I might have seen this said before, on a different post, but I couldn't find it, so I'm just gonna say a few words on this, partially because of that and partially because it's been ages since I've last read the series, despite it being ingrained into my head.
Almost all of the characters in TUC have moments where they are genuine assholes. Gregor has a few points where he says some genuinely disrespectful shit. Luxa, as well as most of the other humans (including Gregor, although arguably to a lesser extent), are deeply prejudiced against the gnawers. Ripred, is, well, Ripred (look, I love him, we all do, but he's a dick).
Even Vikus, arguably one of the nicest characters in the series, admires Sandwich (I think, been a while), a man who literally used poison to commit genocide in the name of stealing land that didn't belong to him.
The only characters I can think of in TUC that don't have flaws are the ones who also have the least lines: Aurora, Dulcet, Miravet. Oh, and all of those characters? Probably also prejudiced against gnawers, just never explicitly stated (to my knowledge), probably due to their obscene lack of lines. Of course there are characters like Lizzie and Hazard, who are literal fucking children so as nice as they are, I think it's safe to say they can't really be counted up here. (Should probably also mention that Gregor and Luxa are also children, just ones that were forced to grow up faster, sadly).
Then again, all of these characters have redeeming qualities. Gregor can be disrespectful at times, but that's mainly because of the stress placed upon him by the various bullshit situations he has to go through, and he usually apologizes after. Luxa and all the humans are deeply prejudiced (actually, I should probably add the fliers might be in that category too), but they are basically raised from birth to hate and kill gnawers, and vice versa. plus, it's shown that despite what is practically being brainwashed from birth, they can grow and change to overcome their own bigotry and accept gnawers as genuine people, as well as friends.
And yes, Ripred, the glorious bastard himself, is a dick. But he's also a war veteran who's lost his family, and most of the respect from his people, meaning he mainly works with humans, who tend to treat him with suspicion, if not outright hostility (until they get to know him). And he makes up for it by letting his guard down at times to be a father to the traumatized pups that dragged him into their pack.
Point is, flawed characters are one of the things that make TUC so great. They're not few and hid away either, they're everywhere, with visible flaws. If you want to make a good character, TUC is a great series to use as an example. Everything casts a shadow, just like every character has a flaw. If they don't, you probably just can't see them from your angle. And if they don't? Like, at all? Give them some, just make sure the shadow they cast matches up with the object itself.
How it feels when I finally verify my email, so I can now message people back on tumblr, but now I have to participate in communication and socialisation:
fuck why do some of these actually sound useful
Kellen spent the the first half of his life having complete faith in Jan'tep propaganda whilst living a privileged lifestyle.
Kellen spent the second half of his life on the run, juggling his survival with the expectations of those around him.
Kellen is usually surrounded by people who are functioning adults that know who they are, what they want (unlike Kellen who doesn't), and often demand something of him, regardless of which half of his life you are talking about.
People constantly criticise Kellen's immaturity.
What the fuck.
Perhaps we were not meant to know some things. But I'll know em anyway
things english speakers know, but don’t know we know.
I understand that this is not my usual shitpost, so look away now regulars (if you exist), but the rules on r/ocpoetry are a bit overwhelming, so here ya go:
Can you see the devil?
He's in a row of masks
Holding a baton
Behind a wall of glass
Can you see the devil?
He's pouring himself a drink
Polluting the crowd
Pushing them to the brink
Can you see the devil?
He's sitting in a leather chair
His footstools are starving
But he really doesn't care
Can you see the devil?
He's pounding the table
Preaching blood-red hate
From the bar to the stable
Can you see the devil?
Look across the gap
Find yourself a bridge
Then simply look back
~~~~~
My favourite LotR headcanon is that the existence of hobbits implies the existence of bits, creatures so small they are harder to find than someone wearing the One Ring.
So, a brief expansion on this because this has always been lurking in the background of my mind:
-Version of the Underland called the Wild Woods (yes very original name I know), creepy, forest-covered, Transylvania-like place
-Only accessible via paths hidden deep within big forests across the planet, no other way in (or out)
-No day, only night
-Populated by vampires (underlanders), werewolves (gnawers), maybe Arachne-like spider-monsters (spinners), and so on and so on
-Various possibilities for Gregor: Fallen angel, Wendigo, Monster-hunter who switches sides, paranormal investigator, just a confused kid who stumbled down the wrong path with his sister while walking in the forest, etc
-Dire wolf Bane? But a bigger dire wolf? Like, elephant-sized?
-Ragers could be people cursed by some kind of blood frenzy, or maybe possession by some kind of demon/ghost
-Possibly throw in some oracle-magic for Nerissa and Sandwhich
So yeah, pretty much all I have down for this weird folklore-ish au of the Underland Chronicles. Thoughts?
*whispers* werewolf!gregor au
My genuine reaction after learning that Ares and Ripred MIGHT have fucked at some point. That Ripred is denying it happened, but Vikus is saying Nerissa saw it in a vision??? Was it truly innocent like Ripred is claiming? I have so many questions that I am afraid to ask.
Also @ripred-tuc-offical please, I must know these rat curses that you taught Ares
With vampiric underlanders
*whispers* werewolf!gregor au
Kellen spent the the first half of his life having complete faith in Jan'tep propaganda whilst living a privileged lifestyle.
Kellen spent the second half of his life on the run, juggling his survival with the expectations of those around him.
Kellen is usually surrounded by people who are functioning adults that know who they are, what they want (unlike Kellen who doesn't), and often demand something of him, regardless of which half of his life you are talking about.
People constantly criticise Kellen's immaturity.
What the fuck.