#there's also like. personal reasons i have such a complex relationship with dragon age relating to the kind of place i was in my life

[n7punk]

btw know as we go into this game that i am going to be critical and say stuff that sounds like talking shit but it's because i genuinely love these games, they were part of my personality and what my mental health rested on at some point, and when i say that stuff it's because i loved them/the characters/the potential and i just want better from it in some aspects. i am excited. i am going to rag on myself for being excited. im one of the rare me:a enjoyers even and have invested hundreds of hours in inquisition so im probably going to really enjoy this game. but i am going to make fun of it and da as a whole also because lets be honest: it kind of deserves it

[mybg3notebook]

Does Gale love Mystra?

So far in EA, we have been shown that this is complicated to answer: human love is complex as well as the delirious lore of Forgotten Realms. 

Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were written up to the game version v4.1.104.3536 (Early access). As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information. Written in June 2021.

The number between brackets [] represents the topic-block related to (this post), which gathers as much evidence as I could get.

The narrative is clear until the party scene which, as I stated many times across these posts, it's a scene that feels a bit inconsistent for me (reasonable since it's EA). But if we follow what the game explicitly shows us, we know that if we send Gale to sleep at the beginning of the Weave scene in which he is watching the incantation with the shape of Mystra, he will say: 

Gale: Long days, yes. And long, lonesome nights.

If Tav knows that the incantation on his palm is Mystra, Gale will explain:

Tav: [insight] You don't have that look on your face when you're looking at “no one” / There's more to it than that. The figure I saw: she means something to you. Gale: [...] I can’t quite describe it, the need I sometimes feel to see her – to draw the filaments of fantasy into existence. [...]

Dev's notes: Passionate. [...] He was recalling Mystra as a lover, but doesn’t say that out loud. [...] Narrator: The Weave evaporates, and as it does so, you realise the night feels suddenly cold and lonesome.

This allows us to infer that, at this moment, Gale is feeling alone and probably very anxious with the oppressing feeling of the "orb" in his chest. The tadpole only increased the number of problems he has, so he resorts to seeing Mystra melancholically. We notice later in the Weave Scene that not having Mystra around increases this feeling of loneliness. The whole scene seems to give us the idea that he still loves her. There is yearning and loneliness in his current situation.

After a moment of passionate description of magic, Gale invites Tav to experience the Weave. The Weave has a particular effect on Gale: "The moment feels intimate. You realise the Weave is making you one." Considering how Gale was feeling while conjuring the incantation, this moment touched him deeply (the narrator implies that this feeling is mutual).

If Tav expresses their romantic interests, Gale will be surprised:

Gale: I.. I didn’t think.. Narrator: You perceive quick-fire gusts of embarrassment, trepidation, and finally.. elation Gale: Sorry, I wasn’t expecting… But it is a pleasant image to be sure! Most pleasant, in fact. Most welcome. Dev's notes: Warm, with real affection.

The narrator is giving us meta-knowledge, we can trust in what she says, and we can see that the situation was truly shocking for Gale. These emotional stages described here made me suspect that Gale is a character who has focused for too long on healing his condition, ignoring any chance for romance. His surprise here may confirm that, in my opinion. He feels embarrassment, a feeling that one can interpret as a sign of the surprise of being thrown into a situation he had not seen beforehand (the death protocol and Gale’s conversations show us that he is a character that thinks ahead). It follows trepidation: fear or anxiety about something that he is going to do or experience. Gale is scared of the possibility. Maybe because he is thinking in the danger he is, maybe because he was already burnt by Mystra's attention and having someone else's attention now makes him feel a bit anxious. And then, the final resolution of the process: elation, which is a feeling of great happiness and excitement about something that has happened. Gale is suddenly excited by the possibility. Something he will be thinking about, many times, for the rest of the EA. 

Tav: So what did you think about what I pictured when we were connected by the Weave? Gale: Oh, I was surprised. But pleasantly so, just like I said. Amid the madness that has befallen us, it seems almost out of place to think of a kiss/ of a romantic walk. And yet... now more than ever, it's important to recall what makes us human. [if Tav is not human] Well- you know what I mean. A stolen glance- that sudden heartbeat... Sometimes the little things are worth more than kingdoms. They promise things to come.

So romance was not something he had even considered until the opportunity arose (this is why he won't pursue a Tav who didn't show romantic interest towards him). I think that, since he is a character always living on the edge of death, he will take this opportunity to feel “human again”: after all, he follows the concept of "living life to the fullest".

During the Loss (see the post of the "Loss Scene"), we know that losing Mystra was a big blow for him. He regrets his decisions of the past in this scene, and it reinforced the idea that he is the only one to blame for Mystra's loss. There is a yearning for the lost Chosen powers, but Gale's context in the majority of his scenes seem to reinforce the idea that he sought power not as a means, but as a goal itself to be closer to Mystra and Magic. Since we are talking about a wizard, his passion lies in magic itself, in being one with the Weave/Magic/Mystra. A Chosen of Mystra is so entangled with the Weave and magic that when they die, they are part of the Weave itself. This is the level of passion that Gale has for Magic, and since Magic can only be performed by most mortals via Weave, and the Weave is Mystra, the whole three concepts are, in fact, one; and it makes it very difficult from a lore point of view to separate them. 

Tav: There's something I don't understand. If Mystra abandoned you, how can you still cast magic? Gale: The Weave is still here, all around us – inside of us too. As long as the goddess lives, magic is a tangible thing for those who know how to touch. I've studied magic for many years, and in as many ways I am still a more than capable wizard. It's just that I'm no longer able to perform those feats even arch wizards would marvel at. To have one hand on the pulse of divinity. You have to remember that the Weave is a living thing, both the embodiment and the extension of Mystra herself.She can give and she can take away. I'm afraid I'm still very much on her naughty list. Consider yourself lucky you're not. 

I personally think Gale will never stop being devoted to Mystra (and won't stop loving her in many ways), because his passion for magic and knowledge is his own life, and Mystra IS those things. He loves magic for the sake of it. So losing this unique contact with magic itself that only Chosen of Mystra have was a terrible punishment for him. His abandonment issues are not just the result of a “guy being left by a girl”. They have an extra complexity because of the nature of Magic in this world and how its deity behaves with her chosen. Gale was not only abandoned by Mystra, but was also removed of a good amount of his capacity to perform magic. If magic “is his life”, the abandonment removed a part of his life away. I think some people miss this point, because, once more, it's related to Forgotten Realm lore and not Dragon Age. Many of these people keep constantly comparing this situation with Dragon Age, which has nothing to do with it. Dragon Age has no wizards, their relationship with Magic is natural, it’s sorcerer-like if we want to compare it, and the relationship with their deities (mostly absent, silent ones) are nothing alike the ones in Forgotten Realm. The context is key, as I repeated several times in these posts and in the one about "Context, persuasion, and manipulation". 

Tav: I don't know what to make of what you've told me, but I sympathise. Gale: Thank you. [no romantic weave] I want you to know that you’re a good friend. [romantic weave] I often think of that moment we shared together – one under the Weave. I hope you think about it too. /I'm glad to know you think about it too.

Narrator: You sense a moment of unspoken affection. You want to know where it may lead. Gale: I consider myself very lucky to have found you Tav: I think perhaps we could be more than friends Gale: Perhaps. 

Tav: You said you think about the moment we shared under the weave. Do you think about it often? Gale: Do you? 1-2-Tav: Yes / From time to time. Gale: So do I. 3- Tav: Not really. Gale: And yet you ask. I do, as a matter of fact.

Gale: You see. I'm not a big believer in fate, but I do believe in serendipity. Life is a tempest of events that sometimes we brace against and sometimes embrace. You're one such event that one day soon perhaps I'd like to embrace.

So after sharing this regret during the Loss scene, Gale will show affection if Tav remains friendly during the Weave (but Gale will never directly engage it, he is waiting for Tav to give the first step; understandable if we consider he also has a dangerous bomb in his chest, so he may be torn between wanting to, but knowing he should not to). If there is no interest in pursuing romance, he will show a gesture of gratitude for being a good friend during that night of regrets. 

If pursuing the romance, we can interpret that Gale, at this point, even though he is still struggling with all the emotions that Mystra inspires, wants to experience something more “human”, a romance with a mortal. We know for sure that Gale is getting interested, slowly, while thinking about it, since in each of the following scenes he will ask (or Tav will ask) about that “moment in the Weave”. He has been thinking about it for many nights, and he is “embracing” the idea. 

If Gale is treated with judgement (despite not knowing his whole story) or allowing him to keep the secret of what or who he lost, we will obtain lines likes:

Gale: Good. Goodnight. And thank you for your patient understanding. // And try not to think too poorly of me. A cat can look at a king. A wizard can look at a goddess.

Tav: Another fool pays for his arrogance. A tale as old as time. Gale: Arrogance? Ambition, rather. And ambition is a fine thing – until suddenly it no longer is. Then again, if that is how you judge me, there’s little I can do to change your mind. But know that I have this ambition still. First to save myself, and after that, the licence to dream. (Gale Disapproval)

We could interpret these lines as the only ones so far that may suggest that Gale is still wanting something from the goddess. We know due to the tadpole dreams that Gale’s desire is Mystra. On the comments of the second tadpole dream we know more details about his major desire: it is not just Mystra, but her forgiveness.

Tav: Gale, who is the apparition in your dreams? Gale: She's... It doesn't matter. I just know her to be unreal. Tav: What's impossible about what you're been shown? Gale: Forgiveness Tav: Gale, who is the apparition in your dreams? Gale: It's indeed Mystra I see. And yet it cannot be her. There was a time when I would have believed - but no longer. I told you that I lost her. Lost her favour and lost so many of the powers I took for granted. What magic I can still weave is met only with undercurrents of disappointing silence. Mystra has not changed her mind about me. That's how I know our dreams are delusions.

I think this scene shows the difference between a standard desire for power as a means, and power for the sake of power itself (since this power allows Gale to be one with the Weave). The scene is ambiguous enough to see it as Gale wanting to return to Mystra’s side as well as remaining as an ardent devotee of her (because she is magic herself). I keep repeating that these scenes show that Gale’s most important thing in his life is Magic, which is Mystra: the extension and the embodiment of magic. So his desire for her seems impossible to be extinguished completely. In previous scenes we saw that he certainly had thought through the idea of loving her more like a devotee than a lover, but certainly the weight of being his first love will remain, especially since she is deeply related to magic itself.

During the Party Scene we find some information about his feelings for Mystra. 

I personally ponder the book of Amn’s description as very important because, from a narrative point of view, it's a lot of lines/content that, if they were not important, tend to be removed from the script. If they are there, they are meant to be interpreted. For this reason those lines mean to me that Gale has finally embraced the idea of having something important with a mortal. In my post of the "Party Scene" I go into details, but here I will stick to the interpretation related to Mystra: all what Gale numerates in that book are things that he could not access to with a Goddess. Curiously, part of those descriptions are things that make humans human, so I personally think it reinforces Gale's intention in heading into this romance with the eagerness of finding some shelter (never forget the “orb” has a constant oppressing effect in him, increasing his anxiety and fears) and to experience (maybe for the first time) the love of a mortal.

So, for some assumptions made in the post of the "Party Scene", we suspect that Gale needs to share a night to feel confident enough to speak the details of his “orb” condition. Since he wants this relationship to be strong (after all, he implied commitment during the description of the book) he speaks about the true origin of the “orb” immediately after that night, starting with Mystra (which is, after all, the true origin of his folly). Depending on the version that Tav picks, we have extra information provided by Gale about his emotions for the Goddess:

Tav: What did Mystra’s attention feel like? Gale: Love. Perhaps it was not quite love, but you see, the wizard was but a very young man. It was most certainly love to him. [...] One day all too soon, the whispers stopped. The goddess spurned the mortal. [...] and the wizard was left behind heartbroken. Tav: I hate to say it, but he really could have seen this coming Gale: He was blinded by love. Good stories are rife with lovers’ follies after all.

[Short Version] Gale: Before long Mystra tired of me. What was I after all but a mortal plaything in sacred hands? You have to realise I was heartbroken. I was a young man, she was my first love. I thought it would last forever. I vowed to win her back.

[after explaining the mistake of the “orb”] Gale: It is this folly that led Mystra to abandon me completely. I can only hope you won’t abandon me as well. After all we’ve been through.. After the night we spent together. Surely we can brave even this side by side

Gale is giving a very detailed context about his love for Mystra: she was his first love, and the first love tends to have a special weight in a person's life and their memories. That doesn't mean the person has become unable to build more relationships for the rest of their life. If we add the fact that he was very young when all this happened (more details in the Post "Gale Hypotheses- Part 1") we find him under two effects: the impression of the first love and the naivety of the youth. Both elements made him believe it was a love that was going to last forever. With a Goddess, no less.

Besides, Gale expresses this, highlighting his naivety and foolishness: he is aware of how silly he was back then, and how impossible it could be for a mortal to keep the love of a goddess. He is a pragmatic and realistic character, after all. He recognizes in the end that he was just a mortal plaything for her. 

I think these pieces of information give us a very clear context of his emotional state: he is still nostalgic for Mystra because of all the reasons I enumerated above; she is also more than just a woman, she is Magic itself. But he is aware that those emotions were the consequence of a very naïve and young self that has awakened by the burden of his own mistakes. There is also a reinforcement of “forever”, which recalls the concept of commitment that Gale pursues so much in his romance: he is not there just for the sex “intimacy”, he is there for serious commitment, maybe because he doesn't want to experience another abandonment. After all, we are talking about a character with a profile that shows abandonment issues (see the post of "Gale Hypotheses- Part 1", section: "Abandonment Issues")

[If rejected] Tav: No. This is too large a betrayal. GALE: I see. I am sorry. I am sorry that it had to come to this. All that’s left to say is farewell. Dev’s notes: hurt but understanding Gale: Farewell. (Leaves) Dev’s notes: A slight hesitation, hurt but understanding. He makes a polite little bow, then we see him walk away.

[If accepted] Gale: I don’t know what I did to deserve the magic that you do. 

Despite being terribly cheesy, this last line shows that Gale was more than convinced that Tav would abandon him because he doesn’t deserve Tav. This is why he doesn't put up much fight if Tav chooses to tell him to leave. He will try to make Tav listen to his story, and once it's done, the verdict will fall and he will accept it. He learnt his lesson with Mystra. This line also shows how everything important around Gale is or has to be worded with magic, even a silly metaphor like this is related with the word “magic”: Tav's acceptance is like magic. For him, as important and good as magic itself.

As if that were not enough, after the scene there is a comment in which Gale will reinforce his gratitude for Tav's acceptance:

Tav: If you ever feel the netherese magic overtaking you, what will you do? Gale: If it should ever come to that... if I ever know I am no longer able to stop it... I will do anything I can to ensure no one but me pays for my mistakes. I will find the remotest place on the surface of Faerûn, or perhaps far below in the depths of the Underdark. I will await that death alone. [*] I promise I will not betray your trust... You kept me by your side despite the menace that I am. If worst comes to worst, I will be gone long before the curtain falls.  [*] If romanced, Gale will say here "I cherish you."

Which makes me suspect that Gale can disappear at any moment (in full game) if for some game mechanics we are unable to get magical artefacts but the deal with Raphael did not happen (if that’s even possible). But that's just me speculating. Nothing in EA seems to suggest this. What i's clear is that acceptance—that strong concept in the book he put so much emphasis on—is really important to him, so he shows gratitude for that: he promises to protect Tav (and many innocents) from his own mistake. He also says pretty soon an equivalent of “I love you”, in a more formal/meaningful way: “to cherish” is not just to love, but to care/protect as well. 

Finally, in case someone lost those hints, or maybe as a consequence of this unpolished scene, we have a direct question with a direct answer:

Tav: Gale, are you still in love with Mystra? Gale: I’ll be honest with you; I don’t know. She is my muse still, the embodiment of magic, but the embodiment of love? Only if we ever meet again will I know

Gale simply says what we have been inferring so far with all the previous information: Gale reinforces the idea that he will remain as a strong, loving devotee of Mystra, because she is magic. I personally don't even consider it possible to remove that love from him. He may not be a cleric, but he loves his deity as one. But he also learnt his lesson that loving gods has its own dire consequences for mortals. He is very aware of it during the discussion about Karsus:

Tav: Nothing good ever comes from mortals wanting to be gods. 

Gale: Loving them has its side effects as well. Now, so many centuries later, I tried to follow in the footsteps of Karsus, not to destroy Mystra, but to prove my love for her. It tried to control only a fraction of the magic that was unleashed that fateful day. I merely sought to return one tiny diamond to an imperfect crown. Gale's Folly one might call it. History. Repetition. It's the way things go.

Once more, there is no scene where Gale doesn't reinforce that what he did was a mistake, a foolish action, a Folly. 

Finally, if talking about a previous lover immediately after awakening with a new one was of poor taste, Gale acknowledges this, giving an honest apology:

Gale: Before we go on though, do first let me apologise. To share such a night with you only to tell you of a previous lover the next morning... It wasn't the most gentleman-like behaviour. But I had to finally tell you. Silence would have been far worse behaviour still. Nevertheless, I am sorry.

He accepts any rude response or lash-out from Tav without approval penalties. This is an interesting meta-knowledge that speaks about owning up to his mistakes. Unlike the Loss scene, where rude responses made Gale disapprove because Tav was judging him without knowing the whole story [16], in this scene he doesn’t. Now Tav has the whole picture, and he accepts whatever reaction Tav shows. Of course he will approve a forgiving Tav, since Gale is a character very related to forgiveness [12, 12b].

Conclusion: 

So, answering the question that gives title to this section: yes. In my opinion, Gale loves Mystra. But it’s not a white-and-black love; it has the complexity of human love mixed with this crazy lore of deities in Forgotten Realms. I believe Mystra will always be part of Gale's life, because the Weave and magic are his life, and she is both. He will always love her as a devotee, even though he now understands the mistakes of his young self and seems more aware of how naive he was when he was a “very young man”. The comments on the second tadpole dreams explicitly show that what Gale wants the most is Mystra’s forgiveness, but at the same time, he knows that he does not deserve it. And this raw realistic view of himself is what makes him understand that those dreams are illusions. During the party scene he is uncertain about his emotions, but still he emphasises that there is a big chance for him to not see Mystra as the embodiment of love any more but reinforces that she will always be the embodiment of magic to him (a very important concept in his character design). 

Whether Gale is romanced or not, I don't see a difference in the information he shares on this matter in EA.

This post was written in June 2021. → For more Gale: Analysis Series Index

[theyearoftheking]

Book Seventy-Nine: If It Bleeds

“There’s an underlying truth in it which I believe you will grasp even at your current age Films are ephemeral, while books- the good ones- are eternal, or close to it. You have read me many good ones, but others are waiting to be written.” 

This is it... the second to last book in the challenge. I’m really dragging my feet reading Later (although it is a spectacular book). But this challenge is over, and I don’t know what I’m going to do. I have a ton of books on my shelves and Kindle to read, and writing that needs to be done (characters are all but screaming for me to come back to them); but this project really gave me purpose in a rudderless time. 

I had started this project as a fun conversation piece, but quickly turned into something bigger. During quarantine, this challenge gave me a purpose. I’d challenge myself to read one hundred pages a day, and remind myself to drink water between chapters. Sometimes writing these posts dragged me out of bed. In winter months I’m extremely agoraphobic, and it’s tough for me to leave the house some days. And other days it’s all I can do to wash and brush my hair. Mental health is a bitch, sometimes. But I didn’t mean to make this about me... although I’m sure some of my readers can relate, a lot of us took a hit to the mental health during 2020. While I will look back on quarantine fondly (it gave me excuses not to leave the house, or change out of my pajamas), my mental health will not. But just as it’s time to leave the house, I suppose it’s also time to start focusing on new projects once this one is complete. I have no idea what that will look like. Maybe I’ll start with Steve’s movies. Maybe I’ll re-read Joe Hill. Who knows. But I do know I’m going to indulge in some trashy fiction reading. 

Ok! 

If It Bleeds is a collection of three novellas, and a Holly Gibney story. I shouldn’t discount the other three stories: they’re extremely well written, and thought provoking. But the real star of the book is the Holly story. 

The first story, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone turns grief on it’s ear. A lot of people call their loved one’s cellphones after they pass... they want that experience of hearing their voice just one more time. But what happens when the phone is buried with your loved one and continues to ring? And what if you get a text from them after their death? It’s a sweet story, with your typical Steve twist. 

The second story, The Life of Chuck is told backwards, and “contains multitudes”. It also has a post-apocalyptic vibes, with California falling into the ocean, and the Midwest burning. It also has college kids storming the White House looking for answers, which is just another example of Steve predicting the future. 

Steve was inspired by a random billboard that read, “Thanks Chuck!” along with a guys picture and “39 Great Years”. Again, something mundane with a great Steve twist. He’s proven this is his sweet spot. 

The third story is If It Bleeds, which picks up almost immediately where The Outsider left off. There’s a tragic bombing that takes place inside an elementary school, and Holly can’t stop watching the television news reports. There’s something tickling at her brain, and she can’t figure out what it is. 

Eventually we find out there are more monsters like the one Holly killed in The Outsider. Jerome makes the best comparison, and says evil is like a bird that randomly flies from person to person, infecting them as it goes. There’s one section of the book when a character refers to the monster as, “It”. So it makes you wonder if this is one big tie-in, where we find out Holly is killing pieces of the monster that plagued Derry for so long. 

The mystery itself is secondary to Holly’s larger-than-life character. She is dealing with family issues; her Trump-supporting mom needs Holly’s help putting her uncle in a care facility, and Holly is struggling to cut herself out of the co-dependent relationship she has with her mother. But Holly has grown. She knows her worth, and she doesn’t let people talk down to her anymore. Her evolution is best described as, “Holly would do well to remember...who she is. Not the child who nibbled Mr. Rabbit Trick’s ears. Not the adolescent who threw up her breakfast most days before school. She  is the woman who, along with Bill and Jerome, saved those children at the Midwest Culture and Arts Complex. She is the woman who survived Brady Hartsfield. The one who faced another monster in a Texas cave. The girl who hid in this room and never wanted to come out is gone.” 

The final story is Rat. And I’m just going to tell you... an actual rat quoting Jonathan Franzen is perfect. He’s problematic enough to be an actual rodent. Yeah, I’m going to say it. The Corrections was absolute garbage, and I don’t know why it was lauded the way it was. He’s a condescending misogynist and he’s not nearly as good a writer as he thinks he is... says the girl writing a blog on her Stephen King musings. But whatever! I own what I’m doing, and the significance of it.

I will gladly re-read all of Steve’s books again before picking up another Jonathan Franzen book. If you want to dive into all the reasons he’s disgusting, this Bustle article will explain it to you. Like, legit explain it. Not mansplain it. 

Anyway, Rat explores why it’s not a great idea to make deals with rodents during major weather events. And when you’re at your isolated cabin and a major snowstorm is on the way- heed your wife’s advice and come back to civilization. 

This collection included plenty of Constant Reader mentions:

Derry

Shawshank Prison

Castle Rock

Gunslinger

It was an excellent collection, and I can’t get enough Holly. Steve talked about how she started out as a small, minor character and her presence just grew and grew. I don’t know about the rest of the Constant Readers, but I’d totally read another Holly book. Hell, I’ll take a whole series at this point. 

So, my final book is Later. I’ve got about 100 pages left to read and then that’s it... until April. 

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 48

Total Dark Tower References: 76

Book Grade: A+

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

Doctor Sleep: A+

The Talisman: A+

Wizard and Glass: A+

11/22/63: A+

Mr. Mercedes: A+

End of Watch: A+

Under the Dome: A+

Needful Things: A+

On Writing: A+

The Green Mile: A+

Hearts in Atlantis: A+

Full Dark, No Stars: A+

The Outsider: A+

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams: A+

If It Bleeds: A+

Just After Sunset: A+

Rose Madder: A+

Misery: A+

Different Seasons: A+

It: A+

Four Past Midnight: A+

Stephen King Goes to the Movies: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

Finders Keepers: A-

Bag of Bones: A-

Duma Key: A-

Black House: A-

The Institute: A-

The Wastelands: A-

The Drawing of the Three: A-

The Dark Tower: A-

Dolores Claiborne: A-

Blaze: B+

Hard Listening: B+

Revival: B+

Nightmares in the Sky: B+

The Dark Half: B+

Joyland: B+

Skeleton Crew: B+

The Dead Zone: B+

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: B+

Wolves of the Calla: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Song of Susannah: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

From a Buick 8: B

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: B

Sleeping Beauties: B-

The Colorado Kid: B-

Storm of the Century: B-

Everything’s Eventual: B-

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

The Wind Through the Keyhole: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Running Man: C+

Cell: C+

Thinner: C+

Dark Visions: C+

The Eyes of the Dragon: C+

The Long Walk: C+

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Rage: C

Desperation: C-

Insomnia: C-

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Faithful: D

Gerald’s Game: D

Roadwork: D

Lisey’s Story: D

Christine: D

Dreamcatcher: D

The Regulators: D

The Tommyknockers D

Until next time, Long Days & Pleasant Nights, Rebecca

[brooklynboysficrecs]

Ria’s Top 10 Shrinkyclinks Fics

I will admit this isn’t my preferred AU -- I won’t immediately jump on a fic just because it’s pre-serum Steve and WS Bucky. I gotta like the plot, or the premise, or be really, really intrigued by the tags, but to be fair, that’s how I am with everything that isn’t Modern Bucky and Cap Steve, so. That being said, I have read some truly fantastic shrinkyclinks stories, and I do very much love Steven “Fight Me” Rogers at his scrappiest. And these fics also tend to feature protective!Bucky which is another personal favorite of mine. Oh, but also: shrinkyclinks generally refers to pre-serum Steve with actual Winter Soldier Bucky, but a lot of people use the tag just to imply body types, and when they say WS Bucky they mean he’s all huge and muscled and sometimes has a metal arm, though that isn’t required. That’s the definition I’m going with as well, so hopefully nothing’s confusing!

1. If Wishing Made It So by leveragehunters. Before I get into anything about the actual fic, let me say this: leveragehunters is probably my favorite stucky writer. Like, hands-down, I read almost everything they write, and they’re big into fantasy stories, which is a great bonus for me personally. So, so, so many good shrinkyclinks fics by them (Even Underneath the Waves, a mermaid AU that features equal amounts of pre- and post-serum Steve, and A-mage-ing Grace with mage Steve are two of my other favorites, and they would’ve been on the list, but I try not to put more than one story per author, ya know? And IWMIS kinda wins out above the others for me, so). This story features jinn!Bucky who finds himself in the baffled hands of Steve Rogers, who is perfectly prickly and stubborn and good. Bucky’s got a terrible past with humans in general (and Hydra in particular, what a shocker) that he and Steve have to overcome as their relationship progresses, but that progression is frankly beautiful to watch unfold. I come back to this story time and time again because of how much I love these versions of Steve and Bucky getting to know one another, learning to trust each other, supporting each other through the worst the world has to throw at them. Plus, there’s a few more stories in this series if you get as hooked as I am, which is always great!!

2. Roots Have Grown by AustinB. I remember reading this and just... completely feeling what Bucky is going through. Not everything -- he’s an agoraphobic veteran, and I can’t relate to either of those, really, but he’s so... awkward about his crush on Steve. And that’s -- that’s relatable to me. But it’s precious, really, how he tries to help Steve even though he’s afraid to actually meet him initially; he becomes Steve’s sort of... anonymous benefactor? Guardian angel with money? Like, it’s definitely a sugar daddy type deal originally but I doubt Bucky would describe it like that. I don’t know, it’s cute, though, and I loved seeing Bucky opening up to Steve as they became closer. 

3. Through The Woods by VenusMonstrosa, alby_mangroves. Okay, hear me out: werewolves. I fucking love werewolves in fiction; I mean, not really the romance novels you’ll see in the grocery store, but. Werewolf mythology is one of my favorite things, so seeing it in fanfiction almost always manages to lure me in. And I was so not disappointed with this story! Steve’s living alone in a cabin in the woods, which of course sounds like the opening to a horror movie, but here it leads to love. Werewolf Bucky is both charming and terrifying, to a degree, he’s a wolf, but he and Steve are fantastic together. This is another story that goes in on the trust aspect of their relationship and I for one am a big fan of that. There’s some violence, minor character death and the like, but it’s definitely not undeserved so. If you can handle that (and the sex, because there is sex in this) then I highly recommend this one!

4. The Joy of Little Things by obsessivereader, Sealcat. And so we move from werewolves to dragons. Yup. Dragons. Another of my beloved mythical creatures that I obsessed over when I was kid. Bucky’s capable of shifting into a human in this, but primarily he’s a big ol’ dragon that surprisingly doesn’t want to eat the scrawny sacrifice from the local village. Steve ends up working for Bucky, instead, and from there hilarity ensues. Steve’s obviously wary of Bucky, but Bucky isn’t at all what he’d been expecting, and they grow closer the longer Steve’s staying in Bucky’s caves. There are a couple of stories with Dragon!Bucky, but this is my personal favorite; it’s cute and heart-warming and, well. I just really like it. 

5. I Just Want to Love You in My Own Language by agetwellcard, inediblesushi. So this one has Cap!Bucky (Bucky!Cap?) but again, sometimes it’s more about how Bucky looks rather than his role as the Winter Soldier. Anyway, I remember my biggest take away from this story was how adorable Bucky was in his quest to win the affections of sassy Nurse Steve, who patches him up after missions and is probably playing hard to get. Bucky uses terrible pick-up lines, absolutely awful, and he is completely unashamed of that fact. Which is, as I said, adorable. Steve, initially, does not agree with my assessment, but he gets there eventually. After some requisite drama, of course.

6. Tint & Shade by forestofbabel. Oh, god, this one hurt me, I remember that pretty clearly. Bucky is the Winter Soldier in this, and Steve is a 21st century art therapist who just so happens to resemble his late grandfather, Captain Joseph Rogers, who fought in -- you guessed it -- WWII. Like I said in the intro, if I really like the premise of something I’ll usually read it regardless of the configuration of pre-/post-serum Steve and pre-serum/WS Bucky, and this was definitely one of the fics I got into for that reason. Having actual WS Bucky interact with a modern pre-serum Steve is always interesting, given how much they don’t have in common, generally (there isn’t even really the veteran status that modern Bucky sometimes has in fics), and it’s a journey to see how and why they connect. Having Steve resemble his WWII era grandfather caught my attention, and the fic itself made me grateful that I decided to go for it in the first place. This is another one where is trust is key to their relationship, considering the mental/emotional state Bucky is in at the beginning. Very good story overall!

7. Fourth Floor by dirtybinary, mithborien, picoalloe. So dirtybinary has written some amazing stucky fics, which is why I was so excited when I saw this being posted initially (a few years ago, but still). There’s magic! Mystery! Suspense! Some NatSharon! Looking this over, I’m wondering if I should’ve saved it for the Urban Fantasy list I wanna do (and If Wishing Made It So, if I’m being honest) but I do like it for the shrinkyclinks list. The writing is great, the characterization of Steve and Bucky is great, and like, they live in what is essentially a magical apartment complex, so what’s better than that? 

8. my heart tells me you are lonely, too by FanGirling. Alright, so I read this one as it was being published, and the slow burn about killed me. You know, in a good way, though. Bucky lives in Steve and his mother’s apartment building, trying to figure out where to go with his life now that he’s broken free of Hydra and gotten his autonomy back. He’s obviously wary, skittish, but he takes a liking to Sarah Rogers when she reaches out to befriend him, surprised anyone wants to be near him let alone take the time to get to know him. Steve... is not so easily sold on Bucky. And I’m not gonna spoil anything here, but the shit these two go through is intense, and I cried a lot during this fic, sometimes out of frustration because they’re both ridiculous about their feelings (of course Bucky’s fears are valid, the man has been through literal hell, but also I was internally screaming a little as Bucky continually talked himself out of getting closer to Steve.) I wanted to wrap the both of them in about thirty blankets for pretty much the entire length of the fic. God. They’re just -- they’re so incredibly sweet in this one, once they work past their issues (Bucky and Steve are both more than a little messed up from their respective circumstances, but they make it work). Mind the tags on this one, also, especially because there is a chapter that deals with attempted sexual assault against Steve (obviously not with Bucky!), but Bucky handles the situation before anything truly nasty happens, that I can promise. 

9. Local Raccoon Befriends Angry Chihuahua by charlesdk. This is yet another author I really love; they have a fantastic farmer!Steve/Modern!WS!Bucky story that I love to bits, as well as other great fics. But anyway, this one. The title sold me the second I saw it, honestly, I can’t even pretend that wasn’t the deciding factor in me reading this. I don’t think I can really do any better than the summary in explaining why I recommend it; feisty tiny Steve and lovestruck grumpy Bucky are a winning combination in my book. This one does feature the boys dealing with homophobia and ableism, though I can’t recall how severe it is. So I’d just mind the tags, and if you’re alright with them, thoroughly enjoy this story. 

10. The Road to Hell is Paved with Tony’s Good Intentions by pinlilli. Bucky as a mail-order Russian bride. That’s the detail that pretty much demanded I click on this fic, and oh my god, it was even better than I ever could’ve expected. Tony, in a bid to help Steve get over his awful ex-boyfriend (fuck Brock Rumlow in every universe, honestly), literally orders him a husband -- in the form of beefy James Barnes, who is a fucking gem and I will not hear one bad word against him. He does chores, it’s lovely and adorable, and you will definitely fall just as hard as Steve does. There’s some canon-typical violence in this one that relates to James’ past, but nothing super graphic as far as I remember. Again, Rumlow is a dick and should be treated as such, but he’s hardly the most important part of this fic and I urge everyone to take a look at it if they’re as intrigued by Bucky being a mail-order husband as I was. 

[aspoonofsugar]

Viren and His Children: A Game of Mirrors

This picture shows the relationships between Viren and his two kids pretty nicely. On one hand there is Claudia using magic and Viren tenderly watching her. On the other hand there is Soren, who is not in his father’s lap, looking up at his sister and grabbing his father’s clothes to attract the man’s attention.

Viren treats both Soren and Claudia as extensions of himself, but he does so in different ways. There are two consequences to this. On one hand Soren and Claudia have developed different problems in relation to their parent. On the other hand they represent different sides of Viren himself.

This meta will try to show this and to show how Soren, Claudia and Viren all explore similar themes in different ways.

As a side note, when it comes to Soren and Viren, this meta by @mystic-deep has thoughts very similar to mine and it is a good read!

VIREN AND SOREN: THE TRUTH IN THE MIRROR

At the root of Viren’s character there is this:

Here, Viren is talking about the magic mirror, but he is symbolically referring to himself. He wants to have power and to feel special. In other words, Viren’s thirst for power (aka his main flaw) is born by him deep down feeling worthless.

Viren projects this sense of worthlessness on both his children, so that they feel they have to gain their worth. After all, it is not by chance that by the age of respectively sixteen and eighteen Claudia and Soren are already accomplished enough to become the Archmage’s assistant and a Crownguard:

This becomes especially evident when you compare them with Ezran and Callum who, despite being princes, are not asked to do anything special with their lives. They are simply loved:

It is interesting that Viren and Soren say basically the same thing, respectively at the beginning and at the end of the first part of the series. However, they give the same concept opposite spins. As a matter of fact Viren presents the way Harrow brought Callum up as negative, while Soren presents it as positive. This is not by chance because Soren has inherited many of his father’s issues, but, differently from him, has managed to move past them by the end of season three.

This leads us to the main point of this section aka how Soren and Viren are similar and in what they differ.

First of all, both of them have sworn to protect the king since Viren is Harrow’s most trusted advisor, while Soren is a Crownguard. They both define themselves through their role and have pride in the abilities which let them reach their position. To be more specific, Viren is proud of his talent in dark magic and of his intelligence. Soren is instead proud of his physical prowess. In short, they share the same wish (proving their worth), but try to realize it in different ways (magical prowess vs physical prowess).

Viren and Soren are both ultimately examples of toxic masculinity, which can be defined as it follows:

-Suppressing emotions or masking distress

-Maintaining an appearance of hardness

-Violence as an indicator of power (think: “tough-guy” behavior)

(From the article I linked above, which @hamliet suggested to me).

These kinds of behaviours are very easy to spot when it comes to Soren:

However, the story makes clear that Soren has developed them because of his father’s education:

Toxic masculinity is at the root of the order Viren gives Soren. As a matter of fact he is asking his son to kill his childhood friends for some kind of greater good. Soren is asked to sacrifice his bonds and his feelings to impress his father. What is more, this sacrifice is presented as a way to prove his strength.

In other words, Soren tries to act as he thinks his father would want him to. This detrimental behaviour reaches its climax when Soren tries to kill Pyrrah. Let’s highlight that the episode Fire and Fury comes after The Heart of a Titan:

The Heart of a Titan

Fire and Fury

Both Viren and Soren’s fights against a dragon are masked as selfless attempts to help others. On one hand Viren goes back to try and help the Queens of Duren. On the other hand Soren claims that he wants to help the people of the city. However, both men are motivated by the need of proving themselves. Once again this is pretty evident when it comes to Soren:

But even in this case Soren’s behaviour is born by specific teachings he received:

Viren is obsessed by the inferiority of humans when compared with magical creatures and thinks it is his duty to find a solution for it. What he does not notice is that he confuses humanity’s inferiority with his own inferiority complex. He does not want to win against magical creatures for humanity’s sake, but to show he is not inferior to them. In other words, Viren going back to fight Avizandum, when it was clear that he had no chance, was something probably born by his need to prove himself.

Things end up badly for both father and son. As a matter of fact the people they were trying to help suffer because of their interference. What is more, both Viren and Soren need to be saved by a woman who sacrifices (a part of) herself:

However, Soren receives an ulterior bad consequence for his behaviour:

He temporary loses his physical strength aka the thing he was the most proud of. Because of this, he is forced to face his own vulnerability:

Opens up to his sister:

And expresses what he really wants:

Ultimately what Soren wants is to love people and to be loved in return. Because of this, it is important that he is saved because of others’ love and kindness:

Claudia is there for him despite him having done a mess and Ezran forgives his crimes. It is ultimately because of them and of his own ability to learn from his mistakes that Soren is able to grow. It is poignant that in season 3 Soren starts to pursue his objectives with a completely different method from this:

He uses intelligence:

Communication:

And shows vulnerability, even to his father:

The fact that Viren, in this scene, despises his son’s vulnerability is symbolic of how he can’t really accept his own. As a matter of fact Viren basically does to Soren what he does to himself:

He asks Soren to cut his ties with his childhood friends, just like he did with Harrow whose children he is trying to kill. He wants Soren to inherit the throne, just like he is usurping it. He wants to turn Soren in a monster, just like he himself is turning more and more into one (both internally and externally):

Because of all of this, the reason why Viren treats Soren so coldly finally becomes clear. It is because Viren sees in Soren a part of himself he is ashamed of and does not want to face. Soren is, in Viren’s eyes, the part of himself who tries hard, but never fully succeeds. So Viren asks of Soren the impossible and he shows Soren his most cruel and pragmatic side more openly than he does with Claudia. Moreover he tries to change Soren into someone(-thing) he sees as powerful. However, by refusing to accept his son for who he is, Viren misses that there is much to be loved about Soren. He misses that Soren has talents and traits, which make him a good person and a great Crownguard:

What is more, by refusing Soren’s doubts and challenges, he also refuses to see what should be clear:

If Viren had listened to Soren’s question and had been honest with himself, he could have realized that he is not really the one in control, but that Aaravos is. Soren refuses to stay his father’s puppet, just when his father chooses to be someone else’s and stops thinking with his own head.

In conclusion, Soren is the victim of his father’s self-hate. Moreover, he symbolizes a part of Viren the man refuses. It is precisely because of this refusal that Viren spirals further and this spiral is symbolized by him becoming more and more intertwined with Dark Magic.

VIREN AND CLAUDIA: AN ILLUSION IN THE MIRROR

Dark Magic is described in this way by Sarai:

It is a shortcut which lets people evade problems. However, because of this, the issues which created the problems in the first place are never fully addressed. This leads to people being unable to grow because they never face their own shortcomings. In this way, they are given a sense of false security which is detrimental in the long run.

This is what happens to both Viren and Claudia. In particular, Claudia makes it clear:

Claudia has grown so dependent on Dark Magic that she would use it even for making pancakes. Instead of simply cooking normally, she sacrifices small animals’ lives unnecessarily. This overdependence leads her to lose her usual nice demeanor when a situation she can’t fix with magic arises:

As in Soren’s case, she has become this way because of Viren’s teachings:

As a matter of fact both father and daughter share the method they use to reach their objectives. That said, Claudia’s internal motivation is different from her father’s. Viren is motivated by the wish to prove his strength. Claudia is instead motivated by the wish to stay together with her family. This is why she always justifies her loved ones’ actions. In this way, she does not have to enter in a serious conflict with them. In other words, she enables them even when she should call them out.

We have seen glimpses of this with Soren:

However, it is with Viren that this behaviour truly becomes toxic:

In the scenes above, it is clear that Claudia is tricking herself into believing Viren. She probably knows deep down that Soren has not misheard. However, it is easier to cling to the illusion that he did because in this way Claudia’s perfect little world does not shatter. In this world, her father is the best person ever and Soren is lovable, but a doof. Still, this world is an illusion and it will naturally disappear no matter how much Claudia tries to preserve it:

In the end Soren leaves and Claudia’s family loses another member. It is interesting that, in a sense, Claudia’s behaviour is the opposite of this:

Villads tells Rayla she can control nothing, but herself. Claudia, though, is doing the opposite. She tries to control everything, but is really not able to control herself. By this, I mean that she is unable to actively make a choice:

When it comes to her family, Claudia can’t choose. No matter that one side is clearly in the wrong, she still can’t bring herself to leave a family member. And this is why she is the one left behind instead. Let’s highlight that Claudia has stayed with Viren not because she has actively chosen him over her mother or even Soren. She  has stayed with Viren because she could not make a choice and so her decision ended up being a passive one. Only at this point, Claudia would cling to what she has left and protect it with all her strength even if she must twist reality (both in her own mind and externally) to do so:

This behaviour is damaging both for herself and for her loved ones. As a matter of fact, by not calling her family out, Claudia is not able to stop their spirals. She helps Soren take out a dragon only for that dragon to wound her brother while he is mocking it.

Something similar happens with Viren as well:

Since the very beginning, it is clear that Claudia’s talent for Dark Magic has enabled her father to perform more and more dangerous magic. Let’s highlight that Claudia is probably not really interested in her father’s objectives. She just wants to help Viren, but she only helps him to self-destruct himself more efficiently. If she had not given her father the corn, Viren and Harrow would not have killed Avizandum and all the terrible things which happened and will happen to her family could have been avoided.

Let’s underline that Claudia enabling her father is true not only from a practical point of view:

The scene above shows that Viren wants to be reassured and to be told that he has done the right thing. So he asks Claudia and Claudia readily tells him what he wants to hear. She knows what he wants to hear because it is what he himself has taught her. In short, Claudia acts as Viren’s echo chamber and repeats to him the same justifications he himself uses. In this way, they both manage to keep their respective illusions alive. They can both keep believing Viren is a good person, even if they deep down know it is not true.

This dynamic explains why Viren favors Claudia so much. He sees Claudia as a personification of everything he is proud of about himself. What is more, this personification looks at him as if he were the best person ever. So Viren sees through Claudia an image of himself he likes.

This is also why he hesitates to show Claudia his cruellest side:

The mission Viren gives Claudia may be the one he cares the most about, but it is also the less cruel. Moreover he does not tell her to choose the egg over Soren initially, but he makes the addition after Claudia asks him. Even when one considers it, he is not asking Claudia to actively kill someone she cares about.

In conclusion, Claudia and Viren put each other on a pedestal and this is damaging for both. In particular, Viren uses Claudia to nurture his ego and to feel better about himself, while Claudia lets Viren go away with everything not to be abandoned. It is because Claudia refuses a conflict with her father that she can neither save herself nor him.

VIREN AND AARAVOS: BECOMING THE MIRROR

Soren and Claudia’s different relationships with Viren are conveyed through their respective reactions to Aaravos:

On one hand Claudia finds her father’s little bug pal cute. On the other hand Soren tries to smoosh it. This is not accidental, but symbolic. As a matter of fact Soren is who Viren is ashamed to be, while Claudia is who Viren is proud to be. Aaravos is instead who gives Viren the chance to truly become his ideal-self.

This is made clear since the very beginning:

The first thing Aaravos does to communicate with Viren is to repeat the man’s actions. This is what a reflection should do, so Aaravos plays the part of Viren’s reflection. To be more precise, he offers Viren what he wants:

Because of this, Aaravos is seen by Viren as a chance to finally become who he wants to be. As a matter of fact it is clear that Viren idealizes Aaravos and ends up depending on him more and more. This is also shown through minor details:

Viren glimpses into Aaravos’s room from his own one, which resembles a dungeon. The symbolism is clear: Viren feels trapped by his own limits and is given the possibility to see a better place and a person who may help him overcome said limits. However, this is an illusion:

Aaravos’s luxurious room is nothing more than a prison. Similarly, the beautiful elf who offers to help Viren is not really Viren’s ideals encarnated, but, if anything, he is his worst instincts:

Aaravos pushes Viren to commit more atrocities than those he has already committed. What is more, the elf interferes in the relationship Viren has with his children:

This is a pretty crucial moment. Claudia asks his father to explain himself and Viren is given the chance to come clean and to use this input to truly reflect on his own actions. However, any feeling of guilt or vulnerability Viren may be experiencing is readily suffocated by Aaravos’s words. The elf invites Viren to only think utilitaristically. So Viren manipulates both his children. In this way, he pushes Soren away and traps Claudia in a dynamic, which will damage her.

In a sense, Aaravos’s lines usually highlight Viren’s hypocrisy and his hidden contradictions:

Viren refuses the idea that Claudia is just an asset, but ultimately this is how he treats both her and Soren. If that were not the case, he would have answered Claudia’s question in the dungeon honestly and would have apologized to both her and Soren. Aaravos simply makes clear something about Viren, which the man refuses. The same happens here:

Viren wants power for selfish reasons (he wants to feel worthy), but he deceives himself into thinking he wants it for others. This is why Aaravos’s words do not sit well with him. Your actions appear much less noble if you are reminded that what you really want is to conquer a nation.

At the same time, it is clear that Aaravos is not really in good faith and that he is using Viren’s insecurities to further his own agenda. This is why he is symbolically taking control of Viren:

Aaravos’s vessel is not the bug, but Viren himself. Aaravos is slowly taking him over. This is symbolically shown by Aaravos “stealing” Viren’s senses:

Moreover, by the end of season three, Aaravos is the one moving Viren’s body to hit Rayla:

In other words, it is not Viren controlling the mirror, but it is the mirror controlling him:

This is highly ironic. As a matter of fact, in his pursue of self-importance, Viren is  being reduced to a shell through which Aaravos can act. However, Viren refuses to face this (as seen through his dynamic with Soren (shame)) and to admit his mistakes (as shown by his dynamic with Claudia (pride)).

CLAUDIA AND SOREN: MORE THAN REFLECTIONS

The analysis up until now has been focused on how Viren objectifies his two kids. He treats them as parts of himself, but they are more than that. This last section will highlight it through their relationship.

First of all, as stated in the first section, Soren and Claudia are very accomplished for their age. They are given adult responsibilities to the point that they are barely treated as kids by their parent:

Viren has shown very little patience when it comes to the siblings’ most childish traits. He is annoyed by their jokes and dismisses their quirkiness as non-sense. This is very different from how the siblings treat each other:

Soren and Claudia are able to express themselves more openly when they are together than when they interact with Viren. This is true also when it comes to calling each other out:

Interestingly, they criticize behaviours they share with Viren. As a matter of fact Claudia scolds Soren for his lack of tact and cruelty and ignores Viren’s mission is far crueller. Soren instead shows disgust for his sister’s magic, but does not dare to do the same to his father’s face.

This shows that, since the beginning, Soren and Claudia are uncomfortable with some traits Viren has. However, they tolerate them both in Viren and in each other out of respect for their parent. This is made clear throughout the series:

Soren finds magic gross, but finds ingredients for Claudia’s spell. Claudia does not want to fight her friends, but accepts to do it. The reason why they both compromise is clearly just one:

They must succeed in their mission. In other words, Viren’s presence, even when he is away, stops them from truly calling each other out and from acting in a way they both feel comfortable with. In a sense, it stops them from growing. Because of this, it is not a surprise that the first serious conflict they have is specifically about their father:

This scene portrays Soren and Claudia serving two different kings (Viren and Ezran). This highlights two differences between the siblings.

The first one is the dychotomy between duty and family/feelings. Given the choice, Soren always chooses his duty (Ezran):

While Claudia always chooses her family (Viren):

Let’s underline that one choice is not inherently better than the other. This is made clear in season two. In this season, we see Soren choosing the mission over his childhood friends. This is his reasoning:

Surely, he wants to please his father, but he also wants to believe it is the best thing for the greater good.

In that same season, we see Claudia giving up on her mission:

Claudia does so because her love for her family is superior to her sense of duty.

In other words, season two shows Soren making the wrong choice out of a misplaced sense of duty, while Claudia makes the right one by trusting her feelings. However, season three shows a reversed situation:

Soren is able to betray his father because of his own sense of duty, while Claudia can’t make herself leave Viren out of love.

In other words, the right choice does not lie neither in “relationships” nor in “duty”. After all, the lines between these two concepts are blurred. On one hand Soren reconciled with his childhood friends and forged new bonds in order to fulfill his duty. On the other hand Claudia would help Viren more if she called him out.

So, in the scene above, what is the true difference between the two siblings? Why is Soren in the right, while Claudia is in the wrong? The main difference lies symbolically in the fact that Soren is protecting a child, while Claudia is enabling a parent. This means that Soren is growing up, while Claudia is refusing to.

Growing up is a process, which often creates conflict between the child and the parent. This is especially true in this context because of Viren’s abusive behaviour. If the two siblings want to grow up, they must escape Viren and become their own people. This is what Soren has started to do in season three. Throughout the season he is able to see his father for who he really is, calls him out and finally leaves him to become who he wants to be.

This is something Claudia is not able to do because deep down she does not want to grow up. This is conveyed, as shown above, by her inability to choose. As a matter of fact Claudia does not want to choose, but to be chosen. This is because a choice implies a sacrifice (a consequence), but Claudia does not want to give up on anything precious to her. What she wants is, instead, that the people she loves always choose her. In this way, Claudia gives up her own agency.

This is clearly a consequence of her mother’s abandonment:

Because of this event, she is stuck in a childish state where she wants to be taken care of and protected. That said, her family members have other objectives, so she gives them what she herself wants (nurture and protection) hoping to receive it from them in return.

Let’s think once again about what Viren tells Callum at the beginning:

Viren claims that Callum (and Ezran) won’t be able to face changes because they have been spoilt. However, the narrative shows that this is not the case. If anything, the fact that Harrow has loved and supported his children is the reason why they can grow up:

Among the main characters, the one who can’t face change is Claudia and this is not because she has been spoilt, but because her mother made her feel unloved.

In short, both Soren and Claudia have developed a sense of worthlessness because of their parents’ behaviour. Soren has developed it because of Viren’s mistreatment, while Claudia has hers because of her mother’s abandonment. Soren tries to overcome his by impressing his fahter and later on he finds a healthier fulfillment in his role of Crownguard. Claudia tries to overcome hers by keeping her family together and toning down its conflicts. Soren defines himself through external recognizements, while Claudia through her relationships with others. All in all, it is the same problem, but it is declined in different ways.

In conclusion, Soren and Claudia are two kids who have been suffering because of their parents. In order to reach a positive outcome they must grow up and become independent (as proven by Soren in season three). In this way, they will naturally tone down some traits, which can be negative if taken to the extreme (love for one’s own strength, hate of conflict). It is probable that they will be able to do so through each other. After all, Soren got his chance to actively redeem himself because Claudia cured him, so it is likely Claudia too will be given another chance (hopefully) through Soren.

CONCLUSION: ESCAPING THE MIRROR

Both Viren and his children are all trapped in a game of mirrors. Viren treats his kids as reflections of himself and his pursue of an ideal self (who is nothing, but a mirage) is destroying his family.

To stop this process, Viren must accept who he is and his mistakes, while Soren and Claudia must claim their own individuality and become independent from their parent. There are several ways this can (or can’t) happen. I am curious about how the dynamics of this family will keep being explored in later seasons.

[daeneryswhitehorse]

Dany hate throughout the years.

( This is base on a reply I made in post create by @yendany . I also want to precise that it is only my perspective of the fandom as a dany stan, other people probably have a different opinion of what was going on. )

I came in the asoiaf/got fandom in 2011, when the show first came out. I fell in love with dany on my first watch and still like her after reading the books. I started to get involved in the fandom because I wanted to learn more about her.

I didn't know tumblr at the time so I was on westeros.org. The mad queen dany theory was already a thing, mostly for the persons who didn't like that dany could be azor ahai and not one of the male character. But the forum still liked her for her baddass moments in asos or her portrayal in the first season of got.

Everything changed when adwd came out. The incels in this site really didn't liked dany having sex with daario after rejecting jorah/quentyn. They also didn't understood her plot, were tired of her staying in Essos or not interacting with main pov character. It was enough for them to think she was boring.

From then on, there were a lot of bad take of her character. Grrm wanting to talk about the consequences of her mistakes and her decision of staying in meereen was understood as dany being dumb and incompetent as a queen. People made fun of her long list of titles and thought it make her look arrogant. They claimed she was nothing without her dragon, in contrast to male character like stannis. Or not a true warrior because she spend her battle hiding in her tent, unlike stannis or jon who fight with swords. Or that she didn't car about the common people, because she try to negociate with the meereeness nobles. Most of those claimed exist to prove why character like Jon or Stannis would be azor ahai or the true king of Westeros.

After season 3 of the show came out, a lot of people were rightfully offended by the final scene with daenerys where she surf on a sea of brown people. A lot of fans start seeing Dany as a white savior in both books and show, and a lot of essay were about how how her storyline was rooted in racist orientalist ideas. If you were a person of color and still stan her, it was probably because of internalized racism.

Before this season, feminist critized the butchering of most of dany storyline, like they did with other female characters. But none was as talk about then Sansa's, because the most popular female character like Dany, Arya and Brienne were seen as the cash grab of the show. It was considered more important to defend her in particular, and liking Sansa over them was seen as resistance act against D&D misogyny.

The intellectual part of the fandom really went out of their way in defending her. They liked her because she was a gateway to the political part of the story in King's Landing and the Vale. They didn't like how some fans victim-blamed her for the abuse she suffered with the Lannister, and praised the fact she didn't end up with stockolm syndrome like Dany or Theon. "Not everyone can be an Arya" did they said, as they wanted people to acknowledged she was the more relatable point of view and how her traditional feminity shouldn't be put down. They emphasis a lot on her kindness, her emphatie, or her observational skills but and said those qualities were unique to her and are what separate her of the rest of the cast. She was the representation of humanity in this crapsack world. And after outsmarting Littlefinger would probably be rewarded with an important political position and would be one of the builder of the new world after the apocalypse.

All of this probably wasn't meant to be interprete as hate toward other female and some of the male characters, but it sure did for the Sansa stan! Who would then create their entire defense meta around putting down any character they found and upliftting her above them. Their favorite target was Arya, but you could found from time to time one on Dany. I remember someone defending Sansa innocence in trusting Cersei in the first book, by emphasing on her age and naivety, and putting down dany for not knowing mirri maz durr would get revenge on her khalassar.

Talking about Dany, the intellectual part of the fandom didn't really like her. I mean they didn't hate her, and didn't diminish her importance in the story, but she clearly wasn't a fan favorite.

There was two angle in their analysis of daenerys: the political leader and the messiah.

For the first part, they were trying to define daenerys position in the story, and came to the conclusion she was the destroyer of the old world. In their point of view, dany didn't free the slaves in asos for pure reason but because she couldn't pay for an army, and then didn't know how to build a new economy, leading to the horrors in astapor in adwd and her failure in maintaining peace in meereen. For them, Dany is unable to control her emotion and confuse revenge with justice. They also think she is an incompetent queen who make decision on a whim and never listen to her adviser. Her relationship with Daario represent her want for easy solution through war, wich she embrace at the end of adwd. When she can't remember Hazzea name, it meant innocent would die in her violent path in twow. Because of this, the expression "the path of hell is paved with good intention" became popular to define her arc from asos to beyond.

For the second part, they were clearly interressed by the mystical part of her story. Dany has a lot of prophecy around her that can be used to determined the next plotlines post adwd. For some reason, they pushed their own obssession with it on Daenerys, who they now believed is blinded by her own destiny. They claimed she think she is the hero of story and is unable to see when she does something wrong. This until she will blow up King's Landing in ados. This would push her toward her true destiny in the fight against the others where she will sacrifice herself for the greater good.

And lets not talk about the weird part of the fandom who are obssessed with deconstruction and who would only acknowledge dany as azor ahai reborn if it meant the hero is actually the true villain of the story, and the Others misunderstood victims.

2015 arrive as well as season 5 of got. This season was so controversial it manage to divided the fandom in three.

The first one were book purist who were disguted by the total butchering of affc/adwd plotline to replace them with offensive mess, and decided to stop watching the show and focus on the books. While some of them were dany friendly, they all seem to favor character like Sansa, Stannis, Brienne, the Lannisters, or the Martells. A lot of effort were put into their metas to uplift their book plotline and personality above their show counterpart.

The second part is similar to the first one, exept they didn't stop watching the show but decided to view each season through critical lense to try to understand the sexism and racism of D&D. They were mostly Sansa and Martell stan.

Both of those point of view were seen as too radical and annoying by the dudebro show apologist. Being a Martell and Sansa stan also become a sign of being a woke feminist, a book purist and a show anti.

The third part of the fandom decided that the failure of season 5 was the responsability of Grrm for not finishing his books in time, and that the show writer had run out of material and were forced to improvised. Plus the book plots were too complex and boring to be adapted, they had to simplify them. And they were also given futur plot point by Grrm that could explain some of the controversial decision this season. Like Sansa wedding with Ramsay, it was probably made because the character would end up in the North in one of the next books.

Thoses three point of view are important to understand why when the theory saying dany is a villain not a hero became more popular, dany stan were pretty isolated.

And why did this theory became more popular? Well it's a mix of all thoses perception of daenerys that I mention above but mostly because of the peoples who decided that dany in season 5 was Joffrey.02. Like I say there were people who thought that D&D were now working with futur plot point given by Grrm. And since dany storyline was read as one of a white savior, and the fandom believed Grrm can't do no wrong, and dany did some stuff this season they disapproved of, they decided it meant dany should be seen as a villain. And in a way, it manage to reconciliate the feminist anti racist and the pro D&D point of view , now united in hating daenerys. It allowed them to still trust the show, because it meant it was not D&D and grrm who were racist but dany, and it made them feel smart for having figured out this big plot point. Plus a chunk of the show!jon stan decide the parallel between them this season meant he would become the true hero of the story. Because they thought janos execution was more honorable than mossador's, and jon fight against the wight walker to defend his brothers and the free folks was contrast with dany running away on drogon.

But there were people who didn't like dany and didn't think she would become a villain. Thoses people were feminist who thought daenerys, as the face of the show, was the embodiement of D&D fake feminism responsible of the ruined of character like Sansa or the Martells. Sansa in particular because they felt the show hated traditional feminity which is something Dany was not, which was what allegedly gave her more priviledge and love by the writer and fandom. When season 6 came out, they criticized the double standard between Cersei and Dany, where the former was demonized for burning a Church and the later was celebrate for burning the khals in their holy place. Obviously, the criticism of orientalism and racism within her story didn't make her very popular with feminist.

Season 6 end, and the sansa fandom decide to ship their fav with Jon Snow. But unfortunalty for them, it was obvious that jonerys would become a thing in later season.

Now Sansa was pretty well beloved by the fandom. Like I said earlier, the intellectual part of the fandom and the sansa defense squad really went out of their way to give a better image of the character, wich was fairly popular now that show sansa had a more active role. Plus the feminist adore her!

On the other hand, daenerys was seen as either a villain in the making, or the representation of the show fake feminism and racism. At this point dany stan were considered the dumbass of the fandom.

So, what happen when the jonerys vs jonsa shipping war happen? Well the jonerys shipper were seen as the big bully who victimized the poor sansa stan. Since in their point of view, dany stan were racist people who can't read, and the sansa stan were the woke book purist. Since Sansa was the underdog unfairly hated by the dudebro of the fandom, but beloved by the intellectuals. And Dany was the popular girl who got dumb stan and is only loved by pop feminism. People were naturally more incline into believing jonsa shippers as the victime of this war.

Even when the sansa stan were saying the most heinous things about dany and other female character to prop her up. Even when they were using the villain dany theory, the dark!dany theory, the white savior theory that had now become about dany being a colonizer and imperialist, or the ableist mad queen dany theory wich they backed up by diagnosis her with all the real life disorder they hated. It was seen as normal and dany stan just can't handle criticism. Even when multiple blog were created on tumblr to hate on daenerys which had almost no equivalent for the sansa/jonsa fandom, the jonerys shippers were the bad guys.

Jonerys was made canon in season 7. The intellectual part of the fandom either accept it but thought it was a cliche uninspiring ship, or they defend it for the themes but didn't see it as a complex relationship like jaime with cersei or brienne. The feminist, particulary the one who hated house targaryen, were shocked that grrm could romantize incest. And obviously, the jonsa hated it, and there ugliness started to be notice more with the weird theory they builted, like political!jon. The Jonerys fandom were finally getting some justice.

Plus more big name essayists in the fandom started debunking of the baseless incel hate dany receive post adwd. Dany had now the right to sleep with Daario, Jorah was a creep, Dany rejected Quentyn for peace, and Drogo being Dany rapist was getting more believed by the fandom.

During the hiatus before season season 8, @rainhadaenerys wrote down a lot of meta as a defense against the worst claimed that the fandom made about Dany. It gave hoped to dany stan, but it was crushed by season 8 with D&D deciding to make the mad queen theory canon the worst way possible.

Now the feminist and the intellectual part of the fandom are both defending daenerys. But there is the dominant idea that certain event of the last season could happen in the books, like dany burning King's Landing. And the possibility of her going insane should be accepted by the dany stan, and if not, it mean we are not real asoiaf fans.

[uthseikoashx-inflamedme]

How can everyone find their true-love and still be in love after years in HP? (”magic-soulmates” theory and conservative society)

(I do apologize for the mistakes! I did my best and have been help by websites and things like that, but I’m afraid I’m still not a native speaker. I hope it’s not that bad though. Sorry again!) (when I started writing this I thought “it’s going to be short, I’m gonna explain things quickly”, and well, nope)

Isn’t it curious that a lot of character in Harry Potter meet his true love at school, marry to them, and love them until the very end?

Just a quick list: Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, Lily and James, Molly and Arthur, Frank and Alice, Neville and Hannah Abbot, James’ parents, Remus’ parents, the Malfoys, the Crouchs... It’s definitely a lot of people who are in love for ever (and I’m sure I’ve forgotten some couples, like Newt and Tina or Luna and Rolf, even if they didn’t meet at school?).

Plus, there are other characters which had a “true love”, and despite the fact they are not (anymore) together, they still love this same person - and they never have been able to move on. Minerva McGo fell for a muggle who died, Severus Snape was obsessed with Lily until his very end - literally -, Albus Dumbledore met Gellert Grindelwald at 17 (or 18) and loved him during decades despite everything his charismatic murderous ex-boyfriend accomplished (and Albus was probably Gellert’s true love), etc.

But in real life, most of the people don’t marry to their school crush and most importantly, don’t love them deeply and unconditionally during decades (or I think so at least). So, why isn’t it working the same in the wizarding world?

Well, it could be because JKR didn’t want to include divorce and wanted to present a (quite unrealistic) model of relationships (and Harry Potter was intially a book for kids, so ok); but couldn’t we find a real reason?

So here are several theories, to fix this... inconsistency?

Again, it’s theories, so there are probably questionable points and things like that. Feel free to say what you think of it!

1. Magic “soulmates”

This one is my favourite, and it’s probably - to my opinion! - the most believable, the most convincing, at least the one with the most potential. (it’s not perfect at all though)

Muggles and wizards/witches aren’t the same human beings. It’s a fact: there are diseases which affects only magic people (the Dragon pox?), magic people live way longer than muggles (Bathilda was older than Dumbledore, who was born in 1881 and died in 1997; Gellert, Elphias and Muriel were still alive in 1998...). Magic seems to have an impact on the body, on the constitution (*).

The assumption is: what if the magic through the body of every wizard or witch was able to... “recognize” or “match” with the perfect person? Because of something muggles don’t have, magic people are able to truly bind themselves with a... soulmate, something like that?

It might be plausible (maybe believable), I have several arguments.

Firstly, magic people are able to feel the surrounding magic - like forces, something immaterial but which has a strong influence. Albus is able to feel the marks of Riddle’s spells in the cave (and I’m strongly convinced that his magic and Gellert’s were... connected, that they were capable to feel and recognize each other magic, because both of them were bloody brilliant, but it’s not the subject). We can perhaps also talk about how Newt was able to detect the prints of magical creatures and Tina after they left the streets, in FBCOG. It shows that magic is everywhere, and it has a strong influence on the physical world.

Secondly, we have proofs that magic is far more complex than spells and things like that: Unbreakable Vows or Fidelius Charms imply magic contracts that we don’t understand, students can study things like Arithmancy or Divination, which are subtle arts... But the greatest example of it is certainly Lily’s protection. Magic is complex.

Thirdly, we can suppose that every witch or wizard has a very personal magic - a reflection, a part of their personality, of their soul (which exist in Harry Potter). Maybe souls are entirely a magic thing, after all (it’s quite sad for muggles though): I mean that each soul is perhaps the magic energy of a witch or a wizard, the source of their power (but again it’s not entirely the subject here). So each magic, each soul, is able to “scan” other’s soul - other’s magic - and find a perfect match: after all, magic is soul, and consequently, it’s the most intimate part of someone’s personality. And then, people fall in love (because magic and personality match).

I really do appreciate this theory, because I fairly like complex and mysterious magic systems and things like that in HP (that’s why Albus’ and Gellert’s interactions and relation can be utterly interesting btw). Plus, it actually explains why someone is truly in love with the same person for ages.

But, what about wizards or witches which fell in love with muggles - Remus’ dad, Queenie Goldstein, etc? If their partner isn’t a person with a magical soul and stuff, how can they be truly in love and all?

Yes, indeed, it exists; however, we can... fix that.

On one hand, maybe soul and magic are separated, souls have their own energy, and wizard’s or witch’s magic acts to tie the two souls despite the absence of magic through muggle’s bodies. Plus, muggles are affected by magic (we can cast spells on them, but most importantly they also feel subtle magic things, like Dudley with the Dementors (even if we can argue here that the chill we feel when there is a Dementor is something physical and not magic)).

On the order hand, in the muggle world, there is people which are truly in love without magic: so perhaps it is not a question of magic here, they are just... in love. (I hope I’m clear?)

2. Conservative society and appearances

Nevertheless, is it possible that those perfect couples... aren’t absolutely truly in love with each other? So, why didn’t just they broke up?

Perhaps the witchcraft society (can we name it like that?) is actually quite conservative, and not quite open-minded about divorces. Several things we learn in the books support this idea.

First of all, most of the married couples we know promised themselves to each other rather young (Lily and James, Molly and Arthur, Bill and Fleur, Alice and Frank...). I don’t know if it’s because I’m French and I live during the 21st century, but I don’t know a lot of people who chose to marrying before 25 (in fact, I know no one which is younger than 70 today). What if serious relationships in the wizarding world were truly accepted only after a marriage? Almost every person with children is married (the exceptions are Dean’s mother (but she’s a muggle), Bellatrix (she's married but not with the man she had a baby with (****), but it’s in HPCC and honestly, how could this happen), and... I think that’s all?). Marriage is maybe a big deal, an unforgettable and necessary stage in a wizard’s of witch’s life who wants to be recognized as a person in a relationship with legitimate kids.

(to be honest here, they could marry early just because of the war, the fear and all, like Molly said it in HBP (if I remember right); but people of Harry’s gen also married, and Molly complained because Bill is marrying (according her) to the wrong woman, too young, as the overprotective mother she is. We can keep that on mind though. Anyway, back to the point.)

Next, it appears that pure-blood families and traditions are still influential during HP books - racism and how it is not punished (like it’s ok to casually say “mudblood”? we never see people except outsiders or very brave people protest against it? there isn't any law who punishes it?), the representation of pure-blood in the Ministry, the capital owned by some of them (**), ect. And we all know how the purity of the blood is important in those families. What if marriage was initially organized and crucial in the upper classes (pure-blood families) to keep their blood pure, and because they rule the society, they imposed this social convention decades - maybe even centuries - ago? That’s why marriage could be that important. (***)

Finally, there might be so many couples which seem in love... just because they act like they truly were, they accepted they must love the people they were binded with, despite the passing years? Divorce might consequently not an option.

(Also, what if marriages contracts were actually a way to... “create” and assure the love between the two persons? It’s much sadder than the soulmates’ theory, because we can think that the love between two people is artificial, even if it exists originally. I do not like this idea)

This theory (marriage-creating-love excluded) doesn’t exclude the first one though, so why not?

3. Destiny and things like that

We know there are prophecies, destiny and things like that in HP - we know it for sure, with Trelawney’s predictions (even with Grindelwald now). What if there is actually a destiny for everyone, a personal path for everyone, which everyone follow, and which allows to meet a perfect person to be together with?

I don’t have elements to prove this point, and actually, I’m not quite convinced - but it’s possible. However, are really all the characters dominate by a destiny they have to fulfil? Like yeah, Harry is concerned by a prophecy, but 1) it could have been Neville, 2) there is not so many prophecies we know and it’s almost every time about Harry or Voldy.

Plus, it can be seen as... an absence of freedom, and without freedom, how can someone choose how to build himself, how to act ethically, etc? (I know some philosophers said destiny doesn’t exclude freedom and all) My point is that a world entirely conduct by a destiny/future already written (so which also determine true love’s people) is a bit out of HP system and narrative: Harry has to do choices to follow the path of the good, it’s crucial through the books and a lot of characters are determined by their ethic choices (Albus, Draco or Severus in particular?) (I’m trying my best to be understandable)

(all in all, I’m not fan of this theory)

4. There isn’t any “true love”, we only have this impression because of Harry’s pov: arguments and counter-arguments

Here are counter-arguments to the idea of “true love” in Harry Potter. Indeed, our analysis can be biased by Harry’s pov and by the people he chose to be friend with.

Many of true-love-couples are Harry’s friends (or persons he likes). We can think that he likes people with the same opinion on love and relationships; consequently, his friends and the surrounding adults marry because they all like this way of life.

What I want to say here, is that there is probably many persons who haven’t found their truelove, but we don’t met them, or we ignore them: what about Moody, what about Sirius, what about Peter, what about Kingsley, what about all the teenagers who aren’t with the love of their life before 20? We know countless characters, most of them didn’t seem to be together with their soulmate or something like that.

Plus, perhaps we think everybody can find their true love because we just see perfects couples and not messed up couples - because of Harry’s pov. (I swear I’m actually trying to be as clear as possible)

Nevertheless:

single persons can be aro/ace persons;

singles can choose to not be in a relationship, even if they found their perfect match: Moody, Sirius and all have a quite particular story and had suffered from losses, war, injuries - what if Moody lost the person he loved during the war? what if Sirius didn’t want to hurt the person he loved by his eventual death, when he was James’ and Lily’s Secret-Keeper? (it also work if his “true love” is Remus actually);

several persons could have chosen to ignore their feelings, for a reason or another. It could be because of a bad timing, like the war, as we already mentionned it; but also because of personnal reasons (family, denial...); or even social ones: all of the pure-blood don’t have the bravery of a young Andromeda Black on one hand, and the other hand, homosexual relationships don’t seem to be quite accepted in canon - the only two man that we know for sure were involved in a relationship, Albus and Gellert, kept it secret. (***)

actually, there are probably a lot of people who are in a relationship, but we don’t know it (who knows, for example, if Stan has a gf/bf?). Again, Harry’s pov isn’t an omniscient pov; and forgettable characters’ private life is generally not quite important throughout Harry’s epic adventures;

we still can’t deny there is way more married and happy couples (so people who are together with the same person a very long time) in the wizarding world than in the muggle world. Even if there are exceptions and if we know single persons, we still have the same problem: people are able to find their true love very young and stays with the same person the rest of their lives, pleased - even entirely blooming.

We can yet argue that nobody talk about a “soulmate bond” and something like that through HP stories. If there was actually a true-magic-allowed-love, witches and wizards should know it, right?

However, a magic link as complex, subtle, imperceptible, cryptic, primitive, puzzling as true-love-magic-bond could be far from easy to be analysed and understood by any enchanter of sorceress. It will be like... quantum mechanics or things like that. We might need brilliant people who work on it during their whole life and who are helped by complicate and modern instruments, impenetrable knowledge, etc. And we know that:

there is less magic people than muggles (seriously, I once tried to estimate how many wizards and witches lived in Great Britain and... so little), so there is consequently fewer people who have the abilities and the will to research things like "true-love-magic-link”;

a lot of muggles discoveries had been done during the 20th century, despite the war... however, wizards had to deal with muggle’s wars, wizardkind’s wars (hi Grindelwald and Voldemort), while maintaining the International Statue of Wizarding Secrecy, and it’s a lot. So perhaps nobody really had time to think about it.

Plus, it is possible that other countries in other continents had proved it, but European countries and US don’t care; also, perhaps it has been proved in the past - like 4000 years before our age - but then it has been forgotten.

Nonetheless, there is a serious counter-argument to the true-love-thanks-magic theory: love potions doesn’t exist. Amortentia creates a strong obsession but never creates love. Slughorn (and Dumbledore, if I remember well) explained love can’t be created with magic. Consequently, Slughorn seems to say that love between two persons in the wizarding world is created by... feelings, like in the muggle world. Plus, an important message of the books (and now in the movies with FB) is that muggles and wizardkind are equal, have to be considered as... identical, almost? Love is a strong power, and it's even stronger than magic - love's the real important thing to protect, etc. That's why a magic-soulmate theory might be debatable.

But if we suppose that attraction and true love between two people is based on magic/soul matching, a simple potion - and even a strong spell - has of course any effect on love and things like that: feelings and magic are far more subtle, personal, a spell or a potion can’t influence someone’s soul (or just Dark magic), etc.

I know yet that JKR wanted probably to say that love is more elevated than magic, she wanted to sublime humans’ emotions and things like that - or it’s what I understood when I read the books. So yes, the fact that love can’t be created by magic is a serious counter-argument: it goes against some of what seems to be author's ideas and characters explanations (Dumbledore's at the end of DH). It doesn’t throw away the theory in my opinion, but it questions it though.

Conclusion:

I can’t think about something which can actually answers to our initial question except what we already said. I want to believe that magic binds people together and helps them find the perfect match, because if I don’t believe it, relationships in Harry Potter make not much sense to me. (even if there are definitely debatable points) (and again it’s just my pov/opinion)

So there were the theories, etc!

Honestly, an inconstancy like that is not a that big deal, but I still do want to fix it. It’s in my mind since ages srly I can’t bear it anymore I need to talk about it. I’m glad it’s done.

Thanks for reading, and have a good day / evening / night / whatever!

* : ... magic seems to have an impact on the body, on the constitution: in fact, we know it for sure: Riddle’s appearance changed radically after he created Horcruxes. This point can also lead us to think that soul and magic are the same thing, or are at least strongly connected.

**: ... the representation of pure-blood in the Ministry, the money who owns some of them: if you’re interested, I developed a bit more this idea in the post:  Why are the Weasleys poor? (eng&fr) (theories about pure-blood families, inheritance, etc)  

***:  That’s why marriage could be that important.: for several reasons (that I want to expose but not in this post bc it’s already quite long), I do believe lgb+ relationships (or transidentity, or everyone which is not cishet basically) are not accepted, and same-gender marriage is certainly not allowed in the wizarding world during Harry’s years at Hogwarts. If we think now about the pressure on teens and young adults about marriage if they want to have kids, to be accepted as “a person in a serious relationship” or be seen as accomplished adults, we can understand why many lgbtqi+ people never came out. It could explain why we don’t see outed lgbtqi+ people or couples at Hogwarts, in the Order, or everywhere else. (yep, i’m trying to “explain” in the canon a lack of representation, even if we all know why there isn’t lgbtqi+ ppl - JKR just wrote it that way. (i do not support what she said and she did recently.)) (futhermore it could support the theory of the several uses/significations of the blood pact between Albus and Gellert, an alternative to an engagement ring they couldn’t have but wanted to have? idk)

****: 3rd august edit : I did a mistake and I was unclear, because I previously said Bellatrix wasn't married, as someone gently tell me! It's now corrected. (if you want details, it's on the comments!)

(again, sorry for the mistakes, thanks for reading!)

[kimyoonmiauthor]

What Harry Potter Got Wrong about Orphans and Adoption.

So, given the TERF that terfed all terfs. And given that I don’t want to profit from a terf... I’m posting this essay I did on Rowling I intended to originally post for a Magazine on how to write adoptees and adoption, but it fell through. Maybe we can learn something?

BTW, written before she went off the deep end of TERFing. Like 2007-ish or earlier. So this was before she went off about Native American Gods. Before she TERFed. And before she did some weird retconning --what I now call a Rowling... BTW, if you’re looking for a roast fest--this isn’t it. Credit to my wonderful voluntary, unpaid, though I tried to pay her Writer’s Assistant for the Harry Potter quotes. I couldn’t have done this essay without her.

The top reason that writers put in adoption or orphans into stories is because they feel that it will simplify the story for them. When I asked two different group of writers, the answer was almost universally the same, they felt that putting in an orphan should simplify the story. This, too, was the case with Harry Potter. JK Rowling explained this in 1999 when she was writing Harry Potter still in a Guardian interview, "...but Harry HAD to be an orphan - so that he's a free agent, with no fear of letting down his parents, disappointing them?" But unlike the previous adoption stories, JK Rowling have a fair amount of adopted persons and orphans, mostly intrafamily adopted.

Harry falls into the writer trap of the closer the blood ties, the less likely there will be attachment problems between child and care giver. This tradition started out with Brothers Grimm who changed many of the parents to step-parents. (The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales, Maria Tatar, p. 36) Also that in abuse, which is frequently associated with adoption, that it will make the orphan free to do what they like. However, this assumption is an error. Children by their nature want to please their caregivers no matter what relation they are. In the case of adding emotional and sometimes physical abuse that Harry endures, it does not free him from trying to please his guardians, the Dursleys. Being an orphan is not the key to being a "free agent" and the idea that adoption, in this case intrafamily adoption could simplify matters is in error. Harry Potter was an orphan left on the doorstep of his Aunt and Uncle's, the Dursleys by the Head Master of Hogwarts. This was after the sudden death of his parents. It is unlikely that the Dursleys would be automatically allowed to raise him and get guardianship, despite what the story says. On the British government website, it says that in order to adopt there has to be legal proceedings.

The steps of this include several visits from a social worker, at least three references with two outside references, preparation classes, a police check, and a full medical examination. They also have to register through an adoption agency and then apply for a court order which can take up to eight months. (https://www.gov.uk/child-adoption/adoption-assessment)

Even in the case where there is a step parent, the assessment still takes place for the family and consent has to be given. (https://www.gov.uk/child-adoption/adopting-a-stepchild)

This means the Potters, by no indication, had a will to give Harry up to the Dursleys, would make a far less likely that Harry would be placed in an abusive home. Add to that the fact that Harry's Aunt has a history of disliking her sister, they made Harry live below the stairs, and neither Mr. or Mrs Dursley have shown throughout the series to have any sort of patience with Harry, and the initial adoption looks even less likely.

Writing that one can be left on a doorstep disenfranchises the entire adoption community and the government who has tried hard to give a second chance to children like Harry. It ignores the parents that waited for those eight months, the feelings of abandonment that can manifest in some adopted people, as well as the care and thought that relinquishing parents may have for their child's welfare. Adoption is not a fictional object such as a dragon--it impacts real people and real lives.

However, this problem also continues because it ignores the fact that by adding two guardians to the story, there are more rather than less characters previously. Adding more characters is more, not less complex. There are Harry's parents, Harry's Aunt and Uncle and by proxy, his Aunt and Uncle's child. This means there were three characters added instead of the original three. This also means for each character there has to be at least a personality and background added for each character, if one is to be fair. This means in total, JK Rowling had to do more work rather than less work because now instead of three characters to work on she has six characters to work on, thus doubling her load.

Often adoption is combined with abuse in fiction and Harry Potter was no different.

Harry was abused emotionally.

“Now, you listen here, boy.” he snarled. “I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured – and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion – asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types – just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end-” Chapter 4 pg 46 (Uncle Vernon)

And he was abused physically through neglect.

"Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age." Chapter 2 Pg20

This continues such that the Dursleys treat Harry as he is not there once Harry gets the upper hand.

"Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun. True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything or shout at him- in fact, they didn't speak to him at all. Half- terrified, half-furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it was empty." Chapter 6 pg 67 The idea is that the adoption puts distance between the child and their caretakers, thus they must love them less. But this assumption talks about the amount of love based on title, rather than love is universal despite title, which would be a positive message for children to have--that title does not matter in the amount of love one can give or receive. In fact, this was one message I, personally, did receive from adoption, but I still see the myth continued, especially through fiction that title matters on quantity rather than the type or quality of love.

Abuse of a child, psychological, emotional or neglect does not mean that the child will become a free agent to decide what they want. Often children from such circumstances become overly compliant, withdrawn and passive. They can become hyper vigilant and have learning problems.

(https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.cfm) This would make Harry, in the case of the systemic and relentless abuse of the Dursleys more dependent and less of a free agent as JK Rowling intended.

Despite this, credit does have to be given to Ms. Rowling in fixing the adoption issues in the last book of the series, though this does not completely turn the tide for the other six books. This most likely came about because Voldemort, the top villain of the book was also described as an orphan. So along with Voldemort, Ms. Rowling added Amy Benson, Dennis Bishop, Ted Lupin, Billy Stubbs, an unnamed Orphan and Eric Whaley. (http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Orphans) Only Ted Lupin is fleshed out and talked about as having a happy intrafamily relationship, which is only reflected on by Harry at the end of the seventh Harry Potter book. This would make it pass the more than one orphan and the polarized orphan syndrome, but just barely and maybe barely doesn't really count if dropped in at the last minute.

This makes Harry the principal character with which adoption ideas are drawn from with the second character being Neville Longbottom, whose grandmother is very strict with him, which undermines his self-confidence initially. This makes both adopted people in the book someone to pity and built on false assumptions of how adoption works.

Neither character are really given a chance to show what a loving, supportive family would be like, which may actually make Harry more, rather than less of a free agent as JK Rowling initially stated. Harry's confidence would boost which would give him the power, as shown in the books, to try new things, dare to rise up and be more consistent for his character development. There would be less characters overall that would have to be mentioned.

This series does manage to avoid many of the traps of writing orphans, but only achieves this at the very last book in a sweeping last minute save, which is worth noting, however, that means that for the span the books were written the titular character of Harry and eventually Neville's home life influenced how orphans were viewed.

This goes to show that not only does adoption complicate the plot with the addition of characters, but it also does not make any character more or less of a free agent to do what they want when they want it. They are still beholden to their parents, alive or dead. And that abuse has nothing to do with adoption, so should not be combined as an excuse, especially if one wants to make the child free to make healthy decisions for themselves. *** Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept. Chapter 2 pg20Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. Chapter 2 Pg20

The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there – or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug. Chapter 2 pg 22Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-coloured bobble hats – but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large, blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a roundabout at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house,too. Chapter 2 pg.19

“I'm warning you,” he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, “I'm warning you now, boy – any funny business, anything at all – and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas.” Chapter 2 pg.23 ( Uncle Vernon)

Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food. Chapter 2 pg27

“Get the post, Dudley,” said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper. “Make Harry get it.” “Get the post, Harry.” “Make Dudley get it.” “Poke him with your Smeltings stick, Dudley.” Chapter 3 Pgs 29-30

“I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?” Chapter 3 pg 31 (Uncle Vernon)

Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun – last year, the Dursleys had given a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. Chapter 3 pg 36 ( Harry Potter)

“Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as – as- abnormal – and then,, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!” (Aunt Petunia)

Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, “Blown up? You old me they died in a car crash!” Chapter 4 pg. 44

“Now, you listen here, boy.” he snarled. “I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured – and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion – asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types – just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end-” Chapter 4 pg 46

(Uncle Vernon)Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun. True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't' stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything or shout at him- in fact, they didn't speak to him at all. Half- terrified, half-furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it was empty. Chapter 6 pg 67

[fyrapartnersearch]

Looking for longterm original RP!

Name: Rose or Kyrian

Timezone: EST

What I’m interested in: Original, long-term M/M RP! Since there will likely be smut and/or mature themes involved, I would like my partner(s) to be 18+, preferably 21+. If you’re someone who loves worldbuilding and developing original characters, then read on!   

About me: Female, mid-twenties. 12 years experience. Here are a few other things I like (in no particular order):

-          Drama

-          Romance (also darker romance and forbidden romance)

-          Interesting, complex characters

-          Character bonding and character development

-          Darker themes

-          Supernatural/mythical beings (ex: shape-shifters, angels, demon, mythical beings, vampires, dragons, winged peoples, elves, mages, or even beings we create together!)

-          Creating and playing multiple characters (whether as main characters or side characters)

Writing Style: Novel-style, third person, past tense. My replies can be anywhere between 300 to 1000+ words long depending on the medium and what you give me to work with, since I try to match my partner’s post length. All I ask for though is a few decently sized paragraphs and literacy. I prefer quality over quantity.

Pairings: M/M pairings only. That said, I don’t mind introducing female or non-binary supporting/recurring characters. Having a diverse cast can be fun!

I don’t mind smut, as long as it’s not the sole focus of the RP and as long as it contributes to the character’s development, the character’s relationships and/or the plot.

Also, please be willing to play switches or multiple roles! I like to mix things up and not be restricted to one role.

What I’m interested in: My go-to genres are fantasy and supernatural, but I’m also fond of sci-fi, xanxia, adventure, superhero and fairytale-inspired RPs. I can pretty much write any genre other than slice of life, so feel free to toss me ideas or plots for other genres not listed here.  

Limits: I have the usual limits – no extreme stuff like toilet-related kinks, gore, necrophilia, bestiality, underage characters and anthros/furries (although animal ears/tails/shapeshifters are okay). I also avoid bara, PWP (porn without plot) and extreme BDSM.

Roleplay Mediums: I prefer RPing via email, but I am also willing to RP via Skype or Discord. For OOC chat and plotting together, I prefer Skype or Discord.

Most importantly: Please be willing to tell me about your ideas for the RP(s). Communication is key! I want a partner who I can share ideas with and who will contribute ideas in turn, not one who has me carry the story and world-building. If you can’t or are unwilling to contribute your own ideas, then we are not a good match.

Also, honesty is the best policy. I want my partner to enjoy the RP as much as I do. I’m looking for someone who is willing to tell me if something’s bothering them so we can find a solution or compromise. If you’re the type of person who ghosts their partners the moment they hear an idea they don’t like, we’re not a good match.

Other:

- I love to talk to my partners, get to know them, discuss ideas, plot new events or gush over our characters. I want us to build a world and a story together that we both love!

- If you can no longer RP with me due to real life issues, lack of interest or whatever reason, please let me know! I’m very understanding and chill about these things. I just want closure so I can move on.

- I usually reply once every 1-3 days depending on reply length, so I prefer active partners. I’d like to have at least two or three replies per week, but I will be very happy if you can do more than that! Glacial paced RPs tend to lose my interest.

- I’m fine with face claims as long as they don’t involve any photos (or art) of real life people. I prefer descriptions or art. 

Contact details: Please email me at irisrose10[at]hotmail.com or on discord (Kyrian#0293). If you decide to contact me, please tell me about yourself, your age, your RP preferences and any ideas/plots/pairings you have in mind!

Looking forward to hearing from you. Let’s craft an amazing world together!

[nutty1005]

Period Dramas – An Analysis on Xiao Zhan's Character Portrayal Part 1

This is a series of short articles by the same author which will be a 6 part analysis on Xiao Zhan’s various roles.

Part 1.1 – Wei Wuxian

Part 1.2 – Wei Wuxian

Part 1.3 – Wei Wuxian

Part 2.1 – Yan Bingyun

Part 3.1 – Period Dramas

Part 3.2 – Period Dramas

Original Article: https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404475300028219446 Original Author: 诗债累累

We frequently read about actors being so good that they meld into the role and become unrecognizable, and these performances showcased the actor’s ability to differentiate their roles and produce unique features. To the actor, this is also a mission of highest importance: to complete a performance with his creativity and imagination, and imprint an unique touch to his roles – “I acted this”.

Although this is not some technical jargon, this brings forth some curious questions from the audiences:

How did the actor enter his role to create a vivid, living and realistic character?

How did the actor forget his own personality?

How did the actor create his roles such that they are unique?

One of the common methods used in training acting:

“When you are portraying a character, it is like you finding an astonishing item, and then you run into a house full of people, but now you have to explain to them this incident with your back facing them.”

Perhaps you may find this requirement strange, but to the actor, after being asked to portray a specific scene in several different manners, to reposition themselves multiple times to match the camera angle – sometimes it seemed as though you are facing your partner, but due to camera positioning, you were actually positioned facing away.

So, how do you portray the character?

We would have to start with the relationship between the actor and the character.

For easy understanding, I have tabulated Xiao Zhan’s main roles thus far, using their character features in the drama as the basis, since “Jade Dynasty” was only the first portion of the novel, and might have adaptation differences.

This is something that all of us can consider – while the emotions for Beitang Moran and Yan Bingyun were both restrained, what differences were there? What are the differences between Wei Wuxian’s teasing and sharp words, and Zhang Xiaofan’s simple and straightforwardness? From the tragic story lines of both Wei Wuxian and Zhang Xiaofan, what were their differences when they were seeking their own deaths? 

(1) An actor does not create a character —- The first layer comes from the completeness of a character

A character is actually created by the script writer, then the director. If the drama is adapted from a novel, it is first created by the author, then the script writer and then finally the director.

When the actor receives the role, it is, in fact, an already processed piece of work, and this piece of work contains his lines, his basic emotions and actions (usually written by the script writer), how the positioning of the character is like, and how he is supposed to interact with his partner (usually written by the director).

As such, the first thing the actor needs to do is to clearly understand his performance mission, understand the actions which the character needs to do, and the purpose of the character. Using the actions and the purpose, discover the main story, such that he will be able to sustain the performance regardless of the retakes, and also aid him in clearing his thoughts quickly.

Based on the above explanation, we could say that the performance missions for Beitang Moran, Wei Wuxian, Yan Bingyun and Zhang Xiaofan were complete.

Example: Beitang Moran and Wei Wuxian

(1) Beitang Moran

Background: Regent with military power Action: To create resistance and difficulties for the protagonist Purpose: To improve the eventual ruler

This character was the nation’s second highest in power. He honed the Emperor’s ruling skills, and also honed his own. He knew that the nation was their home and while he was given great power, he wanted to return the power back to the Emperor once he had mature. This set Moran apart from the other court officials.

Besides Xiao Zhan’s looks, this character was attractive because of the sense of power. This power came from the political power as well as the strength of the character. The underlying line was “Everyone desires peace, if you are not worthy, I will take over”.

With this in mind, Xiao Zhan’s portrayal included a hidden sense of pressure, a sense of gravity that contrasted greatly with the general comical script. This quickly added charm to the character, and he also adjusted his vocal tone higher in consideration that this was a web drama (hence more lighthearted) and the age range of the target audience (teenagers), the direction was more haughty than noble.

If this character was written in a serious political drama, and 40 year old Xiao Zhan redid this character again, he would have gone for a deeper vocal range, portrayed nobility and regalness, and added more gravity to the role.

(2) Wei Wuxian (during Guanyin Temple)

Background: Self reconciled, moved on Action: To understand the truth, to rescue everyone Purpose: To save everyone’s lives (it was not important for Jin Guangyao to die, nor to understand the mystery behind Jin Guangyao’s actions) Additional Surprise: To discover the ridiculous reasons behind his demise

The scene at Guanyin Temple was the most complex, as there were many characters joining the scene one by one, escalating the incident with every step:

Discovering the truth behind the Sword Spirit

Unveiling the truth behind Qiong Qi Path – the turning point of Wei Wuxian’s life

Understanding Jin Guangyao’s background

After every step, the Wei Wuxian’s stance and attitude kept changing. When facing every other participant of the scene, he had to show different details to convey their relationship. This was one of Xiao Zhan’s most complex scene, with each unveiling of the truth, every interaction and attitude with other characters had to be adjusted.

To Jin Guangyao:

He was at a disadvantage, hence trying to buy time and discover his opponent’s weakness

He was in shock, after understanding that his demise was based on nothing but unreasonable and unprovoked malice and hatred

To Jiang Cheng:

He discovered that the truth about the Golden Core was made known

He had to comfort Jiang Cheng

At the same time, he was released from the burden of hiding the truth

To Jin Ling:

He had to rescuing him

He released himself from the guilt of accidentally killing Jin Zixuan, but also knew that he had an indirect relation to it

To Lan Wangji:

He realised that the truth about the Golden Core was made known

He felt that there was no need to hide the truth anymore

To Lan Xize (Zewu Jun):

He studied his interactions to understand his attitude, since he and Jin Guangyao were close friends

To Su Minshan:

He understood why he rather be Jin Guangyao’s lap dog

He understood why he would set him up.

The completeness of the scene was done extremely well, with high concentration of lines and interactions between different characters. The emotional flow and attitude changes after discovering each piece of truth was clean and smooth. The emotions went from anxiety to anguish (for one self) to resolution, interlaced with psychological and physical fights.

(2) An actor needs to add his own touch to the character —- The second layer comes from the special touches he adds to the character, besides what was scripted

There was once a great drama teacher once said, even though everyone acts a character in the same way, you should still try to twist your thumb differently.

Here, we will use the example of Zhang Xiaofan to see how the performance of a classic character is created. (TN: Jade Dynasty is a very popular classic fantasy novel.)

Zhang Xiaofan had quite a few scenes where he had to act without props, such as the scene with the Water Dragon, as well as the stick that is not there.

Action: To counter his lack of progress in skills by cooking and cleaning, or taking on the blame for his fellow disciples Purpose: To repay his benefactor sect (and to court his Shijie)

Xiaofan was a character that was easy to have performance ideas: to portray the kindness and innocence of the character, with optimism and open-mindedness. As compared with his other characters, he made the following adjustments:

He changed the way he smiled, by raising his head, and to openly smile by showing his teeth.

He added a lot of miscellaneous movements, such as scratching his head, wiping his hands and touching his face.

And we summarize his performance points below:

To animals:

He treated all creatures equally – he treated everyone the same, regardless of person, monkey, Water Dragon, or dog

To Shijie:

He had puppy love, immediate facial expressions upon seeing her

He always wiped his hands before holding her hands

He felt he was Jilted (he thought his Shijie liked him too), and ran to the mountain top to shout his thoughts out

To vengeance:

Although he kept saying that he did not have the ability to do anything, the thought always remained in his heart. The moment he found out the truth about his village, plus he had gained enough power to take revenge, he did not stop his hand

To truth:

He wished for his own death, fragile but sincere, after his dreams were shattered, it was all just his ill fate, and he was defeated by it.

After all of these designs, Zhang Xiaofan became someone that was more relatable, with blood and soul in the earlier part of the movie, and contrasted greatly with the latter part when he fell to evil, and this contrast elevated the tragedy.

Conclusion

Actors are like a sponge for emotions, a machine for rationality. They have to be absorb all emotions but yet memorize these emotions and actions rationally, in order to repeat endlessly.

In contemporary works, a common theory used is “emotional memory”, to let the actors use their own past experiences and emotions to directly or indirectly apply on their character, and understand how the performance is generated.

During these type of performances, the weight of the role hinges on the actor himself. For example, in “The Most Beautiful Performance” where Xiao Zhan acted in the short clip “Buying Ears”, because Xiao Zhan was brought up by his grandmother, he was able to apply that emotion when he acted the role of a hearing impaired deliveryman calling his grandmother (who was also hearing impaired). Or in “Family Rules”, where his lifelike performance of getting beaten up by his father, was probably also inferred from his real life – in his People Magazine interview, he spoke about how his parents would take turns in disciplining him.

Life experiences are a valuable treasure trove to actors, as they contain living material. The more living material there are, the better and faster it is for actors to be able to find the right emotional experience. As such, realistic material + lifelike performance + relatable experiences will have an advantage in reaching his audiences.

In the current day and age where scripts are often from the fantasy genre, the characters abandon realism, experience great ups and downs, have beyond human capabilities – these roles will need to move the weight from the actor to the character. Actors need to participate in the creation of the character, simply drawing from their life experiences will not be enough, and thus attempt to discover how the character felt. With more experiences, their treasure trove will contain more living material, and will be able to inject realism in their characters.

[mikeshanlon]

Happy Pride! .... Like... more than halfway through the month lmao sorry, better late than never ig! I’ve compiled a list of some of my fave LGBT+ books, as well as a few I’m planning to read for pride/in the near future. Please feel free to reblog and add some of your own recs, especially for the sexual and gender identities that are lacking in my list!!!!!

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz: This beautiful, wholesome coming of age novel is pretty popular on tumblr and with good reason! It’s set in the 1980′s and follows Aristotle, aka "Ari”, as he grows up an tackles with his identity-- he feels like his story is written by someone else, that his path is not up to his control. Whether this is due to his complex relationship with his family, or societal expectations/stereotypes of Latinx men, or the fact that maybe his friendship with Dante might be more than that, and that kinda terrifies him. (Rep: Gay, Latinx, (I believe this is own voices) Warnings: it’s been a minute since i’ve read this but i believe some racism, internalized homophobia, and an instance of violent transphobia)

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston: LGKNLKNGRG okay this is truly one of my favorite books of the year so far and part of the whole reason i wanted to make this. This is a New Adult Contemporary romance set in sort of a like... parallel America where a woman won the presidential election. We follow The First Son, Alex Claremont-Diaz, who’s charming, smart ass, genius icon. Him, his sister June, and their best friend Nora are easily marketable and loved by the public for the most part, but when Alex and his rival Prince Henry of England get into a public spat at a Royal Wedding, Alex and Henry must pretend to be friends to patch up relations and public image for his mother’s re-election campaign. Eventually their fake friendship turns real, and then becomes more as they get to know each other, Alex and Henry begin a secret romance that we follow over the course of the re-election year. This book is fucking HILARIOUS (like I have so many tabs for funny moments and i was trying to be restrained), but it’s just so. Like full of love and hope and it’s so beautiful???? It’s definitely political escapism from our current situation in America but still deals with current issues such as racism and homopboia, etc, but gives the reader hope for future progress. Alex and Henry’s relationship is so fun, and sexy, and beautiful and the friendships are so iconic and Alex’s journey with sexuality is... chefs kiss. Also like. Casey McQuiston mentioned that she listened to Texas Reznikoff by Mitski a lot while writing this in the acknowledgments so. what more do you need... (Rep: Bisexual (Own Voices), Gay, Biracial-- Mexican/White (Own Voices), Warnings: Racism, homophobia, mentions of a past sexual harrassment/assault. Since this is a New Adult, there are smut scenes. I wouldn’t say it’s like. Super explicit or anything but there is sex, though it’s often during Important Moments of their relationships so it doesn’t feel like p*rn-- again the sex is happening but its not in hella explicit detail or anything or for the same goal as say an erotica. P much proceed with caution if it’s not ur thing but it’s not too wild!)

Blanca y Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore: This is sort of a Snow White/Rose Red and Ugly Duckling retelling following two sisters, Blanca and Roja, who’s family curse destines that one of the sisters will be trapped into a swan’s body, never to be seen again. (So this is magical realism lmao). We also follow two boys, Page and Yearling, who were wrapped up in the magic of the nearby woods, but have returned to society. Page is a gender queer trans male, and his whole arc that was so beautiful and made me cry, but in a good way (also warning that I’m cis so like. I would love to hear what gender queer trans individuals think about the rep in this book bc I cannot really attest to it.) This book is really about sisterly love and love in general, with all the complexities that come with it. (also wlw grandma’s who grow apple’s it’s p iconic) (Rep: Latinx-- colorism plays a huge role in the story as well (Own Voices), Gender Queer Trans, Queer (Own Voices) Warnings: Some transphobia, racism, and abuse). (I believe most of Anna-Marie McLemore’s books are magical realism and have some Latinx and queer elements to them as well)

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: god..... This (gay ass) novelization of The Illiad is just so tragically romantic and beautiful... We follow Achilles and Patroclus as they grow up and grow closer, and eventually fight the Trojan War. There are so many beautiful quotes and scenes but like. You will most likely cry so keep that in mind eklrgerg. (Rep: Gay Warnings: Violence, there’s like..... a weird r*pe/homophobic scene)

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan: YA Fantasy set in a world where there are three castes: Moon-- the highest caste, demons with animalistic features in a humanoid form, Steel-- humans with part demon physical features and abilities, and Paper-- fully human, the lowest caste. We follow our protaganist Lei, who despite being a Paper caste, has beautiful golden glowing eyes that end up garnering attention from the Demon King. She’s stolen from her home and forced to join The Paper Girls-- a group of paper caste concubines in training at the palace. As she tries to find a way to escape, she ends up falling for one of the other paper girls, Wren, who might be just the key to freedom. I love Lei and Wren’s relationship and I’m excited to see it play out in the sequel! (which i believe ngan said will introduce more LGBT characters) (Rep: Asian (Own Voices), WLW (I believe this is Own Voices as well). Warnings: As their role as concubines suggest, a large part of this book revolves around the patriarchy using women for power and sexual assualt/rape. There are no explicit rape scenes-- though they do occur ‘off screen’, however there are a couple attempted sexual assault scenes that I believe could be p triggering. This book is also largely about the Paper Girls taking back their power, and I don’t believe these scenes are done for shock value, however please proceed with caution. Subsequently, sexist and patriarchial views are present within the authority, though shunned by Lei, however there’s a lot of internalized sexism and objectification among some of the other Paper Girls.)

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell: I probably don’t have to talk about this one much since it’s super popular, but in what is like essentially Harry Potter but like gay and wholesome, we follow Simon Snow, the Chosen One who’s actually not that good at magic, his best friend Penelope, and his roommate and arch nemesis that’s totally a vampire but won’t admit it, Baz. (Except Baz is, like, totally in love with Simon and Simon’s just too dumb and wrapped up in his own shit to realize it). Truly just,... an iconic enemies to friends to lovers story that unfolds as the three of them try to uncover a mystery surrounding Baz’s late mother. Ik some people have found it confusing bc it’s sort of like starting the Harry Potter story off at book 7 and only getting some background info along the way but honestly I really enjoyed that lmao. Also there’s a sequel coming out this fall, Wayward Son. (Rep: Gay, Some POC rep. Warnings: not rlly any i dont think??? There’s  like. some Homophobia lmao bc we can’t have a gay book without it.)

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins: This is a cute YA contemporary following Millie Quint who, post being cheated on by her best friend and wanting to have a fresh start, flies to Scotland to finish off her senior year at her Dream prestigous boarding school, joining a handful of other girls as the first female class in the institution’s history. Plus like. Cool Rocks and Scotland. Only problem is that her roomate is sort of a bitch and also the Princess of Scotland who she totally just told off. So yeah yet another royal gay enemies to friends to lovers with a dash of and they were roomates LMAO. This book could be like.... a bit cheesy and rushed but overall it was cute and like...... The Cover.... (Rep: Bisexual, Lesbian, Warnings: Some homophobia. Also this is a companion novel to Prince Charming but you don’t have to read that first, there’s just some references to the couple in that book as the Prince is well.... The Princess’ brother and where they end up so if you don’t wanna be spoiled read that first ig!)

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman: I talked about this some in this post, but I feel like I did kinda a shitty job so. A YA fantasy/paranormal series about the descendant’s of the town’s four founding families-- Violet Saunders, Justin Hawthorne, Harper Carlisle, and Isaac Sullivan (the most iconic one). The latter three have lived in Four Paths their whole lives, protecting the town from The Gray-- p much the Upside Down from Stranger Things lmao, using powers specific to each of their families. Violet and her mother move back after Violet’s sister died in a car accident, and she’s thrust into helping save the town as the Gray grows more restless and having to uncover the secrets of her family as well as all the history brewing between the other three. The Stranger Things and Riverdale comparisons are p valid, (but like. Riverdale in the sense of small town secrets and a bunch of tense history that the kids don’t really understand and must uncover, and some like love triangle but..... not Rlly Love triangles just a mess of ppl being like oh shit i like this person and this person.... Bisexual Chaos if u will... not like. The I’m cuckoo bananas for u let’s go get high and play dungeons and dragons and smash in a bunker LRGKJRLKGJ), the Raven Cycle comparison’s are kind of a stretch, I can see the abstract comparison’s if i squint but like. Don’t go into this expecting TRC lmao. I really enjoyed the theme of grief throughout this book and seeing the powers unfold (and one of the dynamics a lot) and while not perfect the series has a lot of potential and like. Bisexuals. So. (Rep: Bisexual (two mc’s are bi and say the word!!!!!!!! As well as some secondary characters), Disabled (one of the mc’s is missing one arm from the elbow down). Warnings: Grief, Violence)

The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee: Also talked about this in this post and did a better job there, but to sum it up it’s essentially a friends to lovers, bed sharing, road trip au with a dash of magic but set in the 1700′s! There’s also a sequel/companion, The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy that I have yet to read but it follows Monty’s sister, Felicity, and I believe goes more in depth with her identity. (Rep: Gay, Black, Disabled, Aromantic, Asexual, Warnings: Period typical homophobia/biphobia, racism, ableism, sexism)

Simon vs. The Homosapien’s Agenda by Becky Albertalli: Like. I don’t think i really have to explain this one LRKGJJRG but added it just in case. YA contemporary following Simon as he e-mails another gay student at his school and falls in love. (Rep: Gay, Black, Jewish, Warnings: Homophobia)

All For the Game Trilogy (The Foxhole Court, The Raven King, The King’s Men) by Nora Sakavic: If y’all have been on my blog at all you know i’m back in aftg hyperfixation mode after another reread lmao. Is it a lil messy is it a lil dramatic... yes. but i love it!!! We follow our protagonist Neil Josten, who’s been on the run from his crime lord father, The Butcher of Baltimore, since he was young. After his mother dies on the run, Neil finds a new place and adopts yet another identity, and ends up playing high school exy (a made up sport but like we’re barely here for the sports lmao), something he used to play as a child. Despite playing a new position, he attracts the attention of the PSU Foxes, who’s coach David Wymack specifically recruits players with a troubled past to give them a second chance. Neil really shouldn’t sign-- it goes against everything his mother told him, it puts him at risk of being in the spotlight for his father’s men to find him, and puts him on the same team as Kevin Day, someone from his past that knows his true identity. Still, something draws Neil to joining the team, to finally try to live instead of just survive. UGHHHH like truly this book just makes u fall in love with all the characters and the beautiful and broken found family that develops over three books and one of the most iconic and amazing (ha....) slowburn relationships ever.... Also if i recall they’re super cheap on iBooks (at least when i bought them, the first book was free and the other two were $1.99). (Rep: Gay, Demisexual, POC, Warnings: MAJOR trigger warnings for like. everything bc all the foxes have fucked up pasts. But the biggest ones are probably rape, abuse/torture, and substance abuse)

Six of Crows Duology (Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom) by Leigh Bardugo: Idk how much I really have to talk about this bc it’s popular but I am physically unably not to reccomend this duology bc its just. So. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. The most barebones summary is that this is a YA Fantasy about six people coming together to perform an impossible heist. This is truly like...... a masterclass in developing characters and has one of the best m/f ships i’ve ever read... But also since it’s on here there is some gay shit going on, 3/6 mains are Not Straight and there’s a cute m/m couple! Also you don’t have to read the Grisha Trilogy to read this but u can if u want (I have yet to). (Rep: Bisexual, Gay, Disabled, POC, Warnings: Again these ppl have fucked up pasts, biggest are PTSD, past sexual abuse)

The Raven Cycle Series (The Raven Boys, The Dream Theives, Blue Lily Lily Blue, The Raven King) by Maggie Steifvater: Again i don’t think I really have to explain this one but like. In case you haven’t read this series it’s truly iconic..... Idk even how to explain this LKGJLJRG just like magical realism wonderfulness and found family and amazing relationships and shit.... (Rep: Gay, Bisexual, Disabled, Warnings: Abuse)

The following are books I plan to read for pride/in the near future. I can’t wholeheartedly reccomend them obviously, or fully detail all the rep/warnings, but I’ve heard some great things about these books and a lot of them have representation that the first part of the list is lacking, so I figured I would add them! (Also if I use ‘queer’ that’s because that’s the only label I have been given by the authors or reviewers, or the characters identify as queer)

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman: To my knowledge this is a really emotional YA coming of age/college story that has to do with like. A podcast? Idk a lot of people love it and side note I’ll be suing B&N bc they NEVER have it relkj (Rep: Bisexual, Demisexual, I belive Latinx.)

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand: I believe this is a YA horror-ish novel where there’s a monster stealing girls on and island. (Rep: I believe all three main girls are queer Warnings: Since this is horror im assuming. Horror stuff LMAO)

I Wish You all The Best by Mason Deaver: A YA contemporary romance about Ben who comes out as non-binary to their parents and gets kicked out, and moves in with their estranged sister. They soon are taken under the wing of a senior named Nathan Allan and begin to fall. (Rep: Non-Binary (Own Voices), MLM/Queer, Black (im assuming from the gorgeous cover lmao. Warnings: Misgendering, homophobia, anxiety, depression)

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno: YA Magical Realism about Georgina, who has yet to inherit the magical powers that have been passed down her family, including her twin sister Mary who, unlike Georgina, is coming into her powers. (Rep: Lesbian, Queer, Aro/Ace, Warnings: Rape and sexual assault, underage drinking, animal death, drug use.)

[salamanders-please]

Author Interview Tag Meme

aaaaahhh tagged by the super cool @ljandersen​!! >///<

Name: I go by multiple names online, but my pen name is salamanders_please

Fandoms: Oh hecc... I haven’t written anything for a hot minute. I’m scattered across fandoms, but the three most populated are Tales of Zestiria, Hibike! Euphonium, and Noragami

Where You Post: AO3 and FFN. But FFN is kinda a shit hole. I still get traffic/reviews from FFnet though, so I’ll probably still post there just for my own ego if I can ever complete anything again.

Most Popular One-Shot:  Two Truths and a Lie . A smutty Noragami Yatone one-shot written for Yatone week some years ago. This got way more attention than I ever expected. Like I honestly was shocked. I know I’m probably a disgusting person for writing that ship, but I am only mildly ashamed. Very, very mildly. So mildly, i wrote 6 other fics for it :o

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story:  Within These Walls . More Noragami. It’s a Yatori porn with plot written for a big bang a few years ago. I’m actually pretty pleased with how most of it turned out. It was not originally supposed to include smut, and I initially estimated it’d be between 6-7k words. But I guess my hand slipped and I accidentally a whole 27k words. In my mind it is a one-shot, but technically it’s two chapters because I had to split it up in order to make the big bang deadline.

Favorite Story You Wrote: Stress Relief . A Mystic Messenger Jaemin fic that’s (also smut lel) that I had fun while actually writing it which is pretty rare. It was a wild ride and I really enjoyed it probably because it’s borderline - if not fully-blown crackfic. However, it’s a two-parter and while most of the second and final chapter is written, I’m really struggling to finish it.

Story You Were Nervous to Post: Uhh. I don’t think I’ve ever been truly nervous posting a fic. Though I’m always a little nervous no one will read it or like, I guess. But I don’t think about it too much.

How You Choose Your Titles:  I generally try to have simple titles that are thematically relevant to the story. For example, Legacy relates to Alisha’s legacy as royalty and Rose taking up the mantle of Shepherd. And Within These Walls is a metaphor for even if Yato doesn’t have a proper shrine, he will always have a home in Hiyori.

If it’s a ship week or drabble-length thing, it becomes harder to title and I usually just pick something literal as that is easiest.

Complete: 27.

Incomplete: 1. Stress Relief. I really do want to finish it one day, even if the fandom is dead and no one reads the last chapter. I’m so close and yet so far. I’m not counting stories I haven’t formally posted as incomplete, as there are a lot of those.

Do You Outline?  Generally, I’d say yes, even if I only do it in my head. It depends on the length and complexity of the story. For Legacy, a novel-length sequel fix-it fic, I absolutely outlined and actually wrote it out. I outlined almost the entire story, and the outline itself went through many revisions. And yet despite outlining, new stuff would just crop up as I was writing and I’d have to go back and revise my outline again to incorporate the new element I introduced to make sure everything was consistent. For most one-shots, I do not outline and just write it as I go because the path to the goal is usually pretty clear. But for example, I did have an outline for Within These Walls because getting to the end wasn’t a straight line and there were certain story/emotional beats I wanted to be sure to hit. For Stress Relief, chapter one did not get an outline because it’s very straightforward, however chapter two gets more complicated and required an outline for me to remember everything I wanted to include.

The other reason I outline is because my memory is bad lol

Coming Soon/Not Yet Started: I do want to write more... but it’s just been so hard. I feel like I get burnt out and sitting myself down and getting the words and ideas to flow is so damn difficult. So I can’t promise anything is coming in the future, but the most likely ideas for me to work on are two Dragon Age fics and an original fic idea.

One of the DA fics is for Origins. I don’t really think it’s a complete story on its own, but I want to explore a more realistic approach to some things that happen in the game. I want to explore the cast getting real character development and establishing relationships with each other. I want to watch Morrigan grow more. I want to explore a Dalish warden who never wanted to be a warden, and can’t escape his burden because everywhere he goes people see an elf with vallaslin outside his clan and immediately know him to be the warden. How do people react to that? How does the warden? What if Alistair and Morrigan became friends? What if they fucked? Am I a good enough writer to make it work?

The other DA fic is for DA2. And it’s also a “what if these people had more character development?” fic but with canon divergence and more of a complete story on its own. It’s a fem!Hawke/Fenris fic where Hawke is a mage and somewhere in the middle of Act 2, Hawke gets sent to the Circle. How would the conflicts in the story play out differently with someone on the inside? I dunno.

The final story, my original fic, is probably most succinctly described as a post-apocalyptic sci-fi-fantasy fusion with “magical girl” elements. It’s mostly action/adventure/drama with sprinkles of other genres. Its main themes are heavy criticisms of capitalism and a giant middle finger to bigots.

Do You Accept Prompts? Nope. I can barely start and finish my own ideas, let alone anyone else’s.

Most Excited to Write: My original fic actually. But it’s a rather complicated story with a lot of twists and turns and I don’t have an end in mind which makes it hard to even start writing or outlining for it. I do have a bit outlined already, but not much. It’s mostly just a mess of ideas.

:x i don’t know who to tag who hasn’t already been tagged by LJ, so i’m just gonna tag all the bugs fucking flying around my room right now. and landing on me. vile motherfuckers. i figure they must wanna do it because they keep landing on my monitor as i write this.

[dovakhiindrabbles]

Howdy! While I’ve been gone I’ve been hinting at a Dragonborn character that I’ve been excited to introduce! While I showed her character earlier, she’s changed quite a bit from her initial creation! I’m super excited to write about her on this blog and elaborate on her character with you all! Rosie is one of my favorite characters I’ve made and I hope you like her just as much as I do! So, here’s her introduction and general info! Feel free to ask questions about her if you’re interested! (I’d be super excited to answer them!) 


Rosalie Sevilen Julienus-Allam 

Age: 24 years

Race: Redguard (Father’s side), Nord/Imperial (Mother’s side) 

Preferred Fighting Style: Melee, especially two-handed weaponry (Her favorite is the war-hammer!) 

Notable Family: Emeline (Mother), Adnan (Father), Tulius (Grandfather -mother’s side), Rosalie Sr. (Grandmother – mother’s side), Haanee (Grandfather – father’s side), and Ehsan (Grandmother – father’s side) Other Important Figures: Eldrims (Mentor/Grouchy old Neighbor), Paarathurnax (Mentor/Honorary Dragon Grandfather)

Personality: 

“I’m just trying to do what I can to help everyone. I never said I had a plan as to how I’d do that!” 

Having the soul of a fire-breathing beast beyond belief is an oddly accurate description of Rosalie, and it’s not for the literal fact that as the Dragonborn, she does have the soul of a dragon. Rosalie is a firecracker with a passion and zest for life unlike any other and despite her small size – is hardly intimidated by anything or anyone. However, unlike her dragon counterparts, Rosalie is a complete softie with a heart of gold. She’s extremely eager to help others and very warm, inviting, and bubbly to all that cross her path – and strives to make the world a better place for everyone (Making her an extreme opponent to Ulfric’s beliefs – they dummy hate each other) 

Nevertheless, despite her fervent attempts to make others happy and do right by those around her, Rosalie struggles a bit with her own foolhardiness.(Which is hardly helped by the revelation that she has insane powers/abilities) She’s incredibly reckless as a result of her excitement to explore the grand, wide world of Skyrim and admittedly, due to her secluded life as a child, is terribly naive. However, no matter her obstacles, Rosie is sure to leave a story wherever she goes. (Chaotic good for sure!)

Generally, Rosalie is: Earnest, Bubbly, Open-minded, Selfless, Easily-Excited, Well-Meaning, Determined, Principled, Loyal, Compassionate, Considerate, Adventurous, and Enthusiastic. However, Rosalie also is: Stubborn, Sheltered, Impulsive, and Naive

History/Family Background: 

Rosalie was raised by her two parents away in the mountains amidst the fear and uncertainty after the Great War. Closest to Solitude, her only two places she visited among her snowy cottage was Skyrim’s Capital and Cyrodil as a result of her two families! 

Speaking of families, Rosalie’s is perhaps the most diverse and unique among Skyrim. Her quiet, gentle father, Adnan’s great grandparents migrated directly from Hammerfell by special request of the then Jarl due to their famed talents in welding/metal-crafting! The offer was simply too much to refuse and admittedly, the family saw it as an attempt to mend uneasy relations between the Nords and Redguards! Thankfully, it was mostly a success and led to the sizable, if scattered population of Redgaurds in Skyrim!

On her mother’s side, snarky and spunky former soldier, Emeline, is the daughter of famed, respected General Tulius and former legate Rosalie Sr. who Rosie was named after. Years ago, Tulius and Rosalie Sr. met when Tulius was given the difficult task of keeping her out of nonsense for more than a day. She was under his command as a new, admittedly nervous captain and she was absolutely out of control. It’s a total enemies-to-friends-to lovers thing as Tulius tries to keep her from fighting anything that moves and she tries to loosen up the uptight dreamer. Ulfric and Rosalie Sr. had a... strained relationship -- initially with Ulfric placed under her command and looking up to her, and Rosalie Sr. now trying but ultimately failing to keep him from ruin.  When it came to the end of the war – Rosalie Sr. Only wanted an end to the bloodshed, a peaceful life crafted by love and family. Ulfric, in his time as a prisoner, had seen too much to want such a thing, and when they reunite it’s far from happy and ends with the death of Rosie’s grandmother. (Only further securing her hatred of Ulfric, but leads to much deeper, personal complexities rooted in their relationship)

** Rosie and her grandfather are extremely close, especially after the loss of Rosalie Sr. as Tulius finds comfort in seeing just how much of his spouse lives on in Rosie. She’s one of the few people who can still make the bitter old man laugh and he fondly has nicknamed her ‘Rosebud’. 
While not of biological relation, Eldrims Bedaleth found a great spot in Rosalie’s heart as her neighbor and first friend as a child. Fleeing from Windhelm as the stigma against Elves, Khajiit, and Argonians, grew, Eldrims was sculpted into a bitter, cold-hearted man due to the hatred he was suddenly met with in his old home of Skyrim. Thankfully, his heart of stone was soon melted after being bombarded with unwelcome visits from a curious, exhilarated child Rosie, and while he still tries to play the part of a snappy old man, he’s a complete sap for the Dragonborn.

Relationships: 

- Out of everyone else in Skyrim, Farkas is absolutely the person she trusts most and almost always has by her side – they’re practically tethered at the hip! The first person she met in Whiterun after helping against a troll, Farkas was all too excited to introduce her to the Companions and afterward, Farkas found himself not too keen to leave her side. He balances out her fierce excitement with his gentle, demeanor and she gifts him with the confidence and encouragement needed to overcome his insecurities regarding his intelligence and pain from his past. Somehow, she’s able to make the quiet giant practically chatty and throughout the years comes to understand him like no one else. Through all their adventures, however, feelings beyond friendship begin and a notoriously ridiculous case of mutual pining begins…

- Totally not bitter runner-up to the title of Rosalie’s best friend, Hadvar was in fact, the first person Rosalie met in Skyrim – even if under less than ideal circumstances. After saving her in the fiery destruction in Helgen, the months spent together in Riverwood are memories the two will truly never forget. Rosalie may or may not have had a tiny bit of a crush on the soldier, and while the window closed when Rosalie left Riverwood, it didn’t stop Hadvar from catching feelings heavy and hard – not that he’d ever admit it aloud, of course. The two write to each other very often and when together, the two are complete doofuses. 

- Someone has to keep Rosalie in check and Lydia was the perfect pick for the job. Technically housecarl, actually dear friend, Lydia is extremely watchful over little excitable Rosalie whose soft heart has gotten her into more trouble than she probably realizes. (Farkas and Lydia are proud founders of the ‘Rosalie Protection Squad’) Rosalie helps Lydia to find love with Ysolda and helps her to find comfort in domesticity and a general understanding of social behavior – gifting Lydia with kindness rarely found in the tundras of Skyrim – it’s something she never forgets. 

- While Farkas and Rosalie are just about soulmates, Rosie and Vilkas are very close to arch-enemies as one can get without outright declaring war. From the moment Rosalie defeated her first dragon in Whiterun, Vilkas has seemingly been rude and spiteful to the ‘mountain woman’ without reason. They bicker constantly, and while many saw it as a rivalry without end, Kodlak’s solution to send them to Markarth may cause the rift between them to finally be sealed…

- If Rosalie truly hates anyone, it’s Ulfric, without a single doubt, she despises him beyond belief for his treatment of non-humans and murder of her grandmother. Their interactions are almost always disastrous and full of shouting matches, and this poison between them makes the Civil War a time in the history of Skyrim nothing short of legendary. 

- Paarathurnax and Rosalie have a sweet familial history rooted in her childhood that made their reunion all the sweeter. Paarathurnax, while not quite an advisor, gives words of wisdom that stick to Rosalie for the rest of her life and her in return, has provided him a friendship he would’ve once thought impossible. (Their past is something I’m very much looking forward to elaborating on!) 

** There are more relationships with Rosalie beyond this, but these are who I’d consider of most importance to her immediate story against Alduin and overall introduction to the world of Skyrim. 

Special/Fun Facts:

- Throughout her life, Rosalie develops more draconic features, especially as her dragon soul attempts to have more and more control of her. As a result, she develops fangs and smaller, thinner pupils – amid other things as the years go by. Alongside these traits, Rosalie as well is unable to take on other forms, as a result of her soul. Meaning, she’s physically incapable of becoming a werewolf or vampire, and she tried when being inducted in the circle. It was a horrifyingly agonizing experience as her body rejected the turning. (Farkas fretted over her for days afterward – he was a mess)

*** Speaking of her Dragon soul, it’s resulted in a very painful, sorrowful revelation for Rosalie that while I won’t reveal just yet, does threaten to shatter her entire world and send her spiraling as the years pass on. 

- During her first fight against a dragon in Whiterun, in an effort to protect the soldiers within the tower as Mirmulnir attempts to send fire barreling inside Rosalie uses herself as a human shield, and while it works it causes Rosalie to have long, searing burn scars all over her back. It leaves her with extreme insecurity and a shot to her confidence but later on the revelation of her burns to Farkas leads to him opening up about his past and his own scars, giving her the strength to see the scars as not something to be ashamed of but as a reminder of her strength and what she overcame. 

- Growing up in the mountains, Rosalie knew very little of flowers. (Farthest she traveled was Cyrodil and Solitude, mainly traveling through the mountains during these treks) Subsequently, when arriving in Skyrim, she becomes obsessed with them! She adores all the different colors, shapes, and sizes they can take and has made it a life mission of hers to collect and care for them! (Her favorite are Baby’s Breath, Dogwood, and Gladiolus though she keeps quite a bit of Forget-Me-Nots – they’re Farkas’s favorite)

- Rosalie is the proud owner of a complete asshole of a horse, Enoch. He doesn’t like a single other soul but Rosalie and this poor-temper is what got Rosalie to buy him at a cheaper price. Somehow, she warmed his frigid soul, but it still terrifies Rosalie nonetheless to see her loyal steed rush in to help in a fight. 

- Rosalie’s skin is very used to cloudy weather, often hidden away from sunlight so when she reaches sunny central Skyrim she soon becomes speckled with freckles! They’re all over her cheeks, hands, and arms especially. She fondly calls them ‘sunspots’. 

- Rosalie has a very strange and extreme fear of mudcrabs. They’re just… so strange in comparison to everything else in Skyrim – she hates their legs and their claws and she’ll scream at the top of her lungs when she initially first comes around them.

- She cannot cook to save her life, though Farkas is oddly talented and has tried to teach her many, many times to no avail. (The two often end up in food-fights or in laughing messes anyways) She loves the art of cooking despite this, and is often seen watching with wide eyes whenever Farkas is preparing something. 

- Rosalie also copes extremely well in the cold, she spent most of her childhood there after all! But as a result, her body kind of freaks out in hotter climates (Which is a little ironic considering her Hammerfell origins) 

- Rosie isn’t very adept at magic but bless her heart she tries. Eldrims attempted to teach her when she was little, but she only seemed to excel with destructive magic (and Emeline wasn’t the biggest fan of her daughter accidentally blowing fireballs through the kitchen – secretly though Adnan thought it was hilarious and may or may not have secretly encouraged her to keep learning)

[bpdanakins]

Name ten favourite characters from ten different things (books, tv, film, etc.) then tag ten people

I was tagged by the dear @gffa who clearly enjoys making these lists and seeing everyone else also struggling with just choosing ten. It’s hard but I shall do my best sdfk <3

1. Lara Croft - Tomb Raider Okay, let’s just get it out: I prefer reboot!Lara. idk I know some people think she sucks and the games suck for whatever reason, but I found the games and their mechanics super fun, and Lara’s story really compelling. She was a young girl who was determined to make her own way in the world, and instead went through something extremely traumatizing. She kept pushing through, kept getting back up no matter what the world threw at her. She went on this clear journey that was compelling and fun and messy. She wasn’t perfect. She pushed people away, she fucked the world up because she was determined to find the answers she felt would make all she went through make sense. Her survivor’s guilt was present really well in RotTR but most especially in SotTR. People were dying but she was so focused on finishing her personal mission. She was numb to it despite the fact it still horrified her. And her arc ended well. She finally was able to reach a place where she was able to let go of her losses and try to join society again. And I’m gay for her. So, you know.

2. Senua - Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice I cannot recommend this game enough. It’s tough to play bc it’s not just a horror game but you feel a lot of Senua’s anxiety, which is part of the point to the game. Senua’s a Celtic warrior who suffers from psychosis, and the game devs worked directly with both professionals and those who experience psychosis. There’s a whole mini doc to it which is great, even if you can’t stomach horror. You’re in Senua’s head with her throughout the game. You see what she sees, you hear all she hears, and she talks to you directly at times. But the beauty of the game is Senua’s true journey. She goes on a quest to try to rescue a loved one she lost to Vikings, but the real story is about a girl realizing she’s not a monster for seeing the world differently. That the abuse and ableism she faced weren’t her fault at all. There’s so many little things I can point to in this game that just made me so emotional, and it’s such a beautiful and necessary story to tell. Senua is great and deserves a hug.

3. Anakin Skywalker - Star Wars If you asked me at what point in my life Anakin became one of my favourite characters, to the point I frequently talked about him even on my main blog at random intervals, I couldn’t tell you. I haven’t the faintest idea; he just was. And if you asked me why he was a fave early on, I also couldn’t tell you lmao. It might partially be that I grew up on the prequels, and maybe at such a young age I didn’t really grasp at first that this was a story about a guy who was already revealed to be a villain, but I haven’t the faintest clue. He just is now, and I’m so passionate about his story. He’s complex and difficult and written so well. You want him to be happy, you feel heartbroken seeing a good character fall so deep, and you want to smack him upside the head a whole lot. You laugh at his silly dialogue (which he has as Vader too smh), you cry when you see him struggling, you become horrified by his actions. His story’s also a great inversion of the Chosen One trope - whereas usually we see Chosen Ones struggle, become imperfect and undoubtedly traumatized, they remain heroes the whole time. Anakin doesn’t. He becomes the bad guy, one of the worst in the series (Palps takes the award tho). But even then, when you think this guy has nothing to offer but an intimidating villain, he’s shown to have good. And then we see how much good he had all along, the good he forgot and was punished for and hated himself for. His heart that had good intentions but he chose the worst actions. He’s complicated and I love him. And more over, I love how many people who struggle or have mental illness can relate to him. I love that he wasn’t treated as a guy whose actions were glorified, but that were honest in both the good ones and the bad ones. Anyone can fall, and anyone can get back up, if they choose to. I just. Love him. He means a lot.

4. Commander Shepard - Mass Effect I know that Shep is technically the player’s character and can be any combination of person, but anyone who’s played Mass Effect would get why they were put here. The original trilogy for Mass Effect touched on so many things, and was a really emotional one. You had your great moments with friends, you had your struggles against both unknown horrors, and horrors close to home (so to speak). There are so many small moments that stick out to you, and idk how many people can say that playing this story didn’t impact their life in a meaningful way, bc I can’t see how it couldn’t. I’ve played the games many times, but even after all of this, there are moments that I not just still get emotional to, but take on new meaning as I go through my life. And Shepard’s the hero of the story. They’re not perfect, and they can downright be an ass if you play them that way, but their story is one of perseverance, of fighting on even when entire worlds are being lost and everyone is still looking to them. Everyone needs them to find a solution. But even then, it’s a story about friendship too. About tons of amazing characters that all have their own motivations, their own pasts and goals and hopes and failures. About how all these varied characters become a found family. And so Shepard’s the hero of the story, but their companions aren’t just there to be sidekicks, but end up with all their own accomplishments and arcs and you go on this journey with all of them. idk the whole series is great dsalkkljads

5. Lexa & Clarke - The 100 Let’s not talk about how terrible this show got and how messy it was because we all know. But it started with a really compelling story that was interesting, and to see two characters on screen who were flawed but understood each other, and to have them both be women - one who was a lesbian and one who was a bisexual?? It made me so excited and it’s a really flawed show but it meant a lot to me at the time to have a couple like that on a tv show, and so despite all its flaws, that relationship still means a lot to me. 

6. The BAU team - Criminal Minds Yeah, I put the entire friggin team down, and that means all of them. There was only maybe two or so characters that were on it I didn’t like so every iteration is put down. Criminal Minds isn’t exactly a complex show; it’s a typical crime drama, and its unique feature is that it looks into the behaviour and minds of criminals instead of finding the science, like we saw with CSI. But the episodes were compelling and entertaining to watch, and, what do you know, there’s a found family at the center of it all and naturally I’m a sucker for it. Strangely enough this show is kind of a comfort one to me, bc it’s entertaining but not always overwhelmingly emotional. I can put it on at any time and just have it on in the background, or when I’m not feeling well, and I’ll enjoy myself. Also strangely enough, I’ve seen almost every episode enough times that there’s a game in my house to see how long it takes for me to recognize the episode and its plot once a rerun is put on lmao. There’s a lot of good shows like this out there - I enjoy SVU a lot too - but something just draws me to the characters on this one. We’ve been with them for, what, 14 seasons?? And we’ve seen them go thru some shit, we’ve seen them grow and change and they’re all really unique. It’s not a complex show but it is good enough to just binge. A part that plays in it is probably the time in my life I started getting into it too, but I’m alright with standing by it.

7. Korra - Avatar: The Legend of Korra I probably don’t need to wax poetic about atla or atlok much at all. I just love her journey, as a brash and overconfident girl who realizes that being the Avatar is hard, the people expect so much and there’s a lot put on your shoulders. That, when things go wrong, people will blame you. She went and became this giant blue monster thing, but her struggles were all human. Her PTSD was shown really well, despite it being a kid’s show. She’s fun and her journey is lovely and it’s definitely true that Korrasami did it way better, and both characters are bi women too (◡‿◡✿) We Do Not Talk About That Dumb Love Triangle Nonsense Though

8. Chloe & Max - Life is Strange What can I even say about this game? I don’t know. If you’ve played it, you’ll know why it’s here. It’s.... way deeper than you’d think it’d get at first. I love the story, and I love the journey Max and Chloe go on together. I love their friendship, how Chloe was always trying to uplift Max and encourage her to follow her dreams, and Max just doing the impossible for Chloe. I love their relationship, because it was built on support and love and struggle. I love their complexities, their flaws, their strengths, their times together. I just fskljdjlksfd love them, I love this game and all its various stories and character arcs. It’s all so beautiful and raw and unique and yay, another pair of ladies loving each other is on this list.

9. Solas - Dragon Age: Inquisition Okay. There’s a TON of characters I adore in Dragon Age, and to be honest, I don’t know he’d be my absolute top one. But I do like his story. I love Dragon Age companions, because, like in Mass Effect, they’re all their own characters with their own stories and journeys. Solas is flawed. Like, really flawed. Here’s another guy on my list who went and fucked up the world a bit. His worst actions (and the consequences of them) were built on good intentions, on his desire to help his people. We can get into the way this direction BW went with the elvhen religion was icky, but it’s a different conversation. I adore elvhen lore and I love exploring theories on it all the time. For Solas, I just like that he’s complex. I mean, he’s still silly and kinda weird, and he loves to hear himself speak on topics and loves Lavellan for encouraging him to never shut up, but most of all I kind of like their relationship? A friendship with Solas is still great, but I like that it’s an asexual one (don’t fight me on this, idc, it’s how I see it). It’s soft, built on mutual respect, one with no pressures or expectations. Solas asks for time and Lavellan gives it. There’s no fade to black s.ex scenes that so many times aren’t optional in BW games. I just really like my asexual wolf god egg ok

10. Mulder & Scully - The X Files Okay, it’s super hard to choose characters for this holy heck. BUT I really, really, really love their relationship. Mulder is an idealist who believes in the supernatural, and Scully his pragmatic scientific counterpart. And we could talk about how Scully’s character as a woman in science meant to a lot of people, and how Mulder’s tenacity to not give up on his beliefs is a nice one (when it’s not getting him into trouble). Their relationship is the slowest of slow burns in television history, I think. But it’s good that way. Scully starts out thinking Mulder’s just a delusional guy, one who’s intelligent but wastes his accomplishments, and he knows that. Then they go through shit, they’re a team and many times it’s them against a whole bunch of unbelievable stuff (and their own government). What I loved most was also their son, and I’m literally deleting all knowledge of the new seasons from my brain bc I think it was gross and took away from the story, but I liked that they were so close, loved each other so much despite there not really being a romance yet, that Scully trusted to go to Mulder to donate to her bc he was the only one she could think of for this. It’s another asexual relationship on screen, and it’s built on a love that happens over time. I just fljksdfkjl could go on about it too.

-

This was hard lmao. I wanna give an honorary shout out to Peggy Carter since she had wonderful lines like: “I know my value. Anyone else’s opinion doesn’t really matter.” Which is *chef’s kiss*. Peggy was the true unsung hero of the MCU and they gave her and Steve a weird ass ending.  

idk who to tag bc I’m not sure who’d be into this, but if you’re willing, I’d love to hear from @sapphicfinalpam, @mariaromanovs, @vinterskald, @zombiefishgirl, @nb-aziraphales, @serkonans and anyone who feels like doing it. Feel free to obvs ignore this, or only make a list without rambles, idk. I am never too sure about who’s into this or not, but if I didn’t tag you and you wanna do it, you can just say I tagged you and I definitely wanna read what you have to say!

[buffythedragonqueen]

Why do they keep telling us we should stop dreaming of a better world? The Game of Thrones Finale

I will not lie: I am a nerd, and I had really studied before the last season started. In addition to that, for full disclosure, I had already bent the knee to Daenerys Targaryen in book 1, I stand by her, always will, and wanted Daenerys and Jon to rule together (I know, they are related, but it is the Middle Ages in Europe, it does not matter). However, the ending of Game of Thrones has been ... confusing. Confusing for me as a human really. 

I shall be forever grateful to the actors and the crew: all aspects of the show (but the writing)  were unbelievable, glorious, and should be covered, showered, with awards, but the writing ... should not.  MIND THE SPOILERS Aside from what was already said - the rushed plot that made no sense (so all the studying I did went out of the window), the trashed 10-years-long character developments, and countless wasted opportunities for potentially amazing dialogues (e.g. Daenerys and Cersei, Sansa and Cersei, etc.) - I was left bewildered and angry, with many questions about society, and the role of art in changing the world. Isn’t the role of art to remind us, and teach us, how to fight for ideas? For freedom, for equality, for justice?

I will be even more honest. I was triggered by the last 3 episodes, yet I kept watching, in the hope that the ending would have showed me what I had hoped to see. Eventually, to cope with the loss of Daenerys Targaryen (which never happened in my head, denial is always the way),

 and the disappointment, and the anger, and for the sole purpose of catharsis, I even dared to start writing what I would have wanted to see as conclusion of the show, which I linked here. And probably I will write myself a season 9 as a sequel for the show:  I am no writer, no psychologist, so this is merely my attempt to overwrite that last season in my brain, with the messages I would have wanted to see delivered by the end of the show, as opposed to what I saw.  I am mildly ashamed of what I am writing, it is maybe sentimental, possibly derivative,  maybe poorly written, but that is not the point here: I  had to express somewhere the ideas for which I wanted this show to fight, instead of perpetrating restraining and negative cliches. Watching the finale, I was left with many questions:

Why do they keep showing us toxic masculinity, instead of nice men?

Why are sex addicts sold as “average men”? The final all- males-council discussing brothels was appalling, not funny, appalling!

Why did they have one of the most powerful glorious female character in the history of literature gaslighted and killed by her boyfriend, who until that moment was one of the best positive male character ever written in the history of literature; he was courageous and sweet, generous and just and non-ambitious, a non-macho positive nice man. Why did they turn a perfectly nice guy into a murderer? Is there no way out? Why did they need to ruin Jon Snow, and leave us with Bronn and Tyrion? Seriously, Bronn? Seriously….Bronn? Jon, previously lovely Jon, left the stage to these sex addicts, for a spiral of hopelessness: should I infer from this that men are spineless, murderers, rapist, sex addicts, gamblers, liars, otherwise women put them in the firendzone (e.g. Jorah, Daario). 

So gents, those of you who are nice, will never be loved. Ladies, pets (cats, dogs, ferrets,…) are the solution. Pets.  

Why do we keep seeing sexism, instead of feminism? Specifically:

 Why do we keep seeing double standards: if a male ruler executes traitors is acceptable, but if a female ruler does the same thing it means she is mad? Daenerys had executed a bunch of enemies, as any king would do, yet in her case these were clues of madness. Oh well, we women are too emotional, aren’t we? (sense the sarcasm there) Sit still, look pretty, ladies. And do not forget to smile.

Why do we keep seeing that men judge women for every. single. thing. even though they are not really in a position to talk? Why did we see Tyrion and Varys (two men) discussing whether Daenerys was fit to rule, after she gathered the biggest army ever seen, saved everybody from the dead, actually fought into battle (while Tyrion and Varys were hiding in the crypts)? And why did we see a male character suggesting a man is more suitable than a woman to rule? It was one of the most appalling misogynist scenes I have ever watched in my life. Until a man told a man to execute a woman, without a trial, which brings me to my next question;

Is it ok that if man kills a woman, if he thinks it is right? Why was it represented as a heroic decision? She could have died in thousands of ways, yet the manipulated boyfriend, the only person she trusted, that killed her when she was vulnerable, with no explanation at all, no discussion aside from some ambiguous questions, seemed like a good idea; why?

Why did we see Brienne of Tarth, a warrior, writing about the man who had dumped her. in her nightgown. for his sister. after a superfluous-for-the-narrative one night thing. Why didn’t she write about herself? Why was she crying? Why did Cersei Lannister die crying? And of a death by brick, of all deaths? Why were all the women - warriors, mind- crying, pouring their hearts to undeserving men?

Between us, I was already angry at the conversation Daenerys had with the King in the North Jon, when he decided to bend the knee after Daenerys flew beyond the wall to save him (7thseason, episode “Beyond the Wall”). Daenerys says “I hope I deserve it”. OK. You raised 3 dragons, endured starvation, violence, gathered armies and fleets, freed cities from slavers, and lost a dragon to save him from his idiotic decisions: You bl**dy fu***ng do deserve it! Why did we see her asking for his approval?

Why are people with mental health issues feared and abandoned, instead of helped and supported? The mad-queen-twist was justified by the writers with a “there were clues” chorus. In my opinion it was not justified at all: there were clues she had occasional, and rare, anger management issues, and, in season 8, depression and anxiety; these could be a result of her PTSD, since she was sold and raped, and starved, and had to dodge people who wanted to kill her in many occasions, and not necessarily it had to be a hereditary trait. The people around her, and also the man who was supposed to love her, instead of building a support network around her and helping her, killed her. Too often individuals with mental health issues are ostracised, and treated with contempt, rather than sustained, so to me it would have been interesting to see a resolution of her problems (assuming she had any), rather than her impending doom.

Why was rape described as an occasion to become stronger? Why are we afraid to say what rape actually does to women? To victims? Why do we need to think that women recover and become stronger? Some do not recover at all. Some kill themselves. Why are we afraid of saying it?  It is not true that all that does not kill you makes you stronger: if it does not kill you as a whole, sometimes it has killed a part of you. As for the strength, I think that pain makes you impervious. It is love that makes you stronger. 

Why do they keep showing us competition between women, instead of sisterhood? Seeing Sansa and Arya fighting Daenerys for no apparent reason, was very disappointing. Seeing Sansa plotting against Daenerys, after the growth her character had in season 7 (”I am a slow learner, but I learn.”) was really sad: I was looking forward to team Dany-Sansa-Arya-Missandei-Brienne against the world, with packs of wolves and dragons as weapons.  That did not happen. Of course.

Why did we see weird racist scenes? The only woman of colour of the show died in chains. In chains. I do not think I have to add anything. 

Humans came out destroyed in this finale, as, apparently, one cannot change, ever: one is stuck with the hand one was dealt in the beginning, no matter the experiences, the fighting, the hopes, the work one has done on oneself; if one is born a slave, will die a slave; if born with anger management issues will not stop until everybody is dead (even though one had a spoiler about it years before, at the House of the Undying); there is no way out from toxic relationships; if born alone, even if technically the king, will still die alone; love does not conquer all, if one gets manipulated  well enough; and men can judge a woman, and, even without a trial, sentence her to death.

To me, the misogyny, the emotional and physical abuse, and toxic masculinity represented in the last three episodes of the show, represent the culture we are trying to fight, not the one that I would have wanted to stream to 60000000 people, including young adults, abused women, and people that hoped to see a message of hope, giving the dark times we are living: brave, sweet, courageous, honest, generous, smart, and mighty women and men, that work together for a better world; a world where there is redemption, freedom, diversity, and where people fight for what is important. 

For some reason, at some point, happy endings have started to be considered derivative. But people need hope. Young people need to be inspired, people who suffer need role models to help them overcome their pain. “Then they should not have watched Game of Thrones.” you say? I disagree. The show left the classic dichotomy between good and evil, and had complex characters that lived in the spectrum in between. The characters had the complexity of life into them.  

The greatness of the show, to me, was that most characters had overturned their destiny. If the final season had been written differently, GoT finale could have been the script for the resistance against violence, injustice, sexism, toxic relationships, defeat. It was not. 

I just want to add this: what they showed us is not true. Never stop fighting for what is important, even if it seems silly (like  getting angry for the last episode of a TV show): it does not mean one will necessarily win, it does not mean there will not be pain, but we can change this world into a better one. We can change ourselves, we can be kind to one another, we can support people who suffer, we can support  minorities. We can defeat the monsters, the ones in others, the ones in ourselves. We can break the wheel.

“Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?”  Robert Browning

“Our fathers were evil men. All of us here. They left the world worse than they found it. We’re not going to do that. We’re going to leave the world better than we found it” – Daenerys Targaryen

[ursae-minoris-world]

So I’ve watched the Dragon Prince ! :D

Let me share a few impressions. I’m a bit out of it for Reasons so don’t expect this to be very articulated but...

- I knew as soon as I heard about this cartoon (when it was still in production) that it was the sort of universe I’d like, and I’m not disappointed ! I love the atmosphere and world building and I’m curious to learn more about this universe. It’s rather classic so far, but it has all the elements I enjoy ! And I’m sure they did get into interesting details and lore. You can feel from the start that there’s more to it.

A lot more under the cut (warning : spoilers !)

- I really enjoyed the characters ? All of them ? They’re all quite interesting and have distinct personalities and I find all of them likeable. I like how all of them interact, how their personalities are multifaceted ; you can see why they make the choices they make, whatever side they’re on. Viren is a bit of the exception as he seems a more classical Bad Guy but there are also plenty of hints that it’s more complicated than it seems, and I'm curious about his past and what made him take the road that he is (or seems to be) taking now.  I don’t really have a fav right now, although I do love Amaya very much. I hope we’ll see her again soon.

The main trio works well and I’ll enjoy following their adventures. I’m quite attached to Callum (even if he’s a bit typical for a main protagonist for that kind of stories ; he works for me ), I do enjoy Rayla’s personality a lot and am interested in her past as well as her internal conflicts. Ezran, I just read as... cute little brother. I’m waiting to see more of his development, so far he’s the one I’m the least interested in, as sweet as he is.

Claudia and Soren are interesting to me as well, they are already in a situation of moral conflict that I’m eager to watch the evolution of, and I like how they... sort of try to cheer each other up and to stick together through it. If conflict happens between them (and it’s not that unlikely) I’m going to be upset lol.

I’m very intrigued by Harrow and Viren and about that past they seem to share.

I’m both very worried for Runaan and very interested to know more about him. I liked him pretty much, he seemed actually protective of Rayla and that’s sweet. I want to know more about the moon elves in general.

I like Gren and I wonder what will happen to him.

I’m also curious of those who are not there : Callum and Ezran’s mom, Callum’s dad, Rayla’s parents...

...now at the same time, to be perfectly honest, I didn’t have the immediate connection with any character that I had to characters in Voltron, specially with Hunk, Shiro, and Keith (well passed my first impression for Keith, but still as soon as the first episode). The characters in Voltron feel a bit more...  real to me, while the tdp characters still read to me as characters - good, interesting, engaging characters, but still. Which is totally fine. Voltron is definitely more an exception than a rule for me, and I can count on one hand shows that had that effect on me. It’s probably not fair to compare both shows on that aspect, as they are very different and as my attachment to Voltron is definitely an outlier. It’s actually quite soothing to not be as emotionally invested this time lol.

- The story is pretty good and I’m definitely interested to see how it will play out, and I do want to also know more about the past and what led to the current situation, as it seems to be more complicated than we’re first told (obviously). I liked how they’re not afraid of complexity (there is more to the war than good guys fighting bad guys) and to get dark or scary. The pacing was effective too, it kept me engaged while not getting me overwhelmed (I do like to be occasionally overwhelmed lol, but hey, we’re pretty early in the story for that). There is some foreshadowing going on, and it works, but it’s almost too easy at times. It was pretty obvious that Ezran could talk to animals, for example. I guess here the foreshadowing is more meant for the general audience, including the kids, to catch, while in Voltron they are more like hints for the fans and not necessarily intended to be seen by everybody.

Occasionally I felt some situations were solved too easily. I found Rayla’s issue with her binding was solved a bit quickly and even if it does make sense... I’d have preferred she found a solution herself, rather than this. Same with her issues of being an assassin without a victim, it seems something too deep to be solved in just one conversation. But at the same time, I do expect it to bite her again when she’ll be confronted to the judgement of her peers, and when she’ll have to learn to understand better her parents’ situation...

Then again... this is the first season. In the first season of Steven Universe, I thought it was just a fun and goofy show where the characters would just be fighting monsters without much more being explained (and I was ok with it), while Steven would learn to master his powers. In the first season of Gravity Falls, I thought it’s just be fun supernatural summer adventures for the kids and I didn’t expect the story to go that deep nor to turn... how it turned. When I watched the first season of Voltron, I thought it would be a monster of the week kind of show with maybe some nice character development along the way. Here, the first season is already quite dark and complex, let’s not complain about things getting solved easily. It has room to become... well even more dark and complex, and there are definitely going to be issues that will take much more work to solve.

As for the style and animation, I do like the general style and charadesign. I’ll probably be tempted to draw fanart. The cast is quite diverse, although I would have liked maybe a little more diversity in body shapes as well. The 3d cell-shaded to look like 2d is...ok. I’ll get used to it. My reference for that is Renaissance and I find it worked better even if it’s much older (2006!). But then, they were going for a very different aesthetic. I’ve seen plenty people complain about the frame rate, which I’ve also read was an artistic choice to remind of hand drawn animation. It didn’t bother me that much, and I got used to it pretty quick. I think the style and animation are  likely to improve / change while the show keeps developing, too.

Other than that, I don’t have any ships at the moment. Which is pretty normal and my default to be honest. I just... don’t usually ship. The closest I could get was... Harrow and Viren, lol. Yeah, not the nicest dynamic right ? But they do seem to have been very close and have a quite passionate relationship (by witch I do mean both in good and bad ways). So I’m a bit curious about that. But I don’t really see them in a romantic light (or want to interpret / imagine them as such).

Other than that, maybe I will get more attached to a pair as the story develops... or maybe not.

TL; DR : I enjoyed the Dragon Prince and I’ll be sure to watch the next seasons. I think it’s already clear that it’s going to be a good, compelling story.

I feel we’re in a bit of a golden age for cartoons lately, with really good shows like Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Adventure Time (I personally couldn’t get into it, but from what I’ve heard there is a lot more to it than you see first), Trollhunters (I haven’t watched it yet, but I’ve heard a lot of good about it and definitely plan to), Voltron... I think it’s pretty clear already that the the Dragon Prince will be up there as well and will be remembered as part of that golden age.

I expect to enjoy it a lot, just like I loved Gravity Falls and still love Steven Universe. But I also know it’s not going to replace Voltron in my heart (and that’s a personal statement more than a judgement of quality).

There is a very special connection that I had immediately to Voltron, it’s universe and characters that isn’t here. And it’s quite normal, as Voltron is... very special to me somehow, despite of all it’s flaws.

So I’m likely to share Dragon Prince art, theories and so on, but I don’t think I’ll delve into it like I do with Voltron. I don’t feel the need to read all interviews, to invest time in listening podcasts and watch each convention panel and so on. Nor do I feel the need to read and even less write fanfictions, and I’m not tempted to write long metas or character analysis either. It might change as time passes and we get more seasons, and maybe fandom will tempt me but...right now it’s not the case.

On a more fandom related note, I was wondering a bit of what this blog would become after the end of Voltron, and if I’d have to look for Dragon Prince blogs, but it seems it’s all happening organically, as a lot of the blogs I follow are following tdp as well, which is nice ! :D

Aaaand last but not least : my tags for the dragon prince will be pretty much the ones I use for Voltron, but with tdp first (ex : tdp spoilers, tdp thoughts, tdp meta, etc).