#book 3 where are you... i need you...

[v-arbellanaris]

im working on random chara pages and im going through maya's atm and i just remembered the trainwreck of maya 1.0 getting hatecrimed by mortum (WHO WAS ALSO TRANS?!) and then chen bc she's a closeted trans man. im screaming???

[lazylittledragon]

dood dump <33

[starlingfawn]

as i watched you return from the rising water's edge

[nyxi-pixie]

actually incredibly funny to me that ranpos entire thing centres on how his intelligence is not because of an ability or any other great thing, its just him. hes entirely, completely, inarguably human. and Yet, when it comes to dazai, so many people are Desperate that there just Has to be another explanation. his intelligence cant just be that hes unusual, no it must be a marker of separation, of difference so great it disallows the reality of his humanity.

[dol--blathanna]

Thinking a lot about Orym choosing a rabbit when asked what animal he would pick if cursed with lycanthropy.

Because, it makes sense. Orym is small, quick, agile, jumps well, and is highly perceptive. That definitely evokes rabbit imagery. But a lot of Orym’s identity is also tied up with being a protector – giving people AC bumps, the shield being as much a part of his fighting style as his sword, even his title: Saviour Blade of the Tempest. He wants to be a “Shield that protects Exandria”; his priorities about saving the gods are less about the gods themselves, and more about protecting the people of Exandria from the unintended consequences and bloodshed of releasing Predathos. And it would’ve been very easy to pick a large, strong predator to try and evoke the sense of a protector – a wolf, for example, an animal associated with loyalty and protecting its pack. Yet Orym chose a rabbit.

And I think that’s interesting, because rabbits are often seen as ‘cute’ animals – but they’re also a prey animal. In fact, they’re a common food source for many animals across several ecosystems: foxes, wolves, wild cats, dogs, birds of prey like eagles or owls, coyotes, stoats, and humans (and that’s just off the top of my head). Rabbits are skittish, easily frightened; to be rabbit-hearted is to be timid or cowardly. They are not generally associated with fierceness or prowess in fighting. Mice and rats are prey animals too, but typically seen as vermin (rabbits are sometimes seen as vermin too, but a farmer could eat a rabbit – they wouldn’t eat a rat). Deer are prey, but they have hooves and antlers that bring a danger to hunting them, for any animal – the difficulties of hunting rabbits are more related to their evasiveness, speed and good hearing than any life-threatening danger they might pose. Rabbits are, first and foremost, prey animals. They are killed and eaten, so that another animal might live.

Which made me think a lot about one of Orym’s other key traits: self-sacrifice. Bait and switch doesn’t just bump up his ally’s ACs, it specifically switches their place to put him directly in harm’s way. Goading attack is meant to encourage enemies to attack him instead of his friends. He literally made a deal with a hag, essentially exchanging his own life for power to protect his friends. How many times has he gone down in a fight? He’s not the only tank – but unlike Ashton (and Chetney, who also uses ‘self-sacrifice’ in his fighting style with his blood curses) he has no abilities to reduce the damage from the hits he takes (barbarian rage and the werewolf form).

(Side note: I think it’s pretty interesting that Chetney, the wolf, has attacked Orym, the rabbit, more than anyone else when losing control. That Orym’s facial scar was given to him by a friend, not a foe).

Of course, Orym isn’t the only character with self-sacrificial tendencies (FCG wins by a landslide), but I just can’t stop thinking about how weirdly perfect it is that he chose a rabbit for his animal. Rabbits are prey animals. They are eaten, so that other animals may live. Orym takes the hits, he goads and switches with his team mates to put himself in danger, he makes a deal with a hag at the cost of his own life. He’s a soldier, throwing his life away for a cause over and over again because Ludinus must be stopped, because Keyleth has put her trust in him, because it’s the only way to protect his friends, to protect everyone, because it’s the right thing to do. Orym is a rabbit. He’s always been a rabbit. That day in Zephrah, it could have easily been Orym who died instead of Will and Derrig – “unfortunate but necessary sacrifices”, as Ludinus viewed the attack. It’s unfortunate they had to die, but it was for the greater good, according to Ludinus. It’s unfortunate that a rabbit has to die, but it will feed a family of foxes, or stoats, or even a hungry human, so it’s acceptable, right?

Orym is a rabbit. He is giving himself to a greater cause that could very easily kill him – he already willingly signed his life away to Nana Morri. Because that’s what rabbits do. They die to feed others.

And the theme of being disposable is present across the entire group, not just in Orym – Bell’s Hells has been called a “party of NPCs” before. Aside from FCG’s death, I’d say Laudna perhaps fits this theme the best: she was literally murdered and hung from a tree simply because she looked similar to Vex, acting as a warning to adventurers she had never met before. But FCG’s death was – rightfully – viewed as a terrible tragedy by the group. Laudna’s decision to remove Delilah, finally freeing herself from her abuser and emphasising she is more, and deserves to be more, than just some disposable puppet – this was rightfully viewed as a very good thing! But Orym seems to be embracing this identity of self-sacrifice instead, rather than this mindset being properly challenged or acknowledged as a bad thing. After all, there’s no time. There’s too much at stake. Keyleth, Bell’s Hells, all the memories of those who have died in this fight, all the people who might die if Predathos is released and kickstarts a second Calamity – they’re all relying on him, right? A rabbit feeding so many animals with his sacrifice. And it’s not malicious compared to the way that, say, Delilah killing Laudna was an incredibly evil, fucked up and unnecessary thing to do. If Orym died to save everyone else, well, at least everyone else would be saved, right? Saving lives is good, isn't it? How could he complain?

Because rabbits are prey animals, and Orym is a rabbit too. Destined to die so that another animal may feed.

Except, that’s not true. Rabbits are more than just prey. They’re highly social, and thrive best living with others. They’re playful, they enjoy running around and kicking their legs just to show their enjoyment. They’re inquisitive and mischievous, even being associated with tricksters in some folklore and stories. They’re also associated with innocence, playfulness, spring, youth – all manner of things, depending on the story or culture. And they’re not helpless, either, even if they might be thought of as such. They can bite and scratch and draw blood quite easily if they want to! In fact, freezing up isn’t their only response when being attacked by a predator, they are known to fight back if cornered. They can sprint quickly, they have excellent hearing and senses of smell, they know how to evade predators.

Rabbits are prey, and they are also survivors. They have their own social dynamics, their own habits and dislikes and preferences. They are more than just a wolf’s meal. And Orym is more than a soldier, too. He’s more than a “necessary sacrifice”, he’s more than just a shield and sword. He deserves more than to die for a cause. He deserves a happy ending, just like everyone else. I hope he remembers that.

Orym is a rabbit. And the message isn’t that he shouldn’t be a rabbit. It’s that rabbits are worthy of surviving, too.

[dan-whoell]

tell me more about love being more important than reality please

(this isn't going to be coherent at all and for that I am so sorry. let's blame it on it being 1 am almost 2 am and not on me generally being incoherent)

the thing is, right, they never technically 'hard launched'. even though they've confirmed and flaunted their relationship a thousand times in a thousand different ways, and every video feels more and more like we're intruding on a private moment, they've never outright said it without some semblance of plausible deniability/ a joke ("husbands, business partners, [...] soul mates, just mates, who the fuck knows") Like that is reality. It's why we have the joke about their ability to toe the line so closely but somehow never actually cross it.

But then you have "Six months of being an uncle" and "You must be be so proud" and it's like... sure the reality is they never confirmed their relationship (and one could argue those captions are the Hard Launch) but that's not as important as showing Dan the love they have for him, publicly supporting him and claiming him as part of their family. Like 'who cares what you have or haven't said about your attachment to him, what matters is WE love you and it's even more important that you KNOW we love you like a brother.'

and of course this is just approaching it from a familial kind of love coming from the Lesters, a romantic perspective from Phil himself is another ballpark entirely. But that boils down to 'logistically there are easier ways to live but the love we have is more important so we will stubbornly continue this way until it all works out the way we want it to' (and then it did. against all odds, it did.)

[dumbfucksystem]

you know the hyperfixation is extreme when you are willing to learn an entire craft and become a slave to the animation industry just so that you can make content for it. i would put my blood, sweat, and tears into animating all of scum villain if it didn’t also grind my soul into a million pieces.

[uinferno]

To be a Hater, you must go at it alone. You must be known as "the guy who hates XYZ" in your friend group. If everyone in that group falls under that umbrella, then you've got yourself a crab bucket. Not even in a "getting help" sense, you'll just feed off each other in an endless cycle wasting too much of your time until that's all you ever talk about.

If you've ever seen subreddits dedicated to venting/problems or being critical of something, you'll understand why. Normal people say their piece and move on. They won't stick around for long. However, in order for those subs to be maintained and its community to remain active, you need to have regulars keeping the ball rolling. When that happens day in and day out with no breaks, that's just a downwards spiral, mister.

Ranting to friends who don't actually give a shit is key. Their zen attitude grounds you back to reality, and your disdain for shit that doesn't matter is amusing from the sidelines. For me: One friend is "the one who hates Fourth Wing." Another is "the one who hates Danganronpa." I'm "the guy who hates Legend of Korra." We all have our own niche, and by maintaining a variety of haters who don't all agree, we cultivate a welcoming environment of complaining.

[feydrautha]

The more you think about it, the most pressing question about Fenoglio's Inkheart isn't "who in the hell was the protagonist of it?" (it's either Cosimo, the Prince, or, y'know, the guy the literal title refers to - or all three of them), but rather "what in the raging hell was the Shadow's deal?" considering he was immortal, implied to be invincible, could only be destroyed by being rewritten, and as much of an asshole as his boss to the point where you wonder how this guy was dealt with in-story unless the ending saw Capricorn not just get away with everything but also win

[froglover7789]

luke and hans friendship is so fun to me and i wish it was explored a little more in canon. like they absolutely yap about their mutual fear of leia and argue about ships and han teaches luke sabaac and luke teaches han some awful tatooinian game that is like horrifying (still workshopping this part) and they go drinking and are stupid and i wish we got to see more of that.

like anh they were so fun.... yap city.... and in esb they cared about each other but also gave each other shit like true friends... i wouldve liked to see that return more post hans carbonite incident bc lets face it. he would give luke so much shit for being a jedi

[themagistersbirthright]

i have so many tag games to do when i finally make my inquisitor and rook

[bewareofraiju]

In the early 2010s there was an Italian fantasy blog whose blogger was very critical (sometimes exceedingly so) to the most recent fantasy books that were being published in that time. I remember she was especially strict towards italian author Licia Troisi. And McCaffrey. Heck, she even disliked ASOIAF, believing there was too much politics and little fantasy.

She deleted her blog in 2020, I think? Now I find myself wondering how she’s reacting to the huge popularity of romantasy right now. Is she realizing Troisi wasn’t that horrible after all compared to some of the stuff they’re currently churning out?

[moe-broey]

I'm gonna bully Lif again

I'll admit, some of these answers don't cover all the bases, but. What are we thinking, here. What is The Truth behind The Twink Death? 🤨🎤

I will also be accepting write-in responses as usual 🫡

[gingersnaptaff]

Doing more on @gwalch-mei 's Christmas present (which I keep referring to as Gwyn and Gwalch's Gossip Corner (feat. An Appearance From Everybody's Favourite Scamp, Llacheu) and thought u might all like this bit about Gwalchmai talking about Medrawd. (Also, dw for anybody interested - I.e. @dullyn just said 'Pryderi has fun uncle status' that WILL be the case in this!)

[vaguely-concerned]

"I'm rather lucky," said Wimsey, with that apologetic air which seems forced on anybody accused of too much wealth. "I have an extraordinarily faithful and intelligent man, who looks after me like a mother."

I love it when a book looks me in the eye and goes 'yes my friend you are so completely and utterly correct and valid and always right well done'. bunter DOES look after him like a mother I am literally always saying this!!!!

(that note from peter's uncle where he describes bunter like... peter returned from the war with the man bunter, who was and is devoted to him. I have been thinking about this for weeks now. what a thing to say. what a way to sum up a situation a man and a relationship. *gazing pensively into the air with my chin resting on my interlaced fingers* was and is devoted to him.....)

[vulpinesaint]

really winning at childcare lately (telling my elementary schoolers the plots of shakespearean tragedies)