That is beside the point!”

“You can always send me back!” said the girl, raising her hand. British-y, Buffy observed, but not necessarily Watcher-y; the Watchers she’d met all felt a little more seasoned than this girl, and Giles probably wouldn’t be half so upset about another Watcher on the Hellmouth.

“Oh, I can, and I will, and as soon as I get this sorted with your mum, you are going back,” Giles snapped. Something on the other end of the phone caught his attention. “Yes, Thea, she is going back, because I hardly think that her falling in love with—what did you call him, a failed wizard? How is that even possible? No, don’t tell me—”

“He’s already buying a plane ticket,” said the girl helpfully.

“Marigold,” said Giles, “for the love of God, please let me manage this on my own.”

“Can I have the phone?” asked Marigold.

“Christ!” said Giles, shoved the phone at Marigold, and stalked into his office.

It was at this point that Marigold finally noticed the other person in the room. “Oh, hello, Buffy!” she said, as though they’d been friends for quite some time—which, yeah, sure, maybe everyone in England knew about Buffy, or at least everyone in England who knew Giles, so Buffy decided to just sit down and watch this. Way more fun than trying to do early-morning trig homework.

Marigold shifted the phone to her ear. “Hi, mumma!” she sang out. “You know he’s not going to change his mind. Mhm. Well, you know I’m not going to change my mind, and neither is my sweetheart. Hm. Yes. Yes. So is your plan to just send me to get killed on the Hellmouth, then? Because you know I’m very accident-prone and have a tendency for—well, yes, Mr. Giles is here, but there’s really only so much Mr. Giles can do, given the circumstances, and especially if he’s watching over a Slayer of his own, and I’d hardly call protecting me a Slayer’s top priority when really what she’s doing is—no, I am not being difficult. You’re the one who sent her daughter to a Hellmouth rather than accepting that she is getting married, never mind what you have to say about it.”

Oh, this was definitely going to be the topic of lunchtime conversation. Buffy pulled out a bag of popcorn.

The rustle of the bag opening caught Marigold’s attention. She glanced half over her shoulder, grinned a bit, and said, “By the by, mumma, Mr. Giles’s Slayer is positively adorable! So I hardly intend to put her out, asking her to protect me—yes, well, if you think I’m making unwise choices, perhaps you shouldn’t have sent me mostly unsupervised to a foreign country! Why, who knows what sort of wizards I might meet here? In point of fact, I believe Mr. Giles mentioned an Ethan Rayne surfaced here more than once—”

The dial tone rang out. Marigold dropped the phone delightedly and called, “Mr. Giles, she hung up on me!”

Giles poked his head out of his office and said, “And why did she do that?”

“I like to believe I was so desperately insufferable that she’s on the next plane over to Sunnydale,” said Marigold, “and then she’ll take me back home, and I can do what I like without her deciding on my behalf to send me here. Which, of course, I don’t mind overly, I just think she isn’t thinking very critically—”

“Nor are you,” said Giles. “Marigold, how old is this man?”

“Oh, wow, Giles,” said Buffy, unable to keep herself out of this part of the conversation. “So I date a guy two hundred years older than me and you don’t bat an eye, but this totally British grown-up is dating some wizard guy who’s probably totally human, probably way younger than Angel, and that’s a problem?”

Giles didn’t seem to know what to say to that.

“Buffy!!!” said Marigold exuberantly, as if they’d been besties forever, which, actually, Buffy kind of liked. Besties in dating older guys, apparently. “Come sit next to me and tell me all about your paramour. Mr. Giles didn’t say anything about that!”

“Thea is going to kill me,” said Giles to the ceiling. “Thea is going to fly here, see this conversation happening, and kill me.”

“Entirely your fault for negotiating with Thea,” said Marigold primly.

“I didn’t—you showed up at my house—she told me after the fact!” said Giles, who seemed too outraged to string a full sentence together without a few others tagging along.

Marigold took the phone and began dialing another number. Giles sat down heavily in the chair next to Buffy and buried his face in his hands. “Hello, sugarplum!” she sang. “Oh, of course it’s me! Don’t worry about that; this phone’s a Council phone, so it can make international calls magically and free of charge—”

“Are you calling him?!” said Giles, and made a mad dash for the phone.

Marigold yanked the phone out of the wall and danced back. Normally that usually ended a call, but the phone crackled with a funny, fizzy sparkle that tickled Buffy’s nose delightfully. “I just wanted to make sure you know that I’m having a lovely time and there really isn’t any need to come down and collect me!” she continued, scrambling back and away from Giles as he tried to grab the phone away from her. “I’m personally looking at this as an all-expenses-paid vacation while mumma gets her head on straight about this marriage, which absolutely is happening, so don’t worry about that either.” She listened. “Yes. Well, I am with a Watcher and his Slayer, so I’m surely going to be completely fine and there’s no need for you to come down and—sugarplum? Sweetheart?”

She frowned at the phone, shaking the receiver. After it became clear that either the other person had hung up or the weird magic connection had cut, she tossed it back absently towards Giles, who hadn’t been prepared for this and caught it directly to the face. He crumpled.

“Oh,” said Marigold, “fuck!”

“Eh,” said Buffy. “This is just Tuesday for him.”

[slocumjoe]

do you think any of the companions drink? what would their habits be?

how the companions booze it 🍻

Cait; Hard drinker who, surprisingly, can't hold her liquor. She gets drunk quickly, but takes some time to drop out of the race, so to speak. Obviously, she used drink out of trauma response, but having gotten clean from the drug addiction, Cait drinks sparingly and rarely. Like, actually eats as she does so. Doesn't drink water because Cait isn't a water drinker. Her drunkenness depends heavily on her mood pre-boozing. Her booze of choice is beer.

Curie; does not drink. However, did try wine. Did not like it. She just makes sure there's water and food available for the local alcoholics, and badgers them to partake in such necessities. The worst days at the clinic are days after a party and she likes to lessen that load as much as possible.

Danse; Alcoholic. One of the alcoholics Curie is always after. Danse drinks when he doesn't have work, to sleep. No exception. And he drinks a fucking LOT. Like...opposite to Cait, he takes a lot to get drunk, and even more to fall down. He chugs vodka, whiskey, tequila...basically, if even one shot isn't for the faint of heart, Danse takes swigs right from the bottle. It impresses some people, but he isn't doing it to impress. Danse isn't that kind of person who takes pride in his alcoholism. This problem gets worse after BB, but he gradually gets better as time goes on.

Deacon; used to have a problem, so now alcohol is kind of a...soft no. He'll have a drink. A drink. And it won't be anything too crazy. A glass of wine, a beer or two, maybe a shot. He drinks as a social thing, just to be polite. Customs, yknow? Besides, he wants to keep his head clear. Also suffers from bad hangovers. The type to spend the whole morning puking even if he didn't have that much.

Gage: Also used to have a problem. He wasn't an alcoholic, but rather, weak to peer pressure. He wanted to impress all the big tough raiders by putting away as much crap as they could. And for the most part, Gage very much could outdrink most people. But being that drunk that often is not safe for a young man in his position, and he learned real quick that its better to the smart stick in the mud than the fun, cool, vulnerable target.

Hancock; the type of guy to think his problem makes him cool and fun. Im sorry, but he is. Hancock is the kind of person who's like "yeah man I was barely walking and shit, I had like, 30 shots or something? Haha I forget dude! So I'm like half crawling back to my place and its fucking...what, 10 in the morning? And I got work in 2 hours man, and everyone on the streets looking at me weird, ahah, shit was crazy!" Hancock drinks whatever he has, with no preference or complaint. However, there's a specific brand of whiskey that burns like a mother fucker that he likes to drink to show off. Doesn't eat or drink water. Curie has yet to give up on him in all but spirit.

MacCready; the most normal, healthy drinker. He likes the occasional beer, but his soft spot is a margarita. Or a sangria. Not into alcohol on its own. He doesn't want to taste it. He'll rarely have a drink without food. Drinking water is his weakness here, as he also isn't a water person. Mac will have a beer with dinner, and maybe another, and maybe another if the vibe is right, and if he doesn't catch himself, will end up tipsy. If he doesn't catch himself at tipsy, homeboy is getting pickled.

Nick; Used to enjoy a martini, a brandy, a wine, a rum. A gentleman of refined taste. At least, thats what he'll say. OG Nick bought his alcohol based on coupons or whatever was cheap. This man drinks bud light. Now, Nick mostly just babysits people who can get drunk. But he used to have his alcohol in accordance to whatever he was eating. Sub from the shop down the corner? Donuts? Afformentioned bud light. Dinner with Jenny, homemade seafood pasta? A wine. He's big on the idea that certain drinks have rules.

Piper; wine bitch. Drinks out of a coffee mug if ones clean. If not...girly gets a straw. She doesn't have a problem, but you wouldn't know it if you saw her while she enjoyed a drink. Wine is pretty much the only drink she likes. Beer is gross, moonshine has done enough to her, vodka is too strong to be enjoyed. She likes wine because it tastes good to her. Her taste sways towards the dry ones. Because she drinks for the taste, she isn't keen on getting drunk, so Piper is good about staying fed and hydrated. When she isn't, her hangovers are...demonic.

Preston; drinks occasionally, and never wants to get drunk. He doesn't like the feeling of being drunk, though he doesn't get hangovers. Even when inebriated, Preston mama-hens and keeps everyone eating and chugging water, so he ends up taking care of himself as well. His taste is both broad and limited. He'll drink anything—provided its local. Preston will not drink a name brand. He doesn't want Heineken, he wants Craig's magic wheat poison. He doesn't want Franzia, he wants a bottle of whatever the twitchy lesbian living in a boat house has fermenting amongst the seaweed and barnacles.

X6-88; the only alcohol you could get this man to drink is alcohol disguised as dessert. Ole Smokey banana cream moonshine comes to mind. He'll know its alcohol, you can't hide it from him, but provided its tasty enough...you might get him to indulge a little. If only for the fact that its basically candy. Otherwise, he isn't drinking. He probably can't even get drunk, not without causing a shortage.

[omegatheimmortaldragonborn]

Character Study: Idolaf Battle-Born

Because I'm tired of seeing how quickly people kill him off, let's see if I can get myself to understand why you would OR show you why you shouldn't.

Feel free to request a character study in my ask box! It will help me keep track of them!

Neurological traits & Personality

There's a good chance he's neurodivergent, please bare with as I'm using my own experiences with this.

This isn't to say this is how all ND people act, although I shouldn't have to clarify that

He has a strong sense of justice - we see this with the imperial legion, he's a very strong supporter

He seems to lack the ability to feel empathy - eg. When talking to Fralia at the market (this isn't to say this applies to all ND people, as some experience quite the opposite)

While this could be just the voice acting, his voice lacks emotion (which i personally struggle with)

He doesn't actually seem to hate the Gray-Manes, only their choice in support. There's no dialogue in game where he insults or "drags" any of the family members. While yes, he can say he wants to throw Avulstein in jail, this can be linked back to the strong sense of justice

THORALD!!! He was looking into it himself, and if your speech is high enough you can persuade him to tell you. While his reasoning is blurry, it can be presumed he asked about because of concern. He mentions that they used to be friends, no doubt close too.

He knew the risks of asking about him, and he tells us he was told to mind his business but kept pushing for an answer

He believes letting the Gray-Manes think Thorald died would've been easier than telling them that no, he's alive, held captive by the Thalmor, in a place where you don't ever come out, and probably being tortured. - sense of Justice AGAIN

He gives you the letter anyway, too!

The market scene reinforces the lack of empathy theory, and the strong sense of justice, because he clearly cared enough about Thorald to go asking about him, had his answers (worse case scenario ones too) and came to the conclusion she was better off not knowing.

I think people tend to forget he grew up around the Gray-Manes too, so he's going to know their character alot better than the DB ever will.

Fralia already seems heartbroken over him going missing, which is probably why he made the decision not to tell her.

Often considered prideful, for example - would rather bend his knee to Ulfric than ask Eorlund for help. Again though, he grew up with the Gray-Manes and so them not picking the same side he did probably hurt like a bitch. (Sense of justiceeee)

Parenting

This part is the only part where I can fully understand why people may not like him as Lars is still being bullied.

There may be multiple reasons for this

Lars hasn't told him - very unlikely though since Alfhild (Idolafs wife) knows about it but he may just be closer with her

Has a more traditional approach to it, and tries to get him to stand up to her, which is most likely as it seems to be a common theme throughout Nords in general that you handle your own problems.

He has spoken to Armen and/or Sapphia about Braiths behaviour, but nothing came of it. Which to be fair is also a decent possibility, as someone who has been bullied most of my school life, typically parental intervention never really helps 💀

Other than that, he seems to try a decent amount. He tries to keep Lars out of trouble with the guards (climbing Dragonsreach cannot be legal 💀🤣), and Lars is outside most of the day too so he probably encourages him to play with the other kids in the hold. (Maybe not braith but yknow)

Anyway, if there's something I've missed feel free to leave a reply, I'm happy to try and explain them some more! :> not that I'm expecting anyone to see this like who actually scrolls Idolaf's tag 💀

Me, I do :)

[thatgirlonstage]

Actually insane over the fact that EoA chose to explicitly, textually tie Esteban’s decision to betray his family to his trauma over losing his parents. Like. It’s definitely a supported reading that this is some post facto justification for what was a decision actually motivated mostly by greed and ego, but what he himself says about it is that he felt like he could see a danger, that no one was listening to him when he tried to warn them about it and beg them to take a different course of action, and that the last time this happened both his parents wound up dead so this time he decided to be proactive about trying to protect the people he loves. And then he failed miserably at doing that because Shuriki betrayed him.

Like it’s an incredible choice because it’s genuinely very good writing that adds a ton of layers and complexity to his motivations—even if it is partially justification I don’t disbelieve him that it was a contributing factor, yknow?—and also I’m sitting here clutching my head losing my mind about it bc like. He and Elena are the same. They are foiled in so many interesting ways and their motivations are the same. They actually both struggle a ton with entrusting responsibility to other people when it’s about something important to them. They both want to protect Avalor and their families. They both lose their parents to something well beyond their control and are so terrified of losing anyone or anything else in the same way that they will do anything to be sure they aren’t helpless next time. They’re the same. The differences are that Elena is more altruistic than Esteban, who cares more about His people than about people In General (ie, Elena is more good-aligned vs Esteban is more neutral-aligned, tho I think there’s a decent case to be made that Esteban straddles the border a bit) and the narrative rewards her for that, and that Elena… trusts the right people. She trusts people who do ultimately have her back, and who will tell her when she’s trying to do too much on her own, and who ultimately have her best interests at heart. Esteban… It’s Complicated. Bc it’s not that he has no community or support, but it’s this sort of vicious cycle of 1) he doesn’t have very many people in his support circle and some of the people he does have are shitty friends (hi Victor), 2) he’s very bad at ceding control and trusting other people to tell him when he’s wrong, which yes is a flaw he needs to work on, but it’s also partially bc 3) a lot of his support circle is also very bad at treating his concerns and issues seriously (I’m going to get pissed about dia de las madres again, which I know is kind of unfair but also. Bite me.) and this got him orphaned in the past. So he ends up in this place where he’d rather shake hands with the devil because at least then he knows the terms of the deal. This consistently goes terribly for him, bc none of his devils are actually obligated to play fair and he is frequently tricked out of whatever concessions he thought he had gained, but how he got here makes sense. How he got here is worthy of sympathy. He is easily manipulated by people who pretend to listen to him, but that’s necessarily only the case because he spends a lot of time feeling like no one cares about listening to him. He spends a lot of time caring deeply about people who he knows love him but he feels like don’t trust him. He wants, desperately, to save them from an optimism that is warranted for them because they’re the protagonists, but was never rewarded for him.

[bestworstcase]

was rewatching a random rwby fight as is my habit, in this instance it was the cordovin mech fight and i Noticed something. when qrow switches his weapon from sword to scythe mode they put emphasis on the gears inside of it; the weapon this instantly made me think of was The Long Memory. (qrow also does more shapeshifting in this fight than I think we see in like, any other scene in the series). this makes me think that qrow didn't have his own custom weapon until after he started at beacon (makes sense, if he and Raven went in Jaune style) and probably not even until after STRQ got the RWBY treatment. thoughts? (also worth noting that Raven's weapon at present isn't unique to her at all, really; it's not custom designed or irreplaceable, her swords are meant to be broken. did she also have a beacon-era weapon, and if so, i wonder if it's sitting in a closet somewhere... and if it's got those same gears in it somehow) i find weapon design very interesting and even more so after V9 literally used weapons as representations of people's lives, souls, etc.

yknow something that's always kind of in the back of my mind is that the floral pattern on long memory's handle is echoed in due process and sundered rose, and as you note harbinger has the gears:

but stalwart doesn't have any such influence. nor does omen. both weapons belonging to characters who broke away from ozpin a long time ago:

glynda's weapon also does not have a perceptible influence from long memory, primarily because it's Literally Just A Riding Crop that she is using to focus her semblance but also narratively—ok like. think about this.

the first three—ironwood, qrow, summer—all of them were very close to ozpin, all of them trusted him and looked up to him enough to take aesthetic (& in qrow's case, mechanical) inspiration from long memory. and all of them became disillusioned with him and turned their backs on him in some way. summer left. qrow lashes out after learning the truth. ironwood ultimately rejects what ozpin stands for. they had ozpin on a pedestal that eventually, inevitably, broke.

lionheart has been spying for salem for a long time; raven "tried to leave" before summer vanished and then actually left afterwards. we know that raven, at least, never quite trusted ozpin in the first place, and we can infer that lionheart didn't trust ozpin enough to turn to him for help when salem first approached him. was there ever a pedestal to shatter? did they ever believe in him the same way ironwood, qrow, and summer did?

we've not seen taiyang's weapon yet, but he's not left his cabin in the woods since the fall of beacon as far as we know and even twelve years ago he did not seem to think very highly of ozpin. i think it could go either way, but i bet he's in the stalwart/omen camp.

theodore's gloves might also go either way—it doesn't sound like they have the floral pattern or filigree as described in the CFVY novel, but that doesn't necessarily mean it won't be there in the show—but based on his conduct in before the dawn i think he's probably in the due process/sundered rose/harbinger camp.

and then... there's glynda, who trusted and respected ozpin but also never really comes across as subordinate to him in the way that ironwood or qrow did during the beacon arc (or qrow after). not in the sense that she didn't work for him or wasn't willing to follow his lead, but their working relationship at beacon very much comes across as an equitable partnership, notwithstanding the information he's hiding. and since the fall of beacon, she's remained in vale, working tirelessly to put the kingdom back together and fighting to reclaim the school. there's no trace of long memory on her weapon, but her emblem is a crown. you know, like the relic of choice.

glynda might be the one member of his inner circle who was there because she believed in his ideals rather than because she believed in him, and that's why she's the one who hasn't collapsed without him.

[solarianradiance]

Spoiler free (mostly)

Is it good?

Yes.

Is it for everyone?

Nope.

Should you get it?

Yes, if you are into exploring emotional angst, depression, art, socializing and the struggles that comes with them.

If you are hoping to explore things and character on your own terms at your own pace, you will be disappointed. It's very linear with only forks in the path.

If there are characters you want an in-depth exploration outside of Olivia, at least at significant length, be ready for a bit of a let down.

You are Inco and as the name of the story implies, it's about Olivia, an Alligator Artist that is crippled. Mostly by her emotional trauma regarding something within her recent past that leaves her feeling like shes being used and condescended to, only receiving praise out of pity rather than her work being judged objectively, creating an air of "Nothing I do matters and I feel like a burden on others" around her.

I shall say no more on that front. Her story left me quite empathetic to her.

Also, just to be clear, shes not dying of anything like it might have been implied at points. She just has no use of her legs from the knees down and feels like its making others treat her differently.

As stated before, story is very linear with some forks in the road. These forks will net you a different ending as well as different paths with significant variations of what transpires. So theres actual replay value.

The characters feel like they are all 3-dimensional, even if it doesn't quite seem like it one the surface at first. Take Damien for example, while what you see is what you get, theres a bit more going on under the hood with him.

Lions share of the tale takes place in School, Olivia's Home and out doing activities such as the arcade with friends, so the intriguing dynamic between characters is tested, but it's mostly for Olivia's sake. Which is reasonable, but it feels like she gets a bit too much attention from the writing.

But otherwise, when you get that true ending, by golly does it feel earned with that sense of triumph!

My next point is that 5 things stand out to me as drawbacks.

1: There is simply too much of the spotlight on Olivia.

Olivia is the titular character and the center of the tale, but she hogs the spotlight, almost smothering the life out of the story. I like her as a character, but she is overexposed for it, dominating the narrative. It's usually all about her, directly or indirectly.

This dampens her character, making it feel like shes overly imposing on the reader and hardly lets other characters have their own real moments on their own.

2: The player lacks agency in choosing whom to interact with and how.

As previously stated, the story is very linear. Not just with forks in the road, but with choices that don't seem to matter that much, at least obviously. The only 4 option choice that I recall was what food to order and it always seemed to elicit the same response.

Furthermore, you cannot choose who you want to talk to or how to interact with them. This would have taken a drastically different approach to storytelling, but this is a Visual Novel, one that pays $15US. There really should be considerably more options on how the reader wishes to engage with the story and not be such a passive participant outside of the few forks.

If the story wants Inco to talk to Olivia in a specific manner, then by God he will. I'm not exactly asking for a hundred choices here, just a few more at more frequent times. The ability to choose who to talk to and get to know them more on my terms would have helped things feel more compelling.

3: Too many characters feel like they are side-lined and forgotten about.

Yknow the Gym Teacher in the introductory portion of the story, who totally isn't the Soldier from TF2 as a Bat (I think?)? Yeah he sorta ceases to matter afterwords.

This happens quite a bit with various characters.

4: The time-frame of the story is simply too short for it's own good.

The majority of the story takes place between September and December. While a lot can happen within a single day (which happens a few times), there does not feel like there is a need for this.

They could have easily stretched this story over the course of an entire school year, but chose not to for whatever reason. When you are in December for the dance, you are in the final stretch of the tale.

It creates a sense of "Cut-off" that ought to have no occurred. Perhaps this is personal taste, but, it gives the sense of Inco & Olivia's relationship feeling slightly rushed. 4 months to fall in love is a bit fast realistically, regardless of their cravings for love and companionship.

5: Many scenes go on for too long.

Much of the writing feels like it retreads what has already been trotted upon or just lingers on a matter for simply too long when it should have move on by now. Creating a sense of chaff in the writing.

The 5 pillar characters are Inco, Olivia, Mr. Iadakan, Ben & Mia.

These 5 are at the center of what drives the narrative forward and have far reaching affects on the plot.

Inco & Olivia have ample exploration and development.

Iadakan feels like he could have had 2 or 3 more scenes.

Ben & Mia needed 4 or 7 scenes apiece.

Especially Mia.

========= Mild spoilers. =========

Holy crap, of all the characters in this story that needed the spotlight more, it was her. It was one of the things I wanted and sadly, we do not get that.

If you paid attention to the drawbacks I mentioned, she is the poster child of all those issues. I really wanted to get a sense of her way of thinking and the reasons for her behavior. Just like with Olivia.

I really wanted Inco to confront her, 1-on-1 on mutual terms and either talk it out or brawl it out. It feels like she needed somebody to talk to or fight with. But nope, you do not get any of that. Mia's purpose is about one note and that's it, to be the antagonist.

This whole situation of the story's issues leaves me feeling like there is a large chunk of missing story.

As in, it feels like I only got 70% of this thing. Like they forgot to add the portions for her and Ben.

Now, to be even handed, it's not entirely unreasonable to not get her side of the story and leave it unexplored. Not every villain needs their reasons revealed or a sympathetic light shined upon them. Sometimes bad people are just bad.

But in the context of the story that things are not quite what they seem and there is a reason for people acting the ways that they do... this is a big fat fuck up.

I was expecting a single 1v1 scene between her and Inco at some point, but it never ever comes, at least in the endings I got, including the 4th ending. Which is a big shame, because I truly wanted to get to know her and Ben better.

Speaking of which.

If you want the true ending keep the following in mind.

Respect Olivia's agency.

Encourage Olivia

Challenge Olivia

Let her make her choices for better or worse.

Do NOT collaborate with Ben.

======================= Spoilers end. =======================

Anyways, I do recommend I wani hug that gator, maybe get it on sale if you are not sure.

It's not for everyone as you can tell by what i have written here. I liked the story a lot, but it does have issues, even for those who are interested in the topics and what transpires.

But there is a compelling nuance going on here, so if you are into longer reads and like the idea of an artist trying to accept herself in spite of what others might think of her, and taking up the offers of help in spite of what she thinks of herself, give it a shot.

[invinciblerodent]

woke up pacing up and down mentally about contrasting my Josie-mancer mLavellan Harwen, and my planned fAldwir Syl, and the ways they are going to experience their elvishness

because I think I'm going to wind up making her struggle eerily similar as the one I gave him back in the day.

(rambling under the cut)

i mean for Harwen (who initially never really had any doubts and hangups about being Dalish, he was just straight up an elfy elf raised in a forest and a useful member of his clan), becoming Inquisitor in his timeline was primarily a story about a profound loss being replaced with a subsequent gain of a new, far more personal identity than the previous.

Losing his role as huntmaster and gaining a new one as "the herald of Andraste" had allowed him to break out of his predetermined role within the clan (one that he had originally accepted without question), while more or less letting him maintain his Dalish identity. But eventually, him loving Josephine ended up working as something of a symbol of him choosing to be the individual man he became during the story, rather than returning to either identity imposed upon him by outside expectation.

(it really crystallized for me that he wants to be neither Herald nor Huntmaster when, while playing him, I decided that he chose to desecrate holy grounds of his people during What Pride Had Wrought out of fear for her -a shemlen's- life specifically.) (Simply put, he elected not to honor the rituals and run through the temple instead, because the longer he dallied, the longer would she also be in danger.)

And at the end of the game's plot, I basically had him choose to forsake his heritage in favor of staying in human society, and move to Antiva to stay with Josie- primarily for love, but on a deeper level, for the singular kind of personal acceptance he never did find with his very own people.

It wasn't an easy choice, abandoning all that he had known before and sacrifice so much, and it continues to be a sore spot for him (possibly for life- I once gave him a line that went something like "no gilded saddlery will make a wild donkey into a thoroughbred, and wrapping your elf in silks and velvet won't make him a noble suitor either"), but... well, he had always been a man who lived with a layer of glass hanging between him and the community. What's being an outsider in a different culture, if it means having honest, devoted, kind love that extends beyond his performing of a function. (which yeah, that may have been me channeling my own feelings of inadequacy and separation from my own culture through him, but yknow, what the hell, having him silently struggle with loss and the guilt of not feeling more guilty despite being actually happy continues to be cathartic to me lol.) (it's pretty autobiographical for the place I was in back then, lol.)

--

For Syl on the other hand, I've been rotating in my head some plans about a potential love triangle between her, Neve, and Bellara, and kind of using that romantic conflict as a representation of the diverging paths ahead of Syl, with either woman being sort of a representative of the two "warring" sides of her.

I'm thinking of her so far as an Orlesian-born city elf (her backstory is a bit foggy still, but I kind of want her to have met and become utterly infatuated with Neve in some context before the start of the game, partly because sapphic yearning, and partly because it'd represent her upbringing to a degree) who later elected to join the Veil Jumpers as a desperate attempt to try and connect with the culture she was always told was supposed to be hers (the Dalish). As one such person, she would have experienced a lot of rejection from both sides: always too Orlesian for the Dalish, and too elvish to be more than "just an elf" in the eyes of the Orlesians. She is, in all respects, a woman in-between.

I think I'd like either outcome a lot, and it would either play on the same theme as Harwen's story, or be pretty much its opposite. And I know nobody but me cares about this, but fuck, I'm just vibrating with excitement over getting to play with new dolls in Thedas again, lol

And now I'm toying with which way I want her to go. Which means that choosing between the human- and the Dalish woman will probably represent which part of her own self she is going to choose to embrace: Is she going to end up as a city elf in Tevinter (potentially a bad time) by Neve's side, or will she remain a Veil Jumper and embrace Dalish tradition (which skin will never truly fit as it should) by Bellara's?

I think this is going to be a situation where change and complacency are kind of all mixed together in this odd soup where the two options are somehow both representative of both those things at the same time, and it'll ultimately come down to how resistant Syl is going to be to everything, and which person she is with either woman she likes better.

[vvooper]

ok I'm making another ffvii character pokemon team post because I cannot be stopped. here's barret

a couple of these were more difficult to come up with, but I didn't even have to think about a few of the others. details under the cut

his sprite is a recolor of lt surge. the outfit and sunglasses were made for him. nothing I could do about his arm though

species: coalossal

ability: steam engine

item: heavy-duty boots

moves: flamethrower, power gem, body press, iron defense

a coal pokemon named after corel seemed like an obvious choice, given its coal mining history. heavy-duty boots because we follow workplace health and safety standards in this household.

the rest of the set isn't all that exciting. flamethrower because of... yknow. and body press and iron defense more generally feature because of how tanky barret is

species: octillery

ability: moody

item: assault vest

moves: fire blast, octazooka, flash cannon, charge beam

dyne the octillery features as one of the vaguely gun-shaped pokemon.

I gave him the moody ability because he acts pretty erratically, especially in rebirth. all of his moves are also vaguely gun-shaped. charge beam specifically because he uses electrical mines in his rebirth fight.

species: kangaskhan

ability: scrappy

item: protective pads

moves: fake out, return, low kick, safeguard

barret is such a dad that we have to represent his relationship with marlene with kangaskhan. she gets the protective pads to help keep her safe :)

return because she loves her dad a lot. low kick because she's tiny and low to the ground I guess lmao. and safeguard because again barret just wants to keep her safe

species: avalugg

ability: own tempo

item: rocky helmet

moves: avalanche, take down, stomping tantrum, recover

I mean how could I not?

own tempo ability because terrorists tend to go against the grain a bit. in addition, barret's particular avalanche cell is doing their own thing separately from the rest of avalanche.

avalanche as the first move... again how could I not? take down because we're stickin it to shinra. and stomping tantrum represents barret's temper.

species: magmortar

ability: vital spirit

item: heat rock

moves: fire blast, focus blast, solar beam, sunny day

catastrophe is barret's ultimate limit break. this calls for another vaguely gun-shaped pokemon!

again, barret is rather spirited, so ability is vital spirit.

fire blast and focus blast are explosion-shaped moves. solar beam in particular was chosen because catastrophe really is just kind of a giant laser

species: ting-lu

ability: vessel of ruin

item: assault vest

moves: lash out, earthquake, payback, ruination

I wanted to continue with giving everybody one legendary, mythical, or ultra beast, but I actually had a pretty tough time landing on one for barret. I'm still not super happy with it, but I decided to go with the angle of how barret's actions against shinra are in large part motivated by revenge. the treasures of ruin seemed like decent options for that since they're embodiments of negative emotions. while wo-chien represents grudges, I thought ting-lu was more fitting as a ground-type given barret's previous occupation. I named it angermax after another of barret's limit breaks (and one that, under certain conditions, is actually stronger than catastrophe).

the moves lash out and payback both reflect barret's motivations against shinra. ruination of shinra is of course his ultimate goal.

don't know if anyone will actually be interested enough to follow these, but I'll do one for tifa next. you can find the one I did for cloud here

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi WQA I hope everything’s been good!

I wanted to know- how do I depict a character arc of “reluctant hero/chosen one” without it being… how to explain it? Like the usual Disney type of stuff?

I want my MC to be given a power that they do not want to deal with and are now stuck with- plus leading a bunch of peeps to destroy the big bad guy- but I really have no idea (I mean I have a few story beats in mind but it’s still REALLY fuzzy yknow?) how to show them going from “ew I don’t want to deal with this” to becoming a leader and eventual ruler- how do I depict the arc?

Thank you very much friend!

Non-Cliché Reluctant Hero/Chosen One Arc

There are some specific things that make the Chosen One arc cliché, and honestly, not great a lot of the time. We'll go through some of those things and talk about what can be done instead.

1 - Fate vs Destiny - One of the biggest issues of the Chosen One trope is that all too often, the hero--whether reluctant or not--doesn't have a choice in their role as the Chosen One. They are fated to do the thing that only they can do, so every decision they make is preordained to lead to that outcome. If they're fated to save the world by sacrificing themselves, that's going to happen no matter what. This strips them of any agency they might have in the story. There is the illusion of choice, but all roads lead to their fate. And, honestly, it's not much fun to watch someone rise to greatness when it's the only possible outcome. Solution: Destiny can be changed... it can be shaped by choices. If a character is destined to save the world by sacrificing themselves, that outcome can be avoided. They can find a way to save the world without sacrificing themselves. They could even refuse the call if it somehow set off a chain of events that still led to the world being saved. A Chosen One with agency is much more satisfying to watch than one who is doomed to their fate.

2 - Give Them a Choice or Make Refusal an Option - Prophecies (which can be fate or destiny), bloodlines, or being the only one in possession of a unique gift leaves little to no room for choice. They didn't choose to get involved with a particular cause. And if they'd refused the call, they would have looked terrible. They may have agency later on in that their choices actually matter, but what difference does it make if they're making choices in service of a cause they had no choice but to accept? Solution Option #1: Put them on their path by choice. For example, in The Hunger Games, if Katniss's name had been pulled from the Reaping ball, she wouldn't have had any choice in being a tribute. But because it was her sister's name that was chosen, she made the choice to volunteer to take her place. Since she was the first person in District 12 ever to volunteer as tribute, no one would have expected her to make that sacrifice, and we as the reader wouldn't have even known it was possible. So, while from an emotional and moral perspective, there was really no other choice she could have made (she wasn't going to let that happen to her beloved sister), she still made the choice. She was still the master of her own destiny, and continued to be as the story went on. It can also be argued that volunteering as tribute wasn't even the thing that made Katniss the Chosen One, but rather her behavior and actions during the games that earned her a role as the icon of rebellion. So, "hero-by-deed" is another option to give your character some choice in their role. Solution Option #2: Give them a viable alternative, but one which has an undesirable drawback. For example, let's say your character has a unique magical gift and that's why they're chosen, but whoever delivers the call gives them the option to transfer that ability via magical spell to another person. The drawback is the gift won't be quite as potent in another person, and also they'll lose all their memories associated with ever having or using that gift. Now they have a viable choice. They might lose their unique ability and all associated memories, but they don't have to be in a situation they didn't choose.

3 - Prophecy for the Sake of Prophecy - Too often, prophecy is used as the basis of why the character is the Chosen One, however the prophecy is superficial and serves no other purpose. Solution: If you use a prophecy as the basis of why your character is the Chosen One, make sure the prophecy is fleshed out, relevant to the world and plot, and serves more purpose than being an explanation.

4 - Salvation in the Hands of a Child - Another Chosen One cliché is when the Chosen One--whether a child, young adult, or amateur--is surrounded by people who are better skilled, more knowledgeable, and better qualified to save the day, but still somehow the fate of the universe rests on the Chosen One's shoulders. Solution: Make sure there's a reason why the character, despite lacking in qualifications, is still the best option to save the day. Also, have them receiving lots of help and guidance from the more qualified people around them. Let them struggle as they acquire new skills, and have them really need that help from others. It should be a group effort to some degree. Let other characters be important.

5 - Proficiency at Lightning Speed - There are few things that make a reader's eyes roll faster in a Chosen One story than when the previously uninitiated Chosen One answers the call, then very quickly becomes proficient in whatever skills are needed in order for them to fulfill their destiny. Solution: Again, let them struggle as they acquire the necessary skills. It should take a believable amount of time for them to do the thing well, and there should bot lots of failures and setbacks. As much as I hated the Disney+ sequel to Willow, one thing they did right is have their Chosen One really struggle with learning to use and control the magic that was in them all along. It was pretty close to the end of the season before they became adept enough to really make a difference.

Bonus - Here's a lightning round of things to avoid: the over-the-top underdog Chosen One, the "All Powerful" Chosen One, the Chosen One who never has to make tough decisions, the Chosen One who is ordinary for no reason, the Chosen One who is defined by their destiny, the Chosen One who is special for the sake of being special, the Chosen One who has no autonomy and no agency, the Chosen One who only puts others first and never considers their own safety/wants/needs, the Chosen One who doesn't get to have a life beyond their Chosen One role.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

Learn more about WQA

Visit my Master List of Top Posts

Go to ko-fi.com/wqa to buy me coffee or see my commissions

[pxme-granate]

🌿Cadence Headcannons🌿

She lives with her mom and grandmother in a cottage-type house that’s isolated in a forest-y area…i’m picturing a place like the location of Jemmity Park

Her house looks old, slightly reclaimed by nature, and her station door does too; the wood planks are cracked and splintering, and the handle is tarnished brass

Since no one can remember her except for people who learn how, she’s really close with her mom and grandmother, but especially her grandmother; they had a lot of time to bond when her mom was working

Baz definitely never learned how to remember Cadence, so she’s practically her own patron; she basically just uses his name so she can get through the trials and wunsoc stuff

She can sing really well, but she’d rather die than willingly let anyone listen to her (she’s not used to people perceiving her) (this headcannon exists purely because I want a morrigan+cadence duet that’s equally “the mortifying ordeal of being known” for the both of them, what with morrigan’s song of choice and all :)

Cadence didn’t have many friends to occupy her time as a kid, so she has a lot of hobbies. She’s really well-read, she knows how to sing (which helps stave off loneliness, right?), she can climb trees in seconds flat, etc etc

I imagine she’s read a lot of classics. She absolutely won’t, but she can quote Shakespeare to people and she knows flower language/meanings. It’s important to me that you know that (she and Mahir bond over flower languages eventually)

Poisonous berry/deadly mushroom/lily pads over a dark pond aesthetic

Because she grew up in the forest, Cadence is the Designated Bug “Killer” wherever she goes. Whenever there’s a bug on hometrain, she’ll pick it up and toss it through the door (Miss Cheery is maybe just slightly scared of bugs, not to mention everyone else, so this is very helpful)

Slight au, but she gives me werewolf vibes, like a lone wolf kind of thing; “don’t bark if you can’t bite” yknow