#this bitch got abandoned by canon and horribly fridged

[shivasdarknight]

sorry prev I need to illustrate this hc

yeah so besides Ysayle being alive, I've got a few physical hcs regarding her + backstory! namely, this is She pre calamity:

she's from rural coerthas and had 5 older brothers: Museaux, Ralont, Nirraux, Jeausant, and Gleaulleux. Their parents were Eplault and Roishette Dangoulain. Eplault was from Ishgard and comes from a deeply religious background, very dedicated Halonite. Roishette was raised on the Old Coerthan Gods, but converted to Halonic faith. So every kid has a fkn catholic name, and this includes miss Ysayle Diocinne Jeveanne Dangoulain. No, you'll never get that info out of her.

Eplault and Roishette tried to maintain the other's faith, but that was a practice that died with Eplault. After his death - and the deaths of most of Roishette's extended family - she pivoted hard into Halonic worship. The brothers followed with her, but Ysayle had interest in the Old Gods and the worship around them (and yeah, to this day she's more pagan than not). None of her brothers stayed upon marrying or finding employment; Museaux went off to the settlements in what would become the Sea of Clouds, Ralont lived near Falcon's Nest, Jeausant was studying in Ishgard, while Nirraux and Gleaulleux were working with the Convictors.

A few months before the Calamity struck, Nirraux and Gleaulleux were killed in combat. The funerary process brought the remaining brothers back home and stayed for a while to try and help their mother and baby sister through it but.

Yeah they really should've stayed where they were.

The Calamity struck and wiped out all of Ysayle's village. She was the only survivor and didn't even get the chance to bury her own family, buried under glaciers as they were. She never learned what came of her brothers' families, but in all likelihood a majority of them got caught up in the destruction of the Western Highlands, and the sundering of Alabathia.

The only survivor, Ysayle found herself marred by the wild aether that plunged Coerthas into a permafrost. The scarring ate away at her skin and hair, losing all color to them and making her look frostbitten. Upon close inspection, one can see faint, fractal scars not unlike ice or snow. Where she used to tan well during the summer months, now she burned painfully easy and it was much more painful than burns she'd sustained previously.

So what's I'm saying is that her canon appearance is aether scarring. Eyes are still the same, but everything else is thanks to corrupted ice aether.

As Ysayle tried to survive on her own (with much help from Marcechamp), she took it upon herself to try and actually master the magic she'd started to learn prior to the Calamity. The most basic spell is fire, and even though she'd struggled with it constantly - why not try again? Especially because she felt that if she'd known it, maybe someone else could've survived besides her.

Yet, she didn't realize that was a terrible mistake on her part.

I write that one's own aether has leanings split into Dominants and Dormants, and the polarity of your Dominants determines your umbral/astral leaning. So Ysayle had a primary Astral Ice dominant, a secondary Umbral Water dominant, and a tertiary Umbral Wind dominant - meaning she's Umbrally aligned. Her Dormants were Umbral Fire, Astral Levin, and Astral Earth.

The problem is that the Calamity flipped the polarity of her ice dominant - from Astral to Umbral. Triple polarities are unheard of and hers was clearly forced as her fire dormant remained Umbral. And because they were now both Umbral instead of Umbral/Astral, any dormant aether drawing would become unstable. Worse, her aether scarring acts as a conduit for additional aether.

So mix unstable fire magic with skin that's conductive and you get an explosive accident that had her swear off fire magic for good.

The aether ripped through her skin and created unnatural looking burns across her palms, hands and forearms - something which she tries to cover up still. Even if ice magic makes the frostbite on her hands flare up for a few moments, it's the preferred alternative to more burns.

So obviously five years of aether scarring leads to the Ysayle we see in canon - the woman in robes that cover her arms and hands :)

Beyond the fact that I keep her alive, I also make her look older?

The sculpt I use is really nice for this, but I really want something that has the kind of hooked nose I want for her, in part because of the Ancient I designed for Ysayle - that being Khione.

Also Ysayle and Surkie are literally soulmates through Charon and Khione? Also they were with Venat so soulmates AND the immortal that outlives every reincarnation in one triad!!

I also have it that she wasn't 100% wrong about her visions. No, they weren't of Hraesvelgr and Shiva; those were confused with Actual memories of her immediate past life, Macchi, and Tiamat.

biiiggg fucking Meracydian mithra that was romantically partnered to Tiamat and the Allagan turncoat, Ammut. As in, brother to Amon, Ammut. Surkukteni's immediate past life, Ammut. The one whose anger at betrayal was enough to keep him and Macchi from reincarnating for 3000 years.

Then there's the shard I designed + a shard I coopted because uh. Oops. Cylva is now the 13th shard of Khione. The 4th shard, is this bitch Philomène Sonrel.

So uh.

Yeah when I say the wolysayle brainrot is Bad™ I mean they literally find each other one way or another regardless of the shard. Saoirse and Cylva were together until the 13th was plunged into darkness. Saoirse - as the Morrigna - went hunting for Cylva and instead found Philomène. Philomène fell so hard for Saoirse In Part because her own Charon - Zirnghota - had been ripped to the Source and Philomène couldn't explain why she felt so broken...until Saoirse.

Y'all I need help.

6/4/23

This is for oc/npc(s) ships

What HC do you have for your wol(oc)'s lover(s) that make them unique to your wolship compared to how the npc is portrayed in game?

[dragonquill]

Gotham and LGBT+ Representation

So. Gotham.

On its surface, Gotham has more LGBTQA+ characters than most shows, and this should be good.  But the more the series limps on, the more enraged I am by this representation, and the more I feel like Gotham manages to be more dangerous for the community than shows that pretend we don’t exist.

Before I start, let me say that I know there is no such thing as a healthy relationship on this show, especially romantic ones, but I still argue that m/f relationships are treated, on the whole, with more respect than queer ones, and it really gets under my skin.  I’m going to sort through the various romances played in the series, as well as the strongest example of queerbaiting on the show (Penguin/Riddler; a one sided romance) to explain what I mean.

NOTE: I am not against all the m/f pairings on this show, INCLUDING the controversial Lee/Ed, even though it doesn’t row my boat because of how it has been wedged into this No Homo Ed idea.  But the idea that we should accept out of nowhere straight couples, and that straight couples are generally given more nuanced relationships, burns my cookies.

Relationship 1: Jim and Barbara  m/f, one presumably straight character, one definitely bi character

The one good thing: No one shows any problem with the fact that Barbara is bisexual, and in the first season I never got a vibe that Barbara’s sexuality was erased because she was engaged to Jim, a man. Everything Else: Of course this relationship was unhealthy, with Jim expecting her to accept everything she was told and her being clingy and demanding.  Jim is meant to be the protagonist of the show (a whole ‘nother issue, in that he is incapable of personal growth and responsibility), so the show is crafted to make her seem unreasonable for wanting to know what’s going on in his life.  Eventually, they break up.  Jim moves on to another m/f relationship while Barbara, tellingly, has relationships with both two men and a woman but remains obsessed with the wonderful Jim Gordon.  Of course, she was also kidnapped and sexually tortured, which allowed her to release her “real” self.  How nice.  And JIm gave no shits about really helping her.  But this was all Gotham-typical terrible writing of women.  The relationship was shown as dedicated and mutually loving until it fell apart, at which point the bisexual character went batshit.

Relationship 2: Montoya and Barbara f/f, lesbian character, bisexual character

THe Good: Um..I guess....Montoya’s being lesbian hasn’t...affected her job?

The Rest: Montoya and Barbara had a mutually toxic relationship which involved drugs in their past.  They’ve both cleaned up.  Babs has moved on.  Montoya, however, is written as the jealous, possessive bitch who wants to get Babs away from that evil, evil man.  She dogs Jim at work and tries to tell Babs not to see him.  Tellingly, when Babs and Jim DO break up, they’re together for one night and then Montoya gives a speech about how they can’t be together and disappears from the storyline entirely.  Their relationship was written entirely as a foil to JIm/Babs, presents a lesbian character as a jealous bitch, AND was shown as mutually unhealthy.  

Relationship 3: Jim and Lee m/f, both so far presented as straight Overview:: This relationship was well-developed, they suited each other well, they were shown as loving and good for each other.  They break up, there’s Gotham-appropriate drama, Lee goes fucking batshit but whatever.  The relationship itself is treated as well-developed, interesting, and healthy, as well as long-term (still in love after breaking up).  As far as actual, believable and nuanced relationships in the show, this and Ed/Oswald are the best written.  The difference is, of course, that since JIm and Lee are a straight couple, they get a time period of actual happiness before things fall apart, instead of it being a one-sided, queerbaiting mess.  Also, Jim is obv. still in love with her two seasons later.

Relationship 4: Ed and Kristen m/f, both so far presented as straight (Ed presented as NO HOMO) Overview: This relationship is toxic and terrible, Ed is a creepy stalker, and Kristen ends up murdered.  AND YET, it manages to be treated respectfully for  few episodes, they are shown to date traditionally, people are happy for them.  Kristen is held up as Ed’s True Love despite the fact that he didn’t really know her as a person, she was horrified by his dark side, and he frikking murdered her in the end.  NO HOMO Y’ALL.  Hella unhealthy, but Love of His Life and the writers just won’t revisit this and show how terrible Ed’s behavior was throughout.

Relationship 5: Jim and Valerie m/f, both so far presented as straight Overview: Presented as a healthy short term relationship.  Ignoring the horrible treatment of Valerie as a character which stems, again, from the terrible writing and fridging of women, the relationship itself progresses along normal paths and is treated as a regular relationship until it turns out Jim is obv. still in love with Lee and they break up.  

Relationship 6: Babs and Galavan m/f. presented as straight and bisexual

HERE WE GO.  Once she goes crazy, Babs abandons her “healthy,” “normal” monogamous relationship with Jim Gordon and the writers immediately turned to the bisexuals are promiscuous stereotype (don’t tell me I’m slut shaming because I’m not; people who have responsible sex lives do you, I’m talking about representation in this show).  FOr no apparent reason, she is thrown at Galavan.  At the same time, it becomes clear she is having sex with Tabitha.  Her actions are increasingly sexual in nature without the influence of her “good man,” and she becomes more and more unstable.  Sexual only relationship, exists to make Galavan look more powerful because he’s having sex with a hot lady.

Relationship 7: Babs and Tabs vs. Relationship 8: Tabs and Butch f/f, bisexual and bisexual; bisexual and presented as straight

Okay this is the one that just....ugh.  They could have gone with happy polyamory, but instead they create a weird sort of love triangle.  Babs and Tabs have a sexual relationship that is never portrayed as a romance.  They are both HIGHLY sexualized characters by this point in both dress and actions; Tabitha has definite dominating tendencies.  ANd yet, when Tabs starts her relationship with Butch, Babs becomes the jealous one while saint Butch, our everyman, is fine with sharing.  The entire triangle reeks of “It’s awesome these two women are having sex because LOOK OUR EVERYMAN character is TAPPING THAT.”  Butch falls in love with Tabitha, there are certain indications she begins to return his feelings.  Babs, meanwhile, murders Butch out of jealousy.  Damn those women who love women and their insane jealousy.  

Relationship 9: Oswald and Ed m/m, asexual gay, NO HOMO OHMIGOSH presented as straight

The Good: RLT is proud no one made a big deal in-show that Oswald fell for a man.  That’s nice.  Shame it’s followed by the gay guy falls for straight friend cliche he said he’d never play....

Ah, the ultimate in queerbaiting and one of the most cliched of all storylines when it plays out.  Here we have one of the most nuanced, well-developed relationships in the show, the two characters knowing each other over an extended time, growing as people, and apparently learning from each other.  (OF course it’s hella unhealthy, they MURDER TOGETHER, but this is GOTHAM).  Then, Oswald falls in love, determines to tell Ed, and Isabella appears out of nowhere with her Wholesome Straight Love and it all falls to hell.  SPECIFICALLY because a woman was thrown at Ed in an astonishing move of NO HOMO.  Oswald, our gay man, becomes insanely jealous a la Babs and has Isabella killed.  Ed destroys Oswald’s life, followed by one of the most obvious COming Out parallel storylines IN HISTORY (Coming to grips with his feelings for Oswald; becoming the Riddler) which, as soon as they meet again, is completely ignored in favor of their hating each other.  Relationship becomes interesting and nuanced again in season 4; 4x15 is shameless queerbaiting; Lee is IMMEDIATELY thrown at Ed a la Isabella to make sure there is NO HOMO.   The weirdest thing about all this is canon Riddler is queer as a three dollar bill.

Relationship 10: Ed and Isabella m/f, both presented as straight What the ever loving hell.  Some of the worst writing in Gotham history, giving no introduction or interesting follow through.  I’m so proud y’all saw Vertigo, good for you.  Pat pat.  Isabella is created for no other reason than to NO HOMO Ed.  She isn’t given time to develop as a complete person, behaves in weirdly abusive ways, is obsessed with tragedy, and is willing to completely destroy her own identity to pretend to be Kristen.  Then she dies.  The end.  And yet, this is another Love of Ed’s Life, we’re supposed to believe he is deeply in love with her within two weeks (and not be suspicious how “perfect” they are together), and her Pure Straight Love saves him from the evil Oswald’s Gay Love.  Yes, I get that one can read this with layers of meaning (literature degree here), but NONE of that appears in-show, and I am no longer giving the writers the benefit of the doubt. Once again, as with Ed and Kristen but in reverse, the writers see nothing problematic with Isabella’s behavior...I guess?  So?

Relationship 11: Lee and Mario m/f, both presented as straight THEY LOVE EACH OTHER IT IS PURE AND RIGHT look at this normal, healthy relationship that ends so tragically!  AWWWWWWW!!!  No one is manipulating anyone!  Yay!  Sure, she goes batshit after, but here was a nice, healthy relationship complete with wedding and Lee standing up to Jim’s bullshit.  THANK GOODNESS THEY ARE STRAIGHT.

Relationship 12: Babs and Ra’s m/f, bisexual and presented as straight Again, bisexual Babs is having sex with Not Bashir to improve his cred because he’s tapping a hot chick.  And that’s about it. Relationship 13: Sofia and Jim m/f, both presented as straight This is one that comes out of nowhere, she is OBVIOUSLY manipulating him and he is OBVIOUSLY a moron, but we’re all supposed to accept it because we have tossed together an attractive male and an attractive female so sex obviously happens.  Naturally the relationship is a mess and destructive, but the audience is still meant to just buy into it immediately because, despite a total lack of chemistry between the actors, no emotional build up, and her Using Her Evil Feminine Sex to manipulate him, they’re straight so.  Sex.  ACCEPT IT.

Relationship 14: Ed and Lee m/f, both presented as straight WTH.  They were really interesting as friends with shared interests and then Riddler suddenly decides Ed is in love with Lee because she is Pretty and Smart, ohmigosh, and just in time for 4x15′s epic  queerbaiting.  SO the basis of this relationship is Ed Has a Type.  Lee deserves better than Ed but, hey.  Man, Woman, Sex has to happen.  Also there are hints that she’s just using him a la Sofia because we didn’t get enough of that this season but whatever.  ED IS STRAIGHT 5EVA and women can only use sex as a weapon!  Listen, it’s hella unhealthy yet again, but we are just supposed to accept it because Ed is totes straight and she’s purty and yuk yuk men are so easy to lead by their dicks.   AT LEAST They were given some background before the Sudden Romance, which could make them one of the more interesting potential couples, and I can see why people ship it, but it’s so insulting to the storyline and to the characters that it was obviously created entirely to give fallback from the queerbaiting they were going to do with Ed and Os.

IN SHORT: It is more harmful to fill your show with bisexual stereotypes and tired, cliched gay fall for straight friend storylines and bitch jealous gays and lesbians and only straight relationships are valid than to not have them there at all, and Gotham needs to be called on the carpet for it instead of being lauded as forward thinking and open.