#the one character that can't make a rash decision but makes many rash decisions in the process of abstaining from the larger one

[dalliancekay]

On How Aziraphale Protects and Loves Crowley

I'm just tired of all the BS I read about Aziraphale. Again. Because, no, Crowley is not the plot driver and truth holder in GO. Yes, he loves Aziraphale and his actions are lead by the love but Aziraphale is not in the story just for Crowley to love the sweet naïve angel and eventually, hopefully lead him to the right path and then get him as a trophy for all his patience and understanding. Aziraphale also loves Crowley and his own decisions and actions are driven by that. He is not just some negating force to be overcome and Crowley is not the one patiently helping him get there. That's not their story. Aziraphale is not a dumb damsel in distress who Prince Charming has to rescue from a tower where she's asleep and blind to how her family is treating her so he can whisk her away. Aziraphale is his own person with his own truth and desires and goals (and they are valid and reasonable and rational). And he is good and kind. He ALWAYS was. And those goals of his are not in opposition to Crowley even when they are sometimes different to what Crowley wants. He does not need to be changed so Crowley gets what he wants. One is not a BAD and the other a GOOD character. Not in the least. I thought it was blatantly obvious by making them a literal demon and a literal angel. Sure, I love all the HCs about Crowley, but not if they are made at the expense of Aziraphale and unfortunately, they often are. If you care about Aziraphale, perhaps stop sometimes and consider, am I implying something about Aziraphale here that I did not intend? It's Crowley who teaches Aziraphale... it's Crowley who shows Aziraphale... it's Crowley who understands and is waiting for Aziraphale to see... why?? Why keep describing their beautiful relationship in this one sided way? Why so many find fault in Aziraphale in comparison, in opposition to something Crowley does or says or wants or is assumed to think? Please consider how these takes belittle Aziraphale and his person just like Heaven always belittled him; treating him as stupid, clueless and just waiting to be lead down the correct path and how much this would hurt him, HURT CROWLEY and humans that love him and identify with him. If you like Good Omens, try to rewatch it and look at Aziraphale, assume he is smart and good and brave and courageous and in love with Crowley and consider why he is doing what he's doing and saying. Consider how he is doing his very best in an extremely shitty situation. For a LONG time. So here's my rant today on why Aziraphale does what he does.

Let's start in Before the Beginning

Can't count how many times I saw people be angry with Aziraphale for telling Crowley about Earth and the plan to destroy everything about 6000 years after that particular project gets started. It's the reason Crowley fell apparently, it's the reason he's depressed, how could Aziraphale do that, why is he so mean... (not to mention that Crowley apparently also created the whole Universe basically by himself and the giddy sweet angel is also one of the highest Archangels too) I don't know what you wanted Aziraphale to do? Keep quiet so Crowley finds out from someone else? Has the kind of outburst he had in front of others? I think (and I bet Crowley'd agree) that Aziraphale was the best thing that could have happened to him at that moment. The anxious angel was kind and tried to explain and warn him to be careful. Did it work? We don't know. We don't know why Crowley fell. But if he did keep asking questions that were not welcome, that is certainly not Aziraphale's fault.

Do I really need to point out how upset Aziraphale is about the Flood? How he carefully words his statements, hoping Crowley will not do something rash, try something that will get him into trouble? This is not the first war or disaster they experienced. And far from the last. Do you really think Aziraphale didn't care about the kids? After being on Earth since the first kid ever was conceived? Did you miss how they say they can't disobey? (Crowley does not say it in the show, but he does in the book)

Why are people angry at Aziraphale for this? It's one step over - do you come here often? I think so anyway. He was just trying to be friendly to Crowley who was in a foul mood. It was not Aziraphale's fault and anyway, his awkward pick up line or whatever it was, did end up amusing Crowley when the angel tried to tempt him and he did manage to lift Crowley's mood. "Still in sales then?" Is absolutely the kind of stupid question I'd ask at an office party the cool person I wanted to be friends with, knowing full well they are in sales for the past 5 years (and therefore far less awkward than I am).

And perhaps that was the moment that seeded the idea of the Arrangement for Crowley. If the angel can tempt just as well as he can, perhaps they can trade jobs sometimes.

Do you think Aziraphale's fear is unfounded? (And do you see how he can't help but grin that someone sees them as a couple and how unbothered Crowley is by Aziraphale doing his protecting words thing?)

It's SAFEST to deny their friendship out loud.

Heaven WOULD try to hurt them over their friendship/ PARTNERSHIP. He always knew they would.

And so would Hell.

Six thousand years people say, 6000 years Crowley waited and it's too fast for Aziraphale? I MEAN REALLY

The poor heartbroken angel who just had to hand a LETHAL weapon to his beloved and will never forgive himself for this. Especially if something bad would happen. Can you imagine the weight on his heart?

Remember?

This is not an HC. This is how Crowley feels.

(Yes I know people HC that he does not care, that he wanted to Fall, that he chose to Fall, that he Fell doing something he believed in - but those are HCs, what Crowley says is that he didn't mean to Fall, that he hang out with the wrong guys, he tries to talk to God just like Aziraphale does and he does it by himself, he's not pretending for someone, it doesn't seem to be an act. And given the Angel!Crowley we know, that all seems plausible, although S3 might prove me wrong, who knows)

Have you ever been hurt by someone you love? By someone you know loves you? Someone who at the moment wants a different thing than what you do? Doesn't see what you want your way? What did you tell them at the height of an argument? Did you pick the worst thing you know they hate about themselves that would hurt them and throw it in their face? Did Aziraphale shout fine! Go! Damned, unforgiven, forever lost creature! No. He did not.

If that's not an expression of I will love you no matter what than I don't know what is. Well maybe this

You know what Crowley never got from Heaven (nor Hell)?

The feeling of being needed.

Why is understanding your partner and doing things they like a bad thing? Why is Aziraphale stating this a BAD thing? Why is he blamed for doing something they both enjoy? Do you think Crowley doesn't know that he's in love with a powerful ageless being bigger than we can imagine?

How else does Aziraphale protect Crowley?

Maybe the Ball wasn't strictly for Maggie and Nina. Maybe it wasn't just a chance to dance with his beloved. Maybe it was also a way to make sure his demon stays close by after the threats by Shax.

And do you remember that time Aziraphale stopped two thugs in a foggy cemetery to borrow a phone to check on Crowley when he was reminded of how he was taken from him some 200 years prior?

And what about this?

And you know what else does Aziraphale do for Crowley?

Trusts him

Teases him

Makes him laugh

Goes back to his abusers to protect him

And looks at him like this:

I run out of the 30 allowed images

[soren-apologist]

i'm personally playing through PoR right now and so i'm Tellius-brained to fuck and i just. have so many thoughts about how willing these games are to be messy. like a decent amount of the playable units... aren't good people, or otherwise have noticeable flaws that could seriously fuck them over if left unchecked. from Shinon and Makalov being just kind of awful, to Soren withdrawing from the world and lashing out in his own ways — understandable given his upbringing, but nonetheless something he needs to work on — or Ike's fairly consistent throughline of rash behaviour and statements without stopping to consider who he's talking to and the problems it would cause, or Elincia's tendency in PoR to ignore the legitimate weight her life holds and she really can't just be throwing it away for the sake of those close to her, even if due to Ike and his army that still works out (and I have. even more thoughts about the way that decision gets paralleled in RD and, while Elincia makes the hard but necessary decision to let Lucia go for the sake of her country, Ike is still there to intervene and save her, and himself would not and could not make that decision), or Lethe and Jill before they get some perspective of the people they've been demonising for so long and mellow out, or Micaiah's legitimately dangerous degree of attachment to a country that would probably despise her if they knew her heritage that pushes her to a lot of horrible decisions throughout Part 3, or Pelleas' gullibility and the consequences it has for everyone around him, or Almedha's obsessive, possessive worry for Pelleas and willing to ignore everyone's wellbeing so long as he's okay — most of these people aren't even particularly bad people, and are capable of improvement that they do make, but they're pushed into situations where their flaws get magnified and they struggle to navigate around them. Tellius has, for my money, some of the best overall cast in the series because it's willing to have them fuck up and be awful to each other without that being the complete end of things. they get to be flawed and also get to move past that. they learn and change and improve and forgive. i don't have a proper conclusion here, i just. love these characters.

you. you get it.

i swear these games were designed in a lab to latch onto your brain as effectively as possible, and the more time you spend analyzing them the worse it gets lmao

also yeah, your point about the characters being flawed in a way that makes them so compelling is spot-on. like you said, part of it’s that the writing actually allows them to make mistakes and be assholes in ways that feels organic and like they have actual consequences. the obvious example here is in fe9 when soren’s spiteful outburst at the laguz ultimately gets ike hurt while jumping in to protecting him, but in general the idea of essentially fucking around and finding out is something that consistently follows these characters in ways that actually feel narratively satisfying.

it’s especially stark when you compare it to how a lot of other fe games handle this sort of thing, where a lot of the time they’ll instead try to gloss over any potential personality flaws for the sake of making them more generically appealing, or bending over backwards to justify their faults so that the player doesn’t have to feel bad about their faves not being perfect or whatever.

i actually kinda wanna go back and look further into that one scene i mentioned earlier, because besides showing active consequences for being a dickhead, it also does a fantastic job of demonstrating the personalities of each character involved. it’s honestly pretty emblematic of just how good these games are at showing and not telling, and the degree of depth these characters have.

to start with, soren’s acerbity and aggression towards the laguz who’ve been helping the mercenaries up to this point initially seems uncharacteristically short-sighted and stupid for someone as careful and strategic as he is, but as you get to know him more you begin to realize that it’s largely the result of years of horrific abuse and mistreatment that he had managed to keep buried up until this point. while soren is normally fairly adept at keeping his emotions locked down, when you take into account the combination of what is pretty likely a PTSD response being triggered by being around what he perceives as his past abusers, the stress of handling the greil mercenaries in greil’s absence, and the additional emotional strain of being around a grieving ike— recall that soren is described as being very empathetic and sensitive to the emotions of those around him— it would honestly be more shocking if he hadn’t’ve cracked from the stress at that moment.

next, lethe. despite the fact that soren is oftentimes blamed for what happens, the truth of the matter is that she was pretty much the main instigator. lethe is incredibly proud of her laguz heritage, and as a result is deeply hostile to beorc, whom she perceives as oppressors and all deserving of the same hostility she believes that they show her. because of this, she seems to fully expect that the mercenaries will just roll over and take her verbal abuse: not only are she and mordecai actively aiding them, but also as the oppressors of laguz they all deserve to feel the suffering they’ve caused over the years. it’s honestly kind of comical just how quickly she flips out when she realizes that soren will not, in fact, take her shit, and will instead actively insult and goad her on. her hotheadedness is especially shown through the fact that, despite being directed by caineghis to aid the mercenaries and keep them safe, she then immediately commands mordecai to fucking assault soren lmao.

speaking of mordecai, i think this scene is one of the only times you get to see him genuinely enraged. considering how much of a serene, gentle giant he’s characterized as in the rest of his screen time, it’s kind of unsettling to see him driven to the point where his judgment is clouded so badly he attempts to attack someone that he, once again, was commanded to aid. i think that’s because, while not nearly as severe as lethe, he still harbors the pain of how the beorc have treated laguz. while he’s generally able to look past this and bond with beorc he himself believes are good, it’s still potent enough to bring out that lingering rage and resentment when actively provoked.

and then there’s ike, who, without hesitation, proceeds to jump in front of soren and take a rampaging mordecai to the face to protect him. while i see people chalk up ike’s recklessness to just being an inexperienced youth, i think it represents one of the most fundamental aspects of him as a character— despite his stoic exterior, ike feels powerfully. his bluntness? he fully means everything he says and has no reason to soften or sweeten his words. his temper? he has an incredibly strong moral compass and genuinely cannot sit by and watch a perceived injustice be committed. finally, his recklessness? ike can’t bear to see his loved ones hurt, and needs to protect them.

there are actually a few other examples of this happening outside of this particular scene, like when he blindly charges to go save mist and rolf when they’re kidnapped. the common theme of them, and the apparent source of his reckless behavior, is someone he loves being threatened.

all this to say, when he sees soren in danger of literal death (and that’s not an exaggeration with how frail his defenses are) when mordecai charges him, there isn’t a single second of pause before he’s protecting soren with his own body. it’s especially telling how, even in the aftermath, ike pretty clearly has no regrets over his rash decision, and would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping soren safe.

in the immediate aftermath, it’s pretty clear to see how horrified soren, lethe, and mordecai all are over the fact that an otherwise innocent party was hurt through their own mistakes.

mordecai immediately calms down and ultimately apologizes to ike multiple times, as he’s deeply horrified with the violence he committed while lost to his own rage. while you do see him angry at later points in the story, it’s never to the extent that he loses control of himself in the same way he does in this scene, which suggests to me that it affects him enough to never let himself be consumed again.

lethe and soren seem to undergo similar changes as a result, too. while still relatively hostile, lethe never threatens violence against her beorc allies, and even seems to carry a great deal of shame over her inability to control her emotions and follow her king’s orders. likewise, you never see soren snap like this again: seeing the only person he’s ever truly cared for be hurt as a direct consequence of his actions seems to shake him to his very core. in fact, you can actually see his changed demeanor— both as a result of this scene and his later supports with ike— in his interactions with skrimir, where he’s consistently able to manage his frustration and discomfort with the loudest, dumbest-of-ass laguz you could find on the continent. it’s so apparent that it’s even commented on within the script, and it’s always been a detail that i really love.

okay, scene analysis done.

honestly, the fact you can glean all this information and later growth from a single scene shows just how incredibly well done the character writing of tellius is. it’s genuinely tragic that a lot of the newer games scream any traits a non-major character has directly into your ear during supports, because seeing the contrast of just how well it’s done here makes me kinda sad with how rare it’s become.

i really could go into depth about every character you mentioned in your ask, but if i did this post would end up the length of a small novel (and it’s already getting long with just an analysis of a single scene). just know that i 100% understand what you’re saying, and i completely agree with it all.

[very-straight-blog]

Many things in this fandom and show puzzle me, but one of the most odd ones to me is the reaction the general public had to Lucerys' death "He was just a baby! Aemond is such a monster! Lucerys was literally just an innocent child!"

Like- I mean, I consider myself team black ig, and I was sad for Luke's death but also ... Aren't these kids kind of all of the same age?

Now, correct me if I am mistaken, but isn't Aegon around 19 (some sources on the internet say even 18? Which seems a bit too young to be believable with the actors-), which makes Helena around 17 which then makes Aemond like 16? Like- yeah Luke was 14, but a mere 2 years difference doesn't seem enough to me to proclaim one a "defenceless innocent baby" and the other "a full grown adult merciless murderer".

I literally had classmates who were 2 years older than me when I was 14/15 because they were repeating the year or whatever, truly, a couple of years don't make THAT much of a difference in maturity. Like yeah, maybe visual wise, the actors look to have a much bigger age gap, but just because a teenager looks "older" physically doesn't mean he is any less of a teenager.

I also don't like the insistence of making Lucerys a "child". Like- yeah, he totally was, but also, is kind of hypocrite ppl then go around claiming that Aemond "deserved it" when he got his eye cut out (and he was even younger than Luke!).

"oh but Aemond stole Vaghar!"

Is literally impossible to STEAL a dragon, especially the biggest dragon alive! If she doesn't like you, she will burn you to a crisp, you cannot force her to do anything at all. Would it have been more "tactful" for him to wait and to claim her in the morning after warning the adults? Sure, but he was also A CHILD? A bullied one at that, ofc he saw his opportunity and he took it! You cannot blame a child for forgetting to be "tactful" or acting on a whim.

Also, people are acting like Lucerys' is the sweetest angel ever. Did we forget he also made fun of Aemond? "Oh but he was just a little kid copying his older brother, cannot blame him for not being tactful" But Aemond, also a child, doesn't get the free pass for not being tactful! I was also a child, and I never made fun of anyone, even if I saw others doing so. Did we forget he literally cut his eye out? Yeah, it was in defense of Jace, but also, is not like after doing it he felt regret or remorse for it. He could have pushed Aemond, or punched him, or kicked him, yeah it wouldn't have taken him down, but would have been enough for him to drop the rock.

Tho, I understand we cannot blame a child for acting impulsively and without tact. He was merely copying the defending the big brother he loves so much.

THEN WHY DID HE LAUGH AT AEMOND'S FACE DURING THE DINNER? Jace was trying to be civil, why wasn't Lucerys copying him then? Now he is old enough to understand bullying is wrong (especially considering he should relate to Aemond? Considering how inferior he feels due not feeling up to standard as lord of the tides). He is also old enough to understand maybe cutting out his eyes warrants some kind of apology-

But NOT- he just laughs at his face! And then gets offended when called a "Strong boy"! And ppl justify him as if he never did anything to warrant Aemond's dislike of him!

Make it make sense!

Sorry for the ramble lol

I can't say for sure if you're right about their age, I don't think the screenwriters themselves know how old their characters are lol.

You know what the problem is, everyone can "just be a kid." Everyone can make mistakes, act on emotions and make rash decisions. Everyone, but not Aemond. If four children are the first to attack one, knock him to the ground and kick him - oh, but he was rude to them, and the girls' mother died, they could be upset! However, Aemond couldn't be rude without thinking, when he had just claimed the world's largest dragon and felt (for the first time in his life) stronger than his abusers. No, he did it on purpose! If Luke cuts out Aemond's eye, it's just a mistake, he was protecting his brother! But Aemond, of course, wanted to kill them (all four of them, yeah) in cold blood with a stone, and not defend himself. It always works only one way.

And Luke wasn't a child at the time of his death, not by Westeros standards. He was literally sent to negotiate like an adult. If you want to judge by modern standards, they were both teenagers.

Some TB fans like to howl that we love the characters because of their looks, but it's amazing how quickly big eyes and a plaintively open mouth can make them forget what a person has done.

[akimojo]

"Is it because of how differently it (Final Fantasy XIII) handles female characters compared to earlier games?" YES you are so right about this!! The main cast is majority female and the fact that each female is an individual vastly different from each other with multiple dimensions and layers to their character is probably why people shit on it. Plus if you look at the males in the group, they are FAR from the typical brooding male FF protagonist and yet still unique and nuanced in their own way. People didn't like that the characters broke the molds/archetypes/tropes that many of the FF games follow. And that's why the FFXIII cast stands out so strikingly to me personally.

And they're not just deep characters, they're allowed to have major character flaws that actually lead to negative consequences! Not to mention that their personal goals and motivations do NOT revolve around men

Even well-written female characters from other ff games (like yuna for example) don't have any traits that men would generally find unappealing in a woman, they don't challenge male players at all

And then in comes lightning, who starts off so toxic and poisonous to the people around her, acting violent toward male characters and making rash decisions that require you to think about why she does what she does, and the male-dominated fandom hates her

And don't even get me started on vanille and fang because their bond is at the foundation of ff13's story, but it's somehow the one aspect that I've seen haters sweep over the absolute most. Which is very strange considering most people can recognize how important zack was to cloud, or tidus to yuna, or rinoa to squall, or locke to celes, etc

Now that there's men going around wildly misinterpreting tifa's and aerith's friendship as them actually just fighting over cloud, you really gotta wonder if they just didn't care about fang and vanille because their relationship had nothing to do with a man lmao. And you just can't fully understand ff13's story without understanding how important fang and vanille are to each other, just like how you can't understand lightning without taking into account her struggle between self-preservation and the love she has for serah

I don't like to cry sexism over assumptions, but it's pretty hard not to do that when such a huge chunk of ff13 haters are men that insist the characters are one-dimensional, like?? how can anyone be that wrong?? Especially when the ff games they praise have some of the most one-dimensional female characters in the entire franchise (sorry ff4 but your handling of rosa is atrocious), but of course that doesn't matter because hey! The dudes need a love interest to sit there and look pretty for them!

[andreal831]

Can we please stop pretending Klaus is some Machiavellian genius?

I get the show is always trying to tell us he is a mastermind, but there are so many more clever characters who actually set up long term plans to achieve their goals (Lucien, Celeste, Katherine). What did Klaus ever do that was ever strategic or showed any superior intelligence? If anything his intelligence was severely stunted, he was a thousand years old and still acting like a teenager half the time. He made rash and impulsive decisions and they worked out sometimes. They had just as much of a chance of blowing up in his face. This doesn't make him smart. If he wasn't so indestructible, he wouldn't have been so lucky.

Throughout history, we constantly see Elijah having to remind Klaus not to draw attention to them. All he has to do is stop being a serial killer or risk bringing the one man he is terrified of to town. You would think it would be easy, yet he is unable to control himself. At no point do we see him ever preparing to confront Mikael. He only runs from him. He could have created an army to trap Mikael or befriended witches. But no, instead of coming up with a plan, they all just run. Not much of a master strategist. The fandom loves to say it was stupid that Rebekah called Mikael to New Orleans yet doesn't want to talk about how stupid it was for Kol and Klaus to go on a killing spree which they knew would attract Mikael. And he does this not once, not twice, but repeatedly in every flashback we see, all the way from the first flashback in 1001 to the last in the 1950s.

Speaking of the 1950s, what great strategic plan was it to tell Elijah he buried their siblings at sea? He isolated the one family member he had left while Mikael was hot on his trail. This turned Elijah against him and what did Klaus do? Did he come up with a masterplan? No. he ran and body jumped.

Klaus' strength isn't his intelligence but his durability and his psychical strength. Which is why he was so determined to break his curse. He needed to be stronger than everyone, including his siblings. But what did any of that get him? Tristan and Aya at least built a cult and created weapons that could even take down Originals. Yet Klaus wasn't able to come up with any plan to take down Mikael?

We see Elijah tell Klaus that Klaus 'built' New Orleans, yet we never see any indication that Klaus is politically minded. In fact, in season one, he is in charge and a war breaks out in large part due to his scheming. He is constantly killing political leaders (the mayor, the mayor's son, the witches' leaders, every faction head, etc.) and then is surprised when they can't find peace and everyone is against him.

The only time Klaus had a long term plan that actually seemed clever was the lie about the sun and the moon curse. Not only did it take them nearly a thousand years before it actually worked, but he wasn't even the reason it worked. He was tricked by Elijah and literal teenagers. Elijah tricked him to get him to MF, the MF gang tricked him into believing Bonnie was dead, and then he fell for that exact same trick and believed that Elena was dead.

Throughout the shows and even flashbacks, people act like Klaus is this great strategist. And maybe he is compared to the children he is targeting. But when you put him up against his equals (Lucien, Mikael, Dahlia, etc.), he doesn't compare.

Celeste and Genevie were manipulating Klaus left and right in season one. In the short '9' months he was in New Orleans, he destabilized it so much that Hope nearly died. She only survived because of Marcel. They only got her back because of Elijah and Hayley. In fact, Klaus' plan to bring Hope back before they were ready is what drew Dahlia back so quickly, leaving them unprepared to face her.

Klaus wasn't responsible for Mikael's first death. He got lucky that everyone else (the children he was targeting) came up with a plan to trick Mikael. Mikael's second death was simply overpowering him, no outsmarting there. In fact, Mikael would have killed Klaus if his family hadn't saved him earlier.

Yes, he 'tricked' Dahlia into believing he betrayed his family, but this wasn't a trick. He actually did betray them. He murdered Gia and turned Elijah against him once again. He is unable to scheme without actually hurting those close to him and alienating the people trying to help. He lies that he killed Aiden, again another time he just jumps on the first opportunity he sees, and by doing so, he alienates all of their allies and endangers his family. The only reason they end up beating Dahlia is because of Esther. They all would have died based on Klaus' plan. Sure his idea to curse Hayley did technically save her life but he didn't do it for that purpose, he admitted he did it to punish her. There was no long term scheme. He hadn't thought through how it would impact Hope or even what he would tell his daughter as she got older.

Then in Season 3, Lucien had Klaus on his knees before his big brother and big sister swept in to save the day. Even taking down Tristan was thanks to Cami and Freya's plan. He had to be saved from the Strix by Hayley, Marcel, and Stefan. They have their big Thanksgiving dinner where they confront the three, but all it does is show that Lucien, Tristan, and Aurora had out schemed the Mikaelsons. The only thing the Mikaelsons could do was overpower them and threaten them.

In Season 4, Klaus hardly does anything and Season 5 Klaus is an absolute mess. You're telling me this legendary strategist couldn't save his daughter and her mother from a hundred year old vampire? He couldn't figure out a way to find her? In the seven years they were forced apart, he wasn't even trying to find a way to reunite his family? He wasn't a strategist, rather he waited for events to happen and then reacted impulsively, hoping it would work out. His plans are all based on emotion and vendettas, not strategy or intelligence.

Yes, he is Machiavellian in a sense that he has nearly no empathy and will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, but he lacks the cunningness to be truly Machiavellian. Instead he is just a narcissistic psychopath.

[sapphicrot]

going on anon in the community to have a gigachad opinion is my hobby but like yeah i simply think also, people should look at characters for their story value. not all characters in a story are going to be likeable to everyone but that doesn't mean they aren't absolutely vital to it. to change moon kills the story. rainworld works because it's so layered, has so many themes, is so tragic. iterators are intentionally flawed in how they think. insert that discussion those users, forget who, had awhile back abt ALL iterators very clearly demonstrating poor eq. moon has a lot of the same flaws as the other iterators and i feel like it's definitely unfair that she gets critiqued so harshly for having flawed logic in her situation when literally every character (dp wise, i cant speak for vanilla atm) had flawed logic. the only real explanation for disliking moon and not the other iterators for that reasoning is misogyny and i think you've been pointing that out pretty dead on. most of the time i feel quite neutral to the iterators as i like them all but even then, even if i ever do forget why moon is likeable as a character, i still appreciate that she is part of the story simply because she is objectively a necessary component to it. not sure i'm putting words together well here now but it's whatever

girl literally tells you little stories and is nice to you if you're not a jerk. i can't comprehend how anyone would hate her without exhibiting flawed thinking themself lol. arguments against her fall apart like sand they just aren't defensible. everyone is entitled to an opinion, if they just dont vibe with her sure whatever, but being so drastic as to hate her and act like she's not a valuable character with important themes and ideas is weird to me too

and my last note here, a little less related, your art is swag as hell. i'd make a more specific compliment but i need to put down the phone so i'll be back another time. have a good day👍

[nods sagely] i completely agree. like the iterators, despite looking/seeming like untouchable gods, are no better than we are at the end of the day. they’re emotional, they care too much, they make rash decisions. they fuck up despite a lot of the times thinking they’re doing the right thing…much like all of us. that’s what i think rain world is really trying to drive home: the gods that tower over you, the scavengers that seem erratic and irrational, the slugcats, YOU, are all the same. you are all trying to survive, to understand your purpose in the world. monk and survivor are a parallel to pebbles’ and moon’s story. like, the game makes that pretty clear. it all comes full circle, doesn’t it?

at the end of the day all the iterators were doomed from the start. even if moon had “done everything right” (could anything even qualify as right??) she still would have collapsed. so too with pebbles. its not like they can do much being, ahem, “locked up in a box”, with miles and miles between one another. the damage had been done already. judging their reactions to such an unprecedented situation, filled with emotion and desperation and fear and sheer hopelessness, you probably wouldn’t have reacted in the most flawless way either. the iterators aren’t pure, rational machines! and that’s what makes the game GOOD!!!!

…not to mention, if they did nothing to the game aside from flip pebbles’ gender, you KNOOOWWWW the fandom would HATE his guts rather than being like 🥺 omg my poor littol emo baby 🥺 and like idk. call him a selfish bitch or whatever

also [kicks feet and twirls hair] awwww thank you for liking my art !!! i wanna draw moon now damn it

[slow-burn-sally]

My Favorite Characters with ADHD

Again, these are only my opinions.

Jeremy - The Secret Of NIMH. Come on. Look at him. He is a combined-type ADHD boy if ever there was one. Distracted, clumsy, impulsive, I bet the writers either had ADHD, knew someone who had ADHD, or had a child with ADHD.

2. Newton Geiszler - Pacific Rim.

Also impulsive as fuck, a class clown, obnoxious, yet obnoxiously smart, and somehow still charming as fuck. He reads very ADHD to me. BB. Forgive me for using the meme gif. It's just so good.

3. Rose Nylund - The Golden Girls

Who doesn't love Rose? She's friendly, sweet, fun, creative, horny, and hilarious. She also can't remember anything for more than five minutes, and is the human equivalent of a small, cute dog who bumps into things a lot by accident. I love you Rose. Long live Betty White.

4. Sherlock Holmes (The Jeremy Brett Granada-Holmes).

I actually think Holmes may have had both ADHD and Autism, but really, Brett's Holmes is bombastic, impulsive (seeing a trend), able to hyperfocus at the speed of light. Overshares, blows up friendships. Cannot keep a clean flat. Hyper as all get out. Think about it.

5. Nadja of Antipaxos - What We Do In The Shadows

She's a hot mess. Distracted, forgetful, intensely interested in some things, and cannot be bothered to give a flying fuck about other things. Out of sight, out of mind. She's probably also AuDHD actually, but for the purposes of this list, I will draw your attention to her many impulsive and rash decisions surrounding her emotions, and her over the top RSD. She's so beautiful, help.

6. Jonathan Strange - Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

Oh my god such an ADHD boy! He cannot sit still, and he has no patience for rules or regulations. He's self centered, impulsive (hello!), running off on the King's Roads, and drinking mouse juice to make himself go mad on purpose. Failing at four careers before finally becoming a magician by absolute accident. I love you Johnty. Never change.

7. Cornelius Hickey (or whatever his real name is) - The Terror.

He's impulsive (aye-oh!), makes sudden, rash decisions, is prone to flashes of anger, has off the charts RSD, and though he manages to hyperfocus on sabotaging the expedition for his own needs, he still makes a lot of careless mistakes and fucks it up royally. Too bad one of his hyper-focuses wasn't "learning about ships". I love you Hickey, you adorable bastard. How is his hair always so good?

8. Back to JS&MN for Christopher Drawlight.

Christopher Drawlight cannot sit still to save his life. He's always being charming, chatting people up, and making social connections, both real and fabricated by himself. Only sometimes, he loses track of which lies he's told, and to whom, which gets him in a lot of trouble. His hyperfocus is social status, and he can't let it go, even at the bitter end. He's really one of my favorite characters, even if he is a horrible person. This goes for both book and show Drawlight, by the way. Both top notch. Both ADHD as fuck.

9. Dory - Finding Nemo.

I mean... do I have to say anything else? I don't think I do. I love Dory so much. I relate so, so much. Inattentive ADHD Fish Sister.

10. All versions of Doctor Who, but Tenant is becoming iconic, and I love him, so let's go with number 10!

Just an all around hyperactive ADHD guy. Fun, creative, adventurous, risk taker, IMPULSIVE (it doesn't end). But really, all Doctor Whos feel ADHD to me. There's something capricious and clumsy and dreamy and jumpy about all of them.

[mandy4ever69420]

1. idk how many people process mickeys unwillingness to tell anyone or describe ian's symptoms as a form of protection but it's so swag. Like straight up no it is embarrassing to have your business out like that even if it's family. also how his mouth was SHUT while everyone was explaining ian's symptoms to those like. military cop whoeverthefucks 👍

2. mickey being like one of two people to comment that lips construction job was probably for a gentrification business. hm. anyway it's cool how easy he finds it to manipulate lip into wanting his approval and then also deny lip his approval for not blasting the fuck out of that cafe.

3. like i know that "gay and homophobic" is a joke but i think it's missing a big piece of context that the vast majority of the time when mickey is violent towards gay men it's in more or less direct response to him or ian being sexually harassed -> ned / macy's bitch / i'm not the one licking and groping on underage boys huh / dude not taking no for an answer after telling mickey ian left with someone else.

a) and walking into a straight bar and being a bitch non violently to a woman who also won't take no for an answer. bc of different ideas about how women are which btw are misogynistic but in a way that's not that big a deal.

so frustrating to me that people can't understand that mickeys pimp plot Wasn't really misogynistic bc it makes it harder to point out how he Does interact with misogyny eg he can't understand that women can be perpetrators or thinks maybe they inherently need protection. not too extreme a case of this even bc he also knows how to back off. more complicated bc tbh it is obligation to protect marginalized people that you love. see: mandy in s1.

so funny to me when people take mickey being into redheads as a character trait instead of him just saying he's already in love with someone

4. mickeys learning of ian's porno is like. so good. also owie

a) ian and the audience are aware mickey literally doesn't Care abt screwing other guys if it's for Money.

b) mickeys pivot from being hurt to being worried about ian's safety. Yeah it IS true that walking off with some random bitch who says he'll pay for porn is a terrible idea.

c) they don't actually discuss ian cheating (cheating-cheating, not for money but because of hyper sexuality) but i assume mickey put 2 and 2 together with how rash ian's decision making was.

d) thankyou mickey for having the right priorities about condom usage and health before "omg porn is BAD". i know you're mickey but i have the internet and people are so annoying about this kind of thing

e) i really like that ian called mickey psycho. it's like so good. i mean not the terminology i'd ever use but i know how these characters vocabulary's work so like dramatic irony. well not dramatic irony the definitions not right. it's close to that.

5. again like ian taking yevgeny as a reaction to "oh people think i'm like monica you know what monica would never do??? take her kid with her!!". probably also the most touched i am in any episode about shameless' portrayal of bipolar bc kidnapping is some shit that universally is agreed not fucking cool && is in fact indeed often done by a loved one in crisis && at that you dont usually get a sympathetic look at it. i think the only other media offering smth like that is wolf 359 whose finale im still so so mad at so angry. anyway i looove being asked to and genuinely moved by sympathy for someone doing something it'd also make sense to never forgive them for. 👍

[stromuprisahat]

I think Zoya was a good soldier overall, not quite there as a leader but as a soldier, she was essential enough for Aleksander to want to manipulate her. He doesn't just employe 4-5 the post powerful grishasTM, he has an entire army at his command so him wanting Zoya who is strong physically (power wise) and also is herself good at manipulating people too to be on his side is a smart decision really.

Gods, I really have to disagree with all of this.

She wasn't a good soldier, since that one is expected to obey without questioning. Decision making is their superior's job. Show Zoya disobeyed on the skiff, book Zoya while hunting "her" amplifier. In both cases she was jealous of Alina enough to "magically" attack her at training grounds, although soldier should recognize another's strategic importance. What if she cracked Alina's skull in some unfortunate way? Dead Sun Summoner, and useless amplified Squaller offended that daddy doesn't love her the best.

I'd also love to see that manipulation. Sure, she "remembers" the Darkling told her the exactly same sentence he told Alina, but to be fair- she's lying about other stuff too, and why would he tell an ordinary, albeit promising, Squaller they're going to change the world?! How many of those did he meet in his long, long life?! Nah, Zoya's re-writing other events (slaughter of "Second Army") we had the chance to witness, of course the man she was looking up to just HAD TO notice her too! The girl has daddy issues so grand her next target is a fucking dragon. And unless LB retcons the hell out of it, Zoya should pay for her lack of growth by her own body and mind.

The Darkling is also described to be constantly on the move, while Zoya was about a year out of school, and stationed at the Fold. Not much contact if you ask me, and even when studying in Little Palace- how likely is it that Aleksander will make more time for Zoya than the fucking Sun Summoner?! He talked to Alina like once a month max., and most of those were a combination of unplanned meeting and him being happy to run away from his nagging mother. I know people like to throw around the word "manipulation", but a good one-on-one manipulation requires time and contact. Especially if you want to be certain of the result.

I also cannot remeber a single example of Zoya being good in it?! She's about as subtle as a rock through a glass window, she can't even fake being interested in negotiations with people she doesn't like! How is she supposed to act sneakily and hide her true intentions in such a delicate matter?!

If you asked me why did the Darkling "favour" her, he saw powerful Grisha with strong need to prove herself, able to gain enough skill to be worth officer training. Time would show her best use in practice, but so far she's too rash for leadership and too careless for closer cooperation. The Fold was a safe option. Her enemy is pretty straightforward- volcra, if anything. I also wouldn't risk her near the front or borders in general, and certainly not anywhere near more "delicate" positions. I certainly wouldn't call her "essential". That was Ivan. Genya even. Likely other characters we've never been introduced, because we've never seen his side and inner workings of an actual Second Army.

[castlebyersafterdark]

i totally agree with anon about emotional vulnerable will, and i've tried to figure out his hatedness too.

i've come to the conclusion that selfishness and fear of chaos is at the core of this. people place themselves at the centre of their own universe. 'me and mine' and individualism in western culture. if a man is emotional, he is unable to 'get shit done'. this probably means making money or aiding 'progression' in society, like building new property developments or changing political landscapes, for example.

for women, being too emotional also stops shit getting done, because women have infiltrated the male workplace.

so basically, fear of emotion and vulnerability is a fear of chaos and lack of structure. when people behave according to how they feel, they make rash decisions that dont fit inside an agreed societal structure. this could be on an extreme end, like someone with severe mental incapability who cannot function in society, or on an everyday basis, such as, a woman who gets pregnant and can no longer be a model employee due to needing to attend to her bodily needs first.

and often, humans need to put their emotions aside in order to function, not just in our invented societal ways, but in life, to survive. for example, a mother caring for a child who hurts herself - how will she deal with both things at once? one must be suppressed and dealt with later.

but society has pushed this to the max so theres barely room for emotional expression nowadays.

i cant wait to see how will USES his emotions to save the world, because i truly think that if sensitive people who are emotion-oriented could run things, the world would be a better and slower and safer place.

Tend to agree with some of this - definitely the individualism aspect. I think partly it's definitely akin to being unable to put yourself in another's shoes - big time in society all over these days. Globally, human nature rather than specific, tbh.

Most don't want to feel weak or out of control, yes, and for a lot of people seeing someone being emotional makes them uncomfortable or judgemental. They don't want to be that way, themselves. A lack of empathy from many. But yes - the mindset of anyone being too emotional as a detriment towards a productive, functioning member of society. Men cannot be emotional as it will prevent shit happening and women not being awarded the opportunity from the get-go due to assumed emotional roadblocks. And all the nuanced in-between. No one is rewarded.

But like you said - there is a time and a place for control and for succumbing to emotion, and allowing you to feel how you feel, or setting it aside to help someone else. Emotions as power, or sitting with a very human moment where yeah, maybe it is a moment of weakness - but isn't that so very human? We can't be strong every time. Recognizing that someone can be weak but can also be strong and that's just a part of being alive. The problem is not being allowed to be a human rather than a machine or a production line or a cold being.

Towards the show itself - loving the arc and idea that Will, who is a character with a wide range of clearly expressed emotion - using that as tied to power. Being caring and soft as something strong. How his huge emotions have led to destruction at times (yelling out and standing up for himself instead of self-protection and fear which led to possession, being upset and emotionally destroyed leading to the destruction of the fort). How, if you subscribe to this theory, his extreme fear instead of fighting, right at the beginning when he was cornered in the shed - the idea that Will's emotion and fear created the vision of the UD that we have. Not that he created the entirely of the UD but he shaped it upon arrival. How his emotional state could be beneficial in some way in the future story. I think in whatever way - Will as his authentic self is going to propel the story and save the day.

if sensitive people who are emotion-oriented could run things, the world would be a better and slower and safer place.

AGREE ❤️

[hittheredline]

Oddly Specific Headcanons : Embalm & Embed

questions from this post but I'm randomly generating them and which character I answer them for (but you could still send any)

11. If someone was impersonating them, what would friends / family ask or do to tell the difference?

Oh believe me, if someone tried to impersonate one of them, the other would know. It wouldn't take a code word or a long conversation they'd just know. I don't care how good your replacement is -actor, clone, fake flesh with a mental link- they'd know. I give them this meta ability, no real evidence or proof or whatever, no matter how exact the copy, they'd just know. (Assuming you could even find a big enough opportunity to supplant one of them this way to begin with.)

15. What’s the most obvious difference between their behavior at home, at work, at school, with friends, and when they’re alone?

Most of it's pretty same-y. They're friendly and not notably guarded, like to go out to concerts and have a good time. Over the network they're a little more professional, serious in the way warning ahead of patrols to keep people safe calls for, but I don't think it's a big heel turn, just that due sobriety.

I think they use each other's names, their "city" names, when they're alone. No I don't know what their names are. I think that's okay though because I think nobody else knows and nobody else ever will.

30. When they make a mistake and feel bad, does the guilt differ when it’s personal versus when it’s professional?

Definitely. If they've made a mistake in some personal sphere, odds are it's something that can be apologized for. Worked out. Built from. They'll get another chance. If they fuck up and make a mistake with the tower, it probably cost lives. Can't fix that.

They work hard not to fuck up.

53. Who would / do they believe without question?

Each other. And I just wanted to say that for the record but also it seems like a given so I rolled another one

-> 52. Do they act on their immediate emotions, or do they wait for the facts before acting?

I think they're rile-able, you could get under their skin and get them more rash, but they generally try to hang back and figure things out before jumping in. Em's a little more likely to make snap decisions, but E's good about balancing him out.

58. How many hobbies have they attempted to have over their lifetime? Is there a common theme?

Not too many, I don't think? I've been leaning toward... I think they never lived in the city. And so they've been in the zones all this time, which means they've grown up with heavy focus on making their way in the desert which doesn't always leave a lot of time (or open avenues) for many hobbies. I think there was some dabbling in sports, guns, cars. E may have tried some mechanic stuff but it didn't quite stick. They must have learned electronic stuff from someone, though I couldn't tell you who, and obviously the that stuck and is not just a hobby anymore. One of them is a painter, I'm not sure which. Whichever one is not the painter is a hobbyist guitarist; not interested in making it into a show or anything, just likes to play around with a six string and hum along, occupy his fingers and - oh i figured it out by saying it okay. Em's the guitarist, E's the painter. In the stuff they tried out Em was always trying to keep busy, E was looking for ways to relax.

[m34gs]

Ask game! 1,12,25!

Thank you for the ask! (from this post)

the character everyone gets wrong

I did answer this in another ask, here, but I am always down for talking about more characters and fandoms, because I am in MANY.

Merlin, from BBC's Merlin. I feel like he often gets characterized as "can do no wrong, uwu" but he is a sassy man who often makes rash decisions. Let him have those flaws. Also, he's argumentative as fuck and constantly gets himself into embarrassing situations.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I had this question in another ask as well, here, but again, I am always up to talking about more unpopular characters I enjoy.

One of the characters I see receiving a lot of hate in fandom is Hoffman from the Saw franchise. I actually enjoy his character. I think it's a good portrayal of brutality. I like how cold and callous he is toward the trap victims not because he is cruel to them but because he is basically seeing through the keystone of Jigsaw's beliefs. Jigsaw says he is a saviour, helping people learn to appreciate their lives and become better versions of themselves. However, if he truly believed that their lives are precious and they needed to learn that, would he make traps where some people are treated as part of the trap rather than as people worth saving? (see: Jeff's trap in Saw IV, William's trap in Saw VI) So I think Hoffman shows an interesting contrast to Jigsaw in that he is actually more honest than Jigsaw is, despite Jigsaw claiming to be righteous. I think he doesn't deserve the hate he gets, and honestly I think the haters are annoying.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

"You can't ship xyz because I think it's icky" shut up shut up shut up shut up. They are fictional characters. It doesn't actually matter. I'm tired of hearing it. No more.

It's not an indicator of someone's morality. It's not an indicator of what people want irl in relationships or what their kinks are or anything like that. It's not an indicator of what they would do to other people. It's not, it's not, it's not.

[carica-ficus]

Review: Mages & Mechanisms

Author: Devin Harnois

Date: 04/08/2024

Rating: ⭐⭐

_________________________________________________

During the summer, I got the chance to finally get to some books I downloaded during the stuff your kindle days. "Mages & Mechanisms" caught my eye pretty much instantly, primarily because of its incredibly unique premise that sparked my curiosity. Well... Aside from that, it turned out to be quite disappointing.

The story follows Leander who holds a little shop for mechanical animals. He is an expert builder, but his delicate work doesn't bring in the profit that it should. One day he comes across Jak, a traveling mage who decides to help him out and bring life to his creations. Soon enough, their work gains popularity and they are called upon a baroness to make a giant, mechanical dragon for her. This task will put their workmanship to the test, as will their budding relationship, but both are willing to take up the assignment because they can't afford to pass out on it.

The plot idea truly piques one's interest. It is easy to get immersed into the world, as a lot of attention is given to the steampunk inventions that make the setting unique. Mechanical animals, hot air balloons, intricate fashion and lavish, exciting parties all provide a beautiful addition to the experience of this novel.

Unfortunately, the cultural elements of the worldbuilding fall through. The author sets up a precise depiction of societal norms and rules, specifically the differentiation between classes and the general viewpoint on queerness, but shrugs them off in order to further develop the story and relationship between the characters. Leander and his family are a part of a working class, but throughout the story they never experience any real pressure when integrated into high society.

Furthermore, while Leander is cautious of his relationship with Jak, his fear of discovery is treated with a sense of antipathy. Even though he has the right to worry because, as Harnois himself insinuates, he might be ostracized for his queerness, a lot of the tension in his romance originates in his refusal to admit he is in love with another man. It seems as if he is at fault for expecting the worst of people who love him, when in reality he has all the reason to worry. He is risking his family's safety, his fortune, his work and his life by being in a relationship with Jak, and he is almost pressured to come out.

Jak, on the other hand, is played off as a laid back, promiscuous man who has never needed to face the consequences of his actions. While he has dealt with many difficulties throughout his life and has his fair share of unresolved traumas, his past is brushed aside for the sake of becoming an entertaining counterpart to Leander. Jak's experience of the world is given much more significance, compared to Leander's, and his emotions are amplified through his assertive, and dominant personality. While this is supposed to paint Jak as a positive influence on Leander - guiding him toward a bigger freedom and challenging him to take a leap of faith - his rashness is disquieting and feels coercive, instead of supportive.

Jak's and Leander's relationship bears many faults - from stereotypical archetypes and dull personalities to frivolous fights that fail to create a sense of true tension - but the most notable one might be that there are no consequences for their actions. This problem spreads out throughout the whole novel and its plot. The author constantly reminds the reader of the sacrifices the characters need to make and the potential negative outcomes of their decisions, but they never come to fruition.

Granted, this book might be categorized as a "cozy fantasy" with its instant love, perfect ending and sweet characters, but the worldbuilding of it insinuates that the reality of it should be much darker. Leander and Jak's relationship is met with cheers, even though the society is painted as very close-minded, the baroness offers them everything they have ever dreamed of and most of high society is friendly and welcomes Leander's family with no prejudice, even though they are depicted as a lower class, and so on. It is not that happy endings and positive outcomes are bad or should be unexpected, the problem is that the tension created by unfavorable and malevolent conditions completely falls through, and, subsequently, the worldbuilding as well. The reader is told they should worry for the characters, but their distress is never realized to its potential.

On the other hand, its low stakes and lighthearted writing made it a perfect, quick summer read. I might not have liked this book, but I can also admit that if I was younger, I might have found it more enjoyable and entertaining. Still, as it is, "Mages & Mechanisms" just wasn't the right choice for me.

[spectrumos]

I'm so glad to see stuff like this.

My OC, Zephyr, seems to represent my love, and.. also pity, of this world and it's characters. My sorrow at all that's happened.

So few of these people are pure evil and... I want to comfort them all.

I look at Marika and Radagon and Rennala and I just... I want so badly to understand what Marika was feeling when this decision was made. I find it quite difficult to believe she didn't feel guilt over it.

Pitting those two against each other or killing one of them in a post-canon fic always makes me so sad.

I want to be there, for them both, and Rennala.

Miquella's behavior is as disturbing, pitiful, and intriguing as it is beautiful, ironic, tragic... I look at the charm as a representation of his lack of trust in others. The world disappoints him at every turn. His naturally childish worldview may give way to rash behavior.

When he speaks of embracing the whole of it and redeeming the original sin... in the method he chose, the destruction of his very self! I want so desperately to take that burden.

Zephyr has killed so much, surely that's enough sacrifice. Even if it can be considered wrong.

It had to be worth something.

As I've written this, I've considered the commonalities of pity and love. the desire to befriend someone and ease their burdens. Or to embrace the whole of them.

I think... I can sometimes seriously struggle with parsing and parting these two pairs of feelings. But they're still there, and they're valid.

I think... Zephyr represents desperation the most. He's "looped" through this journey many times, learning as much as he can to find some way to not have to sacrifice the welfare of someone he loves over another.

Or... Sometimes slaughtering the world for its strength. Far... Far too many times.

It's been insanity and depression. Nihilism, misanthropy.

Even rejection of reality itself.

But he can't die... Not really.

So these feelings can meet their end, or turn into new ones. Because time can't heal all wounds, and by Marika he knows that.

But it can heal some, it can bring new perspectives, new feelings to have. Even new people to meet, a few times, even in other lands.

But... his feelings always go back to love and desperation.

(I had written some short scenes last night that would be at the bottom of this post, but I was unhappy with them when I woke up. I spent a while trying to edit them, but I've given up. I might start fresh, or get back to work on Zephyr's main fic.)

I LOVE people shipping their tarnished OCs with canon characters! I LOVE seeing art of tarnished OCs x Canon! I LOVE OC x Canon! HELL YESS! I LOVE seeing people having fun and creating scenarios! I LOVE IT!!!

[loregoddess]

Since it's still too soon for me to send Fòdlan asks... Alear, Veyle and Yunaka for the character ask game?

love that we sent each other the same characters...

cut for length and some spoilers for late- and end-game stuff

Alear

First impression: Like many, I thought the design was uh...interesting. Kinda silly. I didn't think the art was bad or anything, it's just, there was so much high saturation red and blue. Pepsiman to the max. Otherwise I had no strong interest or hopes for their characterization bc on average I am wildly neutral on protagonists even when they aren't avatar-esque characters.

Impression now: Hoo boy, do I love Alear something fierce and this hit me out of nowhere like a train bc I was not expecting Alear's writing to be so good, and just. Damn, Alear's one of the most characters of all time, love them lots and lots, probably my personal favorite FE protagonist honestly. Still can't believe the hair was plot relevant.

Favorite moment: Oooh, there's lots, but I really enjoyed the post-Ch10/11 scene where like, Alear looses everything they thought they needed to fight Sombron, but then Lucina gives them the pep talk and like, of course it's Lucina, the girl who has faced similar hardships, who knows what it's like to have to keep fighting against impossible odds, and like, Alear realizing that no wait yeah they have their friends and they might find help in Solm, and that initial burst of resolve to keep trying was just, I dunno, a really good midpoint both for the game's story arc, and for Alear's personal story arc... I ALSO really liked the scene post-reveal of Alear being a Fell Dragon where Alear literally just, sits and talks things out with the others instead of making some rash decision by themself, bc like, I know miscommunication or otherwise lack of healthy conversation makes for drama and all that, but it's actually so refreshing and interesting to have a character make the decision to talk things out instead and like, mmm, I absolutely loved that scene.

Idea for a story: I'm not much of an AU person, but a Lumera Lives AU might be interesting if only bc I'm not partial to the "self-sacrifice to save another" trope like, I know "I'd die for you" is a popular phrase right now for showing affection or love, but I find that willingness to die a bit concerning, and there's something really powerful about "I'd live for you" as a way of expressing love that I don't think gets explored enough. So maybe like, Lumera lives, but she has to go into a deep sleep to recover or something, and Sombron tries to mind-control her in Ch25, like how he did with Veyle with the crown, and after you free Lumera she's regained enough strength that she could be a last-minute recruit for the battle against Sombron, as it would be really cool to see her interactions with Alear after Alear's character development and growth (and Emblemification), as well as with Veyle and the other Lythos characters. A fic exploring that, as well as the post-game setting would be interesting. I'm probably not gonna write it bc I like coming up with ideas more than actually doing anything with them, but it's fun to think about.

Unpopular opinion: All positive opinions about Engage are unpopular opinions, but anyhow, Alear's writing is fantastic actually. Also I think Alear is the first and (so far) only time that FE has used an "avatar-esque" protagonist well, bc Alear has a firmly established personality and doesn't actually act as a true self-insert (since there's no customization outside of the name and gender appearance, neither of which are important to or affect the story), but still allows the player that sort of link into the game by letting them choose a gender appearance. Like, don't get me wrong I like the other avatar characters, but something about the execution didn't work either as an avatar or as a story protagonist for me for each.

Favorite relationship: Love, love, love Alear's familial relationships with Lumera and Veyle, and later Nel and Rafal, but I also love how much Alear kind of adopts everyone into their family in some way or another as well, like Alear turned the Somniel, this place of austere worship and divinity, into a place that's like a second home for basically the entire army plus the few random civilians who runs the stores.

Favorite headcanon: It's sorta implied in canon that Alear will literally just sleep all day if someone doesn't wake them up, but I think once Alear is awake they can also stay up for much longer than humans can without getting tired. However, Alear enjoys sleeping enough that they don't actually do the staying up thing that often and no one realizes it until some freak incident where Alear's awake for like a week solid, and then sleeps for a week afterwards.

Veyle

First impression: I came in knowing sort of vaguely what her arc was bc I spoiled myself on part of the Engage stuff, but I wasn't wildly interested or disinterested in her as a character.

Impression now: LOVE HER, she's so sweet, her story's actually way more tragic and hopeful than I was expecting it to be, and she's great, she's wonderful, I hope she gets all the nice things in life bc she deserves them.

Favorite moment: Oh, when she's able to break through the mind-control helmet, and forcefully take her own body back from Sombron's control so she could revive Alear, that was such a chilling scene to watch and it was so cool to see her finally take her own life back for herself. Like, she has this strength of heart that comes from how kind she is and then to see that strength manifest in literally being able to oppose even Sombron's most powerful magic, like damn I was so proud of her even as I was watching the lowkey horrific scene of Alear becoming a Corrupted play out.

Idea for a story: Ever since you mentioned a fic idea for Veyle rebuilding Gradlon I've wondered what that would look like, it's such a cool concept. Also, if there were potentially other dragon survivors who had gone into hiding who sought out Gradlon and Lythos after Sombron was defeated, how Veyle would interact with them, like, I dunno that would be interesting to explore. It'd also be cool to explore her potential relationship with Lumera (branching off from the Alear fic idea above).

Unpopular opinion: For all the criticism Engage gets, I haven't seen Veyle catch too much flack and that's nice honestly. I guess...I know a lot of people wanted to see Alear and Veyle turn into dragons, but I'm actually fine with them not being able to do that? Like it works for the narrative theme of questioning what it means to be a fell or divine dragon, and the idea that fell does not equal evil and the inability to transform does not make one a defective dragon feels relevant to both Veyle and Alear.

Favorite relationship: I love her familial relationship to Alear and how she's so excited to have Nel as a sister in their supports, and I'd like to imagine that excitement at having new siblings extends to Rafal as well. I think her relationship with Mavier (esp. her insisting they be friends bc she doesn't want a retainer or a worshipper) is nice too, and I love how invested she becomes in connecting with the various people in the army (I still want to know the results of her spicy food eating competition with Diamant).

Favorite headcanon: Like Alear, Veyle has a habit of giving people small gifts like pretty rocks or flowers that reminded her of whomever. Also, once she eases into a normal life routine a bit more, she likes to host parties or larger gatherings so she can be around a lot of friends in peaceful times and have lots of happy memories to cherish.

Yunaka

First impression: I thought her design was cute if a bit unusual for FE (esp. with the stars in her hair), but I wasn't sure what to think otherwise at first.

Impression now: Oooh, Yunaka's great, one of my top favorite characters for sure. I love the dichotomy between the peppy and lighthearted mask she puts up against how casually she drops these darker "definitely used to be an assassin" lines in battle. Plus she's such a mess, and I mean this in the best way, but like, where she's at in her life is a mess, she's trying to break away from being an assassin, she has no frame of reference for what is "normal", she doesn't quite know what she actually wants to do, she's terrified of people learning the truth about her but she also seems kind of relieved anytime they do, she's so incredibly complex while also being the fun girl who drops likes like "hiya papaya" and "zappy". She's just amazing, I love her so much as a character, we need more characters like her.

Favorite moment: Oh hmm, she has a lot of good supports, but I thought it was really incredible how she decides to open up to Alear in their supports about her past, but like, on her terms and because she chose to share this information. Like, I really enjoy her supports with Citrinne and Zelkov as well, but Citrinne sort of forces Yunaka to explain her past, whereas Zelkov's able to pick up on it bc he's also a former assassin, and in both cases Yunaka doesn't get to choose to reveal this thing about herself that she's trying to keep secret. I also really liked her supports with Alfred for this reason, bc while Yunaka thinks she's going to have to explain everything for them to be "actual, real friends", Alfred makes is very clear to her that he doesn't care at all about her past and is fine with only knowing the person she is now, on her terms, and he has no reason or need really to know more than who she is now, which was just like, really sweet (and very Alfred given that he's also keeping secrets).

Idea for a story: Hmm, maybe something exploring her life before joining Alear? Something post-game, following her travels and how she eventually figures out who she is and wants to be and becomes comfortable as that person (yes I'm ignoring the ominous ending card) and what she eventually settles into would be interesting as well.

Unpopular opinion: Something something about how people say Engage has less complex characters, and how Yunaka disproves that (well, there's plenty other characters I could cite, but I could literally write an essay on Yunaka she's got so much stuff going on). Also I think Yunaka is probably one of the most complex characters from the recent games, and she's also miles more interesting, complicated, and well-written than most of the women from 3H (no shade intended for the 3H ladies, they're great too, but some of them are pretty standard in terms of the FE women with one-key characterization).

Favorite relationship: Love her friendship with Alfred, and friendship or romance with Alear, and I think her relationship with Citrinne turns out really interesting too. Love that she and Zelkov just start hanging out as a way to sort of heal from the trauma of being assassins in their youth. Also her supports with Goldmary were incredibly good and I like to think the two remained friends. Basically Yunaka having friends who accept her for who she is and allow her to grow and become who she wants to be are Very Good, and I want her to have the best. Oh, and I know they don't interact in the game, but I think she'd get along really well with Veyle, especially since Yunaka didn't choose to be an assassin and her entire childhood was ruined bc of it, and she'd see Veyle who's also had a shitty childhood but still has some childhood left, and be like, "Yeah, I'm gonna make sure this girl's life is good from here on out."

Favorite headcanon: Her ending is unusually ominous and I like to Ignore It (inset meme image of Yunaka and Sonya shaking hands over a caption reading "FE woman with more than one personality trait ominously vanishing in their ending card"). I like to think that after her time as a street performer she travels the world doing random good deeds (helping out at Zelkov's orphanage, being that Really Strange Guest in Goldmary's classes, hanging out with Citrinne and helping her navigate how to better help the commoners, maybe even sometimes going and scaring a bunch of ruffians causing trouble to stop causing trouble bc while she's put the assassin life behind her, she can still be scary enough to get some troublemakers to reform their ways, so on and so forth). And I think she does eventually figure herself out and find a place she can call home and live out a happy, quit retirement.

[therighthandofvengeance]

Yes, Delenn started a war. Yeah, that's objectively bad. But do we really think that EarthGov would have given anyone the courtesy of asking about why they killed a significant (political) figure before committing massive violations of the Geneva Convention?

Obviously we shouldn't condone this behavior- but let's at least give it some perspective:

It's literally her first day on the job. she just finished her internship the night before

she's been trained for this role and this role alone, her life experience is limited at best and nonexistent at worst

her mentor just died -> that's essentially going from training wheels on flat and even ground, with a helmet to a unicycle on a mountain during fire season... uphill

nobody really cared about what she said until 20 minutes ago when she became One of Them

there were four other members of the Grey Council that were pro-war, she didn't decide to go to war by herself